A grand new Amazon and Goodreads review for Janet and Chris Morris dark science fiction novel, Outpassage: 5.0 out of 5 stars OLD-SCHOOL SCIENCE FICTION WITH A MODERN SENSIBILITY, September 2, 2014 By Joseph P. Bonadonna Joe Bonadonna This review is from: Outpassage (Paperback) You only live once. That is not only the theme of this excellent science fiction novel — it is also at the very heart of the novel’s story premise. This is exactly the type of science fiction story I grew up reading in the pages of Amazing Stories and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Outpassage is action-packed, character-driven, and thought-provoking. The science is grounded in reality, but isn’t integral to the plot, and the tech never gets in the way of story and character: there is no garbage science or techno babble to muddle the plot. While this story has the feel of an old-fashioned, traditional science fiction novel from back in the day, it has a hip and modern sensibility to it. The characters are vivid and memorable, and the lean prose style is perfectly suited to the story. The dialogue is perfectly matched to each character — crisp and sharp, and very smart, with a fine balance of humor and gravitas. Outpassage moves along like a starship going warp factor seven, with twists and surprises nearly every step of the way. And that wrap-around cover — wow! Fully captures the tone of the novel, and is a loving homage to classic SF covers. It begins on an outer space mining colony called X-31A, where a special forces Ranger Dennis “Det” Cox and his team are called in to “eradicate” a problem and clean up a mess. But the mission turns into a disaster, and Cox isn’t quite sure whether or not he saw signs of an alien presence on the piece of intergalactic real estate. Once he’s back home on earth and debriefed, Cox meets up with a woman named Paige Barnett, whom he was matched with on an internet dating site called Dream Date. Paige, however, is the Girl Friday to the top dog of a corporation called IST, who has their hands in terraforming, mining, and a few illegal activities, as well. Well, as blind dates often go, this one goes horribly wrong: both Cox and Paige are shanghaied and are then separated. She is thrown into a labor group on another mining colony called X-66B, where she falls in with a group of rebel workers. Cox, however, has been nabbed for a paramilitary mission to find real evidence of an alien presence, and to target the rebel base of union-organizing workers — on the very same X-66B. This is thought-provoking science fiction, with the action and feel of a space opera, and with elements of mystery and espionage to keep us turning the page. And the characters ring true: Paige Barnett is a thoroughly modern woman — a brilliant, tough, no-nonsense bureaucrat who rules in her corporate world, but find herself way out of her element when she’s shanghaied and taken to X-66B. But this is truly Dennis “Det” Cox’s story. A non-com and experienced warrior cut from the cloth of the Homeric ideal of a hero. He’s plain, blunt-spoken, and takes no bull from anyone; a real ground-pounder, a soldier who hates politics, but does his job and does it well. He’s the guy you want on your side, the guy on whose side you want to be. He faces decisions and moral dilemmas, as well as the heat of combat and the intrigues of corporate policy. But what revelations he is forced to see and accept are the hardest things he’s ever done. Enlightenment is there for him to grasp, but it disturbs him with its reality-changing truth, and he is left to face more decisions in a finale I did not see coming, but is perfect, nonetheless. For Cox, that moment arrives when he witnesses, when he touches and learns the truth behind the words…You Only Live Once. Why this outstanding novel was overlooked for Nebula and Hugo awards is beyond me. When you combine a great story with flesh and blood characters, with plenty of action, and then toss into the mix the machinations of a powerful business conglomerate, paramilitary activity, corporate intrigue and espionage, politics, religion, and an undefined, possible alien presence…you have a novel that succeeds on many levels. amazon/Outpassage-Janet-Morris-ebook/dp/B00IDC1E84/ref=pd_sim_kstore_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1YSV5MRBVSJPTN0MZ4V2
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 17:29:03 +0000
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