Traviss, Karen: The World Before
The World Before (2005)
Written by: Karen Traviss
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 388 (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: Book Three (Wess'Har Wars)
Why I Read It: It's hard to believe that it's only been a year ago that I finally sat down with the start of this series, City of Pearl, and was awed. In fact, I still have trouble it's been that long ago, because once I got my hands on the book (which a kind soul let me borrow since Amazon wasn't selling new copies at the time), I ordered the rest of the series. And for some reason, after finishing book two, I got distracted. I decided it was high-time to correct that distraction though, so my goal is to finish this series by year's end.
The premise: ganked from BN.com and CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST TWO BOOKS!!!!: Three strikingly different alien races greeted the military mission from Earth when it reached the planet called Bezer'ej.
Now one of the sentient species has been exterminated-and two others are poised on the brink of war.
The fragile bezeri are no more, due to the ignorant, desperate actions of human interlopers. The powerful wess'har protectors have failed in their sworn obligation to the destroyed native population -- and the outrage must be redressed.
But those who are coming to judge from the World Before -- the home planet, now distant and alien to the wess'har, whose ancestors left there generations ago -- will not restrict their justice to the individual humans responsible for the slaughter. Earth itself must answer for the genocide. And its ultimate fate may depend on a dead woman: former police officer Shan Frankland, who became something far greater than human before destroying herself in the vast airless depths of space.
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Yes, ESPECIALLY for the first two books of the series, City of Pearl and Crossing the Line. I don't suggest reading this review AT ALL if you're not caught up to this point. Skip to "My Rating" and you'll be fine.
This is a tough review to write. When I originally selected the book to read, I thought it would take me a few days. Not because Traviss is a difficult writer to read, but rather because I was already familiar with the world and the conflicts so I thought I could take my time. Instead, I ended up devouring this puppy in two days, which was insane, given that when you consider the events of the book, it doesn't feel like much HAPPENS, which isn't a criticism so much as a marvel: that Traviss can keep me glued to the pages just based on characterization, world-building, and good old-fashioned tension. No need for lots of action, and I appreciate that from both a reader's standpoint and a writer's one.
At any rate, what Traviss does, she does well. Because even though I knew that Shan somehow survived (come on, it's a six-book series!), it was tense watching Ade and Aras go through their grief. There's that, then there's the shock of discovering she's alive and what that means, and poor Ade trying to figure out his place in life now that he's also infected with c'naatat. It was also fascinating to watch Shan be nursed back to health, because she, too, has to come to grips with who and what she is, especially once a potential cure's been discovered.
There's so much in this book, and unfortunately, it's taken so long to get around to this review that the content isn't as fresh as I'd like it to be. I will say that I enjoyed learning and watching the wess'har who came from the World Before. It was a bit of a shock for me and the characters involved at how these wess'har make the ones we already know and love look a little backwards and quaint. The conflict with the isenj, amongst themselves and the World Before. The Word Before's promise to come to Earth to correct them. So, so good.
And of course, on the more personal level, both Aras and Ade each feeling like they need to leave so that Shan can enjoy the other without guilt. Lindsey Neville and Mohan Rayat getting infected for the purpose of rebuilding the world they destroyed. There's a lot of transition in this novel, moving pieces to where they belong, setting things up for what's to come. Normally, such books bother the crap out of me, because there doesn't feel like there's much forward movement, but here, it works. I think it's partially because I'm so invested in the characters, as well as the world-building.
I do wish that Traviss had used a little more variety in her naming. There are pages where I keep getting names confused because they look so similar. Ade and Aras was a big one, but add Eddie (which sounds a lot like Ade in my mind) and put them all in the same scene with dialogue and my poor brain was having fits.
And an odd observation: there's a lot of talk about science fiction, as a genre, being in constant dialogue with itself, which can make it difficult for newbies in the genre to find their footing without starting from square one (i.e., the classics). I'm rather glad it took me a while to read this, because I wouldn't have noticed it otherwise, but note page 36):
"If you say ripe fruit, then one word follows the other. If we say ripe fruit, we say both words at the same time. If we say someone is eating ripe fruit, then that is one word too.
That quote won't mean a darn thing to you, unless you've read China Miéville's Embassytown, and if you have, then you be may wondering what I'm wondering: whether or not Miéville is a fan of Traviss' work, or if it's a case of anyone who's trying to think of a truly alien way of speaking will come upon this method after discarding the more obvious telepathy.
My Rating: Couldn't Put It Down
It's a short review, but really, it's a strong installment that's more of a transition novel, a set up, putting pieces where they belong for later stories. Given that, I was so engrossed by the characters and the cause and effect of everything that's happening that putting this book down became entirely too difficult. I'm really wanting to finish this series before the calendar year is up, and hope to read book four, Matriarch, very, very soon. There's so much at stake in this series, and I can't wait to see how far Traviss is willing to push the envelope.
Cover Commentary: I'm rather meh about this. At first, I thought the artist did a horrible job portraying the pearl coating that's all over EVERYTHING, until later in the book when I learned that this setting is also snow-covered for part of the year. So, I'll forgive the look of snow instead of pearl, though I'll maintain the pearl would've been cooler than snow. Yet I'll give credit for the depiction of the ship from World Before, which is portrayed pretty accurately, based on my reading. But this is no cover that'd catch my eye, that's for sure.
Next up: Spellcast by Barbara Ashford