ainui is a lifeless deep-ocean planet with no land, an unbreathable atmosphere, seismic activity that causes tsunamis and waterspouts, and continuous thunder and lightning. It was settled by Polynesians who now survive tenuously by biotechnology on floating islands and sailing catamarans. Long-range communication is impossible, a lack of silicon limits electronic technology, and only the largest island, Muamoku, has laser beacons that allow off-world visits.
Mike Hoani is a historical linguist who comes to Kainui to study language evolution among the Polynesians. After landing near Muamoku, he joins a catamaran crewed by Captain Wanaka, her husband Keo, and a 10-year-old girl named 'Ao, who has a talking doll named 'Oloa. They harvest metals from artificial jellylike mats that submerge and concentrate specific metals from the deep waters, then return to the surface for harvesting. They wear soundproof armor to breath when outside the sealed cabin and speak a language evolved from Polynesian tongues, as well as using a sign language called "finger." Mike slowly learns about the language, culture and practices of the crew as they harvest metals and look for other ships with which to trade, always in fear of damage by "hacker" organisms or meeting "pirates."
When one of their floats gets infected, it must be detached and a new boat "grown" from special seeds. Floating for months while the new ship slowly develops, they steer by sea anchor, but drift dangerously south toward the polar region. They discover a new type of mat containing an unknown metal. Their new catamaran is finally ready, which they name Mata. Mike learns that 'Ao's doll is a high-tech inertial-navigation AI. While investigating mysterious icebergs, they find that one is inhabited. The people call their city Aorangi, live in tunnels inside, have only seven ships and are very interested in the new metal. The Aorangi leader, Hinemoa, seems secretive, withholding information, and also seems to be stealing from the Mata. Mike and the crew of the Mata must determine whether the strange Aorangi people can be trusted and what secrets they are hiding before returning to Muamoku.
A fascinating world with annoying people
Hal Clement remains one of science fiction's master world-builders. The stark and violent ocean world of Kainui is a fascinating and original creation and a worthy addition to the worlds he has created. The Polynesian settlers who manage to survive through biotechnology on the otherwise lifeless world are an integral part of this creation. The child crewmember 'Ao is also an interesting character who reveals more than the adults about the Kainui culture.
Unfortunately, a science-fiction novel needs more than a fascinatingly original setting. It also needs engaging characters, a compelling plot, puzzling problems to be solved and a prose style capable of conveying all of these elements. In all of these areas, Noise falls woefully short. A potentially fascinating and compelling novel turns out to be merely tedious and annoying.
The problems of logic and logistics start early, as Mike gets a briefing from the spaceship pilot on basic aspects of Kainui that anyone who had made a decision to commit years of his life away from Earth would already know. Instead of studying language and culture on Muaoku or other island cities, he inexplicably decides to spend all of his time on a ship with a crew of three. Mike, the protagonist, oscillates between perplexing and annoying, with his neurotic fear of "looking silly" often inhibiting him from asking basic questions. At the same time, far too many repetitious expositions convey knowledge that should be conveyed by situation. Lapses in logic abound. The crew, sleeping inside a soundproof cabin on a noisy world, wakes up when a blob of jelly is heard attaching to a float on their catamaran, and after spending most of the first half of the novel obsessing over whether their ship might get scratched and infected, the crew show no concern in the latter half when their ship sails through hail and icebergs and is even grounded on ice. The topper is in the denouement, where you realize that the key premise for the book is that no one has yet figured out that inertial guidance systems, or even just elemental silicon, could be imported from off-world.
I wish there were some way that I could recommend that readers could learn about the interesting world of Kainui and the culture and biotechnology of its Polynesian inhabitants without having to suffer through even this short novel, which should have been even shorter. If Hal Clement ever publishes a non-fiction précis about this world, it should be well worth reading.
