Binary is the latest work from Eric Brown, though I’m not entirely sure how to classify it. Releasing in ebook-only format it’s novella length with a page count just under 150 pages. But Binary is just the first part of this story and the second, System, will release early next year, also in ebook form. However, once they’re both out the publisher, Solaris, will issue them together in novel form under the title of Binary System. I’ve not come across this release style before, though the longer release window certainly gives more visibility to the novel, and that’s no bad thing given the high regard I hold Brown’s work to.
From the publisher:
On what should have been a routine mission to the star system of 61 Cygni A, Delia Kemp finds herself shunted thousands of light years into uncharted space. The only survivor of a catastrophic starship blow-out, Delia manages to land her life-raft on the inhospitable, ice-bound world of Valinda, and is captured by a race of hostile aliens, the Skelt. What follows is a break-neck adventure as Delia escapes, fleeing through a phantasmagorical landscape.
As the long winter comes to an end and the short, blistering summer approaches, the Skelt will stop at nothing to obtain Delia’s technical knowledge – but what Delia wants is impossible: to leave Valinda and return to Earth.
The above synopsis from the publisher covers the plot very succinctly, and there really isn’t too much to add without giving away spoilers. However, Valinda boasts another two intelligent species – the Vo and the Fahran – both enemies of the Skelk, and the dynamic that this brings the story helps to keep the pace fast and fluid. The planet is also in a highly elliptical orbit around one of two stars in this binary system, taking ten years to complete and suffering from very cold temperatures for nine of those years. Fortunately for Delia she crash-lands as the short and blistering summer approaches, and it’s the descriptive opportunities this offers that really shows off Brown’s narrative flair.
Brown is more than capable at weaving an enticing story, and his prose is simple and elegant, flowing off the digital page with ease. Despite Delia’s frosty arrival – in more than one way – we get to experience Valinda through her eyes and through Brown’s words, building a world that is rich and vivid despite being cold and seemingly barren. This only increases as the arriving summer brings a thaw, and the way in which the landscape changes is beautifully portrayed. I fully expected this when I started Binary, while also knowing that it is through the characters and descriptive passages that Brown conveys his story, not through detailed world-building and info-dumping.
In short, Binary is a great read that brings a sense of excitement and discovery, and delivered at a pace that keeps the e-pages turning and has left me eager for the conclusion in System. It’s also typical of Brown’s work, so if you’ve read him before you know what you’re getting into. If you haven’t then this could be the perfect place to start!
Publisher: Solaris Books
Author: Eric Brown
September 2016, 139 Pages
Ebook, ASIN: B01JPNL6AK
Review copy received from the publisher
© 2016 Mark Chitty
Remeber that John Scalzi released The Human Division and The End of All Things in serial novella form before their publication as complete novels, and way back in the 90s Stephen King did it with The Green Mile. Looking forward to Brown’s.
Wow – I can’t believe I forgot about Scalzi’s releases like this. Massive fail on my part there!