Book Review - GENERATION SHIP by Michael Mammay

 

(Title: Generation Ship / Author: Michael Mammay / Publisher: Harper Voyager / Publication Date: October 17, 2023 / Total Pages: 608)

Back Cover Blurb

In this riveting, stand-alone novel from Michael Mammay, author of Planetside, the beginning of a new human colony must face tyrannical leaders, revolution, crippling instability, and an unknown alien planet that could easily destroy them all. In 2108, Colony Ship Voyager departed Earth for the planet of Promissa with 18,000 of the world's best and brightest on board. 250 years and 27 light years later, an arrival is immanent. 

But all is not well. 

The probes that they've sent ahead to gather the data needed to establish any kind of settlement aren't responding, and the information they have received has presented more questions than answers. It's a time when the entire crew should be coming together to solve the problem, but science officer Sheila Jackson can't get people to listen. 

With the finish line in sight, a group of crewmembers want an end to the draconian rules that their forebearers put in place generations before. However, security force officer Mark Rector and his department have different plans. 

As alliances form and fall, Governor Jared Pantel sees only one way to bring Voyager's citizens together and secure his own full-scale colonization effort. Yet, he may have underestimated the passion of those working for the other side... 

Meanwhile, a harsh alien planet awaits that might have its own ideas about being colonized. A battle for control brews, and victory for one group could mean death for them all.

Review

This book really makes the most out of its roughly 600 page count. What I mean by that is it feels like so much story packed into only one single volume. And that story is masterfully delivered through a handful of viewpoint characters who all have varying motivations and ideological convictions. This makes for one heck of a political drama set against the backdrop of a galaxy-spanning space opera that I simply couldn't get enough of.

The interesting thing about this book is that much of it takes place on the ship. More than once I found myself asking, "When are we going to get to the dang planet?" Then I gradually began to realize that this story is far more nuanced than just being solely about the attempted colonization of Promissa. It also has a lot to do with the clashing personalities of the parties involved and their own ideological agendas. That's when it truly hit me that Michael Mammay is a brilliant storyteller who reveals both the strengths and flaws in human nature through deeply fleshed-out characters.

Needless to say I was ALL IN as the chapters quickly flew by, having felt as if I too was living within the confines of the colony ship with these characters. What would we ultimately find on the enigmatic planet of Promissa? Would those 18,000 or so souls be stepping onto a totally benign and isolated planet perfect for terraforming and ultimately able to sustain them for millennia to come? Or would they encounter something they didn't initially foresee that would throw into turmoil centuries of hope and planning? Chewing over these questions and wanting desperately to find out the answers to them is a huge part of why GENERATION SHIP is so unputdownable in my opinion.

As I was reading this book I was reminded so much of one of my all-time favorite SF series, The Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson. That series also focused a great deal on the political infighting and personal dramas between the main characters, while also deftly balancing the fascinating exploration of Mars element. Similarly, GENERATION SHIP walks that tightrope and gives the reader a marvelous multi-dimensional story that goes well beyond the "adventure on a distant planet" cliché. I really have to give props to Mammay as I have rarely come across a colonization novel that comes even remotely close to the KSR standard, but he has at least equaled it and possibly even surpassed it with this captivating tome.

GENERATION SHIP had me delightfully in its grasp for the better part of two weeks. It was time very well spent as far as I'm concerned. If you enjoy science-fiction that goes way beyond the usual surface layer genre conventions, then you really need to check this one out. It will make you think and also have you hanging on every single sentence of dialogue. GENERATION SHIP is a top-notch SF novel that is only enhanced by some of the best characterization you will ever come across. Michael Mammay is an author who I am really glad to have discovered and I am now hellbent on reading his entire bibliography. Do yourself a favor and just read this book. It's a complete knockout that will have you wanting to devote every minute of your free time to discovering what lies at the end of its enthralling journey. Believe me, it's worth it.

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