Karl Schroeder, Sun of Suns

Sun of Suns

Karl Schroeder

Tor, October 2006, $24.95

ISBN: 0765315432

The world of Virga is logically impossible, as it sits in a part of open space where previously nothing but the vast emptiness existed. However, the creation of a humongous three-thousand kilometers in diameter fullerene barrier that contains the essentials of life and life forms, including people with fusion reactors as mini suns have made the unfeasible happen.

In this man made eco-balloon, humanity is the same as everywhere else, as the ruthless are never satiated, as they obsessively must seek power. Eight years ago, the powerful nation Slipstream sent Admiral Chaison Fanning with a fleet that assaulted and conquered tiny and "sunless" Aerie. During the hostility, the loving parents of young Hayden Griffin are killed. The lad vowed revenge. Over the years Hayden becomes proficient with weapons and a jet-bike. He sets in motion his long awaited plan to assassinate his enemy by charming Fanning's ambitious vainglorious wife. However, just when the opportunity nears, Hayden is sidetracked as a plot to invade Slipstream surfaces. To his chagrin, the young man puts his need on hold to assist his hated foe, even as armorer Aubri Mahallan, an outsider from the brutal totalitarian Artificial Nature empire, enthralls him.

SUN OF SUNS is a way out incredible science fiction that grips readers as they learn just what Virga is, while following Hayden's coming of age escapades. The storyline is fast-paced, as the lad seeks revenge against a devil whom he realizes is courageous, honorable and so human that he would make a great role model if the youngster did not have to kill him. The action is fast and furious, and the key casting trio fully developed with aspirations and desires, but the first book of the Virga tales belongs to the incredible world-building technology that showcases Karl Schroeder's imagination to expand and transport Buckminster Fuller's concept for Manhattan into airless space.