A word to the author. Fiction should never need an introduction. It is a sign that the author is intruding into the story, trying to affect our reaction to it because he doesn’t believe the story can stand on its own. In the case of this introduction, it seems meant to draw us in, attract our attention, make us want to read the book. This is exactly what the first chapter is supposed to do. This intro is only a plot summary, and belongs on the outside of the back cover.

Fortunately for the reader, this is the only slip the author makes into over-explanation. Chapter 1 is a fine blend of show and tell, “showing” the conflict of the faulty machinery and the beauty of the setting, and “telling” just enough tech detail for us to understand the complexity of the artificial ecosystem. And at the same time making us want to read the book.

As we read on, the author skirts another potential trap: the old “It was all a dream” gambit. However, once again he pulls it off, because we soon realize that this is an integral part of the novel structure. Reality exists at several different levels, and the reader has to keep careful track which one the character is experiencing at any given time. In this department the author is not so successful. Since the revelation of the different levels creates a lot of the conflict, the narrator is cagey about where, exactly, the action is taking place. So, the reader is always treading a fine line between suspense to know where the story will go next and bewilderment as to where it is right now. And once we get lost, we wander in a forest of acronyms and technobabble, where emotional contact with the story diminishes.

Another rule that the story bends is point of view. In trivial usage, the convention is that the POV character cannot see their own face and body. A more important tradition: once we are in the head of a main character for a long time, we tend to get attached to that character. This is good for the reader’s involvement in the story. However tempting it may be to switch into another character’s head at a key moment (like his death, for example), that action destroys the original empathy and reduces the suspense.

Beautiful writing, a strong main character, but a little too creative in the story form.

Four stars.

This review was originally posted on Reedsy Discovery.