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The Helix War
Marseguro
A BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL ON A DISTANT WATER WORLD
After a worldwide disaster strikes Earth, the planet is taken over by a fanatical religious theocracy. Scientist Victor Hansen flees with a staff of non-genetically modified humans and young members of his newly created race, the Selkies, to Marseguro, a distant water world. But their peace and freedom is threatened when a traitor calls forth a strike force from Earth, and Victor's own grandson, Richard, is with them. What Richard Hansen discovers may alter not only his own destiny but that of Marseguro and Earth as well.
After a worldwide disaster strikes Earth, the planet is taken over by a fanatical religious theocracy. Scientist Victor Hansen flees with a staff of non-genetically modified humans and young members of his newly created race, the Selkies, to Marseguro, a distant water world. But their peace and freedom is threatened when a traitor calls forth a strike force from Earth, and Victor's own grandson, Richard, is with them. What Richard Hansen discovers may alter not only his own destiny but that of Marseguro and Earth as well.
392 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published February 5, 2008
2 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Edward Willett
170 books117 followersEdward Willett is an award-winning author of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction for both children and adults.
Born in Silver City, New Mexico, Willett lived in Bayard, New Mexico and Lubbock and Tulia, Texas, before moving to Weyburn, Saskatchewan with his family when he was eight years old.
He studied journalism at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, then returned to Weyburn as a reporter/photographer for the weekly Weyburn Review, eventually becoming news editor. In 1988 he moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, as communications officer for the Saskatchewan Science Centre, and in 1993 he became a fulltime freelance writer. He still resides in Regina.
Willett is now the author or co-author of more than 60 books, ranging from computer books and other nonfiction titles for both children and adults, to science fiction and fantasy for all ages.
His science fiction novel Marseguro (DAW Books) won the 2009 Aurora Award for best English-language science fiction or fantasy book by a Canadian author. He has also won a Saskatchewan Book Award for his YA fantasy Spirit Singer. He has been shortlisted for the Aurora Award and Saskatchewan Book Awards multiple times.
His most recent novels include Worldshaper and Master of the World, the first two books in his new series Worldshapers, and The Cityborn, a stand-alone science fiction novel from DAW Books; the Masks of Aygrima trilogy, YA/adult crossover novels published by DAW and written as E.C. Blake; the five-book YA fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur, published by Coteau Books; and the stand-alone YA fantasy Flames of Nevyana (Rebelight Publishing). He's also the author of the Peregrine Rising duology for Bundoran Press (Right to Know and Falcon's Egg).
Other novels include SF novel Lost in Translation (DAW Books), Terra Insegura (sequel to Marseguro, DAW Books), Magebane (DAW Books, written as Lee Arthur Chane), YA SF novels Andy Nebula: Interstellar Rock Star, Andy Nebula: Double Trouble, and The Chosen; and YA ghost story The Haunted Horn.
Shadowpaw Press recently released his short story collection Paths to the Stars and re-released Spirit Singer, a YA fantasy that won a Saskatchewan Book Award and other awards.
His non-fiction titles run the gamut from science books for children on topics as diverse as Ebola Virus and the Milky Way to local history books like Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw for Red Deer Press, awarded a Municipal Heritage Award by the City of Regina in the education category and A Safe and Prosperous Future: 100 years of engineering and geoscience achievements in Saskatchewan, published by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS). He's also written biographies for children of Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Andy Warhol, Orson Scott Card, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Ayatollah Khomeini.
You can find Ed online at www.edwardwillett.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter @ewillett.
His is represented by literary agent Ethan Ellenberg (www.ethanellenberg.com).
Besides being a writer, Willett is a professional actor and singer who has performed in dozens of plays, musicals and operas in and around Saskatchewan, hosted local television programs, and emceed numerous public events.
He's married to a telecommunications engineer and has one daughter.
Born in Silver City, New Mexico, Willett lived in Bayard, New Mexico and Lubbock and Tulia, Texas, before moving to Weyburn, Saskatchewan with his family when he was eight years old.
He studied journalism at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, then returned to Weyburn as a reporter/photographer for the weekly Weyburn Review, eventually becoming news editor. In 1988 he moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, as communications officer for the Saskatchewan Science Centre, and in 1993 he became a fulltime freelance writer. He still resides in Regina.
Willett is now the author or co-author of more than 60 books, ranging from computer books and other nonfiction titles for both children and adults, to science fiction and fantasy for all ages.
His science fiction novel Marseguro (DAW Books) won the 2009 Aurora Award for best English-language science fiction or fantasy book by a Canadian author. He has also won a Saskatchewan Book Award for his YA fantasy Spirit Singer. He has been shortlisted for the Aurora Award and Saskatchewan Book Awards multiple times.
