Generation Ship

August 21, 2023
It takes a village to colonize a planet and the villagers are getting restless in this impressive hard SF epic from Mammay (The Misfit Soldier). After a journey of more than 250 years, the colony ship Voyager is finally approaching its target, the planet Promissa. Advance probes mysteriously fail shortly after reaching the planet, leaving the ship’s chief scientists concerned. They recommend delaying colonization up to 20 years, but the governor, knowing his people are growing antsy, wants to land in force. He reasons that he can make the landing “too big to fail,” compelling the crew to commit to the colony’s success. As political divides over this issue deepen aboard Voyager, no one considers that the planet’s inhabitants and even the ship itself have opinions of their own. Mammay dives deep into specifics about labor, negotiation, and conflict aboard a generation ship, crafting a realistic society populated by farmers forced to become party leaders and cops chasing (or more frequently working with) black market operators. The climax leans a bit on a deus ex machina, but the resolution ultimately rings true, with a variety of winners and losers built neatly off the preceding action. Equally entertaining and intelligent, this nuanced tale is sure to please sci-fi fans. Agent: Lisa Rodgers, JABberwocky.

September 1, 2023
The spaceship Voyager (no, not that one) faces threats from within and without as it finally nears its destination. After 253 years, the titular ship is approaching the planet Promissa, but most of the probes seeking information about this potential home go offline before they can report back. Is something--or someone--interfering with the ship's research? And the news that their goal is imminent catalyzes a growing unrest in the ship's population, who chafe at the rigid strictures of the ship's charter, which effectively locks an individual into the same work division until they submit to mandatory recycling at age 75. The autocratic governor; an overzealous cop; a farmer turned unwillingly into opposition leader; a scientist excited and worried by the limited data they're receiving from Promissa; and a young hacker with an uncanny ability to infiltrate the ship's systems all play roles in determining the future of Voyager's inhabitants even as politics and competing ambitions threaten to bungle the colonization process. SF has produced many stories suggesting that the centuries-long mission of a ship traveling from Earth to a new home is unlikely to meet with success. Mammay primarily addresses the conflicts among the ship's inhabitants; while emphasizing that human frailty may overcome good intentions and careful research, this choice also means that some of the intriguing aspects of landing on the new planet don't get all the attention they deserve. As a result, the pacing feels a bit distorted: a slow burn and then a rush to climax. That focus also highlights the implausibility of the societal organization on the ship. Determining a person's job at an early age and not allowing them to switch, with all major decisions made primarily by the governor and the captain and then by division directors, is not a viable structure for a journey that takes generations. The absence of representative democracy means that corruption and stagnancy are bound to occur; it's shocking that this kind of upheaval didn't happen considerably earlier in the voyage. It might be interesting to contrast this work with Kim Stanley Robinson's Aurora (2015), a more accomplished generation-ship novel in which the ship lacked a clear leader and ran into its own problems. An entertaining read that doesn't add anything fresh to the slow-ships-to-the-stars-are-doomed canon.

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Starred review from September 1, 2023

After a 250-year journey, the colony ship Voyager is about to reach its promised land, the planet Promissa. Aboard ship, the tension ratchets ever higher as the elite maneuver to maintain their status quo, while everyone else hopes for a release from the ossified hierarchy that has arisen over their long journey. But something on the planet is stopping their probes from returning crucial data, and the scientists urge caution while the politicians press full speed ahead. Voyager is not ready for Promissa, but Promissa is all too ready for them. Readers of Adam Oyebanji's Braking Day are going to love this riveting take on the "disruption at the end of the long journey" as everyone tries to come out on top. The political slug and spin fest gets away from everyone trying to push to the journey's end or pull it back out of caution or fear, which turn out to be entirely justified. VERDICT Hacker Eddie Dannin is a fantastic successor to Mammay's (The Misfit Soldier) signature character, Carl Butler, as a blunt instrument who bowls over obstacles in the path of the truth and pushes the story forward at a thrilling clip. Highly recommended.--Marlene Harris

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2023
The author of the Planetside series (Planetside, 2018) is back with a new, stand-alone novel that is sure to impress. For 250 years, generations of people have lived on a galactic colony ship while it powers its way to a new, possibly habitable planet, Promissa. As the ship gets closer, the mandates set down by the original crew are pulled further and further into question. For example, the strict limit on old age: when a passenger hits death day but refuses to comply, the ship is split on the right way forward. Plus, the ship's drone probes that are meant to collect data about Promissa keep going missing, and no one knows why. The narrative jumps between a few characters, giving multiple perspectives on life on this ship and the differences of opinion about how to approach landing. The head scientist, for example, is focused on making sure the planet is habitable, while the governor wants to appease everyone. The idea of generation ships is not a new one in sf, but Mammay's approach and style are unique. Fans of James S. A. Corey's Expanse series (2011) will enjoy this one.

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