Book Review: "Helix" by Eric Brown...

Since my photography business has started, I've gotten a few gigs. However, the larger economy still is pretty flat, and I'm not so busy that I don't have some free time on occasion.

I read a lot of books, so unless I get swamped with work, I'll post my reviews of them here from time to time.

I just finished "Helix" by Eric Brown. I've never read him before, so I had no idea what to expect. The back cover blurb was intriguing, in that it's a group of humans that crash land on a huge construct that encircles the local star (think Ringworld by Larry Niven or Freeman Dyson's Sphere.)

Eric Brown is apparently a writer of SF for both adults and young adults; unfortunately, I can't recommend this novel to either group. While there are a couple of racy bits (but nothing an older teen couldn't handle) and one scene of alien torture, the real tragedy is that Mr. Brown doesn't make the science in the novel plausible, and further gives us a plot that is Hollywood in its simplicity.

For example, early in the story upon crash landing on the surface of the Helix, the local atmosphere is described as being "...a little oxygen rich, [with] a touch more nitrogen and argon." The purpose of this sentence is to make some attempt to explain why the characters don't have to worry about poisoning themselves on the atmosphere.

But a simple check of earth's atmosphere would turn up 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen and about 1% argon - 99% of the atmosphere right there - with about 1% other gases. So what are we to make of the sentence, then? Rather than providing a sense of the exotic, this deliberately-added tidbit of information simply stands out as poor fact checking and editing.

If the problem were minor points of setting like this, it would be one thing. The issue is when major plot points begin to hinge on issues that just don't seem plausible - from the actual crash-landing of the ship, to the characters' ability to fix alien technology, to the all-too-convenient presence of advanced technology implants in one of the humans.

But the real problem is the plot and characters. None of the human characters are given any particular depth, and the aliens seem even more flat than the humans. The four main characters are given geographically diverse backgrounds, but aside from specific elements placed in their pasts, this background doesn't lead to any difference or conflict in behavior or interpretation.

Even worse, the aliens seem to be set up as a strawmen for posturing on earthly societal issues by the author. Suffice to say that there is no gray area in the depiction of an alien society where religion holds sway.

Verdict? Avoid.