New Sol
New Sol - War of the Shadows is the first part of a science fiction novel series by the American writer Margaret Fortune . The book was published in Germany in October 2016. Original title: Nova (Specter War).
content
When sixteen-year-old Lia Johansen and other refugees reached the New Sol space station, a 36 hour countdown suddenly started in her head. She realizes that she is a living bomb and that she is tasked with becoming a nova on the station . First she explores the station in the time she has. When the countdown stops due to a defect, she begins to question her mission: Why should the station be destroyed? Why does she have the identity and memory of a prisoner of war? How should she behave towards Michael, who sees in her the "real" Lia? And: Did it fail as a bomb in its mission?
While she clarifies these questions and Lia learns more and more about herself and the meaning of her mission, the reader opens up more and more to the universe of the novel.
Finally, she or the reader learns the reason why the station has to be destroyed: It is about more than just a strategic advantage in the current war, it is about the survival of humanity.
The most important people
- Lia is the protagonist of the story. She appears as a living bomb with the memory of a sixteen year old girl named Lia Johansen. This Lia lived on the Aurora Colony until she was conquered and her parents were murdered. As Lia learns more and more about herself, she can ultimately make an informed decision about her mission.
- Michael is a boy of Lia Johansen's age and knows her - or the "real" Lia - from their childhood days together. In literary terms, he has the role of the main character's lover .
- Teal is Michael's younger sister. As in other youth novels with female main characters (e.g. Twilight ) and often in real life with teenagers, she has the role of the sister of the lover, who is also the best friend of the main character.
- Shar is a telepath if she doesn't want to submit to the control of the PsiCorps. First of all, she has the role of the "best enemy". Due to her telepathic talents, however, she can ultimately help Lia decisively on her way.
The universe of the novel and influences from SF culture
Humanity has left earth and colonized space. But mankind has not become peaceful: World wars became galactic wars, and wars are still caused by raw materials and territorial claims. In the part of space that has been populated by mankind, two great powers compete: on the one hand the Tellurian Alliance - to which the earth belongs - and on the other hand the Galactic Star League , an alliance of different colonies and space stations. They are waging an armed conflict over a planet so Earth-like that it is called New Earth.
Many details are reminiscent of the universe of the TV series Babylon 5 : There is a PsyCorp and the greatest threat to mankind is apparently enemies, which in both cases (at least in the German translation) are called shadows and as an invisible threat are not tangible. Another thing they have in common: every resident has a chip with them, which is sure to replace more than just a wallet and ID card. Unlike in the television series, however, there are no non-human civilizations and wars do not take place between humans and aliens, but between different groups of humanity.
New Sol itself is a permanently inhabited space station and thus more than a transit station like Babylon 5 or a primarily military place like Deep Space 9 , but a colony in space. People live in their concentrically arranged habitat rings.
style
The novel is written in an easy-to-read language. With a few exceptions, it is written in the first person and from the perspective of the protagonist . Due to the two young main characters and the love story, it is initially a youth novel, but it can also be read by adults as a sci-fi novel.
continuation
The War of Shadows is continued in the novel Prisma - War of Shadows 2 , which was published in November 2017 and is originally called Archangel - Specter War . There the story of Michael Sorenson and the fight against the shadows after the station was destroyed is told.
German edition
- New Sol . Novel. Translated by Kerstin Fricke. Bastei Lübbe, Cologne 2016, ISBN 978-3-404-20855-5