The Viperob Files by Al Hodge - Sci-Fi Thriller Full Of Twists And Turns That Are Spellbinding!

The Viperob Files by Alister Hodge

Just a few weeks ago, author Al Hodge contacted me and asked if I would review his novel, The Cavern. I said I would give it a go and read it, and was amazed at the quality of the writing and how gripping the story was. I wrote my review and if you click on the title, you can read that review. After posting my review of The Cavern, Al contacted me and asked if I would be interested in reading his newer novel, The Viperob Files. As much as I enjoyed the previous story, I couldn't say no. 

Viperob Files is set in a dystopian future in the year 2194. Owing to the overuse of fossil fuels, global warming has taken full effect,  melting the polar ice caps and causing ocean levels to rise 100 meters. A vast area of Australia (known as Australasia in the story) has been covered by ocean water submerging once bustling cities. This inland sea has created a completely new coastline and a series of islands still above water. On one of these islands is a corporation called Viperob that supplies military drones to the central government. Everyone living on the island works for the corporation in some way. While the adults work, the children go to school to attend classes and military training to prepare them for following in their parent's footsteps as Viperob employees. But kids will be kids and as they do, they tend to push the limits of what is allowed.

The story opens as Ethan and his friend, Jaego, dive on the submerged remains of homes and businesses in search of treasure. Meanwhile Ethan's father, Nickolai, learns that there is a software bug in Viperob's system that could allow foreign interests to take over operation of the drones sold to the Australasian government. Realizing that this could destabilize what is left of the national government, he makes plans to get the information into the right hands. This is not an easy task because Viperob has it's own highly trained military-like force that is fiercely loyal to the corporation.

Enter Lieutenant Harris, a ruthless, psychopathic officer in Viperob's security force who is assigned the task of retrieving the drone control files and eliminating anyone who has knowledge of them. He will use any means necessary to complete his task including torture and murder to achieve his end.

When Harris kills Nickolai, Ethan takes on the task of getting the information into the right hands. He has to get the Viperob files off the island, thus making Ethan and his friends Harris' target. 

One of the many appealing aspects of Viperob are the well developed characters in the story. Ethan and Jaego are joined by a third youth, a young woman named Gwen. These three young people have spent their lives, up to this point, learning to live within the confines opposed upon them by the corporation, and didn't know that there was anything else. In their mid-teens, they are beginning to realize that there has to be a better way of life and begin questioning their existence as part of Viperob. They have been trained well and when they are charged with getting the damning files off the island, they are pretty skillful at doing what needs to be done, and they are well aware of the consequences they face taking on the task, and the consequences of failure.

The parents of the youthful trio are more or less going through the motions of being loyal to Viperob, but are not above taking risks to get ahead. Viperob appears to be aware that the little transgressions take place, but are willing to turn a blind eye to them until they threaten the corporation.

Harris is, by far, one of the most evil characters I have ever seen in my lifetime of reading. He has no feelings for anyone, no compassion, and no end to his cruelty. He has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. He is like a machine, a weapon that has been pointed in a direction and he will not give up or accept defeat. One cannot help but hate this character.

Hodge is masterful at making all of the characters come out of the story and become real people a reader can care about.

Along with great characters is the skillfulness that Al displays with world building. Viperob provides everything its employees need to maintain a subsistence level existence. Everyone has a place to live, food to eat, and a job. But there is very little beyond the absolute necessities provided. The living spaces seem to be little more than over-sized walk-in closets, the food is of adequate nutritional value, but not very appetizing. Those that want extras have to pay dearly for them. In order to have a better quality of life, many turn to taking bribes or trading on the black market. What keeps the people in the story in line is the threat of being banished from the island, which seems to be a certain death sentence. Outside the walls of the company is a great expanse of wasteland where survival is nearly impossible. Then there are also the monsters that are on constant patrol.

