I’ve got a a Q&A with the author coming up in an hour or so. I haven’t read his A’s yet (so I didn’t have to rethink anything I wrote below), but I’m betting they’re worth your time. Come back and give them a read, will you?
by James Brayken
DETAILS:
Publisher: Oh Gentle Night
Publication Date: May 10, 2022
Format: eBook
Length: 384 pg.
Read Date: October 26 - November 1, 2022
…right now, I’m not discounting anything— time travel included— just because it sounds unbelievable. Unbelievable is the new norm.
What to Say? What to Say? What to Say?
This is one of those books that I have a lot of things that I want to talk about. There is so much worthy of discussion. But if I talked about it all—in the ways that I’m tempted to—you’d finish reading this post and say, “Yeah, H.C., this book sounds like it’s full of interesting ideas, but now I don’t need to read the book.” Then I’d have to admit you were right, and I’d feel bad and the tens of you that read this wouldn’t buy Brayken’s book. So then I’d feel guilty, because he seems like a real nice guy, so then I’d buy multiple copies of it to make up for the copies you don’t buy. Then Mrs. Irresponsible Reader would see what I spent and a fi—ahem—an intense discussion would ensue. Annnd….
Well, let’s just say that’s just too much drama. So I’m going to have choose what I discuss carefully.
What’s The Veiled Edge of Contact About?
Okon is no one’s idea of an SF hero—including his own. A former chef of some notoriety, he hasn’t worked in some time, instead, he’s lived a life of comfort. His wife, Efawi, is an engineer-entrepreneur who is very politically active. Okon isn’t sure that he shares her politics—he definitely doesn’t want her as active as she is (particularly as it puts her under the unfriendly gaze of the government). A few years back, she’d become hugely successful and he’d quit working, and mostly sat around all day playing video games and watching movies (or a futuristic equivalent).
It’s been seventy or so years since a large war of some sort in Africa (and, possibly, other places, it’s not made specific). They live in a country near the largest jungle—but the specifics (again) aren’t given. The couple has little in common beyond a shared history and commitment to each other. As all marriages do, they’ve had their ups and downs—they’re currently in the middle of a prolonged down—but Okon is sure (fairly sure), they’ll turn it around.
But before they can, Efawi’s political activity puts her on the outs with the government, she’s accused of some serious crimes and goes missing. Several days later, Okon finds messages for him to come after her and meet her—she’s on the verge of a discovery that will change everything. Assuming she can finish it without being arrested. She wants her husband with her and has left him directions and equipment—including an armored exosuit—to follow.
Weeks after she’d gone missing, Okon follows her into the jungle. Something about the jungle (and he assumes what she came looking for) interferes with almost all of his tech—particularly the communication portions. So he’s relying on data drops Efawi left behind giving directions to the next one, and the next, and both are starting to despair about how long it’s taking him to catch up.
Okon then stumbles upon a group that call themselves Wuchumbu. They’re possibly the last people group on Earth unfamiliar with and untainted by technology, “modern” culture, etc. They want nothing to do with anyone not in their group and set to attacking him. Stuff happens, and he ends up living with the Wuchumbu and looking for his wife. He’s certain that there’s something about the Wuchumbu, their practices, their location…something that is tied to the tech issues. And therefore, this is where he’ll be able to find Efawi.
And then a whollllle bunch of other stuff ensues.
The Tone of the Novel
This doesn’t read like an SF novel (not that there’s a monolithic tone/voice for SF, but not many come across this way). It might feel like a Mike Chen SF novel, if it was set in an African jungle. But that’s as close as you’re going to find.*
* If I wasn’t late getting this up in the first place, I might spend 3-4 paragraphs on this point. Part of me wants to restart the whole post and say “Pretend Mike Chen wrote a book that’s set…” The more I think about this comparison, the more apt it feels.
The whole novel is rather dark and dystopic but is written in such a way that you can easily forget that. Okon is a likable fellow and his voice (it’s a first-person narration), is pretty much what you’d expect from an adult male who spends his life watching movies and playing video games while his wife revolutionizes science and tries to shake up her country’s government. That same, laid-back attitude crosses time and culture, apparently.
When you wipe everything away, this is the story about a man looking for his wife, increasingly concerned that he can’t find her—but who habitually (and through force of will) is optimistic in the face of increasing challenges. Making this ultimately a sweet—and potentially sad—story. Largely because of Okon’s outlook, his voice, and his devotion to Efawi. Those challenges—mostly those things we just wiped away—take the form of the Wuchumbu, the government Efawi is fleeing from, Okon’s tech issues, and a mess of other obstacles.
A Question of Genre
The descriptions for this book describe it as “genre breaking.” I’m not sure about that. I don’t know that it’s wrong, but I fear that it might mislead some readers (I went into it with skewed assumptions, for example). I’ve got a Q&A with Brayken coming along later today, and he might convince me otherwise—I haven’t read his responses yet, so I don’t know.
What I would say is that The Veiled Edge of Contact is a great example of the wideness of Science Fiction, the range of ideas and settings that it’s capable of, the diversity of characters, and more. I’m not saying that Brayken has done things I haven’t seen in SF before, but the way he combined most of the aspects of this book is pretty rare. (I’d say it’s unique, but as soon as I do that, someone’s going to point out something similar out there, so let’s stick with rare).
The fact that he mixes so many ideas together successfully, with wit and polish not usual for a first novel makes this stand out.
So, what did I think about The Veiled Edge of Contact?
I want to go home—to the one made from bricks. I crave my room. I crave walls and ceilings. I’ve never felt so strongly about carpet.
I felt a little lost at the beginning—there’s a pretty big disconnect between the Prologue and Chapter 1. But I pushed on through and Brayken quickly won me over and I forgot about everything that I got hung up on in the Prologue and the disconnect I felt. Literally forgot—so much so that when that material became relevant again, I had to work to remember it. Which is a compliment, Brayken got me so sucked into to Okon and the Wuchumbu and everything that was immediately going on that it consumed all my attention.
I wanted to see what was around the corner, what was going to befall our (mostly) hapless protagonist next. But I also just wanted to live in the moment and spend more time with him and that moment to go on—because whatever befell him next was going to push the narrative to an end and I’d have to say goodbye. We’ve all been there before with novels, you know that sensation. I got a major dose of it from this book.
I don’t know what more to say about the book than that. Brayken plays with SF concepts, tropes, and mainstays, and does things with them that are familiar and are strikingly unfamiliar. Mostly at the same time. But on the whole, while he’s doing that you don’t care—you just want to see what’s coming next. All the thoughts about what he’s doing and why and how it changes the story come after you’re done—or when you step away for a while for work or whatever.
I would love to sit down and pick his brain some time over a meal and dig down into his thinking and some of the choices he made. I’m not crazy about all of them—but they were absolutely the right choices, and I’m glad he made them (maybe especially the ones I’m not crazy about). Brayken immersed me in another world and I really didn’t want to leave. There’s not a whole lot more I can say that’s more complimentary than that.
Now, I’ve behaved and haven’t said too much. It’s your turn to keep the other end of the bargain. Go and do the right thing and buy this book, will you?
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for this post and my honest opinion.
again. His book, The Rabbit Factory, jumped off the New Release shelf at the local library and worked for me on so many levels—I was absolutely hooked by it and I’m not really sure how many times I’ve read it—a minimum of four times.
The Apostles’ Creed
Grab a book, any book.
