o one questions whether aliens are "out there" anymore. In fact, it seems the Earth's solar system is a popular destination for galactic interlopers. At last count, 11 different lifeforms have settled here, colonizing a variety of planets, moons and asteroids. All of the visitors arrive in faster-than-light ships powered by deepdrives. Unable to develop their own deepdrive, frustrated humans are determined to steal someone else's and unlock the secret of intergalactic travel.
Ripi is the most recent alien arrival to the system, although he has been living as a guest/prisoner on Venus for 18 years. But word is out that Ripi now wants to leave, so professional adventurer Soph joins up with a low-budget group of mercenaries to free the Vronnan, along with his deepdrive ship. In spite of warnings from her concerned ex-husband and competition from another commando team, Soph attempts Ripi's rescue. The results are disastrous, and the failed mission leaves Soph stranded on Venus with Tiber, captain of the other rescue team, whose efforts to free Ripi are equally unsuccessful.
Soph and Tiber form an alliance with each other and with two small-time criminals to avoid capture by the police agency, Enforcement & Joy. They escape to the labyrinthine tunnels of the Bgarth, an alien species resembling huge worms who continually dig under the surface of Venus. In a final effort to save both themselves and Ripi, the intrepid group of misfits learns that emotions can be just as mysterious and deadly as any deepdrive.
What motivates an alien?
Alexander Jablokov invigorates his latest novel with a menagerie of intriguing aliens and equally compelling ideas. He takes readers on a perilous ride with four amazing losers as they attempt to claim the secret of the deepdrive for themselves. As their adventure begins, they can't love each other or anyone else. But this group does cherish the seemingly unattainable goal of success, and it's determined to reach that goal.
One particularly appealing aspect of the book is the true "alien" nature of the alien lifeforms. Most of them go about their business in the solar system having little or no contact with humans. The Bgarth work silently to transform Venus into a completely different habitat, while the Gunners of Mercury spend their time shooting huge isotope barges into the sun. The Vronnans are equally obscure, being very secretive about their biology-based clanships and unwilling to explain why their ancient civilization is now appearing on the human scene. At times, the humans are pretty bizarre too, blurring the line between human and alien.
Space in Deepdrive is a rather grimy place where inhabitants constantly strive for survival. But while Jablokov may be a serious writer, he also has fun with his characters. Sometimes help arrives a little too conveniently, and it would be nice to learn more about the aliens' impact on human culture. But there's a great story here, crammed into 311 action-packed pages that will leave readers wishing for more.
n 2026, the energy from a supernova in the Alpha Centauri system reaches Earth, creating the brief equivalent of another sun. The change wreaks havoc on Earth's weather patterns, especially in the southern hemisphere. A few weeks later, ionization of the upper atmosphere causes an electromagnetic pulse that destroys all unshielded microchips. Anything that depended on the chips to operate--which turns out to be just about everything--no longer works.
Art Ferrand, Dana Berlitz and Seth Parsigian are among a group of people who were undergoing experimental cancer treatments when the disaster struck. But when they try to reach their clinic in Washington, they find all the staff murdered. Seth suggests they have only one option--to try to awaken Oliver Guest, the inventor of the treatment, who is also a notorious serial killer. Guest is being confined to "judicial sleep" for 650 years, during which time it's expected he will die of natural causes.
Meanwhile, the first manned mission to Mars is en route back to Earth. While the ship is not directly threatened by the supernova, it's not built to withstand re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. The seven-person crew had planned to rendezvous with manned satellites in orbit, returning to the ground on shuttles. But they haven't been able to contact the satellites since the EMP, and it's clear that all the electronics on the satellites and on the shuttles are dead.
Though the United States has been hit hard by the supernova, it's still fared better than the rest of the world. At the White House, some opportunistic congressional leaders are trying to manipulate President Saul Steinmetz into launching a military conquest of the world, imposing a Pax Americana. But a larger disaster is looming--a stream of highly energized subatomic particles headed toward Earth that could wipe out all life when it arrives in 50 years.
Repercussions, both global and personal
Aftermath is quite obviously the first book in a series, though this is not stated anywhere on the cover or within the text. It will be interesting to see how Sheffield proceeds, given that Aftermath covers only a few weeks of his disaster. By the end of this novel he's left his main characters with some near-term problems to solve while pointing to a final resolution in the distant future. That's not to say this book doesn't have resolutions to some of the immediate issues, but rather, the resolutions create new problems that Sheffield clearly has plans to explore.
Sheffield employs a fairly standard format for a disaster novel, following several converging groups of characters as they struggle to survive. What makes Aftermath satisfying is that the problems Sheffield's characters face are far from routine disaster-story problems, and they often involve his protagonists being forced to compromise their ethics. In addition, Sheffield exerts some well-spent effort examining the implications of the supernova on both global and individual levels, giving a full impression of the magnitude of the disaster. His characters are sharp and realistic, given their immediate concerns.
While in many instances Sheffield's details are vivid, the one place where the picture seems a bit vague is in his descriptions of street life in Washington after the disaster. In fact, his characters' descriptions after they leave the city seem more alive at times than the street scenes themselves. This is especially striking compared to his descriptions of Art Ferrand's home, the hideout of the Legion of Argos (a terrorist religious cult) and especially the exquisitely detailed excerpts from Oliver Guest's diary.
Aftermath is an exciting and thought-provoking novel, and Sheffield has found a thoroughly unique premise for a disaster novel. It's an engaging read, and goes well beyond what readers have come to expect from similar stories.