Along with the global warming problem comes mutations of some animals. Prominent in Viperob are the Tri-Claw creatures that patrol the coastal areas. They are described as trilobites that stand on six legs, move very fast, and have very large claws that are capable of cutting their prey in half with little effort. Oh, and these trilobites are the size of Volkswagens! They are the stuff of nightmares. 

When Al sent me the book, he described it as a young adult novel. The story does center on how the three kids end up tasked with getting the damning files to the proper authorities and prevent further hardship on Australasia. There are a couple of scenes of torture in this story that might be disturbing to very sensitive readers. Readers below the ninth grade level may want to avoid Viperob.

This is another excellent book from Al Hodge, it is exciting from the very first page all the way to the end. It is full of twists and turns that made me want to read on and on, I simply did not want to put it down. This story also has a wide open ending that screams for a sequel and I look forward to reading it when, and if it gets written. High recommendations for The Viperob Files!

Here is a brief biography from the author's web page...

"Alister Hodge is a Sydney based author, writing within the genres of horror, science fiction and young adult. He is also an Emergency Nurse Practitioner and a Clinical Lecturer at the University of Sydney. As a mental break from providing healthcare in a busy Emergency Department, Alister leaves behind the everyday traumas and horror of the real world, by creating new ones for post-apocalyptic and dystopian landscapes.

Aside from fiction writing, Alister has authored numerous journal and textbook publications, and is the co-creator of an app to support triage nurse development in Australia and the USA."

Well, there it is...

Qapla!

Star Trek: Discovery: The Way To The Stars by Una McCormack - A Character Study Of Tilly

Star Trek: Discovery: The Way To The Stars by Una McCormack

While I have enjoyed all of the four Discovery tie-in novels released to date, I think this one is my favorite. Una McCormack's novel, The Way To The Stars is Tilly's story. For those of you who may not be familiar with Discovery, Tilly is a talkative young woman who is also quite brilliant in her own right. She is also the first character to ever drop an f-bomb on a Star Trek show. There are no f-bombs in the novel though, just a great story about a young woman who is trying to find her own way in life.

In her quarters on board the Discovery, Tilly tosses, turns, and sighs repeatedly until her cabin mate, Michael Burnham asks her what her problem is. Tilly is at first reluctant to burden Burnham with her worries, but after a little goading, Tilly tells Burnham that she is very worried about beginning the command training program the next day. Burnham is a little confused as to why this is a problem for Tilly, and with a little more encouragement, Tilly tells the story of her past.

16-year-old Sylvia Tilly lives in Paris with her grandmother, Adele, and step-grandfather Quinn. For the most part, Sylvia is a happy young woman who does pretty well in school showing an aptitude for math and science. Her grades are adequate, but unfortunately not up to the standards imposed on her by her mother, Siobhan. Sylvia's mother is an up and coming star in the Federation's Diplomatic Corps and envisions Sylvia following in her footsteps. Sylvia has attended numerous diplomatic functions with her mother and has little to no interest in pursuing a career in that area. Despite this, Siobhan enrolls Tilly in a school that specializes in training diplomats.

Being an intelligent young woman, Sylvia does pretty well in school while continuing to pursue her own interests in science. When Siobhan learns of this, she forbids Sylvia to do anything but study the school's diplomatic curriculum. She will not listen to any arguments and, as a result, Sylvia experiences a number of failures. At the end of the term, Sylvia 'escapes' from school to strike out on her own to find out who she is and what she wants to do with her life.

The rest of the story is the several adventures that Tilly finds herself involved in leading to an appointment to Starfleet Academy.

Oh, the things we do to our children, even when our intentions are good.

Unfortunately for Tilly, she has been instilled with a ton of self-doubt by a mother that is overbearing. Siobhan will not even listen to her daughter and consider what her talents and interests are. Tilly's father is a very gentle man and is always full of encouragement, but he isn't around enough to counter the bullying that Tilly is subjected to from her mother. What this does, in effect is undermined everything Tilly is about and fills her with insecurity and a fear of failure. Every new situation that this girl faces is about pleasing someone else, mostly her mother in this story. I feel so bad for this young woman that it hurts. Left to her own, and given the proper encouragement, Tilly would probably become an incredible scientist, making great strides in whatever field she chose. On Discovery, we see some of what she is capable of. McCormack did a brilliant job channeling Tillly's character as we see her on the show, and placing her in the book.

