Title: The Alien Stars and Other Novellas
Author: Tim Pratt
Twitter: timpratt
Published: 2021
ISBN-13: 9780857669285
Publisher: Angry Robot Books
Twitter: angryrobotbooks
Publishers’ Blurb: In this collection of previously unpublished novellas, Hugo Award-winner Tim Pratt returns to the acclaimed sci-fi universe of his Axiom trilogy. Each of these three stories takes fans and new readers alike deeper into the rich world of the Axiom than ever before, revisiting the crewmembers of the White Raven as they strike out on new and enthralling adventures. Delilah Mears joins the crew of the Golden Spider, as its cyborg captain Ashok leads them deep into space to investigate a mysterious cosmic anomaly, leading to an encounter with a truly unusual band of space pirates; AI (and Trans-Neptunian Alliance President) Shall receives a strange summons from a past version of himself to help defeat an existential threat to the entire universe; And intrepid alien truth-teller Lantern journeys home to confront the monsters of her past, and the deepest secrets of her heart (or the closest thing she has in her circulatory system to a heart)
I RECEIVED AN ARC FROM ANGRY ROBOT BOOKS FOR A FAIR AND HONEST REVIEW. THANK YOU.
My Review:
Three novellas, three different tones, all set in a universe I knew nothing about. In his foreword, Pratt says these novellas were written to flesh out minor characters from the Axiom series he wasn’t ready to let go of. OF course, now I want to know more and have added the series to my wishlist.
What I like most is the characters are really diverse and Pratt creates a world where AI are treated as citizens. We have moved so far beyond Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics.
“The Augmented Stars” is probably my favorite novella because it is lighthearted and has a fun, familiar twist.
Ashok’s once human self figured out how to download personality and memories into computers which became AIs. At this juncture, Ashok has modified himself many times, selling any software he develops for seed money for the next project. He and his crew on the Golden Spider head for the edges of the galaxy to figure out what’s been making ships disappear.
Once the crew gets to the trouble spot, they find the missing ships trapped by old Axiom tech run by former slaves. In search of a new job, they do research from old Earth tapes and fancy themselves now to be pirates which gives them permission to pillage the ships and imprison the crews they find.
It is Delilah, ship’s engineer and former citizen of Earth who recognizes the characters as from an old television show Hyerion’s Revenge. The pirates considered the transmissions to be a documentary and replay the parts endlessly. Delilah uses this to her advantage and secures release of all ships and rescue of all prisoners.
It’s a cute story and reminded me a lot of John Scalzi’s Redshirts and the movie Galaxy Quest.
“The Artificial Stars” is not quite so lighthearted.
Shall is an AI of high position in government. With careful consideration, five years ago, he was allowed to spin off a version of himself. Now, he’s getting a communication from the old self, now named Will, that they need to meet or the universe will end.
But beware old AIs who weren’t properly shut down and allowed to spend years alone. Like Colussus, or HAL, Will runs amok and is the threat he warns about. In a plan to lure Shall into smaller and smaller devices which are in capable of holding all of Shall’s memory, Will wants to reintegrate with Shall and, of course, take over the world in retaliation for Shall leaving him behind and alone. One of the most standard villain tropes in existence, resentment over imagined hurts and revenge against those who perpetrated that hurt.
The description of the smaller and smaller places Shall had to physically go through while facing down the “rats” which were eating the wormhole bridges (Axiom tech) made me claustrophobic. Shall’s shipmate Uxoma, also part Axiom tech who finds the way to mislead Will enough to be disassembled by a drone. This time, Will is disconnected properly, no longer able to plot and plan more revenge.
“The Artificial Stars” leans into the fear of what harm unmonitored AI could do. A fear which blossomed when computers took up rooms and scientist discussed the possibilities. Happily, the damage is contained and in a “no one need know but us” explanation, Will is elevated to hero for sacrificing himself for the greater good.
Pratt’s writing serves up great heaping helpings of “and then for the greater good” hopefulness in these novellas. Nothing wrong with that, especially in these trying times when we could all use some hope.
“The Alien Stars” is the epistolary story of Lantern