Book Review: The Expert System's Brother, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Cast out of his village, Handry learns the true origins of their world and why he's been "Severed."
Tor.com, 2018, 167 pages
After an unfortunate accident, Handry is forced to wander a world he doesn’t understand, searching for meaning. He soon discovers that the life he thought he knew is far stranger than he could even possibly imagine.
Can an unlikely saviour provide the answers to the questions he barely comprehends?
How many stories have you read about a space colony forgetting they came from another planet, falling into barbarism, and the ruins and technology of the "Ancestors" becoming the stuff of myth and superstition? The protagonist, for Reasons, is cast out of his conservative ask-no-questions society, forced to wander the world until he finds others who have stumbled upon the truth of their ancient past, leading to conflict amongst those who want to use the old tech for various purposes.
I don't have a lot to say about The Expert System's Brother except that I like Adrian Tchaikovsky and this was a good story, but it's nothing that SF fans haven't read before.
Handry's sister is the "Expert System" of the story. People in this world are possessed by "ghosts" who instruct them on how to perform arcane tasks they don't know how to do themselves. In Handry's sister's case, she was selected to be the replacement doctor for their village when the previous doctor became too old to know what he was doing even with the help of his "ghosts." But then Handry is "Severed," a thing that happens to some people for no reason anyone understands. Suddenly almost everything edible is poisonous to them, and they can barely eat enough to survive. This inevitably leads to being cast out of the village, and Handry escapes only with the help of his sister who temporarily resists the commands of her embedded expert system.
After wandering the world Handry falls in with other Severed people like himself, led by a man who is something of a prophet. He takes Handry back to a "House" of the Ancients; actually an ancient spaceship, and tells him the truth about their origins, or at least as much as he understands.
When Handry's sister shows up, trying to save him, the prophet intends to use her and her expert system, regardless of what it does to her.
There's a sequel to this novella which I will probably read. It's not YA, but it has a YAish flavor as I read so many stories like this when I was a kid.
Also by Adrian Tchaikovsky: My reviews of Children of Time, Children of Ruin, Empire in Black and Gold, and Dragonfly Falling.
My complete list of book reviews.
Tor.com, 2018, 167 pages
After an unfortunate accident, Handry is forced to wander a world he doesn’t understand, searching for meaning. He soon discovers that the life he thought he knew is far stranger than he could even possibly imagine.
Can an unlikely saviour provide the answers to the questions he barely comprehends?
How many stories have you read about a space colony forgetting they came from another planet, falling into barbarism, and the ruins and technology of the "Ancestors" becoming the stuff of myth and superstition? The protagonist, for Reasons, is cast out of his conservative ask-no-questions society, forced to wander the world until he finds others who have stumbled upon the truth of their ancient past, leading to conflict amongst those who want to use the old tech for various purposes.
I don't have a lot to say about The Expert System's Brother except that I like Adrian Tchaikovsky and this was a good story, but it's nothing that SF fans haven't read before.
Handry's sister is the "Expert System" of the story. People in this world are possessed by "ghosts" who instruct them on how to perform arcane tasks they don't know how to do themselves. In Handry's sister's case, she was selected to be the replacement doctor for their village when the previous doctor became too old to know what he was doing even with the help of his "ghosts." But then Handry is "Severed," a thing that happens to some people for no reason anyone understands. Suddenly almost everything edible is poisonous to them, and they can barely eat enough to survive. This inevitably leads to being cast out of the village, and Handry escapes only with the help of his sister who temporarily resists the commands of her embedded expert system.
After wandering the world Handry falls in with other Severed people like himself, led by a man who is something of a prophet. He takes Handry back to a "House" of the Ancients; actually an ancient spaceship, and tells him the truth about their origins, or at least as much as he understands.
When Handry's sister shows up, trying to save him, the prophet intends to use her and her expert system, regardless of what it does to her.
There's a sequel to this novella which I will probably read. It's not YA, but it has a YAish flavor as I read so many stories like this when I was a kid.
Also by Adrian Tchaikovsky: My reviews of Children of Time, Children of Ruin, Empire in Black and Gold, and Dragonfly Falling.
My complete list of book reviews.