My thirst for smart, well-written deep-genre sf rivals Dick Cheney’s love of speculative geography. Angry Robot Books, a new British shop, seems dedicated to answering the oft-repeated question: “WTF? This crap could have been written by a blind, epileptic sea otter. Where is the new, good stuff?” Their list spans subgenres, with more or less equal emphasis given to sf, fantasy, and horror. If Winter Song is any indication, it’s all new, good stuff.
Winter Song takes place on a barely habitable planet, a marginal colony left to rot after the advent of hyperspace travel, like an American small town in the wake of the Interstate buildout. Our hero crash-lands there after losing a space battle and he encounters the local survivors. His struggle with their rigidified culture and the planet’s hostile environment frame his efforts to return home.
The pacing is crisp and the characters are worthy of our interest. The writing is muscular and cinematic. Harvey’s use of a familiar collection of tropes is smart and fun. It’s like watching a sax player I’ve never heard before spin an old standard like Autumn Leaves in a new direction.
Winter Song is a great read. Looking forward to more from Harvey and more from Angry Robot.
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