Review of Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon

‘Absolutely compelling’ is Greg Bear’s verdict on the front cover. Generally I take those credits with a pinch of salt – but this time around, he is spot on. This unusual, thought-provoking near-future science fiction novel is the best thing Moon has written to date – and the lady is no slouch.

Lou is different to ‘normal’ people. He interacts with the world in a way they do not understand. He might not see the things they see, but he also sees many things they do not. Lou is autistic.

One of his skills is an ability to find patterns in data: extraordinary, complex, beautiful patterns that not even the most powerful computers can comprehend. The company he works for has made considerable sums of money from Lou’s work. But now they want Lou to change – to become ‘normal’ like themselves. And he must face the greatest challenge of his life. To understand the speed of dark.

Moon has achieved a very difficult feat – she has managed to get right inside Lou’s head and give us an insight into someone who processes information in quite a different way, while continuing to capture our sympathy and understanding. Lou’s characterisation is masterful. The way we perceive the near future through his eyes and begin to appreciate the difficulties that he constantly has to overcome – his acute sense of smell and sensitivity to sound; his constant uncertainty as to whether he has accurately decoded the subliminal signals people give off; the way he cycles and recycles through ideas that concern him… I used to care for a little boy with autism and I found Lou completely convincing.

However as with the very best science fiction, this book is so much more than an entertaining, escapist read. This novel raises issues that are starting to smack society across the chops – issues that we should all be discussing and debating both at a personal and political level.  Of course, being the limited creatures we are, instead we obsess about the daily habits of a handful of celebrities and it falls to books like this one to raise this far more important matters. If a cure for autism does turn up, should high functioning autistic adults who are wholly capable of leading productive, independent lives consider undergoing such treatments? Especially as we’re talking about tampering with the brain…

And while Moon has selected autism as her example having raised an autistic son, this argument is already raging amongst the deaf community about cochlea implants. Many deaf people feel very threatened at the prospect of a cure that will remove them from the community in which they have grown up and with which they identify themselves – to the extent that they refuse to allow their deaf children have an implant. Others feel that deliberately preventing their children from taking advantage of a cure is being irresponsible, if not outright abusive.

I’m conscious that I’ve made this novel sound rather worthy and dull – and it’s not. Because Lou has several other issues to overcome, in addition to coping with this overarching challenge, and, besides, Moon isn’t a writer that does boring or pedestrian plots. So the result is a gripping, intelligent read that leaves you thinking about the issues it addresses long after you’ve finished it. Try it. It’s certainly one of my outstanding reads of the year – and one I’m going to continue recommending to anyone who’ll listen…
10/10

Review of ‘The Serrano Legacy’ by Elizabeth Moon

I’ve been mooning during this last week – and no… I’m not baring anything in this bitterly cold weather. Or staring vacantly into space while dreaming of a special someone. No – I’ve been immersed in Elizabeth Moon’s world in this omnibus edition of the first three books in this excellent series – Hunting Party, Sporting Chance and Winning Colours.

Heris Serrano was an officer born of a long line of officers. A life serving in the ranks of the Regular Space Service was all she had ever known or wanted – until a treacherous superior officer forced her to resign her commission. This was not just the end of a career path; it was the end of everything that gave her life meaning.

Heris finds employment as ‘Captain’ of an interstellar luxury yacht. Being a rich old woman’s chauffeur isn’t quite the same as captaining a Fleet cruiser, but nothing Heris will ever do again could compare with that. Or so she thinks. For all is not as it seems aboard the Sweet Delight.
And there you have it – in next to no time, Moon has swept you up into Heris Serrano’s adventure as this sympathetic, well rounded protagonist leaps off the page with just the right mix of spikiness and vulnerability. Moon also excels at pacing, alternating the building tension with the action, so that I didn’t want to put this down – but read far into the small hours to get to the end of this blockbuster. Each story is sufficiently self contained so that if you’re not fortunate enough to have these books back to back, I think you would still be able to read them out of sequence and quickly find your bearings – a trick that many other writers seem unable to successfully manage.

This series of books was written back in the early 90’s, but Orbit’s smart move in reprinting this omnibus edition proves their pedigree because these novels wear their age well. Indeed, I’m willing to bet that the current crop of women writing successful space opera – the likes of Mary Rosenblum, Marianne de Pierres and Laura E. Reeve, for example, have read and enjoyed Moon.

On a practical note, the only major glitch in my enjoyment has been hefting a brick-sized book running to some 1,100 pages while reading in bed. But I’d better get used to it – the other four books in the Serrano series are also available in two further omnibus editions, which I’ve already ordered from the library…
9/10