McCormack's story is a fun read providing deeper insight to Tilly's character. The author is also sensitive to what parents can do to their children when the parent's agenda is to control instead of nurture. In the story, once Tilly is outside the influence of an overbearing mother, she shows a lot of personal growth that could take her in numerous directions. In the case of Tilly, getting out on her own was probably the best thing that could happen for this young woman. All is not easy for Tilly when she gets away from her mother's influence and away from the diplomatic school, she is forced to prove herself and does a great job of rising to the occasion numerous times.

When her father finally comes on the scene, Tilly gets a great deal of encouragement and advice to standing up to her mother. Alas, it is too late and the damage has already been done though. Tilly will spend the rest of her life having to prove to herself that she has what it takes to do whatever she sets her mind to. It is also important her dad explains something that Tilly has blamed herself for a number of years, only adding to her self-doubt.

Outside of a good character study, the story is immensely engaging and well-paced. It is an easy read despite the complicated relationships between characters. The story focuses on Tilly, but develops several characters to the point that a reader can relate to them all, even Siobhan.

Una McCormack has penned a number of books set in the Star Trek universe. In the past, she has shown a vast knowledge of the stories and characters within that world. With this novel, set in the Discovery timeline, she further demonstrates that she is adept at understanding characters that are not as well developed in canon. Were I a writer for the show, I would definitely keep The Way to the Stars in mind as I wrote Tilly-centric episodes.

Most of the stories so far from the Discovery timeline have been character studies giving we readers some backstory and a deeper understanding. This is an excellent look at what might have gone into the makeup of Tilly, one of my favorite characters on the series. I recommend this book to fans of Discovery as a way to better understand one of the most energetic characters on the series.

Well, there it is...

Qapla!

Invasion by Sean Platt & Johnny B. Truant - Exciting Prelude To An Alien Invasion Saga

Invasion by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant

One morning while having coffee and scrolling through my Facebook feed, I found an advertisement from a website called Sci-Fi Bridge. The ad promised that if I sign-up with them, I would have a chance at receiving some outrageous number of free sci-fi/fantasy books at no charge. Further, I would get four novels at no charge just for signing up. What the heck, why not? If I were lucky enough to be selected, I would have enough reading material to keep me busy for quite some time. If nothing else, I would get four stories for nothing. Since I had just finished another story for a podcast, I selected a novel and dove in.

I chose Invasion by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant which promised to be an engaging story about an alien invasion from outer space. Well, it turns out that Invasion is the first in a series of books that are about an alien invasion. At least that is what I am hoping, because this first book in the series is not about an invasion at all.

The story opens in the not too distant future, with news reports explaining there are numerous objects headed for Earth from the vicinity of the planet Jupiter. The story has been confirmed by numerous sources including NASA. That's the what, but there is no idea about the why. As one might suspect, panic ensues and is soon followed by much mayhem.

The Main character, Meyer Dempsey, is preoccupied with three things according to the book; those being drugs, sex, and business. His business is most on his mind as he plans a trip to Los Angeles. Meyer is in the movie business and makes regular trips to L.A. for business, and to have an illicit rendezvous with his ex-wife, Heather. When the news reports the approach of the alien objects, Meyer is setting up a meeting with Heather and a shaman who will administer them something called Ayahuasca, a powerful drug that Meyer uses to be focused for important meetings. In the middle of his phone call with Heather, Meyer learns of the objects on an approach vector with Earth and that they happen to be decelerating as they approach. Meyer believes, as often happens in film, when there is an alien invasion, the first places that are in danger are the world's big cities, and there aren't many bigger than New York.

