QUANTUM HORIZONS

Two children encounter an ancient, galaxy-spanning group of fairies in Nobis’ debut SF novel.

Best friends Marta and Serge spend most of their time in the woods. The scientific Marta likes to gather and catalog plants and rocks, while the more imaginative Serge is content mostly to daydream. One day, while gathering samples in the woods, the children encounter Oberon, the King of the Quantum Fairies; they’ve helped humanity since time immemorial but are now gathering to discuss what to do with the problematic species: “The Quantum Fairies are very angry at what is happening,” Oberon says. “There is too much violence and hatred. The beautiful seas and the green fields are being wasted. We have helped humans before, but now we must do something different.” The kids help Oberon get a message to the queen of England, asking her to order the Royal Observatory to change “Greenwich MEAN Time to Greenwich NICE Time,” which will, in turn, initiate a period of peace on Earth. As years pass and the friends become adults—Serge still a romantic, Marta a scientist who’s designed an android named Roberto—will they still remember the Fairies? If not, the disasters that plagued Earth in their youth are sure to return. Nobis writes with a clear sense of play and wonder. However, some aspects of the plot come across as naïve and overly simplistic, as in an account of the world peace fostered by Oberon: “In the South Pacific, large trash collector ships met to begin scooping up the floating island of plastic waste.…Russia graciously returned Crimea to Ukraine, and in return, Ukraine agreed to talks aimed at neighborly cooperation in all things military, agricultural, and scientific.” The story as a whole isn’t terribly compelling, nor are the characters’ interior lives explored in any meaningful way. All that’s left is a didactic work that doesn’t end up feeling very magical at all.

An underdeveloped tale with a treacly message.