Amber "Hawkeye" Rodriguez has been fascinated with the Disappearance since here early teens. In this event, some two centuries past, the people of the North found the people of the South gone. They simply disappeared without a trace, leaving behind empty cities and a ruined highway. Now, at nineteen, she is one of the authorities on the subject and spends her days researching the matter in detail. One day a Dr. Tutuola shows up on her doorstep accompanied by eight Neighbors (just this once I will adopt US spelling), humanoids with whom Amber's people share the planet. Before she knows it, Amber is on her way south, on a journey though an abandoned land where time fractures, ghosts roam and the Southern Gods set the rules.
Spirits of Glory is a novel that uses elements from both fantasy and science fiction. The planet the story is set on, was colonized centuries ago and although there doesn't seem to be any contact with earth, these origins are still remembered. We hear of genetically engineered species, space stations and strange fluctuations in the flow of time on the planet that ordinary physics seem unable to explain. On the other hand, we are shown ghosts and gods that appear to be native to the planet as well. It is a strange place by any standard. A planet where many unexpected things can happen. I think Devenport was a bit too ambitious in her choice of setting here. At 128 pages, Spirits of Glory is a fairly short work. Many aspects of the planet and the community of people that settled it remain underexposed.
Hawkeye is an unusual protagonist for a science fiction novel. Although she is still in her teens, she is wise beyond her years. Something that is common on a planet where time plays tricks on its inhabitants. She suffers from severe pains in her hip and knee joints and once on the road, often needs help to get around. One of the Neighbors uncharitably described her as 'one who looks like a girl and walks like an old woman.' It has made her the aim of ridicule for much of her life and the harassing continues when a group of scavengers, people who take the risk of travelling into the South and extract objects of value, at the behest of the Northern Gods. The way she deals with it is impressive. In a series of flashbacks Devenport reconstructs the gradual realization that such harassments is not something she has to put up with. The journey into the south is the final element in this process that transforms her into a woman confident in her abilities. It's one of the most appealing aspects of the novel.
For most of the novel, Hawkeye travels through the deserted south, a landscape that is not so much apocalyptic but more surreal. The place is empty but even though it has been centuries, it looks like the people who lived there have only recently left. Combined with the ghosts that show themselves regularly and the time fractures that can hit unexpectedly at any moment, the setting becomes strange and unsettling. The reader constantly gets the impression something is not quite right on this world. Hawkeye shows great courage moving into this territory that has been off limits for two centuries. She can't run away from danger after all, and is largely dependent on the help from the Neighbors to keep her safe.
These Neighbors are another mystery. They are human in appearance but their behaviour certainly is not. Even their presence on the planet, unnoticed until quite some time after colonization is a riddle that Hawkeye has yet to solve. They intrigue the academic in Hawkeye and she longs to thoroughly study them not that she has the opportunity to be in their presence. Neighbors are notoriously uncooperative though. They will not answer the most important question of al: why? Push them to far and they will not answer at all. Throughout the novel curiosity wars with caution as Hawkeye tries to gather information while avoiding asking the wrong questions. Something that gets even harder when the relationship between Hawkeye and the Neighbors becomes more personal. Devenport carefully stays just short of the line where the lack of information about the Neighbors becomes irritating to the reader. Very well paced indeed.
I enjoyed reading Spirits of Glory. It is an novel packed with interesting concepts, that blends science fiction with more fantastical elements into a unique surreal world. There were a few things in the finale of the novel that might have been handled differently. I suspect not all readers will be thrilled by it. For me, that wasn't enough to spoil the novel though. I thoroughly enjoyed Hawkeye's journey of discovery both on the personal level as well as the exploration of her world. I'm not entirely sure Devenport made the most out of the setting, especially in regards the the gods, I am left with a lot of questions. Then again, good fiction does not necessarily provide all the answers. Spirits of Glory is more than worth your time. Go read it.
Book Details
Title: Spirits of Glory
Author: Emily Devenport
Publisher: Self Published, read the Smashwords edition
Pages: 128
Year: 2010
Language: English
Format: E-book
First published: 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment