Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, SL Huang, Rivers Solomon, “The
Vela” (Serial Box, 2019)
Space Opera has undergone so many changes over the years. I
think about the early days, which seemed rather like A Boys Own Adventure In
Space, to the days of SPACE EMPIRE, to the long technical epics from the UK, to
the current wave of space opera which seems strongly informed by the visual SF
of Star Wars, Firefly, and Battlestar Gallactica (v2.0).
The Vela groups together several of the newer writers of
space opera to tell a fast paced engaging story. I am already a fan of some of these authors,
and am intrigued by the others, so obviously I was interested.
How did it play out? Was I satisfied?
We are presented with a story spanning solar system where
use of destructive technology is destroying their solar system. Planets are
having to be abandoned, and that is creating all sorts of problems. Our
protagonists are sent in the midst of this mess to conduct some government
business with plausible deniability.
If you are not familiar with Serial Box, the basic idea is
that you get sequential chapters written by different authors. The experience is not unlike watching a TV
show on a weekly basis. You enjoy the chapter you are reading, but are definitely
excited to see what comes next.
Did this deliver? Was I satisfied?
Yes, absolutely.
There’s a lot of action in this story, with cliff hangers galore. If anything,
I felt at times like the onrushing plot took away from time that could be spent
with character development. Now that’s a tricky thing, and one person’s
delightful banter is another’s wasted time.
What honestly surprised me is how much I found myself
thinking about this book after I finished. My ridiculously long lag in writing
down my thoughts has meant that I have had perhaps more time than others to
reflect. And I’m really impressed at how
a book that deals with so many important current themes – climate change,
refugees, humanitarian aid – also felt so fast paced and really being about the
plot and action.
I would absolutely recommend this to fans of contemporary
space opera. It sits in a space somewhere between The Expanse and the Wayfarers
series.
Thanks to Serial Box for hooking me up with a review
copy! Sorry for the lengthy delay!
