Review Summaries

• Readers often praise the originality of the ideas and the density of the worldbuilding, especially those who enjoy concept-heavy science fiction. At the same time, some find the structure intricate and the emotional texture cool, making it more demanding than immediately welcoming.

Reviews

• Listen to the Music

  So there is a computer-like AI thing with an immersive VR interface. Does that automatically label the story cyberpunk? Most of it takes place outside the interface, while the data collected on the planet by the mediocre scientist Marcsson modify behavior of the AI in control of the colony's base, threatening the colony's existence. No one knows what's going on until the almost very end, and various factions create complications for each other, throwing around sabotage accusations. For the main character, Kalypso, it's all set to music. Or the lack of that. Picked on and abused by almost everyone, she holds the key to everyone's survival without knowing it. None of the characters are particularly likable, as they all are viewed from the objective point, emphasizing their human vices and failures. Math is merely called by name, there's none of it there to baffle the reader. Biology is present more strongly, requiring some basic knowledge of what algae are, as they compose all the visible life on the mostly liquid planet. While some of the flow-of-conscience sequences aren't very interesting, the story in general is filled with overtones of psychedelic poetry. The AI functioning on the basis of Miles Davis's melodies alone is a wonderful idea, but there are also vivid paintings of the grim landscape, surreal encounters in both the reality and virtuality, and an implicit soundtrack detailed on the thank you list. Definitely a fresh original work, and definitely worth reading. It may be called a classic one day. Don't forget to listen to the music!

• A Jazz-inspired Cyberpunk Melange

  This was an interesting read, albeit one which requires a fair bit of work from the reader. It's a weird mix of cyberpunk meets colonial sci-fi meets social commentary, held together by some fantastic prose. Right from the first paragraph the writing comes across as a strongly jazz-influenced melange of images and ideas and perfectly sets the stage for what quickly becomes a confusing journey through an alien ecosphere, as seen through the eyes of our protagonist, Kalypso Deed. Kalypso is a shotgun, a person whose job is to tag along on the dreams of another and keep them free of distractions while they work on whatever it is they're dealing with. In this context, the dreams are accessed through what appears to be a form of cerebral interface, and allow the Dreamer to focus their normally unconscious creative energies on their own personal projects. The structure of the dreams is provided by Ganesh, the colony AI, and when the AI is corrupted by an unidentified force Kalypso finds herself being dragged deeper and deeper into a literal battle for her own survival and that of the colony she calls her home. The hierarchy of the colony is heavily stratified. At the top of the ladder are the Mothers, the original female colonists sent from Earth. These are the women who gave birth to the first generation of locally born colonists, though it's made clear that none of the children are biologically related to any of the mothers in any way; instead, the embryos were created back on Earth and implanted into the Mothers once they arrived at the planet, T'Nane. Below the Mothers are the Grunts, their male counterparts whose sole purpose seems to be to provide physical support and labour. Finally, there are the kids themselves, the generation which Kalypso belongs to, carefully bred to be the best the human race has to offer. Unfortunately for Kalypso, having the best genes doesn't change the fact that she is essentially lazy and unmotivated. All she wants to do is ride shotgun for Dreamers and listen to music from the archives. As far as protagonists go, Kalypso initially seems to be a bad choice. Her deliberate lack of knowledge and apparent lack of agency leave her being dragged along in the story, taking the reader with her, but ultimately this works better than you'd think. Through Kalypso's growing awareness of the world around her the reader is able to grow with her, learning as Kalypso learns (or doesn't, as the case may be). One thing that Sullivan does well in this book, apart from the prose, is the way in which she introduces us to and explains the alien nature of the planet the colony is situated on. The local ecology is shown to be far removed from what we recognise as life, so much so that she makes a point of repeatedly telling us, though the various character voices, not to think of it in terms of organisms. It's a system, distributed throughout multiple layers, each part of the system affecting and being affected by the parts around it, and for me represents perhaps the most innovative element of the book by presenting us with a genuinely alien ecology. While there are sections of the narrative that I found genuinely incomprehensible, particularly when it comes to some of the Dreamer sequences, overall this is an excellent read. Despite Kalypso's lack of knowledge or motivation there's still a strong sense of character growth by the end of the story, and while the ending wouldn't be considered groundbreaking or particularly fresh to a modern audience, I'd still say it was a satisfying denouement. This may not be a book for everyone, but if you're a fan of later cyberpunk or truly alien worlds then I'd say give this one a try.

• Over-long and disappointing

  A good idea somewhat spoiled by unnecessary obscurity and, as with many 'modern' books, being over-long. Something of a struggle to get through and one is left with wondering if it was worth it.

• It's Entertainment

  The colonization project didn't get off to a great start, and now Kalypso (our heroine) is about to get bitten by the secrets her elders have been keeping. Dreaming in Smoke served to occupy a few hours, but I have to say, it wasn't good enough to recommend. I never was much of a fan of stream of consciousness, particularly since I never have believed the character's stream. Kalypso is annoying. The whole colony could suffocate, and I really, really wouldn't care. There is a happy ending, yes, and that's nice. I'm not a believer in killing everybody just for effect. But it would have made it more interesting. I was uncomfortable with some of the science, as I'm almost sure there were some howlers I'd have caught if I paid the slightest attention in highschool biology, or taken chemistry. Ah, well. So, don't rush out and spend your money on this one. It's okay, you won't be outraged, but look for it, if you decide you want to read it, in your local second hand bookstore.

• Didn't do it for me

  I never got the hang of disjointed surrealistic novels. This is definately one of those. It seems to meander in various directions, and I never once got the hang of what exactly was going on, or what was supposed to be going on - if anything. It also suffered from a fault that many futuristic novels have. It seems that references to past events stop about the present time, and go back from there. Few novelist bother to fill in enough backstory for references to the past after the novel was published. It's a minor thing, but it can annoy me at times. It had the elements of an interesting story, but I couldn't put it together well enough to enjoy the novel. If this is your sort of novel, you'll like this one well enough. It isn't mine, so I didn't.

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