BLUE THUNDER

As relations between Earthlings and Martians grow increasingly hostile, two siblings must use their abilities to safeguard the galaxy in Overman’s SF series entry.

As the story begins in the far future, Martian Amos Fielder has just altered the course of a neutron star, which, with the help of mysterious life forms known as Sakshi, is set to collide with another neutron star in 20 years. After Amos lands on Phagea with his family, Earthling ships appear, leading to Amos’ death in an unprovoked attack. His young children, Gracely and Jered Fielder, are separated in the chaos; Gracely is taken in and raised by Sprat, a Phagean, and Jered is adopted by Capt. John Earl of the Solar Systems Freight Company and his wife, Cora—a religious Earthling couple who are unable to have biological children of their own. As the two adoptees grow up, with Jered hiding his Martian intelligence and Gracely piloting the ship (named HAL) that her father leaves her, their paths could not be further apart. That is, until Gracely’s and John’s ships come face-to-face with each other over the planet Phagea; Gracely takes an aggressive posture, and John refuses to reveal Earth’s mission. Although Martians are not known for unwarranted violence, his colleague, Capt. Winslow, has itchy trigger fingers, which results in a hostile interaction. With interplanetary relationships already strained, the United States capitalizes on anti-Martian propaganda to reignite old tensions. After Jered’s true identity is revealed, the crews must put aside their differences to prevent a full-blown war; meanwhile, those two neutron stars are on the verge of finally colliding.  

Overman balances hard SF and political warfare with compelling characterization, effectively navigating the complexities of two worlds. The Martian protagonists are well-drawn, and they live together on the planet Harmony, which is also home to a variety of unique species that provide comic relief. There are the Trees, which helped to “defeat the genocidally paranoid Koombar” in previous volumes, and their children, who live in forests and resemble “large monkeys with long prehensile tails,” as well as the Phageans, silver-scaled creatures of remarkable intelligence, particularly in mathematics, who closely resemble pangolins. Although it rankles the Earthlings that the Martians have open family units and open relationships, the latter live happily within strong intraspecies care networks. The scenes involving HAL’s ragtag crew—Gracely, Torch, Robbi, and Sprat—are highly enjoyable and provide excellent character studies, particularly in scenes when they all eat together. However, there are some clumsy character descriptions that can be jarring: John’s hair is said to have the “texture of steel wool”; Robbi’s skin is the color of “chocolate-pudding”; and Torch has “vaguely Asian features.” The descriptions of the mysterious Sakshi, which are the focus of shorter, italicized chapters, have a cinematic quality: “brown and grey cloud of shifting shapes and frothing forms.” The eventual purpose of these creaturesis both clever and moving.

A mostly heartening story of found families, full of lovable characters that anchor the political elements.