Not Dark Yet - Berit Ellingsen

Berit Ellingsen is a name that has been cropping up in various magazines and anthologies over the past few years. She is a Korean Norwegian author writing in English who prefers to spend as much time as possible on Svalbard. I first encountered her writing in The Apex Book of World SF 3 (2014), which includes her story Dancing on the Red Planet. It is a humorous vision of the arrival of the first humans on Mars. It's one of the better stories in a strong anthology. In November last year Not Dark Yet, her second novel was published by Two Dollar Radio. I completely missed it of course, but under the motto better late than never I got a copy recently. It's a near future science fiction novel with a strong environmental theme but also one with a lot of attention for character development. I liked it a lot but it is one of those novels that are not likely to get the attention they deserve.

Brandon Minamoto is a man with a military past. He has left service however and now makes a living as a photographer. The world around him is feeling the impact of irreversible climate change and Brandon is ill at ease with all these changes. Meeting the scientist Kaye, who hires him to take photographs for his research project, ends in a violent drama that brings back his past. Bandon leaves the city and moves into a cabin in the mountains. He applies to the space agency for a position on a proposed manned mission to Mars. But ties to family and lovers are not that easily severed. They keep drawing him back in.

One of the first things many readers will notice is that Ellingsen is very careful to hide where the story is taking place. Names of cities are abbreviated or not mentioned at all, continents are mentioned as northern, southern and so on, the local language is never named. The story could take place in just about any place on earth. Bergen in Norway seems like a reasonable fit, but so does San Francisco. Or any number of other cities around the world. Where many authors would use the setting to create a specific atmosphere, or to confirm or challenge people's preconceptions, Ellingsen keeps it as vague as possible. Maybe to make the story as universal as possible? The theme of climate change is a global development after all.

In the background climate change is always making itself felt. Reports of natural disasters on other continents, the ever rising food prices, the unusual weather and lack of snowfall and eventually a hurricane that will hit Brandon's home town. Part of the world is trying to pretend it is business as usual, but here and there people are trying to adapt as well. Brandon is drawn into a project that attempts to grow crops at an altitude where it would have been impossible in the past. It is a risky venture but he is soon caught up in the optimism of the initiators. There are other currents working their way into his thoughts too. From the temptation to leave it all behind and try again somewhere else, to forcibly changing the world's economic system. The world is not a simple place and Brandon has trouble making sense of it.

The main character is exposed to various moral dilemmas over the course of the novel. They range from very personal, obligations to friends, lovers and family, to larger social issues like how to treat his newly acquired land and the earth in general. He is constantly distancing himself from certain people and then being drawn back in. Brandon, in other words, is not a man at ease with the world. Ellingsen examines this through a series of decisions Brandon has to make. Pull the trigger of his sniper rifle or not? Kill the research owl attacking Kaye or not? Allow the agricultural project to use his land or not? They are decisions with far-reaching consequences for Brandon and the people around him. He spends quite a lot of time unsure of whether or not he got it right.

The author pushes the character to consider extreme and often mutually exclusive options with these choices and the character's indecision. There is the impulse to leave it all behind sign up for the Mars mission (a long shot, the selection criteria are tough) but also the temptation to (literally) put down roots and try to adapt to climate change. He could let himself be drawn back into his familiar circle of lover, friends and family or join Kaye's radical movement and go underground. It is not an easy choice.

Not Dark Yet is a novel that emphasizes character over development of the plot. Various events in the novel are not so much part of one story arc but rather examined in the light of how they influence the main character. As such, this novel is probably not a good choice for very plot oriented readers. Personally I found Brandon to be a highly interesting character though. Every time you think you have a handle on him, Ellingsen explores a new facet of his personality. What the outcome of Brandon's soul searching will be remains uncertain until the very end of the novel. All things considered I think it is a very successful novel. I'll definitely keep an eye out for the next one.

Book Details
Title: Not Dark Yet
Author: Berit Ellingsen
Publisher: Two Dollar Radio
Pages: 209
Year: 2015
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-937512-35-4
First published: 2015