A Darkling Sea Author: James Cambias | Language: English | ISBN:
B00FO6HV20 | Format: PDF
A Darkling Sea Description
On the planet Ilmatar, under a roof of ice a kilometer thick, a team of deep-sea diving scientists investigates the blind alien race that lives below. The Terran explorers have made an uneasy truce with the Sholen, their first extraterrestrial contact: so long as they don’t disturb the Ilmataran habitat, they’re free to conduct their missions in peace.
But when Henri Kerlerec, media personality and reckless adventurer, ends up sliced open by curious Ilmatarans, tensions between Terran and Sholen erupt, leading to a diplomatic disaster that threatens to escalate to war.
Against the backdrop of deep-sea guerrilla conflict, a new age of human exploration begins as alien cultures collide. Both sides seek the aid of the newly enlightened Ilmatarans. But what this struggle means for the natives—and the future of human exploration—is anything but certain, in A Darkling Sea by James Cambias.
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
- File Size: 711 KB
- Print Length: 353 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0765336278
- Publisher: Tor Books (January 28, 2014)
- Sold by: Macmillan
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00FO6HV20
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,060 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #72
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > First Contact
- #72
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > First Contact
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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