When I signed up to this social media blast I felt faintly guilty because I could see this was the third in a series and I hadn’t read the first two. Well, I reasoned, it’s useful to see if a book which forms part of a series can also be enjoyed as a standalone story. Would my not reading the first two books prove to be detrimental to my reading of the third. Know what? I haven’t the faintest idea. Couldn’t tell you. Because in the end I just couldn’t do it. I went ahead and bought the previous two stories, Shattermoon and Morhelion and read them. So there!
The whole series is called The Long Game. And I’m hoping it’s just that. And that we’re not stopping with a mere trilogy. Because I’m hooked. Lined. Sinkered. 2021 has been the year I’ve rediscovered my sci-fi mojo and I’m loving every parsec, every alien world, every orbit and star system I’ve come across. Naïvely I used to have the view that science-fiction was easy to write. (I have a couple of unfinished sci-fi novels languishing in my attic.) I figured that you didn’t have to do the hours of research that you might need for, say, an historical novel. Wrong. You’ve got to make the science work. You’ve got to make it plausible in an implausible situation. That’s a skill. And Dominic Dulley has it.
At the heart of all of these books is Orry Kent. She is what I like to call a “Houdini heroine“ because she ends up in these seemingly inextricable situations and every time you think she’s not going to make it but she does. Of course she does. You wouldn’t have three books if she didn’t! But it’s nailbiting stuff. And she is a very credible heroine.You’re always rooting for her. Always hoping it will work out.
Let's head to blurbsville.
‘Orry Kent just wants a quiet life - but even a little R&R on the holiday planet of Halcyon turns wild when she accidentally sparks off a revolution amongst the downtrodden native workers.
But that's small beer compared with the news footage being broadcast across the Ascendancy, showing Orry murdering the man she saved just six months earlier and destroying the Halstaad-Mirnov Institute, the heart of research into the aeons-dead alien race called The Departed.
With her brother Ethan, the irascible spacedog Captain Mender and his intelligent spaceship Dainty Jane, not to mention the Kadiran exile Quondam, she sets off to prove her innocence. It's just a shame that means teaming up with the woman she loathes more than anyone else in any universe: the space pirate and criminal mastermind Cordelia Roag.
For it's not just Orry's freedom at stake now: a long-dormant planet-eating plague has been triggered and there's only one thing that can stop it.‘
Residuum continues with the personnel from the previous two books. But I think you get an idea of the characters’ personalities, and functions within the story even if you haven’t read the first two. I have read the first two. Did I mention that? 😉 The characters are diverse and compliment each other in that diversity. They all bring something to the overall narrative. There's a range of ages, genders, species, even. And Dulley makes excellent use of the vastness of the universe as he introduces us to even more new worlds and aliens, who aren't actually aliens because they're on their own planets and star systems, but you know what I mean?! There are villains around every corner. You are never quite sure who can be trusted and who should be avoided. And there are the most wonderful alien creations. And planets with the most incredible landscapes and atmospheres. It’s escapism. It’s a book to lose yourself in for 500 odd pages and wonder where the time went for you’ve got yourself so absorbed in these interstellar worlds.
Books like these won’t win the Booker prize. I don’t think they’re ever intended to. This is pure, unadulterated entertainment. It’s the age-old recipe of goodies versus baddies. Heroes and villains. Good triumphing over evil. If you’re a Star Wars fan you’re going to love them. I venture to suggest that Mr Dulley is word perfect, particularly on Star Wars episode three, A New Hope! I was chuckling myself silly at some of the dialogue. It’s action packed, it’s clever, it’s detailed and you need to keep up and you need to pay attention. There are many factions involved in the numerous skirmishes that occur throughout the book and, I hope this isn’t a spoiler, there are quite a lot of dead bodies.
It was with some reluctance that I returned to earth and lockdowns and pandemics. So if you’re looking for something to take you out of that mindset this very well might be the book you’re looking for.
My thanks to Ella Patel and Jo Fletcher Books for a gifted copy. And of course for a place upon the social media blast. I’m keen to see what my blogging colleagues thought of the book.
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