Radiant

This was a light and pleasurable read this weekend, the latest in James Alan Gardner's "expendable" universe. I read the first novel when it initially came out several years ago and then failed to notice the intervening releases. I was pleasantly surprised, when I started reading this one, that missing the in-between novels didn't affect my enjoyment of this book. The "expendable" universe is one where humanity has ventured to the stars and promptly found that there are many alien cultures out there, most of which are far more advanced than man. These cultures have a rule against killing sentient life. If you do it, and then try to leave your solar system, you are zapped as a " dangerous non-sentient". Humanity splits into two cultures, the Technocracy and the Unity, one averse to tinkering with genes and the other gung-ho about it. Nicely though, unlike most of our history, these two cultures don't fight each other....since doing so would get them all erased as non-sentients....they just kind of bicker like a divorced couple. In this novel, Ugly Screaming Stink-Baby, otherwise known as Youn Sue, is a 19 year old cadre of the Explorers, an arm of the Technocracy Navy. the Explorers are scouts that are sent ahead of the regular Navy to explore new worlds, and to determine all the myriad things that can kill people on them. Think of the expendable ensigns on the old Star Trek shows and you'll get the idea. Actually, that probably is where Gardner got the idea. Naturally the mortality rate within this elite group is high; so the technocracy response i sto satff the Explorers only with humans that are disfigured. Thse people are considered expendable. In this delightful tale, Youn Sue, a Buddhist, is first infected by a red, spore like sentience that calls itself the Balrog, and which is far smarter than any human. She then is called to rescue a group of Unity Scouts along with the indomitable Admiral Ramos and another explorer, Tut. The Unity scouts, although dispersed around the planet, all disappeared at once and the Explorer's are the closest group when the mayday comes in. They must solve the puzzle of the missing scouts and determine why the Balrog attacked Youn Sue, while fending off velociraptors on an archaelogical mystery planet. This book was a lot of fun and perfect light reading on a weekend when I had the flu. It's not destined to be a sci-fi classic but I did enjoy reading it.

I agree with the reviewer who stated that the author just gets better with each book. I love his characters, and even loved his "commitment hour." This book does indeed have buddhist overtones. Along with a great story and the usual science fiction adventure, there is some serious discussion about what makes us who we are. I recommend this book highly for any lover of science fiction.

By my count, this is the 6th book in Gardner's "League of Peoples" universe. In no particular order, earlier books are "Expendable," "Hunted," "Vigilant," "Trapped," and "Ascending." Technically, I suppose, the lamentable "Commitment Hour" should be included, but let's not. Not all of those books have focused on Explorers, so-called Expendable Crew Members, but they figure in most. ECMs, in Gardner's universe, have physical flaws. Youn Su, the protagonist of this novel, has an ulcer on her cheek; Festina Ramos, the character who links many of these six novels, has a portwine stain. In Gardner's universe, casualties among Explorers are less harmful to the morale of the rest of the crew because of those physical flaws. That's the premise, anyway. Another premise of Gardner's universe is that earth folk are very junior members of the League of Peoples. The senior members are omniscicent, omnipotent and omnipresent. As an example, the League defines "non-sentient" as someone who kills another. The senior members of the League punish "non-sentience" by killing non-sentients who venture into space. Other premises include human pheromones, glass-like, transparent humans, an utterly corrupt and incompetent earth government, evolution to higher levels by chemistry and mystic radiation, morbid and pathological fear of evolution to higher levels, and semi-intelligent nanotechnology. If you just lay it out like that, the premises read like a checklist of science fiction's silliest ideas. Shades of Kilgore Trout. Whatever else, you have to check your disbelief at the door when you read one of these books. But despite all of those silly premises and silly science, these books are a lot of fun to read. And in the last few, at least, there is something more than mere entertainment involved. In "Radiant," for example, there is an interesting clash between Eastern - well, quasi-Buddhist - and Western action heros. Gardner does an effective job of contrast, although I could wish he had added Tut as a more fully-developed character; Tut is an semi-sane, trickster hero, a non-malevolent Loki. But Tut is mostly overshadowed. But what is most striking about Gardner across these six novels is how much his writing has improved. If you read or re-read "Expendable," his first book, with "Radiant," his most recent, the improvement is palpable. Language, dialog, description, characterization; all show very substantial improvement. Even the level of silly science is down a bit. So yes, I like this book, and I like Gardner. Good yarns, well told. I'd even recommend it. But it may be that Gardner as an increasingly sophisticated writer, is outgrowing the very unsophisticated premises that underpin this series.

I have been facinated by the Expendable universe from the very first book, and have read all that James Alan Gardner has published. This story is a fast read and filled with surprises. More facts are revealed about the upper level aliens and best of all there is a reason for their sticking their nose in Human business. Striving and the journey are more important than actual conclusions. And being sentient is more than just being able to think.

EXPENDABLE Explorer Third Class Youn Sue is trained to handle the most difficult, dangerous and deadly assignments as expected of a member of the Explorer Corps. She and her Explorer peers are disposables enabling a detached mankind to rationalize their deaths without any emotional attachment, remorse or guilt for who cares that an "Ugly Screaming Stink Girl" like Youn dies. The Pistachio space ship Captain Cohen sends Third Class Youn and her partner Second Class Tut to Zoonau on Cashling to save innocent lives from the highly intelligent (much more than humans) Balrog. The duo are assigned to work with legendary Admiral Festina Ramos as the Balrog has just begun a chess game in which this sentient knows the opponents' plans while other beings have started their own cat and mouse deadly diversions with genocide as a possibility unless the disposable trio finds away to stop two devastating threats.. The latest expendable Explorer Corps tale is an exhilarating outer space thriller that takes off the moment Youn receives the assignment and never lets up until the final altercation. The action is faster than the speed of light, but the key characters make the story line more than just another adventure tale. Youn is a wonderful star as she is filled with psychological woes from her youth (this time you can blame the mom); Tut is a likable nut; finally the renowned admiral is real and different from the mythical legend. Even Balrog comes across as alien, but a complete ET. SF readers will appreciate this tale that shows one must honorably take responsibility (not just lip service) for one's actions. Harriet Klausner