Meyer has also believed that one day there would be some kind of disaster threatening the population of the planet and he was determined to be prepared. He believes he is well prepared because he has had a mansion under construction in Colorado. It is complete with an underground bunker that would allow him and his family to survive for a long period of time. While the above ground structure is not quite complete, the underground facility is ready to be used at a moments notice. It is well stocked with food, water purification equipment, entertainment and communications facilities, and enough weaponry to sustain a small war if necessary.

All Meyer has to do is gather his family and fly to Colorado in his private jet to ensure his survival. Oh, he also advises Heather to begin making her way to the mansion. His family consists of his second wife, Piper, his daughter Delilah, and his son, Trevor. Unknown to everyone, Delilah is pregnant with her boyfriend's, offspring. The boyfriend, Raj, also becomes part of the family by choice, and under the orders of Delilah. With his family gathered, they start their trip to the airport, but there will be no flight to the Colorado bunker, the FAA has grounded all air traffic so it looks like a cross country trip in an advanced minivan.

As the family cross the country, they run into numerous obstacles that change their situation, oftentimes looking quite hopeless of ever reaching their destination.

What we get in Invasion is more of an adventure story with a few elements of Sci-Fi, but we never really get an invasion. This is not the story of aliens invading the Earth and laying waste to the landscape. Rather it is the story of what Meyer and his family encounter along their way to their secure facility in Colorado, as well as a little of what Heather goes through in her attempt to reach Meyer's bunker. But that is not to say that it isn't a good solid story, it just seems to me that it might have been mis-titled.

In fact Invasion, in itself is a great story, fun to read, and immensely engaging. I didn't want to stop reading at any point because once the action gets started, it proceeds at a blinding pace right up to the end. We get the final payoff as the objects finally reach the planet. The book ends on a real cliffhanger that made me want to go right to the next installment, a book titled Contact.

Invasion is not a story that stands on its own. Readers will find it necessary to move on to the next book to find out what happens.

The characters in Invasion are an interesting lot. Meyer, Piper, and his children (Meyer's children with Heather) are a somewhat dysfunctional family until they are forced together by the crisis. Meyer himself is all business and mostly all about himself for the most part. He starts out in the story as not being very likable. He will always default to what is best for himself when things get tough. But one thing I can say about Meyer is that he understands survival and it is his selfishness that pulls him and his family through some very tough situations. I kind of warmed up to Meyer as time went on because he began to widen his focus and show a genuine concern for his immediate family, and especially caring deeply for Heather and her safety while she was out of touch. But he never dropped his tough-guy persona except to Piper.

Piper is Meyer's sort of trophy wife. She is young and very attractive and seems to have a great relationship with Meyer's children. She has apparently lived a sheltered life and is quite naive when it comes to the more brutal side of life. She has a tough time adapting when people start behaving outside of her experience. Piper is not dumb, by any means. As time goes on, she quickly learns that she has to do things that are well outside her comfort zone to survive. She experiences a lot of growth as the story unfolds. Piper is completely devoted to Meyer and does her best to be a good companion.

Trevor, Meyer's son, is completely obsessed with his step-mother and often fantasizes about her. He is often embarrassed by this and comes across as a little shy. He does have a lot of his father in him and will arise to the occasion when needed.

Delilah and Raj have a secret, and they want to keep it a secret. The only problem is, Delilah is not getting the prenatal care that she needs to have, and the trip across the country, along with keeping her secret is causing her a lot of stress. She even gets involved in a few conflicts that are not healthy for her. Raj just seems to be there, somewhat oblivious to the demands of fatherhood. He tends to take risks and it seems unusual that he has little or no concern for the fate of his family back in New York.

My favorite major character in this story is Heather. She is an actress and comedienne and is famous in her own right. She is always ready with some off-handed remark and is hilarious, even in grim situations. The best thing about Heather is she is not afraid of Meyer and all of his power and has no problem putting him in his place when needed, which is probably why her and Meyer are not still married. She adds a interesting and funny dynamic to the story even though her role in the story thus far, is rather limited.

