Spear of Light – The Glittering Edge #2 – Brenda Cooper
When the post-human Next suddenly re-appear in a solar system that banished them, humans are threatened. Their reactions vary from disgust and anger to yearning to live forever like the powerful Next, who are casually building a new city out of starships in the heart of the re-wilded planet Lym. The first families of Lym must deal with being invaded while they grapple with their own inner fears.
Ranger Charlie Windar is desperate to save his beloved planet. The Next are building strange cities he never imagined, and other humans who want to destroy the Next are his worst enemies.
Ambassador Nona Hall strives to forge links between the powerful station she’s from, The Diamond Deep, and the people of Lym. The formidable merchant Gunnar Ellensson appears to be up to no good, and as usual his motivations are suspect. Why is he sending ships to Lym, and what does he intend to do with them when he arrives?
The Shining Revolution threatens to undo everything by attacking the Next on Lym, and their desire to eradicate the post-humans is greater than their desire to save humanity’s home. It is entirely possible that they will draw the wrath of the Next onto all of humanity.
In the meantime, the Next’s motives remain inscrutable. Why are they here at all? What do they want? Why are they interested in the ancient past of a planet that has been ravaged and rebuilt at least once?
Review:
As this is the second book in the Glittering Edge duology, this review will contain some minor spoilers from the first book, Edge of Dark, so read on with caution if you haven’t read it yet. With the first book so thought-provoking and full of ethical dilemmas I was curious to see where the second book would take us. I was quite satisfied with the direction the author chose to take at the end of Edge of Dark and it left us with a lot of potential storylines for the second book.
Charlie’s and Nona’s point of view chapters are back, but this time we get a glimpse into the head of the soulbot Yi instead of Chrystal. This is an interesting and exciting choice because, of the four soulbots we met in Edge of Dark, Yi is probably the most calm and collected one when it comes to accepting his fate. We don’t know that much about Katherine, Jason is quite hot-headed and (this) Chyrstal is probably going to be only slightly different to the one we read about previously. So Yi was definitely my preferred soulbot to know more about. We also get some chapters from Satyana on the Diamond Deep, and Nayli who is part of the rebel group The Shining Revolution.
As I was expecting at the end of the first book, living with the Next is not easy for the humans on Lym and in the space stations. Even though quite a few people choose to become soulbots, a majority are still suspicious of the Next and would rather see them leave again. On the extreme side of this are The Shining Revolution, who made a statement in the first book by capturing and murdering Chrystal. Enraged by the fact that a new Chrystal has emerged, they plan to think bigger this time and plot to overthrow the Next. However, the Next do not tolerate any opposition and will remorselessly annihilate anyone that stands in their way. Are they both just ruthless? My sympathy leans more towards the Next in this one, because even though The Shining Revolution is lead by fear, and fear is a powerful feeling, they are actively seeking out war, regardless of what they destroy in the process. The Next are trying to live peacefully alongside humans but will retaliate with triple the force when someone strikes out against them, which in some sense seems fair in their way of thinking.
I particularly enjoyed exploring more of Lym in this book. As tensions rise and people are going missing, Nona (who has taken on the role of ambassador for the Diamond Deep) and Charlie have to venture out to the remote farms to do some damage control and to get a better understanding of what is going on. From there they have to go even further across Lym, into the desert. It was especially interesting to see the reaction of the people who grew up on the space stations to this new environment. The soulbots also decide to explore the caves where the Gleaners live, which leads to a very exciting part of the story. I’m glad the focus of this book was more on Lym than on the spaceships and stations. I like a good space opera, but I’m still a biologist and a conservation volunteer at heart, so the re-wilding caught my attention from the get-go.
As the book drew to a close, I was wondering how Cooper was going to tie everything up in a satisfactory way. It seemed like there was still a lot going on, without a definite ending. The revelation (I would even call it a twist) at the very end left me with a lot to think about. It put the whole duology in a new perspective and was definitely not something I was expecting. I closed the book feeling slightly bemused and very satisfied. I’ve been recommending Edge of Dark to friends who like thought-provoking SciFi and now I can safely tell them that the complete story is one that will stay with them for a while. I’m sad this was the end, but at the same time I’m very satisfied with how it ended.
Release date: June 7th, 2016
Publisher: Pyr
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 400
Format: ARC
Source: Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
