Trouble Dog is a warship, a tool to do whatever her commander’s order. As such, she participates in a battle that wipes out an entire planet, including a sentient forest, forcing an end to the war. The problem is, she’s self-aware: she’s a machine, but a small part of her is human, a core that’s capable of thinking, learning, and ultimately feeling horrible guilt for what she was a part of.
In Gareth L. Powell’s Embers of War, the war has ended. Trouble Dog has joined the House of Reclamation, a group dedicated to rescuing anyone they can who may be trapped in deep space either by accident, misadventure, or bad luck. Space is fatal, and time is of the essence. She’s fast and powerful so she’s well suited to the job. The need for people (and ships) like her means that no one interferes, even people on opposing sides of the war.
But when she and Trouble Dog’s crew learn of a major disaster, they are unexpectedly threatened: a cruise liner has been attacked and crashes on a hostile planet, and the attackers refuse to allow anyone to offer aid.
Embers of War is told from several points of view: the Trouble Dog; her captain; a famous poet on the crashed liner; and the engineer of the ship. Author Gareth L. Powell tells a story of trying to make amends for the impossible and the guilt that the perpetrators of war atrocities feel. This is a risky position to take: these people committed terrible acts. We the readers know it; the characters themselves know it. But it never feels cheap. We are never put into a position where we are expected to feel bad that they did this. But it does remind us that everyone in war is human and everyone faces consequences for what they do. This is a pulp-style science fiction novel with no pretentions of being heavy literature, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t carry heavy themes.
This is the first in a series, and I’m looking forward to reading more.
Steven McCreedy is a library technician at the Cambie Branch of the Richmond Public Library
