Independent publishing has sparked a new Golden Age of science fiction, reviving a genre which seemed increasingly moribund under the dead hand of legacy publishers more concerned with demonstrating their woke credentials than entertaining readers. These new authors are sparking a sense of wonder and portraying a hopeful and optimistic future and inspiring readers to go out and make that future happen. The discerning reader of science fiction today can choose from a collection of talented, imaginative, and prolific authors to such an extent that it’s like reading Heinlein, Bradbury, Clarke, Asimov, Pohl, and Doc Smith all in their prime, but with ideas and plots as new as today and tomorrow.
With his first novel, Theft of Fire, Devon Eriksen has jumped in at the top of the game, crafting a tale of “hard” science fiction (grounded in plausible science and technology, not magic swords and dragons wrapped in technobabble) with complex, believable characters who interact and grow throughout the tale, and an artificial intelligence who strikes me as far more likely to be what we’ll encounter in our own future than the cartoon tales of mindless monsters or transcendent deities sketched by self-styled “experts” in machine intelligence.
And, there’s plenty of action: space battles among fusion powered torch ships, rail gun duels, and a grand chase through the far reaches of the solar system at one percent of the speed of light. The stakes couldn’t be higher: a technology which could change everything and disrupt an entrenched corporate oligarchy or entrench their power forever, with the outcome in the hands of a space pirate (through lack of alternatives), a gene twisted and ruthless blackmailer already rich beyond dreams of avarice, and an artificial intelligence just coming to terms with her circumstances and power.
This is a glorious adventure and a delight to read. The conclusion isn’t a cliffhanger, but leaves the reader wanting to know where these characters go from here, for which we’ll have to await the promised sequel.