BARDOLOMY

In Weissinger’s SF novel, a crew of Earthling explorers and settlers venture into space in search of new life.

By the year 9280, Earth has been overcome by floods and wars, and much of the population is living on Europa, an ice-sheathed moon of Jupiter. Draedon Ekho is a deep-sea diver who’s notorious for having died for 30 minutes during a dive, only to be resurrected by advanced technology. He’s sick of his job and thrilled to learn an old buddy, Gavril Bern, is helming a massive passenger ship that’s leaving Europa in search of a new, habitable planet. Soon, the ship embarks, and the crew, as well as 9,000 civilian passengers, are put into stasis for the journey. However, things quickly go wrong, and crewmember Draedon wakes to find the ship plunged into darkness and its systems going haywire. After re-establishing power, he learns that much of the crew, including Gavril, has been killed, due to their unwitting proximity to a dying supernova. Draedon is the ship’s commander now, and as he negotiates the perils that his fellow passengers face, they find a planet with a breathable atmosphere. They also discover that it’s inhabited by humanoids with less-advanced technology and no system of government—the latter of which deeply distresses the deeply hierarchical crew. Weissinger’s novel features several conventional tropes: an unlikely hero thrust into extraordinary circumstances; a long, perilous journey gone awry; and the introduction of a strange new approach to life. Yet this novel distinguishes itself, often, with its thoughtful philosophical musings: “Whether it is better to be closely connected to the world around us, or suffer the insult of having no bearing whatsoever. I say we are all irrelevant in a universe that cares not about us.” In addition, the novel rips through its action at a rapid pace, which is sure to keep readers engaged straight through to the end.

An interplanetary tale with thought-provoking discussions of humanity’s relationship to the wider universe.