A Darkling Sea Author: James Cambias | Language: English | ISBN:
0765336278 | Format: PDF
A Darkling Sea Description
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Strongly reminiscent of Robert Silverberg from the late 1960s and early 1970s, this SF novel is set on a distant world, Ilmatar, whose native species are being studied by human scientists. The Sholen, the dominant alien species in that area of space, have allowed the humans access to Ilmatar, but under strict rules, which include the requirement that they absolutely must not have any contact with its sea-dwelling residents. When a human gets too close to a group of Ilmatarans and is killed by them, the Sholen send a team of investigators to the planet; the incident not only threatens the diplomatic relations between humans and the Sholen but also could lead to all-out war. The author tells the story through the eyes of three characters: Rob, a member of the human exploration team and witness to the incident; Broadtail, an Ilmataran who has been declared an exile from his community after he took the life of another Ilmataran; and Tizhos, an unconventional Sholen who’s concerned the incident will cause her government to shut down all contact with Ilmatar. Like Silverberg, who developed fully realized alien societies in such novels as Downward to the Earth (to which this novel bears some thematic resemblance), Cambias makes the Sholen and Ilmataran people and cultures as real as the more familiar human component. Beautifully written, with a story that captures the imagination the way SF should. --David Pitt
Review
"An impressive debut by a gifted writer."
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Publishers Weekly, Starred Review"An exceptionally thoughtful, searching and intriguing debut."
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Kirkus, Starred Review"Like Silverberg, who developed fully realized alien societies in such novels as
Downward to the Earth (to which this novel bears some thematic resemblance), Cambias makes the Sholen and Ilmataran people and cultures as real as the more familiar human component. Beautifully written, with a story that captures the imagination the way SF should."
—
Booklist, Starred Review
“A stunning debut! Alien races to rival Larry Niven, world-building to rival Hal Clement, and lots of rip-roaring adventure. James Cambias will be one of the century's major names in hard science fiction.”
—Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of Red Planet Blues
“Fast-paced, pure quill hard science fiction.... Cambias delivers adroit plot pivots that keep the suspense coming.”
—Gregory Benford, Nebula Award-winning author of Timescape
“This is great fun—traditional science fiction but with today's science. And I love the aliens.”
—Jo Walton, Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award-winning author of Among Others
“The best story about an alien race and its environment that I've read in a long time. Cambias is in the same league as Hal Clement.”
—Vernor Vinge, Hugo Award-winning author of A Fire Upon the Deep
“Cambias's exploration of truly alien politics is fast, fun, and packed with characters you'll cheer for. It's exciting to welcome an exuberant new voice to the ranks of hard science fiction!”
—Karl Schroeder, author of Ventus
“A compelling read.”
—Michael Flynn, author of On the Razor’s Edge
“A fascinating exploration of alien lives at the extreme edges of an alien world.”
—Brenda Cooper, award-winning author of The Silver Ship and the Sea
See all Editorial Reviews
- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Tor Books (January 28, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0765336278
- ISBN-13: 978-0765336279
- Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 1.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
The Ilmatarans inhabit Ilmatar, naturally enough, but since they live on the sea bottom, having evolved where volcanic vents warm the water far below the ice-covered surface, it isn't easy to observe them. An attempt to do so leads to an inadvertent first contact between a human and a group of Ilmataran scientists. It doesn't go well for the poor human, who is mistaken for a big fish. But just when you think this is a book about humans and intelligent crustaceans, aliens from Shalina show up. This isn't a first contact; humans and the Sholen are parties to treaties that govern places like Ilmatar and the Sholen are ostensibly present to investigate the human's inadvertent (and potentially treaty-breaking) contact. In truth, a political faction of the Sholen would like to restrict humans to Earth where their meddlesome ways will not trouble the rest of the universe and they intend to eject the human scientists from Ilmatar. Conflict ensues.
James Cambias gave some intelligent thought to the Ilmatarans' social structure and legal system. He imagines how books might be constructed that can be read underwater, how farms might operate, how sound becomes a weapon when wielded by or against a race that depends on sonar, how apprentices might be gained by capturing the young and forcing them to be educated. The Sholen are described in less detail. We know that they are stocky and have extra limbs and breathe oxygen but we don't know much else. Not much differentiates the Sholen from humans, although their social structure is even more dependent on sex and drugs than human societies -- yet the Sholen are not as fun as you'd think those traits would make them.
Picked this up in thew new Sci Fi section of the book store. Normally I don't like to buy it at book stores, would rather shop online. But I decided to give this one a chance since it was one of the very few not in a series and was the debut book by the author. Also though the cover art was pretty sweet.
I'm glad I did. I loved it! It was a refreshing read and page turner. I found myself thinking about reading it all day when i was working and what would come next in the lives of the Ilmatarans, the native inhabitants which are sort of like lobsters on Ilmatar, a moon with an ocean orbiting a gas giant. Humans are studying them from afar. Another alien species, the Sholen show up when a human gets killed by curious Ilmataran scientist who think they're a new type of fish. The Sholen want the humans gone, they resist and get the help of the Ilmatarans. You get to see how humans develop a communication with the Illmatarans by using the Illmatarans number (like Morse) code taps since humans can't mimic the sounds of speech.
It set a nice pace and was very good at creating a nice visual of what was happening in the story. It wasn't too far out from conventional sci fi, but was far enough to create a whole new experience in an area that isn't really explored (underwater alien oceans). The characters are seen having good developments and relationships with each other, and you do get a background and feel that the characters are changing and growing with the story. I enjoyed that it focused a lot on the Illmatarans community and story and how the humans interacted instead of how humans and Sholen were changing the Illmatarans (which Sholen wanted a no contact rule).
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