Strata [Kindle Edition]

In this novella, Beaulieu and Gaskell introduce us to a dystopian, corporate-dominated far future, in which workers struggle for their rights while slaving away on the energy harvesting platforms that orbit the Sun. With echoes of many of today's political issues, Strata is an intelligent, well-written, and character-driven story of personal and political struggle.

Strata manages to pack quite a bit of action and tension into such a short amount of space. Presented from two perspectives - Poulson's and Kawe's, the authors offer us a glimpse into the brutal, soul-destroying lives of the workers on the Sun platforms. Contracted as indentured slaves, effectively, the working population of these platforms have few outlets or diversions. One of them is the racing, which mixes speed and danger in equal measures sure to excite the down-trodden workers of the platform and give them a momentary respite from the brutal, baking work conditions to which they are subjected daily.

Through the discussions between Poulson and Kawe, as well as the work of the Movement (an underground resistance to the official, corporate overlords), we learn more of the "extra-legal" status of these platforms around the sun and the illegal work conditions this allows, and the power of the corporations to change rules to suit their needs and profit-margins. The Movement are fighting for their rights against the corporations that seem to be winning "stunning" legal victories for even more perfect deals and so forth. It's not difficult to spot parallels with today's legal and political battles in the United States and elsewhere (but particularly Wisconsin - Beaulieu's home state). I think the authors have taken the modern-day concerns and transposed them onto this speculative setting very well while not detracting from the character-story that is also at play here.

The authors draw on two classic character types, as well as their dynamic - the old, grizzled and cynical former freedom fighter, and the more radical and idealistic new generation activist. Rather than offer a retread of standard trope, however, they manage to make it their own in a way that feels both fresh and original. Poulson is clearly the father-figure Kawe always wanted and needed, and that comes with similar disappointments and confrontations that would imply. As we learn more of Kawe and Poulson's situations and pasts, the reasons they are each drawn to the Movement and approach it the way they do become clearer. Poulson is suffering from memories and experiences of defeat in the past; while Kawe is idealistically taken in by the promise of a better life, and wishes to be an agent of change for the only life he's ever known. Poulson's cynicism has become pretty entrenched, and it's almost as if he's given up.

"Management cannot be stopped. Not by me, not by you, and not by your little friends."

"They're not gods."

"The men in the offices? No, you're right. But the platforms themselves... I couldn't call them gods so much as machines - cold, relentless machines. And you and me? We're just tiny cogs to be replaced when we get bent out of shape."

As events take a turn for the deadly, Poulson becomes more paranoid, as he questions much of the good in his life, wondering if it's all a lie, put in place to keep him quiet, distracted and docile. He also has to confront reality, and decide whether or not he should re-join the fight. Kawe, who spends most of the story looking up to Poulson, eventually becomes an inspiration for the older character.

It's a classic "beware unfettered corporations" tale, transposed on a new and interesting setting. I'm sure this could have worked as a full-length novel, which would have allowed for greater fleshing out of the world. This, actually, is my only complaint about the novella - although, "wanting more" is hardly something to worry any author. With more space and time, I think more could have been made of Kawe and Poulson, their pasts and relationships with other characters. Nevertheless, this was still a satisfying story.

It's a story of redemption, and it's an examination of how far people will go for what they believe, and what they're willing to sacrifice (in terms of personally and also, in one particularly chilling instance, collateral damage): "When your enemy was so ruthless, so casual in their regard for human life, you could only win if you rose to their level of brutality."

Ultimately, Strata was a thought-provoking and engaging novella. Poulson and Kawe were great, well-drawn protagonists. I really hope Gaskell and Beaulieu can be convinced to write either more novellas in this world or even venture into novel-length territory.

This is a highly recommended, great-value novella.

Before I begin to write this review, I'll mention that Stephen Gaskell was an unknown author to me (I remember hearing about him, but this was the first time that I read something by him), but I've read Bradley P. Beaulieu's The Winds of Khalakovo. (I'll also mention that I'm glad that I had a chance to read this novella, because the story is good.)

Strata: A Story of the Future Suns is a fine self-published science fiction novella. It's a story about freedom, revolution, second chances, sacrifice and racing (skimming on the sun's surface). The events take place on the mining platform orbiting the Sun. This living and working environment is hostile and hard, because the workers are exploited ruthlessly and the management shows no mercy for those who begin to question how things are handled. The platforms are out of reach of Earth's legal system and that's why life can be extremely harsh for the workers, because the local management has lots of power and wants to control everything. The heat and the radiation also cause lots of problems for the workers. They try to struggle to get better conditions and more right for themselves, but their struggles seem to be in vain.

The characterization in this novella is excellent and even the small details are handled and described admirably. Smith Poulson and Kawe Ndechi are realistic and well portrayed characters. The relationship between Kawe and Poulson is handled in a fine and believable way.

Kawe and her mother, Mama, live on the platforms. His mother has signed a contract which keeps them on the platforms for a long time (they had left behind Kawe's abusive and angry father and fled to the platforms). Transfer to the platforms was free for them, but unfortunately transfering back to Earth is very expensive, so it's almost impossible for them to get back to Earth. Kawe has gradually found out how hard life can be on the platforms and how badly people are treated there.

Kawe is involved in the movement, which tries to make things better. He has principals and ideals, because he thinks that it doesn't matter where you are, but what you do. There has been several attempts to overthrow the management, but the attempts haven't been successful yet, because the management keeps tight control over what happens and tries to prevent mutinies.

Poulson was once involved in the movement too, but not anymore (the revelations about his past and what happened to him were interesting). However, things are changing and he has to face certain things.

The skimmer races are an important part of the story, because the racers may get a ticket back home. Racing is also good distraction and pastime for the workers. The managament is thinking of stopping the races, because they want more control. In my opinion this kind of racing is a brilliant idea and the authors have clearly spent a lot of time and effort on it. (The skimmer racing reminded me a bit of a song called "Dragonfly" by Blondie.)

Strata contains several elements from social issues to personal issues and all of them are handled surprisingly well. I was surprised how easily the authors created two different kind of characters who have to trust and respect each other. I was also intrigued by the way the authors combined action, adventure and certain space opera elements.

The story flows nicely from first page to the last page. Different themes (fight for freedom etc) are handled fluently within the story and the reader will gradually find out what has happened to the characters and what happens to them.

I enjoyed reading Strata: A Story of the Future Suns, because the characters have depth in them, the authors have combined different elements and the story is interesting. It was a pleasure to read this kind of intelligent science fiction. I'm sure that several other fans of quality science fiction will also like it.