Approximately 300 years in the future, aliens (labeled the Builders by the populace) have left a Space Elevator in Darwin, Australia for reasons unknown to humanity. Shortly thereafter, a strange plague has enveloped the world leaving the Darwin region, where the Space Elevator meets the Earth, as the largest plague free zone in the world. Enter Skyler Lukien, scavenger and rogue. Like many people, he and his crew search out salvageable equipment to sell to willing buyers. Skyler is cut from the same cloth as Malcolm Reynolds and Han Solo (even if his full name Skyler Lukien rings a bit like Luke Skywalker, something even commented upon by another character). When coincidence intervenes during a Skyler-led mission near the elevator and the power on the elevator goes out, Skyler and crew are naturally blamed. The status quo of the planet’s desolation is further thrown asunder when a plague ridden human is discovered in the Aura, the region near the Elevator which should be completely free of the plague and plague-ridden humans.
Hough does a lot of things well in his debut effort, The Darwin Elevator, which also launches the Dire Earth Cycle of novels. There’s a convincing sense of despair and desolation as conveyed through the characters who live in the world. Hough also imparts a plausible sense of fear about the Elevator and the characters concern over its source/origin. The elevator itself is more than just a MacGuffin, the mystery behind it, as well as potentially more events or contact with the builders is theme laced throughout the narrative. Neil Platz is the Donald Trump/Lex Luthor (with a slightly more altruistic bent, but still the Magnificent Bastard) like character who pulls many strings in Darwin and the civilized world. He was able to build his power and influence because he just so happened to have built power, water, and energy supply stations near the center of the civilized world which is now Darwin. Timing is everything and knowledge is power seem to embody Platz.
In terms of pacing The Darwin Elevator is an attempt at an action SF-thrill ride. Unfortunately, the inconsistent pace of the novel brushes over some of the characterization, especially regarding Skyler’s crew and the snarling Russell Blackfield (surprise, he’s an antagonist). Danger is inherit in an apocalyptic landscape with an alien technology people fear, don’t understand completely and whose origins are in question. Unfortunately, that risk does take the life of one of Skyler’s crew, but that loss is difficult to feel because of how the crew seems rather interchangeable with each other. Hough does give his narrative the feel that nothing and nobody is safe.
I realize the following point could be considered nitpicky, but here goes. I had tough time getting past the name of the protagonist. Skyler, despite the root of the name, is a name I’ve always associated with female characters/women as the only people I knew or knew of named Skyler were women. It also seemed a very contrived joke the author wanted to insert into the story (again, to the point a character actually commented on it) that Skyler Lukien is almost an anagram or extrapolation of Luke Skywalker.
In the end, The Darwin Elevator is a mixed bag. For the elements I enjoyed (the setting, the mystery/conspiracy of the Builders, the class divide, and where the story can go) other elements weighed down my enjoyment (interchangeable supporting characters, inconsistent pacing, character names). Hough has an interesting premise in The Dire Earth Cycle whose foundation in The Darwin Elevator is promising and the end hints at potentially more interesting things to come in the next volume, The Exodus Towers.
© 2013 Rob H. Bedford
The Dire Earth Cycle Volume 1
Review Copy (eArc) courtesy of the publisher Del Rey www.delreybooks.com
Mass Market Paperback 978-0-345-53712-6 /
eBook 978-0-345-53713-3496 pages July 30, 2013
http://www.jasonhough.com/
Sample Chapter: http://www.jasonhough.com/books/excerpts/darwin.html
