First published 2020. Gollancz paperback, 2021, pp 373, c.110,000 words.
Set in the near future, the world has taken a dystopian turn where the very wealthy are in constant fear of kidnap for ransom, and almost everyone else is left scrabbling around to get by using whatever means. A young man seeks to escape from his billionaire parent’s claustrophobic fortress and makes his way into space. He grabs a sudden chance to join a misfit crew who have been tasked with capturing and bringing in a hugely valuable asteroid. They are not the only ones after a slice of the action.
To some extent this is a conventional McGuffin story, with a load of odd-balls all after the same thing, but Morden brings this off well, with a continuous throb of action driving the plot and many surprises popping up to keep the heat on. Full marks to Morden for sticking to known physics, as all science fiction should. Objects in space move at realistic speeds and on realistic trajectories. Gravity works as it should and he understands the importance of Delta-V. There is real science in this science fiction, and it never gets in the way of the story.
Morden’s use of language is contemporary, right? His writing is highly accessible and a fluent read. His characters are mostly familiar types from Hollywood films, so this should appeal to the American market, like Morden’s other science fiction.
This is the sort of stuff that is easy and a great pleasure, to wolf down. Like his earlier One Way and No Way, it is excellent escapist fun. Recommended.
© William John Graham, May 2022