Let me explain.
One of the main strengths of a good story is a main character who makes emotional contact with readers, drawing them in until they feel vicarious connection with the conflict.
This story has no main character.
Because this is a tale of the whole human race. It starts with a complete takeover of the Solar System by a race of authoritarian aliens, who proceed to turn humanity into a unit of production.
The format involves a long series of vignettes, showing what is happening to a huge number of characters, killing off many of them.
The tale is thematically powerful, though simplistic. It is about good, evil, and choice. From the human point of view, the ability to choose is what makes us sapient. The general tone is rather fanciful, leaving it to our suspension of disbelief to think, for example, that in the whole of the world’s population there isn’t one person who would sell out to the enemy and tell them about the conspiracy.
Another interesting variation is that the aliens aren’t evil. They believe they are doing good, saving humanity from the chaos of their primitive chaos. The writer lets us see events from the aliens’ point of view as well (usually a suspense killer), and readers find themselves viewing the antagonists, especially some individuals, in a positive light.
When it comes to writing style, this author is a master of evocative descriptions, setting a mood with quick brushstrokes, using poetic language and the tone of the moment to create memorable scenes. He also describes battle tactics and technology with impressive skill and authentic vocabulary.
Usually such a huge cast list distances readers, because we don’t get time to develop attachments. In this story each fleeting glimpse we see of one human is like the reveal of one character trait in a normal hero. And as the story goes on, a few key characters keep returning and we do start to form connections with them.
A story this dense could usually use a little trimming. There is one very moving scene with the miner and his dogs which is repeated in three different versions, almost one after the other.
A masterful work of Military Sci-Fi.
Five Stars
This review was originally published on Reedsy Discovery.
