oung Hillbrane Harkover represents the cream of her society, a young adult preparing for the qualifying Comparison exams that will make her a full engineer. Jneers, as they are called, are the controlling force aboard the fleet of ships that serves as Hillbrane's home, ships sent out from Earth centuries before to colonize five promising planets. After several generations, the fleet is approaching its first potential colony world, planning to leave a settlement behind before moving on to the next chosen world. With excellent grades and a brilliant mind, Hillbrane stands a good chance of being chosen as a member of First Colony.
Disaster strikes, however, in the form of an opportunistic classmate.
When Raleigh Marquette cheats on his Comparisons, Hillbrane makes the mistake of saying so--and rather than face a scandal over Raleigh, the senior Jneers decide to demote Hillbrane. In an instant she loses everything: her position, her friends and her chance of joining the new colony. She is assigned to the fleet's forefront ships and expected to live among the poorly educated and uncouth mechs.
Stunned and exiled, Hillbrane is dismayed to discover that much of what she has learned about mech living conditions and customs is untrue. The forefront ships, critical to the survival of all the colonists, are in poor repair. The mechs face constant shortages of repair supplies, and often cannibalize less important equipment for parts to keep life support and other critical systems online. But there are limits to their ingenuity, and as the fleet approaches First Colony, the systemic flaws present an increasing danger to the whole fleet.
Can Hillbrane convince her former friends of the seriousness of the situation, or will blowing the whistle--again--make her even more of a pariah?
A deceptively dangerous world
In Colony Fleet, Susan R. Matthews treats Hillbrane surprisingly gently as the former Jneer adjusts to life among the mechs. Many stories with similar openings are exercises in humiliating their protagonists, as an object lesson in the dangers of arrogance. But Hillbrane quickly bounces back after her initial misstep. Readers who like their heroes to show more weakness may be disappointed by her open-hearted acceptance of mech status, and her later keen judgment and quick thinking. These qualities make her extremely likable. They also give the novel a pleasant tone that is sorely needed to counterbalance the grim events in its second half.
Jneer/mech tension is portrayed in believable fashion, and readers will find it easy to draw parallels between this situation and events in their own lives. Though Colony Fleet takes place at a great remove from the real world, its lessons strike close to home.
With this serious theme serving as a foundation, Matthews fleshes out the novel with plenty of adventure, danger and romance. When Raleigh and Hillbrane are both sent to evaluate the potential colony world, there is no way to avoid a showdown. Soon other evaluation team members must decide whether to follow the apparently competent Jneer or his disgraced rival, and the consequences of their choices--informed as they are by both prejudice and experience--are insightful and wrenching.
Combining a rigorous exploration of the generation ship premise with an unflinching view of human nature, with all its glories and foibles, Colony Fleet should please readers of both hard and soft SF.
