I recently read Hella by David Gerrold and found it to be a deeply thoughtful story. The world building is amazing, the characters are compelling and diverse, and the overall story is one that kept me turning page after page. I absolutely hated putting it down when time and responsibilities forced me to stop reading.
Gerrold set Hella in a future where Earth has become an undesirable place to live. While there aren’t many references to what our home planet’s problems are, I imagined that it includes most of the problems we face today. In my estimation, the author wants the reader to fill in the blanks on that score. All one has to do is read the headlines and extrapolate what the future holds for humanity, if we continue on our current course. At any rate, the people have reached for the stars for refuge from a sick planet.
The planet Hella itself is a pristine world invaded by humans. It is a very different place than our native planet. It is smaller than Earth, giving it lower gravity. A year on Hella is about two-and two-thirds times that of a year on Earth. One of the most important parts of the novel is the sheer size of everything natural to the planet. The residents of the planet say everything is “Hella-bigger” than Earth. The bugs, plants, and especially the animals on the planet are huge, and some are very dangerous. The people who colonize the planet are trying to learn to live in harmony with the new environment by building encampments in which everyone lives more or less comfortably.
This story is told through the eyes and thoughts of young Kyle Martin. He is a thirteen and one-half year old (that’s in Earth years, he would be approximately five in Hella years) who observes and thinks about everything. When he was younger, he had some behavioral issues and a chip was implanted in his brain to help him cope. The chip gives him an advantage allowing him to access the net, a vast information network Kyle calls the “noise.” When Kyle hears something he doesn’t understand, he just opens up to the net and finds the information. However, the young man is also at a slight disadvantage; one thing he doesn’t understand is nuance. He rarely understands why people don’t say what they mean; why they dance around the facts and describe things with metaphor, or other methods. His thinking is pragmatic. He observes and draws conclusions based on observation, and his interpretations are factual, and sometimes amusing.
Kyle relies on his older brother, Jamie, when it comes to understanding nuance. He worships Jamie and Jamie is the ideal big brother. Jamie is his mentor, interpreter, and best friend. Jamie appreciates Kyle’s points of view and encourages him to be who and what he is. For the most part, encouragement of this kind seems to be a cornerstone of existence on Hella. The only requirement on the planet is everyone has to contribute to the greater good. Kyle also lives with his mother, who also understands that it is best to give Kyle his space and be who he is.
Another character that Kyle has a lot of respect for is Captain Skyler. Skyler is a role model of someone that could be a hero to many people. He takes Kyle on important missions and also provides a great deal of encouragement to the young man. Along the way, Kyle also befriends others that become good and fast friends that work together for the betterment of the Hella Colony.
One of the best things about this story is the diversity of the cast of characters and how almost everyone is accepting of others in the colony. There are all kinds of people all working for the survival of the whole. It is a refreshing look at how things might be in a place where everyone depends on everyone else to do their part. One of the most interesting aspects of life on this new planet (the colony is a little over a hundred years old) is that people may choose their gender. Kyle was born a girl, but chose to become a boy to be more like Jamie. Apparently this idea is accepted on Hella without judgement or prejudice, and it adds an interesting dynamic to the story.
Not everything on the planet is as easy-going as it appears. Kyle extensively observes and comments on the dangers of living on a planet so different from where humanity evolved to exist. As mentioned before, everything on Hella is bigger. The native animals grow to huge proportions, and their size alone can be a danger to the colony. Some species are migratory and colonists feel their movements from miles and miles away. Occasionally, the native fauna comes too close to the colony and can cause damage to the defenses. There are predator and prey animals, and the prey animals are extremely dangerous and hunt in packs. No one dares to go outside the compound without making very special preparations and traveling in very large armored vehicles.
The weather on Hella is brutal. Summers are extremely hot and winters are just the opposite. Those extremes force the colonists to travel between two major colonies to survive the changing of seasons. In short, survival can be challenging.
Most of the first half of the story serves to set up the second part where we learn that the most dangerous enemy to the colony is an ambitious, power-hungry politician who, with the encouragement of one of his wives, seeks to change how the government operates. This person wants to rule with his own prejudices as a guide. It seems there are no limits to what he will do to impose his will on the people. Ironically, on Hella, the most dangerous obstacle to survival is a human being.
For me, one of the most compelling things about this story is the range of emotion it invoked in me. Through Kyle’s eyes, I laughed over his matter-of-fact observations about fellow colonists. I was appalled because of his treatment at the hands of a few. The descriptions of brutality outside the colony scared me, and I was happy at events that helped Kyle understand himself and others in a deeper sense. I found the story thought provoking in that it helped me imagine what our own world might look like if we, as humans, might improve our world situation if we banded together in a common, benevolent society.
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| Author David Gerrold and me in Beatrice, Nebraska - March 3, 2018 |
I have read other works by David Gerrold and have enjoyed everything I have read. His writing is clear and easy to read. Of everything I have read from this author, I would have to say that this is at the top of the list of favorites. I highly recommend Hella as what should be an important work of fiction, not only for Sci-Fi fans, but for anyone who is open to understanding themselves and others.
Well, there it is...
Qapla!
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