faerie bytes

Steven Harper
Publisher: Roc (New American Library)
ISBN: 0451460014

Mystery, action, politics, romance and babies - what’s not to love? Well, perhaps “romance” is a bit of a stretch - after all, the guy already *got* the guy - but this fourth entry in Harper’s “Silent Empire” series does have a bit more “relationship” material than his previous novels, as Ben and Kendi prepare to become “fathers” of Ben’s embryonic “siblings.”

If any of the foregoing confuses you, then you clearly haven’t read any of the first three books in the series: *Dreamer*, *Nightmare*, or *Trickster* - which is a shame, because they’re all really good. You don’t need to have read them to enjoy *Offspring*, though, because Harper deftly fills in the necessary back-story as it’s needed. But you’ll probably enjoy *Offspring* more if you do read them, because knowing what these characters have been through together prior to the events in this novel gives a deeper meaning to the problems they encounter and deal with in *Offspring.*

The “Silent” in Silent Empire refers to those people who are able to consciously enter “the Dream,” which clearly has its inspiration in the Australian aboriginal concept of “Dreamtime.” In the novel (and with certain differences), it’s a concept common to all sentient races, and it is the means by which the interstellar empire communicates. All places exist simultaneously in the Dream, so those who can enter it are able to speak to others in far flung places instantaneously. Since only a small fraction of sentient beings can deliberately enter the Dream, and no other means of interstellar communication has been discovered, they are highly valuable. Unfortunately, the commodification of their talent often leads to their enslavement. (While slavery is common in the empire, the Silent are the *most* profitable slaves, and hence the most relentlessly sought.)

The use of Australian Aboriginal culture as a background for one of the characters, as well as inspiration for the fictional culture, is one of the most intriguing features of the “Silent Empire” series. A lot of authors use past- or present-day cultures as either inspiration or background for their imagined cultures, but Western (especially Celtic) or Oriental cultures are far more commonly used. Harper’s is the only series that I know of that uses Australian Aboriginal culture for either a main character’s background or inspiration for the “world” created in the novel. The series is set in the future of *this* world - meaning the history of the “Silent Empire,” world, as well as Kendi’s Australian heritage, can be recognizably traced to our present day world.

Harper’s writing flows easily, and *Offspring* is an easy (and addictive) read. The action is fairly fast-paced, the characters are well-drawn and interesting, the protagonists are likable, and the villains are deliciously despicable. The characters are somewhat more complex than many space-opera authors’ characters, starting with the fact that the protagonists are a gay couple. Although there is no evidence of the social disapproval we see in our world, it does tend to make both parenthood and the semantics of family relationships a challenge. But this aspect of their lives is not endlessly dissected or brooded over, it’s just a part of the overall story that creates the adventure (and mystery) in which Kendi and Ben find themselves.

There’s not much more about the story that I can say without “spoilers” relating to the earlier books in the series. So, I’ll simply repeat: Mystery, action, politics, romance and babies - what’s not to love?

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