DISUNION

A disgruntled planet makes moves to secede from the Union of Earth in Whitman’s SF novel.

When the human-colonized planet of Acadia, whose residents hold racist, segregationist beliefs, decides to secede from the Union of Earth (a network of humans across Earth and its interstellar colonies united against alien forces), it creates a domino effect felt all through the galaxy and across alien species. As civil war looms, two humans are caught in the middle, trying to prevent the conflict at all costs: Amanda Chester, a leading xenothropologist and the daughter of one of Earth’s richest, most influential men; and Matt Ryder, a former Acadian fleet commander. Matt is enlisted to pilot a vessel carrying Amanda and a small crew on a covert intelligence mission to investigate whether Acadia’s reasons are their own or influenced by more sinister forces. Deadly battles break out between Acadian and Union forces, and the loss of human life escalates. Amanda and her group come across an alien species, the Mantiz, and face diplomatic issues of their own, learning the extent of the conspiracy they are up against and the cost of keeping their fragile union together. Whitman’s whip-smart SF tale investigates both the personal cost of war at the character level (including Matt’s history with his beloved old Acadian mentor and Amanda’s difficult relationship with her father) and the wider effects it has on a galactic civilization being torn apart by xenophobia. There is a clever ongoing theme throughout the story that engages with the relationships between war, diplomacy, and personal responsibility: “The facts didn’t care about her feelings. Whether the facts worked in your favor or against you, was irrelevant to the universe.”The plot maintains an engaging balance between action sequences (which can delve into discussions of quantum physics without being dry), understated romance, and humor peppered throughout.

A very enjoyable start to a thoughtful SF series.