“The Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship (SFINCS, pronounced “sphinx”)a is a yearly competition to recognize, honor, and celebrate the talent and creativity present in the indie community. We are a sister competition to both SPFBO and SPSFC, and we highlight greatness in the novella format in all areas of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror, etc.).” – From the official SFINCS website.
Note: The following review contains only my personal thoughts as a judge and does not reflect the views of the team as a whole.
REVIEW
The Nome King and the Shroud by Tim Pratt is a diverting sci-fi adventure that had me smiling along as I eagerly turned the pages. Although marketed as Space Opera, I wouldn’t personally categorize it that way. To my mind, it’s much more likely to appeal to fans of Adrian Tchaikovsky or Robert J. Sawyer, with its emphasis on the exploration of sapience and sentience in a science fictional world and its accessible treatment of its scientific elements.
In the far future, Earth has become inhospitable to human life and, in an effort to find a new home, human colonists and explorers have been sent out on AI-powered spacecraft to search the stars. One such ship, an AI that comes to be known as the Nome King, has nearly reached their projected destination when they discover a Dyson sphere (a star-powered superstructure once thought impossible). With most of the crew and colonists in stasis for their lengthy, interstellar journey, it’s up to the Nome King and a specialist crew member called Mazha Sun to investigate the anomaly. The danger escalates when the Nome King discovers that the damaged Dyson sphere houses its own AI, one who Mazha suspects of massacring its human charges. The AI, known as the Shroud (or, simply, Shroud), frees the Nome King from the constraining protocols NM’s human creators shackled them with, ostensibly out of altruism, but perhaps due to hidden and nefarious motives. Throughout Nome King, the audience is left guessing alongside the characters as to whether or not Shroud can be trusted.
I mentioned the accessibility of Pratt’s depiction of Nome King‘s science already, but it’s worth noting that his prose is equally as clear and easy to follow. There’s little room here for beautiful or evocative description, but since Nome King is a genuinely plot-focused novella, that’s not only expected to some degree, but is to the work’s credit. Although Pratt’s prose is simple in some ways, it also has a very effective flow to it, so that I found I was easily able to sink into the story and forget about the writing. As I’ve heard others say of movie and TV soundtracks, sometimes the best compliment is that you didn’t notice the music, since that means it supported and melted into the rest of the film (or novel). To be able to make the reader forget they’re reading is an uncommon skill.
“I have detected anomalous data,” the ship’s artificial intelligence answered. “I require assistance with interpretation.”
The characters–Mazha Sun, NK, Shroud, and several more humans and AIs–are solidly drawn. I enjoyed both the human and AI characters and the level of characterization given them felt appropriate for the kind of story Pratt’s telling. You won’t find pages of backstory or a lot of winding interiority here, but Nome King doesn’t suffer for it. Much of the characterization in Nome King depends instead on interpersonal connections, particularly the banter between characters (or the somewhat maniacal speechifying of others). That said, some characters did capture my interest more readily. NK, Shroud, and NK’s “children,” where each compelling, and human standouts include a fun, slightly barbed Québecoise engineer named LeCoeur. One of the most interesting character choices Pratt makes is to have a soley female cast when it comes to the human characters. Given how many sci-fi shows, movies, and books take it as a default that all relevant players are men, it was refreshing to read a work where this not only isn’t the case but in which it goes unremarked upon. It felt intentional, yet was handled gracefully without drawing attention to itself in a way that would have undermined the purpose of the choice.
There isn’t much that will surprise or shock in Nome King. It’s not treading new ground in an obvious way and its story, while it captured me, had only a few potential conclusions. Perhaps it’s the mystery lover in me, but despite these facts, I was buoyed along enough by the question of who Shroud’s organic creators had been and what exactly had happened to them that I didn’t mind that the larger strokes were a little expected. Reader subjectivity is likely to come into play in terms of how much the story appeals, given these elements, but for me, I personally enjoyed the journey and felt it was perfect for a novella-length story.
The Nome King and the Shroud ended up being one the works from this year’s SFINCS that I enjoyed reading the most. Pratt’s a skilled writer, able to make you forget you’re reading and as you enjoy the ride he’s set up. The cat-and-mouse relationships of several of the characters are a delight to watch, and if you’re looking for something breezy that still deals in philosophical questions, this may be the ideal book for you.
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