I’ve heard it said that the problem with writing science-fiction mysteries is that you have aliens or devices that don’t conform to all the rules of our world, but there still has to be a strong internal logic to the story. Otherwise the mystery doesn’t make sense; there isn’t a puzzle that can be revealed to have a satisfying answer.
Mark Hodder took that challenge, and wrote a great mystery that happens in another world, surrounded by creatures and technologies that have never existed, but it still makes perfect sense, and it’s very satisfying.
A Red Sun Also Rises is often described as Steampunk, but mostly because the two main characters are from Victorian-era London. Otherwise the Steampunk element is fairly muted; there isn’t any clockwork, and very few dirigibles. The language is definitely Victorian, but not annoyingly so, except when spoken by a few characters who aren’t quite right in the head, and they’re supposed to be a little annoying.
On the one hand, the book can be very philosophical. One of the main characters, Aiden, is having a massive crisis of faith in just about everything he ever believed in, and he often talks it over with his former-servant, former-sexton, traveling-companion and friend Clarissa. Their conversations cover the nature of society and man, the face of evil, the existence of the Devil, and whether or not a woman should be allowed to wear trousers if she really wants to by God.
Luckily Aiden is pretty open-minded, so the discussions never get preachy or boring. (And Clarissa wears trousers whenever she feels like it.)
But that’s only one small facet of the book, the rest is one kick-ass science-fiction battle after another. They’re transported to another planet, meet terrifying aliens, find incomprehensible technology, and engage in hearty fisticuffs with scoundrels both human and otherwise.
Written in 2012, Hodder’s managed to capture the feel of classic literature and retro-sci-fi at the same time. It reminded me of the adventure and philosophy of Swiss Family Robinson, the language of Little Women, and the ethereal alien beauty of C.S. Lewis’ Out of the Silent Planet. It also had, in one small place, a huge resemblance to Larry Niven’s bizarre story Flare Time, and as that’s one of my favorite science-fiction short stories, it made me incredibly happy.
And the mystery, of course, is wonderfully written. The reader does have to pay attention, because it’s fairly convoluted, but at the reveal Hodder carefully explains everything. The pieces of the puzzle are placed into the story early on, so it never feels like the answer was just conjured out of thin air.
The ending, while not exactly what I’d wanted, was still a good one. Unlike the last couple of books I read, I didn’t feel like anything was unclear. It’s not exactly a happy ending, but it is a logical one, and in a strange way it’s satisfying too.