Publisher:
Solaris
Reviews & Overviews by Rod Cameron
Publisher: |
Solaris |
|
Date: |
2007 |
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Size: |
526 Pages |
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Format: |
Paperback |
|
Price: |
£7.99 |
|
ISBN: |
978-1-84416-472-1 |
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Reviewed by: |
Rod Cameron |
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Review Date: |
November 2007 |
Helix is the latest novel from Eric Brown who has written quite a few adult and children’s books in the last few years. Notably his Virex Trilogy: New York Nights (2000), New York Blues (2001) & New York Dreams (2004). Fleeing an Earth dying from pollution, a space-ship “ark” crash-lands on an alien construct, an enormous helix connecting thousands of planetoids “wrapped” around a star. The relatively straight forward plot, seen from the perspective of both a human hero and an alien concerns the exploration of the construct, and the quest for the beings that made the Helix in the first place. However the heroes are flawed. Joe Hendry was a retired space pilot who had dropped out in the wastes of Australia, happy just to eke out his survival, when he is asked to join the ark replacing key personnel who have been killed by terrorists. The rest of the crew are also second-choicers. After the disastrous landing on an ice-planetoid at the end of the helix, things just go from bad to worse.
The alien, Ehrin is an engineer and part owner of a flying boat factory on a world covered in permanent cloud (so that the Helix cannot be seen). His world is dominated by a militaristic fanatical religion who suppress any beliefs or doubts that do not support its view. When asked by the church to mount an expedition across the mountains, Ehrin knows that there will be problems with his beliefs and those of the church leader that comes to watch over them.
There are some novel ideas in the story, the characters are well developed and the first part of Helix is most enjoyable. However, Eric Brown seems to race over the ending as if he wanted to just finish the book. It feels as if he had “zoomed out” at the end and dropped a level of detail. This left me feeling slightly disappointed. However, having said that I would still recommend this book.