His most recent novels include Worldshaper and Master of the World, the first two books in his new series Worldshapers, and The Cityborn, a stand-alone science fiction novel from DAW Books; the Masks of Aygrima trilogy, YA/adult crossover novels published by DAW and written as E.C. Blake; the five-book YA fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur, published by Coteau Books; and the stand-alone YA fantasy Flames of Nevyana (Rebelight Publishing). He's also the author of the Peregrine Rising duology for Bundoran Press (Right to Know and Falcon's Egg).
Other novels include SF novel Lost in Translation (DAW Books), Terra Insegura (sequel to Marseguro, DAW Books), Magebane (DAW Books, written as Lee Arthur Chane), YA SF novels Andy Nebula: Interstellar Rock Star, Andy Nebula: Double Trouble, and The Chosen; and YA ghost story The Haunted Horn.
Shadowpaw Press recently released his short story collection Paths to the Stars and re-released Spirit Singer, a YA fantasy that won a Saskatchewan Book Award and other awards.
His non-fiction titles run the gamut from science books for children on topics as diverse as Ebola Virus and the Milky Way to local history books like Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw for Red Deer Press, awarded a Municipal Heritage Award by the City of Regina in the education category and A Safe and Prosperous Future: 100 years of engineering and geoscience achievements in Saskatchewan, published by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS). He's also written biographies for children of Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Andy Warhol, Orson Scott Card, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Ayatollah Khomeini.
You can find Ed online at www.edwardwillett.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter @ewillett.
His is represented by literary agent Ethan Ellenberg (www.ethanellenberg.com).
Besides being a writer, Willett is a professional actor and singer who has performed in dozens of plays, musicals and operas in and around Saskatchewan, hosted local television programs, and emceed numerous public events.
He's married to a telecommunications engineer and has one daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 5, 2012
Marseguroconcerns the conflict between a lost colony of humans genetically modified for their ocean world, and an Earth ruled by a theocracy intent upon purifying the human race by eliminating all such "distortions" of the "sacred human genome". Never content with simplistic depictions of good guys verses bad, Willett examines the ethical dilemmas inherent in total war from the viewpoint of four different characters, two of whom are forced to reevaluate their initial assumptions about who is the real enemy.
Following the triumph of Lost in Translation, Willett's first mass market paperback, I was expecting great things from Marseguro. Willett only partially delivers. Although ultimately satisfying, Marseguro suffers from two fundamental flaws: the novel starts about 5 chapters before the story does; and the initial chapters include an unacceptable percentage of "expository lump".
The two problems are related: Willett has made the common mistake of trying to include all of the details from his backstory directly within the narrative. Thus, after a promising opening, the action grinds to a halt while various characters spend the next 60 pages finding excuses to think about the history of their world in order to fill in the reader. This makes for a stilted narrative as characters reflect on or argue about aspects of their history or world that in reality they would take totally for granted.
Take this line for example: "As Emily had seen from outside — and as she knew anyway — the habitat was a sphere, the upper half full of air, the lower half full of water." Even the author has to acknowledge that our heroine already knew (and therefore would not be noting) the structure of the habitat. When was the last time you looked at a friend's house and thought to yourself, "The house was roughly square, with a roof, a front door and a backdoor"? We do not think that way because we are programmed to notice the unusual, not the routine. To be convincing, SF characters have to be equally blasŽ about their own universe, no matter how different from that of the readers'. Important as it is that the author has worked through all these details in his own mind (to understand the motivations and probable actions of his characters, and to keep everything in the universe logically consistent), it is both unnecessary and disruptive to insert this material directly into the story. Instead of telling the reader that the habitat is half air-filled, half water-filled, he should be showing us by simply having characters move from the air portion to the water portion; and if there is no occasion where they do this, then we probably did not need to know this detail about habitat structure in the first place.
Fortunately, the problem clears up after the first eight chapters or so, and the pacing gets back on track. I liked how, as the protagonists meet and overcome each new challenge, it simply ups the ante as they realize what the enemy will now likely try in response. As the stakes continually rise, the protagonists have to constantly up their game to overcome yet greater obstacles and confront yet more profound ethical issues. Indeed, it is this larger ethical element that I especially appreciate about Willett's writing. As in Lost in Translation the characters have to confront their prejudices, overcome their justifiable hatreds, examine their loyalties and — even more clearly in this book — Willett seems to suggest that triumph ultimately belongs to the characters who able to experience the most growth. The winners are those who are able to place others over self, whereas the losers are undone by their core selfishness In Willett's universe, karma counts.
In the end, Willett delivers the edge-of-your-seat, action-packed adventure novel I had been anticipating. But I worry that some readers may not make it through those first few flawed chapters to get to the payoff.
