Book Reviews – Daughter of Elysium/The Children Star

Daughter of Elysium (1993) and The Children Star (1998)  by Joan Slonczewski – Two novels from a common universe.  Slonczewski is a microbiologist at Kenyon College and brings that hard science background to her work.  These books make up two thirds of the “Elysium Cycle”.  The stories examine events on several planets when an intelligent microbe is discovered.  The microbe lifespan is very short which means they evolve very quickly.  Thus many generations can live within a host in just a fraction of the host’s lifespan.  Some of the characters find a relationship with the microbes sentients while others want to fight them.  To do this they create nano-servitors that are injected into the host bodies to fight off the invasion.  When the servitors develop their own level of sentience the situation becomes even more complicated.

I have yet to find a decent summary of the story of either novel.  Slonczewski has created a wonderfully detailed and intricate universe with complex societies of many different races.  Without some understanding of those societies the story doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

Here’s what I can tell you:

  • This is hard science science fiction.  The author knows her stuff and uses it well.
  • This universe with all its diversity is carefully crafted.
  • The author (yes, I’m tired of typing her name.  Sue me.  My apologies to the good doctor.) is a solid storyteller.
I have two problems with both novels.  First, is the hard science.  Keeping the science accessible to people like me, who understand just enough science to get in trouble, is always a challenge.  Overall, she does very, very well with a complicated system.  Every once in a while however the story gets submerged in the details of the science.  If you’re really into hard science science fiction that is probably not a problem for you.  It was a struggle to me at times.
My other issue was the complexity of the social aspects of the universe.  These are the first two novels of the cycle so it’s not that I missed something by not reading an earlier volume of the series.  Because so much of that complexity is an important part of the story it became a little bit of chore to try and keep it all clear in my head.  I figured it all out in the end.  Which is fine but I dislike feeling like I have to do some of the heavy lifting in reading the book.  Maybe that makes me lazy (but I don’t think so) but it can be a stumbling block to enjoying the story.
In the end, these are wonderfully crafted, complex novels that offer an unique and fascinating universe.  The stories offer something new and interesting with solid characters.  If you are looking for some outstanding science fiction with a hard science basis take a look at the two (the third volume is “Brain Plague”).
Rating – *** Worth A Look

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