One above the others

[threemonkeys]

Sometimes an author can really surprise you. I have read a few of Liz Williams' books and had formed a fairly clear opinion about them. They were a light enjoyable modern space opera with straightforward plots, simple characters and little in the way of subtext but written in a clean readable prose style. However, the buzz was that Darkland was different and this certainly proved to be the case.

The opening of Darkland is very intense - rape, assassination and religious oppression are forced into your consciousness. The writing in the first 40 pages of this book are very powerful. It sets the scene and the tone for the rest of the book. The scene is still that of a space opera but the tone is dark and laden with meaning. The writing for the rest of the book is not so powerful, but then I don't think you could stand reading at that level all the way through. What the big start does is give the rest of the book a momentum. The lean prose style just allows that momentum to be maintained.

But there is more than a big start that sets this book apart from Williams' other work. Structurally it is more complex than usual - a dual POV narrative helps with pacing and keeps tension high. More than this though is the strong subtextual theme of dominance in relationships that underpins the story. This fleshes out the characters but is important in its own right. Taking it all together it makes for a truely excellent piece of fiction.

One afterthought which does not impact on the quality of the story but which interests me is the nature of the trappings of the universe that has been constructed in this world. It is space opera and has things like faster than light travel, many inhabited worlds, genetic manipulation and so forth. It also has obvious psychic powers. A few decades ago, this would have been normal. It was an act of faith amongst SF writers that such powers would be uncovered and developed. These days it seems much less likely and such powers have drifted from science to fantasy. It seems a little odd to see them cropping up here - odd not bad. Thinking about it a little, I guess the desire for such powers has never gone away and they do crop up from time to time in harder science fiction. It has just been a while since I have seen it so blatantly.

Comments

[cat-i-th-adage.livejournal.com]

She wrote The Poison Master, right? I thought that one was interesting too - a science fiction setting based on John Dee's cosmology, where the alien worlds were based on the Kabala's Tree of Life and the spiritual nature of a drug or poison was a serious and tangible issue in dealing with it. There was a dual POV, 'tween Dee and Kelly in the 1600s, all hopeful about travelling to alien worlds, and a story-line several centuries later with their descendants dealing with the consequences. Oh, and nasty aliens too.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

The world of The Poison Master was interesting but I didn't really think the story had any punch to it. Darkland is much better IMO.

Happy birthday by the way.

[cat-i-th-adage.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I thought the story was okay, but not enthralling. It is however, nice to see a magical, interstellar(?) setting where the magic isn't just another kind of jet fuel but affects the structure of the society. Melissa Scott's Five-Twelfths of Heaven was also interesting in that regard, though I never found myself liking her heroine.

Come to think, I've heard complaints that space opera just relies on 'magic tech' to shift people around - rayguns and ships that can reach another star in days or minutes - instead of thinking things through. Curious. Maybe we could refer to space opera gadgets as 'comic book tech' or 'space opera tech' or 'black box tech' instead.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

To me, a big part of the difference between hard SF and space opera is the attitude to technology. In hard SF, the science/technology is rooted in what is known, supposed or extrapolated from what we know. In space opera, whatever technology is needed for the story is just supplied, often from a set of standard tropes. It really isn't any different from the magic in fantasy in that respect. For people who really just want hard SF then this is a problem because at first glance they are very similar. However if you are a fan of the wider fantastic genre then it is simply a question of categorisation.

[cat-i-th-adage.livejournal.com]

It really isn't any different from the magic in fantasy in that respect.

I've read some fantasy novels where the writer worked out her or his magic system very carefully. Sometimes that only appeared in how the characters thought about it and used it, as in Barbara Hambly's books, in one horrific instance most of the bloody book involved one character telling another all about the complicated hacking he'd been doing with his spells. Aargh. The story just disappeared. But my point is, the writer knew how it worked and how to extrapolate from that base. It was worked out like hard sf, only with magic.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

I can think of space opera where the "technology" is worked out to a very detailed level - some of Jeffrey Carver's books have a very complicated space travel technology. But it is still unreal science in that it isn't rooted in what is known and understood today - instead it is taken from an imagined base and therefore is detailed space opera not hard SF. I would argue that all magic systems are similarly taken from an imagined base. Of course there is a whole argument that you could get into about "real" magic or traditional magic and religious powers but that is all imagination to me.

[lobelet.livejournal.com]

I read a couple of early Liz Williams books. It seemed to me then that she had promise, but hadn't yet come in to her own. It was all a bit light, sometimes striving for an effect that she couldn't quite reach yet. From what you say, it sounds like she's finally reached her maturity as a writer. Perhaps it's time for me to give her another go.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

Darkland marks a big step up for her. Of slight concern is that the reviews for her latest book, a sequel to Darkland called Bloodmind, are more in line with her earlier work. I hope this isn't just a one off situation.