Forsaken Skies by D. Nolan Clark

Published by Orbit on September 6, 2016

Forsaken Skies is a science fiction action novel, a space opera with a bit of military sf thrown in, although the military characters act in a rogue role, not in a sanctioned military operation. With one small exception, the ending is entirely predictable, but the story is well executed and the “feel good” nature of the ending will satisfy space opera fans who want to feel good after investing time in a fairly lengthy novel. Above all, the story is fun. That’s really all that I ask of space opera.

The story begins with a chase through space as Lanoe pursues Thom through wormholes while narrowly avoiding a disastrous encounter with a space station. A collision is averted by the quick thinking by a fellow named Valk. His actions also reveal the presence of two Nirayan stowaways who have come to the station in search of military protection for Niraya, which has recently had an unfortunate visit by a deadly machine. An invasion fleet, presumably bringing more such machines, is on the way.

Centrocorp is duking it out with another poly (transplanetary commercial monopolies) called DaoLink, making DaoLink a likely source of the attack. Many on Niraya view the attack as God’s judgment, although they have some difficulty explaining why God would need to send a fleet of ships instead of, for instance, turning all the Nirayans into pillars of salt.

We eventually learn that Centrocor doesn’t want to spend the money to defend Niraya. And so, naturally enough, Lanoe decides to take on the attacking fleet with the help of a small handful of military pilots (plus one civilian). Although retired as a pilot, the legendary Valk joins that team.

This lengthy novel has an abundance of subplots, including: (1) whether the pacifist Nirayans are willing to pony up for a fight; (2) whether the invaders are polys or aliens; (3) whether Lanoe will renew his romance with his wingwoman, Zhang, who recently exchanged her legless body for that of a younger blind woman; (4) whether Valk and Thom and Lanoe will replace their disenchantment with meaning or purpose (or death); and (5) what the heck us up with Valk anyway?

Predictably, the assembled team of pilots consists of a bunch of misfits, each of a type familiar to readers of science fiction and war novels. The well-born son who has issues with his father. The fighter pilot who lost her nerve. The old pilot who has been relegated to a desk job until he decides it’s time for a last hurrah. The young pilot who is a flying ace but lacks discipline. The aging leader who wants to find a cause worth fighting for. There’s even a familiar engineer who explains science to all the pilots. No, the engineer isn’t named Scotty.

Also predictably, three or four plucky humans can outwit, outfly, and outshoot an entire fleet of enemy ships. It’s good to be human.

Readers should not expect breathtaking prose from Forsaken Skies. Clichéd phrases and melodramatic dialog sneak in a bit too often. I don’t know how many times weapons belched fire or belched missiles or belched something else, but someone should give the weapons systems a dose of antacids. Most of the time, though, the writing is fine and the plot moves along at a steady pace.

Nor should the reader expect deep thought, although Lanoe does philosophize about the military industrial complex that drives war (without using that phrase). This is an action novel, not a novel of ideas, but the action is exciting and easy to visualize, so that’s fine. I can recommend Forsaken Skies to space opera fans who aren’t looking for anything other than a familiar story.

RECOMMENDED

Postscript: I write this review with a vague awareness that a controversy rages between fans who think science fiction is at its best and finest when it tells space opera stories and fans who think science fiction should push the boundaries by dealing with cutting-edge social issues. The former, "conservative" view apparently believes that science fiction should have stopped evolving in the 1950s, while the latter, "liberal" view sees science fiction as a vehicle for advancing social and political issues involving feminism, gender identity, and the like. The controversy apparently manifested itself in an alleged attempt by the conservatives to game the Hugo awards.

Science fiction has long been associated with an open-minded willingness to embrace new ideas, which makes it odd for fans to argue that science fiction shouldn't address the future in political terms. Even classic old-school science fiction, including 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, used science fiction to illuminate political and social issues. Hell, even the original Star Trek blended space opera with scripts that dealt with racism, militarism, and other social issues. The scope of science fiction is certainly broad enough to accommodate both space opera and stories that focus on social evolution, as well as all kinds of other stories. If Hugo awards are more likely to recognize a story that is new and different and provocative rather than a comfortable story that emphasizes the familiar, I don't understand why that merits complaint.