Truant and Platt

Invasion is the first book in a series that is seven books so far. I can see myself investing time in this series if the rest of the books have the same energy that this one does. If that is the case, then you can expect more positive reviews on this blog. I will say that I recommend this story as a well-constructed one with interesting characters thrown into fascinating situations.

I will say that when I finished the Kindle edition of Invasion, there was an offer to get the next book, Contact at no charge. So, I urge you to watch for my review of the second book in the Alien Invasion series.

Well, there it is...

Qapla'!

The Cavern by Alister Hodge - Great Story Not For The Faint At Heart

The Cavern by Alister Hodge 

Not long ago, I received an email from Alister Hodge asking if I would be willing to review his new book, The Cavern. His email included the Kindle file, so how could I say no?

Set in the Australian Outback near the small town of Pintalba, The Cavern opens with the discovery of a cave system revealed by a sinkhole on a nearly defunct sheep ranch. A young couple arrives on the scene and pays the owner of the ranch to be the first to explore the discovery. As they move about underground, they discover a beautiful cave setting complete with an underground lake. The couple also discovers more than they bargained for when they are attacked by a strange creature.

When another team hears about the new cave system, they lay their plans to also explore and map the discovery. The team is joined by Sam, a vacationing paramedic who will go along as medical support for the team that consists of his girlfriend, Ellie and Ellie's brother, Max. It is originally planned that Sam will remain at the base camp ready to go into action if there is a medical need for him.

When the crew stops for refreshments at a Pintalba pub, they are warned by the proprietor A veteran named Jack, to stay away and leave it alone. When asked, Jack wouldn't tell the explorers why they shouldn't venture forth. The team of explorers thinks he might be hiding some secret, or maybe he's just a crazy old man who is imagining something. Never the less, Sam, Ellie and Max are determined to be the first to explore and map the new cave system. Of course, they are unaware of the previous couple that also wanted to be the first.

While Sam's team sees all the beauty that they expect to see, they also learn that the cave system connects to a string of opal mines that harbors a horrible secret. There are monsters there that are vicious, relentless, and also have a peculiar intelligence. It isn't long before everyone is in a fight for their lives and it would seem to be a losing battle.

There is no shortage of excitement in The Cavern. It is a fast paced horror story that will keep a reader on the edge of their seat as one is taken on a rollercoaster ride of terror by Hodge. If the descriptions of the monsters aren't enough, their attacks are given in detail to the point that a reader will be thankful to stay on the surface of the planet and never venture below. Much of what is described must come from the author's experience as a professional medical practitioner. That is to say that the detail is stunning and horrifying.

Hodge also captures the flavor of what it might be like to be underground in a cave. Both the peaceful and serene feelings one might have, as well as what it might be like if one is trapped and unable to move when moving through narrow passages. There were several scenes that had me holding my breath as I read to the resolution of several situations.

The story concludes with an open ending that might be begging a sequel. While I would call this more of an adventure-thriller, there are hints at science fiction in several places in the book and am looking forward to and hoping for a continuation that will carry forth from the ending to show what the monsters are and where they came from.

The characters in the story are well developed to the point that I felt that I would like to know most of them. Each has their own dynamic and are believable as real people. Sam, the (more or less) main character is a bit of an adventurer, but he doesn't care for the idea of exploring caves, and he is really repulsed at the idea of scuba diving underground. Yet, he faces and defeats his fears in favor of helping others that might be injured. He is a likable character, and as most of the others in the story, has a sense of courage.

The most surprising character is the bartender, Jack. In the story, he is kind of a curmudgeonly old man, but not in such a way that he will put people off. He is a veteran and seems to know a great many things, especially about the monsters that he has encountered in the past. When the monsters are discovered, the cavers decide that they have to be taken out of the picture, but none of them have the right weapons to do the job. Jack is the one who comes up with the firepower to take care of business, but also displays a load of grit as he takes on the creatures. Jacks scenes were my favorite in the story and I think that many will also find him an inspiration.

