Defending Elysium

Having not yet read Skyward, all this is to me is a pretty dang good Novella. Typically, for short works like this, my metric for quality is “If this were a first chapter, would I continue reading?” In the case of this novella, the answer is a resounding yes. It's actually so much of a yes that I am a little less excited to read Skyward; I'd much rather read a direct sequel to this.

Novellas are tricky, you need to tell a self-contained story in such few words. In 42 pages we get some quality character development, a solid and engaging plot, and (this is what kind of blew me away) Brando's writing is still excellent even in this proto form. I know this isn't the first thing he had published-I think this came after the first Mistborn trilogy-but still, this is remarkably tight for something so different from his typical fantasy fare. What carries over best from his long-form writing is his grasp on pacing; this kept me engaged the whole way through but never once felt rushed or compressed. I'm also happy to note that there is a satisfying but open-ended conclusion.

What's really impressive about this work to me is that it goes beyond the basic marks of quality. There's a thematic undercurrent that swirls in the details, all the SF staples are here: Questions of Human Nature, scientific responsibility, and good old empathy. 42 pages, and it still has all this stuff in here, wow. That said, there isn't really anything “new” in here; the themes are present but ubiquitous in SF (oh, the aliens aren't all that trustworthy, huh?). The only points for originality that I can give to this is from the outset of the premise-The phone company is responsible for first contact? They aren't exactly the most helpful guys around? It's conceptually hilarious, but the story doesn't do much with the idea, the PC may as well have been the Red Cross or Cyberdyne or the Nakatomi Corporation.

All told, this is a good little SF story, it definitely works to set up a larger world but does so without compromising its own story beats. I would recommend this to anyone in the mood for something short and good, this is not just for fans of Skyward/Brando.

PS: This also has an Audiobook release! It's free to listen to here, the narration is by Nick Camm, it has no right being as good as it is and as free as it is.