Sally Strange reviewed The Sol Majestic by Ferrett Steinmetz
Love, money, and politics--in a restaurant on a space station
5 stars
Inventive and evocative. Steinmetz really put a lot of thought into imagining what top tier chefs could do with tech from sci-fi tropes, for example, what if you could cook something not with fire but with the heat generated by pressures on a geologic scale? Like baking a potato by burying it underneath the earth's crust, where massive pressures keep rocks in their liquid form.
Also, what would it be like to travel space as an extremely poor person? Lots of waiting, of course. Boredom broken only by the antics of one's fellow passengers, turning every interpersonal conflict into the only form of entertainment for dozens of strangers.
But ultimately the strength of a good novel rests in its characters and its story, and this is a wonderful, affirming, but not sentimental portrait of a young man seeking to find and then to create meaning in his life. Kenna, our …
Inventive and evocative. Steinmetz really put a lot of thought into imagining what top tier chefs could do with tech from sci-fi tropes, for example, what if you could cook something not with fire but with the heat generated by pressures on a geologic scale? Like baking a potato by burying it underneath the earth's crust, where massive pressures keep rocks in their liquid form.
Also, what would it be like to travel space as an extremely poor person? Lots of waiting, of course. Boredom broken only by the antics of one's fellow passengers, turning every interpersonal conflict into the only form of entertainment for dozens of strangers.
But ultimately the strength of a good novel rests in its characters and its story, and this is a wonderful, affirming, but not sentimental portrait of a young man seeking to find and then to create meaning in his life. Kenna, our hero, reminds me a bit of Koli from the Rampart Trilogy (by M. R. Carey, also recommend) in that he at first appears weak to most of the world, but finds that his greatest strength lies in his sensitivity and vulnerability.
It's more traditional scifi than solarpunk, but it has that cozy, homey vibe I've come to associate with stories labeled solarpunk. Whole-heartedly recommend.