I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys medical drama and monster driven thriller stories. As a fan of Sci-Fi, I enjoyed The Cavern immensely and didn't take long to read it; it only took me three sittings to get through it. I was very eager to get back to it when I was forced to put it down. I could have read it in one sitting actually thanks to the relentless action in the book, it never really lets up.

I will add this, owing to the graphic descriptions of the monster attacks, and how the author goes into great detail on how the attacks take place and the results of those attacks, one might consider whether they can handle this story. There is very little left to the imagination.

The following is from the author's Amazon page:

Alister Hodge is an Emergency Nurse Practitioner, who lives in Sydney with his wife and two daughters. He is also a Clinical Lecturer at the University of Sydney, the author of numerous journal and textbook publications, and the co-creator of an app to support triage nurse development in Australia.

As a mental break from providing healthcare in a busy Emergency Department, Alister leaves behind the everyday traumas and horror of the real world, by creating new ones for a post-apocalyptic landscape.

Well, there it is...

Qapla'!

We Call It Monster By Lachlan Walter - Another Great Post-Apocalyptic Story From Down Under!

We Call It Monster by Lachlan Walter

Back in June, 2017, I learned about a novel from an Australian author. It was about survival in a post-apocalyptic world where people were working to survive severe drought and food shortages. I was very impressed with that novel titled The Rain Never Came, and its author, Lachlan Walter. As impressed as I was with that first novel, one can imagine my excitement when Lachlan recently contacted me to read and give an honest review of his new work, We Call It Monster.

So, after I agreed, Lachlan sent me a copy and I eagerly opened the file and saw the cover. I have to admit I was a little apprehensive upon seeing the huge Kaiju there, I thought, this is not my usual area and hoped this would not be outside of my comfort zone. I am more of a fan of space opera than anything else and hoped my review could do it justice. I opened the text and began reading and was pleasantly surprised at what I found.

What I thought I would find was another "Pacific Rim" rehashing, or perhaps a story such as the Japanese might tell about Godzilla. My guess wasn't even close and I am happy to say I enjoyed We Call It Monster immensely.

Here is the blurb from the back of the book:

"One ordinary day, an enormous creature dragged itself out of the ocean and laid waste to a city. In the months and years that followed, more and more creatures appeared, until not a single country remained untouched. At first, people tried to fight them. In the end, all they could do was try and stay alive.

We Call It Monster is a story of forces beyond our control, of immense and impossible creatures making plain how small we humans really are. It is the story of our fight for survival and our discovery of that which truly matters: community and compassion, love and family, hope and faith."

Monster is a collection of vignettes set in Australia and are further broken down into a series of short stories covering 35 years of attacks from giant monsters that, for whatever reason, are on a rampaging mission of death and destruction. Opening with people attending a party in the coastal city of Sydney, all are baffled as the first attack on the Island Continent takes place. As each small story unfolds, time passes as the reader learns what the fate of humankind and the world might be should such events happen. It seems there is no place on the planet that is safe from the behemoths as they come from the sea. However, it isn't only coastal areas that are at risk as the monsters also come by air and from under the ground. There are no safe havens anywhere from the onslaught.

Unlike Pacific Rim, there are no giant human-driven robots to save the day. That's not to say that humanity doesn't mount a monumental effort to repel the threat, but there is nothing that can stand up to what the Kaiju are dealing out. There is no reasoning with them; they are simply killing machines able to withstand a lot of punishment.

But Monster isn't about the Kaiju, it is about people and what they do to survive. Each short story serves two purposes; first to introduce or continue a character's storyline in their fight for survival; the second is to give more of an overall picture of the condition of the planet in general, and humanity in particular. The stories are each a snapshot, and when all are put together, form a bigger story. It is somewhat like a photo mosaic made from smaller photos, only with words.

