Hill, Joe: Gunpowder
Gunpowder (2008)
Written by: Joe Hill
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 81
One thing I keep an eye on is the latest offerings that Subterranean Press produces, and I do so by subscribing to their newsletter and scanning to see what's available. At this point, I've only ordered books written by Cherie Priest, John Scalzi, and now Joe Hill (though I'm sorry I missed an Allen Steele title a few years back), because let's face it, collector's editions are expensive, and even if it's a book that's not published elsewhere, I can't allow myself to go crazy. Little books add up to big, ridiculous bucks, so I'm careful. I didn't order Joe Hill's Gunpowder because it was offered as a bonus to those who ordered their special edition of Locke & Key (which we already own as individual issues and collected in the IDW hardcover), but when I got an email advertising a 50% off special on this title, I took it in a heartbeat. I like Joe Hill, a lot. He's fast becoming one of my must-read authors. I didn't even look to see what I was getting, other than to note it was not a title I owned and I wanted it.
The premise: Elaine lives on the planet R2 as the caretaker of a group of boys who have the Talent of psyforming: essentially, they can terraform a planet using their imaginations in far less time than it'd take traditional technology. Only one of the boys, Charley, doesn't have the Talent save for a tiny sliver of it, but beyond that difference, life on R2 is peaceful, until news of an outside war disrupts their lives, and the boys are presented with a new, dangerous mission.
Review style: there's really not a whole lot to spoil in this book. It's a novella, and a very short one at that. I read it in one sitting with no trouble. It's another one of those that I can't talk about without spoiling it, so I apologize. If you'd prefer to skip the spoilers, please jump to the "My Ratings" section of the review.
There's a lot of stuff I love about this book. The planet they're on, and how it could ignite at any moment (literally). The fact that the natural name of the world is Gunpowder, a name that Elaine tries to ignore, but can't in favor of the boys' somewhat natural way of creating that which destroys, and of course, the nature of the world anyway. A planet named Gunpowder. I love, love, LOVE it.
I also love the group dynamic between all of the boys. It's kind of an odd mix between Peter Pan's Lost Boys and those of Lord of the Flies. The boys, you recognize, all have good hearts. They just sometimes get into trouble, as evidenced when they play tricks on Charley (the name and character a nod to Flowers for Algernon? I think so). The characters, at least those whom Elaine interacts with, all have distinct personalities and are easy to remember: Jake, the wonder boy who's the unspoken leader of them all; Neil, Charley, Cutter, Vlad, and my favorites just for their names, Pete and Repete. Elaine's a believable mother, a woman whose given her life to a cause, so it's no wonder she's shocked and terrified when she's informed she's been "promoted" and will no longer oversee the boys' activities.
I wasn't sure what Jackson (I would've selected a different name, personally, as Jackson next to Jake made my brain twist and hurt) was going to do when she arrived, other than the fact I knew that it'd be ultimately bad for the boys. The war effort was surprisingly believable, and really, it's no wonder all of the boys, save for Charley, latched on to it with excitement, at least until they overheard that Elaine could no longer stay with them, and to prevent their protest, Jackson activated a kind of failsafe that kept the masks on, their voices silent, and the psyforming powers contained. I knew Charley was going to do something epic, and I wasn't disappointed. All through the book, we paid special attention to him: his ability to see things how they are, the symbolism of the moon Caliban, and then of course, his ability to move rocks. How incredibly useful and deadly that ability turned out to be, and I admire Hill for not letting Charley completely save the day. Not only did Charley need help bringing the moon down on the gunship, but also, the action destroyed their castle and kill Elaine, whose pages were very lovely indeed.
The ending is haunting (hell, the whole book is, but the end moreso) in that Jake, the leader of the boys, can't wrap his head around what's happened, a disaster he helped create, the death of Elaine, while the rest of the boys are forced to turn to Cutter, who offers a very logical solution: the military will be back, and because of the boys' actions, they military will kill them all. The boys must fight now, and make Gunpowder exactly what the military wanted, except they won't be aiding the war effort, but rather, they'll be defending themselves.
Cutterflies. I love cutterflies! And knife-grass!
My Rating
Must Have: for Joe Hill fans, it's worth every penny. It's a lovely, tightly written little novella that's a treasure to own. If you've not read Joe Hill but don't want to check out his horror, this SF novella is worth the cash, though it may be more cash than you're willing to pay. I hope that Hill is able to get this released in some kind of collection or something later, because it's a fantastic little read, and I'm very glad I got a chance to get my hands on it. Hill's pretty much solidified himself as a must-read author for me, and I'm looking forward to the rest of his work.
Cover Commentary: it's a very Ben Templesmith-esque cover, though the art is done by Vincent Chong. I like how the cover really captures the mood and feel of the novella, and the back cover is absolutely excellent, a wee bit Dave McKean-esque. Nicely done. Though really, all I need is the name "Joe Hill" stamped on a cover and I'm there. :)