Tag Archives: Brian Stableford

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Guest Posting Elsewhere: Brian Stableford

StablefordCriticalThresholdHeya everyone, Andrea over at The Little Red Reviewer was very cool to ask me to provide a guest post for Vintage SciFi Month. This is my second year participating in this reading event, and I have to say it is one of my favorite annual events. It’s going on all month, so if you have some scifi books that were originally published 1979 or before, this is a great reason to read and chat about them with a blogger community doing the same thing all month.

My post, which you can read by clicking HERE, is on Brian Stableford. I recently discovered his works, even though he has been around for decades. I know, I life under a rock. It’s the third on the left down the road from yours ;)

So far, I have been enamored by the man’s Daedalus Mission books, of which I have read The Florians and Critical Threshold. Wildside Press has been reissuing these in ebook format, with amazing covers.

I hope you get a chance to pop over to Little Red Reviewer and read more about this great science fiction author.

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Critical Threshold by Brian Stableford

Why I Read It: Book 1 was quite good and I wanted another adventure.

Where I Got It: A review copy from the publisher (thanks!)

Who Do I Recommend This To: This series is an example of classic scifi at it’s best, exploring the various difficulties of human colonization of the galaxy.

Publisher: Wildside Press (2011)

Length: 200 pages

Series: Book 2 Daedalus Mission

Alex and his crew made it off Floria (Book 1) after ~1 year and spent several weeks in space trekking to Dendra, a planet covered in one large forest. The previous check-in mission decades past had less-than-hopeful reports for Dendra. Unlike other colonies, this one was full of strictly volunteers that signed off on knowing the world was borderline habitable for humans. The initial scout mission was given very little time to catalog all the various dangers of the planet. The Daedalus doesn’t find what they expect (the barest traces of a failed human colony) nor what they hope (a thriving human civilization). Instead, a small group of left-over humans, staring daftly around, clothed in aging scraps of material and living in a rundown village gawk at the appearance of a spaceship in their midst. These humans have obviously lost Earth’s technology and science, but something more plagues them. Can the Daedalus crew discover what it is without succumbing to it themselves?

I am really enjoying this series because there is biology left and right; you can’t read these books without picking up some understanding of ecology and the possibilities and dangers inherent in colonizing the galaxy. Told through Alex’s viewpoint, he tries to unravel the mystery of this planet and what happened to the colony. Marial, the crews ‘reader’, is quite unsettled by what she sees, or doesn’t see, in the few humans left at the village. The bulk of the story happens in the forest with Alex, Marial, and Karen hiking around trying to find any other sign of human life. What they find, while human in appearance, is no longer human in mind.

Alex is intensely uncomfortable around Marial because she can read body language and facial expressions so well as to be nearly psychic. Alex has spent effort and time avoiding her and now he is on a close-quarters mission with her. Karen provides a bridge and a buffer for the poor man. She also hints that perhaps there is some sexual tension between the two. I am happy to say that nothing comes out of that, one of the reasons being Marial is 14 and Alex has a son 2 years older than her, making him, conservatively, in his mid-30s. Despite that one little jaunt down WTF Lane, this story is an excellent read. The women are key players, independent, get to handle the weapons, save the men as often as they get saved by the men or each other. Pretty freaking 21st century for a book originally published in 1977, making Brian Stableford a much appreciated author.

Each mission is in a unique world with it’s own ecological issues the humans have to acclimatize too, plus any human-made political problems. Book 2 wasn’t simply a rerun of Book 1 on a different planet. No, something strange, unique, and other-worldly truly happened on Dendra to the missing colonial descendants. A worthy and exciting series.

What I Liked: Flora and fauna play a big role; I like riding around in Alex’s head, always trying to make the connections to ever changing biological dots; the women are real human beings, fully capable and just as vulnerable as the men; was not expecting the ending; the cover is beautiful.

What I Don’t Like: Alex and Marial? really?

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The Florians by Brian Stableford

Why I Read It: I needed an epic scifi, seed the galaxy kind of story.

Where I Got It: Review ecopy from the publisher (thanks!)

Who I Recommend This To: If you are conflicted about spending money on the Space Program, this book has great arguments on both sides, all wrapped in an engaging story.

Publisher: Wildside Press (2012)

Length: 203 pages

Series: Daedalus Mission 1

Alex Alexander believes in the need for the human race to spread itself throughout the universe, starting with the nearest inhabitable planets. Earth sent ships to colonize these planets decades ago and then the governments of Earth sank into chaos. Alex, a scientist and adventurer, sees hope in reigniting Earth’s efforts to populate the galaxy by sending a crew on the Daedalus mission to reforge meaningful contact with the surviving colonies.

Brian Stableford told this story through Alex’s eyes using his endless hope, his keen intellect, and his sometimes rash decision-making abilities to keep me very entertained. The crew is made up of a variety of scientists (like Karen), and communicators of one sort or another (Nathan & Mariel). The planet of Floria is the first on the stop. The Daedalus Mission is to provide scientific assistance with any difficulties the colonists may be having permanently adapting to their new planet. In all ways, the Florians appear on the surface to be completely adapted, healthy, with a strong spreading colony. Yet Alex isn’t convinced – all the Earthly transplants are giants compared to Earth norms – the Florians averaging 7-9 feet tall. Watching Alex peel apart this mystery, exploring the odd native flora and fauna of Floria, was a treat for the biologist in me.

The Florians presented a nice quandary about a society kept intentionally ignorant of certain lines of science, such as those leading to firearms. Having the Daedalus, ignorant, unexpected strangers, set down in the midst of an ongoing power struggle between two components of that society provided an engaging background for Alex to do his thing: figure out if the Florian society  is viable long-term. Imagine being surrounded by giants, in a situation where your physical resistance is futile, leaving you to rely on your wits. I am so glad it was Alex’s wits, and not my own, that uncovered the mystery of the Florians.

What I Liked: The weird, creepy, crawly fauna of Floria; the book opens with an excellent debate covering the pros and cons of spending money on a space program; Alex’s sense of humor; the mystery at the heart of Floria.

What I Disliked: While there was 1 key female support character, I would have liked the women to have a bit more central role.