Edges (Inverted Frontier)

Paperback, 404 pages

Published March 31, 2019 by Mythic Island Press LLC.

ISBN:: 978-1-937197-26-1

(1 review)

Deception Well is a world on the edge, home to an isolated remnant surviving at the farthest reach of human expansion. All across the frontier, other worlds have succumbed to the relentless attacks of robotic alien warships, while hundreds of light years away, the core of human civilization—those star systems closest to Earth, known as the Hallowed Vasties—have all fallen to ruins. Powerful telescopes can see only dust and debris where once there were orbital mega-structures so huge they eclipsed the light of their parent stars.

No one knows for sure what caused the Hallowed Vasties to fail, but a hardened adventurer named Urban intends to find out. He has the resources to do it. He commands a captive alien starship fully capable of facing the dangers that lie beyond Deception Well.

With a ship’s company of explorers and scientists, Urban is embarking on a voyage of re-discovery. They will …

Deception Well is a world on the edge, home to an isolated remnant surviving at the farthest reach of human expansion. All across the frontier, other worlds have succumbed to the relentless attacks of robotic alien warships, while hundreds of light years away, the core of human civilization—those star systems closest to Earth, known as the Hallowed Vasties—have all fallen to ruins. Powerful telescopes can see only dust and debris where once there were orbital mega-structures so huge they eclipsed the light of their parent stars.

No one knows for sure what caused the Hallowed Vasties to fail, but a hardened adventurer named Urban intends to find out. He has the resources to do it. He commands a captive alien starship fully capable of facing the dangers that lie beyond Deception Well.

With a ship’s company of explorers and scientists, Urban is embarking on a voyage of re-discovery. They will be the first in centuries to confront the hazards of an inverted frontier as they venture back along the path of human migration. Their goal: to unravel the mystery of the Hallowed Vasties and to discover what monstrous life might have grown up among the ruins.

Edges is a new entry point into the classic story world of Linda Nagata’s The Nanotech Succession

1 edition

Aaron reviewed Edges (Inverted Frontier) by Linda Nagata

Review of 'Edges' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Iain Banks' death still hits me every now and then. At least to me, he wrote with a singular optimism. Horrible things were done by horrible people, but there was always the pervading idea that sensibility and kindness were what made a civilisation thrive.

So, I've been chasing that dragon since he passed. I was recommended [a:Alastair Reynolds|51204|Alastair Reynolds|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1521740247p2/51204.jpg], and while I loved his take on sci-fi, I found his characters mostly petty and overly cruel. So I still haven't found anything that hit that high.

But [b:Edges|43483913|Edges|Linda Nagata|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546820501l/43483913.SY75.jpg|67627795] comes pretty damn close.

It has its weak points: the characterisation isn't great; there are perhaps too many convenient coincidences to drive the plot; and some ideas seem a little "unfleshed". But it still really got to me, got me excited about reading again, excited about science fiction, and even a little optimistic about humanity. The people in this …

Iain Banks' death still hits me every now and then. At least to me, he wrote with a singular optimism. Horrible things were done by horrible people, but there was always the pervading idea that sensibility and kindness were what made a civilisation thrive.

So, I've been chasing that dragon since he passed. I was recommended [a:Alastair Reynolds|51204|Alastair Reynolds|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1521740247p2/51204.jpg], and while I loved his take on sci-fi, I found his characters mostly petty and overly cruel. So I still haven't found anything that hit that high.

But [b:Edges|43483913|Edges|Linda Nagata|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546820501l/43483913.SY75.jpg|67627795] comes pretty damn close.

It has its weak points: the characterisation isn't great; there are perhaps too many convenient coincidences to drive the plot; and some ideas seem a little "unfleshed". But it still really got to me, got me excited about reading again, excited about science fiction, and even a little optimistic about humanity. The people in this book are just... nice, even the "roguish" main character tries to do right by the people in his care.

It's not for everyone, but if you miss Iain M. Banks, this might go some way towards filling the void.