Solar - the novel

Solar

The Space Station Explorer is home to over six thousand of the last survivors from the planet Abulyn. Their home world was destroyed by a massive Solar Superstorm that exploded, three hundred and fifty years ago, from the surface of their nearby Sun.

In just twelve minutes, it had scoured the planet of its natural defences, scorched its atmosphere, and incinerated the surface; obliterating all life – almost in an instant.

SOLAR is a hugely enjoyable read... I was pleasantly surprised at how it caught my imagination but avoided burdening the characters with unpronouncable names and bogging down the story with a mass of technical waffle. The premise of being stranded in a technological dark age, surrounded by forgotten technology is intriguing (if you'd never seen a tin opener before, how long would it take you to figure out what it was for), and the strong themes of desperation, isolation, identity and control keep you connected with the characters.

The early, easy pace of the narrative is deceptive and once the conspiracy reaches critical mass it hurtles you towards the finale, but despite the dark shadow of conspiracy that looms large throughout the story, the real strength of the book is in its well written characters. I quickly felt invested in Talek and even the villains are three dimensional, with points of view that are far from black and white. They're well rounded, with individual voices and feel like real people.

John Duckworth, author of Graymatter accelerated study skills.