The stories in this book are not as much about the monsters as they are about the people who are involved in some way with Kaiju attacks. This is a character-driven collection of short stories that focuses on people as they go about surviving. The characters are the most compelling part of the story. The author does a marvelous job of introducing each character and developing them enough that a reader can have compassion for their plight.

The stories are about how the various characters cope with the problems they encounter. Some just went about the business they are tasked with, others are compelled to lend a hand to their fellow humans who have suffered from encounters with Kaiju. Still others resign themselves to the inevitable in bold acts of defiance, in essence, fighting against the monsters in their own way. Some actively fight back as best they can against an enemy with limited vulnerabilities.

As I mentioned before, I was a little apprehensive about reading this because I am not a fan of big monsters in literature. I found that from the very first pages of the book, I was hooked. It was truly a pleasure to look into the lives of the very well written characters and I was never disappointed all the way through. I found that Lachlan had led me through the entire spectrum of emotional involvement with his storytelling as well. The descriptions of events were vivid and easily imagined.

I recommend We Call It Monster to readers that enjoy apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and for those that also just enjoy a good story. I would also go as far as to say that one need not be a Science Fiction fan to enjoy this story of human compassion and the will to survive the most impossible threats.

Now I eagerly await the next story from this excellent Australian Sci-Fi author.

Well, there it is...

Qapla!

Children Of Time By Adrian Tchaikovski - One Species Evolves While Another Takes The Opposite Direction

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovski

It is a real treat when I can choose and read a book that is not involved with a podcast. So, being all caught up on "required" reading, I searched Amazon for something I might enjoy and found Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovski. I must admit that I was intrigued by the author's name since it is the same as one of my favorite composers, and couldn't help but wonder if there is any relationship between the two. Alas, I have since learned that the author's name is actually spelled Czajkowski, a Polish name, and there is no mention of any relation to the famous Russian composer. Never the less, I downloaded the book and began reading.  All I can say is WOW!

Children of Time takes place in a post-apocalyptic future in which the Earth has become uninhabitable. A very large colony ship is wandering through the stars looking for a place to settle and rebuild humanity on a new planet. Meanwhile, another ship arrives at a terraformed planet, only this ship is the vehicle for an experiment being performd by a scientist that has no interest in helping the human race survive, as a matter of fact, the scientist would just as soon see humanity disappear altogether. This second ship is occupied by monkeys and is supposed to set down on a new planet that has been seeded with a nanovirus that would allow for some rapid evolution by the occupants. Unfortunately, the monkey ship experiences a malfunction and crashes on the planet with all occupants killed. The scientist survives as she escapes in a pod that is designed to keep her in suspended animation until such time she is needed.

Meanwhile, the colony ship approaches the planet and is warned off by an automated message stating the planet has not been terraformed for colonization, but for long term scientific research. With a few punctuating shots across the bow of the colony ship, the humans decide to cut their losses and leave to look for another place to settle. as time passes, the humans, being what we are, set up numerous styles of leadership and find themselves immersed in ambitious conflict. The people on the ship as well as the ship itself deteriorates with age and the humans try desperately search for a place to settle. Meanwhile on the experimental planet, spiders, ants, and other insect life flourishes and begins building a world that they can live on. When the humans run out of options, they decide that they are going to take over the spider world no matter what it takes. The spiders make ready to do battle to protect what they have created.

What happens when two philosophies of life clash? This story brilliantly spells it out.

This story follows the exploits of a ship from Earth whose occupants are seeking a place to settle and found a new civilization on the one hand, and on the other, a world that had been terraformed as an experiment by a scientist. On the planet, the intended occupants were to be monkeys that would be infected by a nanovirus designed to induce accelerated mutations and evolution. So the monkeys would rather quickly evolve to sentience (by quickly I took it that it would be hundreds of years as opposed to thousands or millions of years) and bring forth a new civilization, not human.

