Nightmare: A Novel of the Silent Empire | ||||||||
Steven Harper | ||||||||
Roc, 368 pages | ||||||||
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A review by Cindy Lynn Speer
Somehow, the mixture of SF with the popular serial killer plot is incredibly alluring. As we run out of things to do in our own
genres, we need to expand, borrow things from our neighbors and create unlikely combinations. Steven
Harper does this in Nightmare, creating a solid
universe where slavery is once more alive and thriving, and where the unique race of the Silent make their lives. I found the balance
between the exploration of this new world through Kendi's eyes and the detective work effective.
What makes the Silent particularly nifty is the fact that any human or alien can be Silent. Therefore the Silent and their society
is much more diverse than usual. Kendi, for example, is an Aboriginal human. The society of the Silent is somewhat intricate,
sometimes a bit like a church organization with its Sisters and Father Adepts, sometimes like a medieval town with its walls and
fortifications. The fact that Kendi is part Aborigine brings some aspects worth considering into the Silent ability to create a
Dream world in their mind, for the Aborigines have something they call (and Kendi himself uses the expression) Dreamtime. I wonder
if the ability of the Silent somehow came from this ancient earth ability, if the years from Earth some how evolved the ability
into something different, and Kendi's own blood doesn't give him the possibility of being one of the most powerful Silents yet.
The only aspect that made me unhappy with the book is the slavery aspects. I'm not saying anything against Harper here, because it
is well handled and necessary to the plot. I simply think it says some unfortunate things about mankind. True, the aliens are just
as guilty as the humans in enslaving their own kind, but the fact that in 900 (or more) years, we've not only -- not -- advanced as
a race, but gone backward into the most vile of crimes against humanity, gives the reader very little optimism for future generations.
Though Nightmare is the second of a series, it is completely stand-alone. The concepts that Harper puts forth are intriguing, and
I became very involved with them, and the mystery aspects of the book.
Cindy Lynn Speer loves books so much that she's designed most of her life around them, both as a librarian and a writer. Her books aren't due out anywhere soon, but she's trying. You can find her site at www.apenandfire.com. |
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