Beneath
a Sunless Sky is a coming of age story in the same way Dune is a
story of a boy named Paul becoming a man. Under Jess' careful hand,
the story, Remy, the main character, and all of the other
inhabitants of this world come alive. Almost everyone lives in a dome
controlled by a central computer, placed into a rather rigid caste
system depending upon skills and testing. At the same time what
appears to be a utopia has a dark side, and there are hints the
central computer is acting more of a puppet master, than benevolent
deity. Information has been suppressed, history sanitized, and the
obstinate eradicated. This is not a free society, but one where
obedience is compelled.
Remy
was on track to become one of the leaders, a member of the highest
caste when a freak accident, an impossible accident, causes brain
damage that even the best doctors can not fix. Yet, healing does
occur, she remembers more and more of what she was and the knowledge
she had before the accident. Despite her improvements, for some
reason she can not pass the central computer's standardized test for
even the most basic level of citizenship.
Remy's
biggest problem, and one she does even seem to quite understand is
that men want to possess her, like a trophy. They do not want her
love, marriage is only offered as a gilded cage, These men want to
collect her, own her. It is from this many of her problems spring forth.
Remy
is penned in detail, she is real, alive. She makes mistakes, and
shows brilliant flashes of insight, she can both be the naive little
sister and the ingenue. She picks fight where she shouldn't and
avoids help when she should. She comes across as fallible, human.
This
is not a fast read with lots of explosions and pirates fighting
ninjas, this is a thinking book one best digested over time. Even
after you put it down, it will linger with you asking questions,
fostering internal debates on the nature of people, how civil society
is versus how it should be, and why did Remy make a particular
choice.
For
me, a book that lingers, that I remember long after I hit “The
End,” is the best type to read, even if there were no dinosaur
rampages or zombie outbreaks. It is well worth the three dollars it
is currently priced at Amazon.
No comments:
Post a Comment