The intended occupants of the planet never got the chance to make their mark, however other species that were already on the planet did get a chance at taking advantage of the nanovirus and were very successful. Insects became the target of those that would inherit the new Earth, and at the top of the list for those that would lead were spiders. For me, the spiders development was the best part of the story. It was fascinating how they started out with just their basic instincts and moved on from generation to generation developing intelligence and technology that would eventually even allow them to travel in space. Every chapter revealed new abilities and ways of thinking that eventually became a highly evolved, well organized, and intelligent society. It was not without its problems along the way to be certain, but the outcome was likewise fascinating.

Then there were the humans. The occupants of the colony ship were all in suspended animation to be awakened if the ship's sensors detected a likely candidate world on which to settle. Unfortunately for them, they stumbled upon the world that was made for the monkeys. In orbit around this world, in a very sophisticated lifepod was the scientist who claimed the spider world for her experiment. When the colony ship arrived there, they were turned away by the scientist, who saw no value in human life and, under no circumstances would allow her experiment to be contaminated by a human presence. Sent away, to another possible candidate world, the humans did what humans normally do.

As David Gerrold wrote in his novel, Blood and Fire, when humans move out among the stars, we will take our memes with us. Those memes include some good behaviors as well as many ugly behaviors. Tchaikovski does a great job of illustrating some of the ugliness that might be taken away from our planet; struggles for power, idolatry, and a tendency to make war with one another for numerous reasons. Feeling that it is too far to travel to the other world, they eventually decide that they are going to take the spider world for themselves, no matter the cost.

My favorite character is a spider named Portia, well actually there are a lot of characters named Portia. Most of the spider evolution is expressed through this character, passing down her DNA from one generation to the next over thousands of years. Portia starts out as a common spider, working and surviving on instinct. As time moves on, the instincts stay intact, but there is reasoning added making Portia continuously more interesting. Portia and her spider companions develop a social structure allowing each to develop as their individual spices talents allow. Each has their own talents while Portia maintains a benevolent rulership over them all. Portia leads the spiders through an evolutionary process that begins with basic instinct, emotional awareness, the uprising of superstition and development of religion, scientific enlightenment, and finally a spacefaring civilization. It is, in any case, a fine example of world building This was the most compelling part of the book and is what kept me reading.

Every other chapter of the book dealt with the human perspective. I found these parts of the book interesting, but not as much as the spider story. It seemed that the humans were never able to get it together because all they wanted to do was take the spider planet over as conquerors. Most of the scenes dealing with the humans were through the eyes of a character who seemed a little cowardly and uninspiring. Unfortunately, as far as I was concerned, the only reason for the human story line was to be bad guys for the spiders to fight off when they arrived to take over the planet. There was a lot of filler in the human story that was unfortunately predictable and uninteresting. But, as I said earlier, the spider story more than made up for the shortcomings in the human chapters. As far as the plot was concerned though, the human story was not a total loss when one considers that while the spiders on the planet evolved, the humans went in the complete opposite direction de-evolving to the point of becoming tribal and falling into idol worship.

Finally, there was the scientist that started the whole thing. Dr. Kern was a megalomaniac who saw herself as a god-like individual. Nothing was more important to her than her experiment and there she would allow nothing to get in her way to see it come to fruition. Aboard a ship she was leading to her terraformed planet, she had a large population of monkeys that were to receive the benefit of her creation, the nanovirus. What she didn't count on was a faction of eco-terrorists that were bent on not allowing her to waste a perfectly good planet for the evolution of monkeys. The terrorists destroyed the ship while she escaped in a life-support pod to spend the rest of eternity in orbit around what she dubbed Kern's World. Kern's character soon became uninteresting as she more or less merged with her pod and became confused.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and give it high recommendations in spite of it's few shortcomings. There is a good reason that Children of Time won an Arthur C. Clark award. It is well paced and continually compelled me to read on. Most of the ratings for this were in the 4.3+ approval rating and I would agree, calling it a solid 4 on a scale of 1-5.

Well, there it is...

Qapla!