Which raises an important question: Where were the editors at DAW? Authors are understandably often too close to their own manuscripts to be able to recognize its flaws; but how is it that the editor responsible for this manuscript failed to identify to Willett the expository lumps in the initial chapters? Willett is clearly a strong enough writer to manage the required rewrites, once someone had pointed out where he needed to cut 50 to 80 pages from the front of the manuscript; but that, apparently, did not happen.
Despite a slow start, Marseguro is well worth the trouble, especially as it is clearly the first book in a series. Ultimately, I enjoyed Marseguro and look forward to other books in this series: Now that Willett has gotten telling the backstory out of his system, we can anticipate the rest of the series being pure adrenaline rush.
Reprinted from NeoOpsis Magazine #13
------------
It has subsequently been suggested to me that I may have been jumping to conclusions when I complained about the editors at DAW not insisting on the removal of the initial expository lump; that the problem might have been, on the contrary, their having insisted on the inclusion of more explanation and background than provided in the original draft. This now seems equally plausible to me, as there has been a general trend towards 'dumbing down' in SF since the glory days of writers such as Cordwainer Smith, who explained nothing.
Following the triumph of Lost in Translation, Willett's first mass market paperback, I was expecting great things from Marseguro. Willett only partially delivers. Although ultimately satisfying, Marseguro suffers from two fundamental flaws: the novel starts about 5 chapters before the story does; and the initial chapters include an unacceptable percentage of "expository lump".
The two problems are related: Willett has made the common mistake of trying to include all of the details from his backstory directly within the narrative. Thus, after a promising opening, the action grinds to a halt while various characters spend the next 60 pages finding excuses to think about the history of their world in order to fill in the reader. This makes for a stilted narrative as characters reflect on or argue about aspects of their history or world that in reality they would take totally for granted.
Take this line for example: "As Emily had seen from outside — and as she knew anyway — the habitat was a sphere, the upper half full of air, the lower half full of water." Even the author has to acknowledge that our heroine already knew (and therefore would not be noting) the structure of the habitat. When was the last time you looked at a friend's house and thought to yourself, "The house was roughly square, with a roof, a front door and a backdoor"? We do not think that way because we are programmed to notice the unusual, not the routine. To be convincing, SF characters have to be equally blasŽ about their own universe, no matter how different from that of the readers'. Important as it is that the author has worked through all these details in his own mind (to understand the motivations and probable actions of his characters, and to keep everything in the universe logically consistent), it is both unnecessary and disruptive to insert this material directly into the story. Instead of telling the reader that the habitat is half air-filled, half water-filled, he should be showing us by simply having characters move from the air portion to the water portion; and if there is no occasion where they do this, then we probably did not need to know this detail about habitat structure in the first place.
Fortunately, the problem clears up after the first eight chapters or so, and the pacing gets back on track. I liked how, as the protagonists meet and overcome each new challenge, it simply ups the ante as they realize what the enemy will now likely try in response. As the stakes continually rise, the protagonists have to constantly up their game to overcome yet greater obstacles and confront yet more profound ethical issues. Indeed, it is this larger ethical element that I especially appreciate about Willett's writing. As in Lost in Translation the characters have to confront their prejudices, overcome their justifiable hatreds, examine their loyalties and — even more clearly in this book — Willett seems to suggest that triumph ultimately belongs to the characters who able to experience the most growth. The winners are those who are able to place others over self, whereas the losers are undone by their core selfishness In Willett's universe, karma counts.
In the end, Willett delivers the edge-of-your-seat, action-packed adventure novel I had been anticipating. But I worry that some readers may not make it through those first few flawed chapters to get to the payoff.
Which raises an important question: Where were the editors at DAW? Authors are understandably often too close to their own manuscripts to be able to recognize its flaws; but how is it that the editor responsible for this manuscript failed to identify to Willett the expository lumps in the initial chapters? Willett is clearly a strong enough writer to manage the required rewrites, once someone had pointed out where he needed to cut 50 to 80 pages from the front of the manuscript; but that, apparently, did not happen.
Despite a slow start, Marseguro is well worth the trouble, especially as it is clearly the first book in a series. Ultimately, I enjoyed Marseguro and look forward to other books in this series: Now that Willett has gotten telling the backstory out of his system, we can anticipate the rest of the series being pure adrenaline rush.
Reprinted from NeoOpsis Magazine #13
------------
It has subsequently been suggested to me that I may have been jumping to conclusions when I complained about the editors at DAW not insisting on the removal of the initial expository lump; that the problem might have been, on the contrary, their having insisted on the inclusion of more explanation and background than provided in the original draft. This now seems equally plausible to me, as there has been a general trend towards 'dumbing down' in SF since the glory days of writers such as Cordwainer Smith, who explained nothing.
September 3, 2019
The cover is great, the premise is interesting, and the Selkies - whose side I should have been firmly on - lost my sympathy in the opening chapter by acting like a bunch of drunk fratboys.
Young Selkie Emily and her friends are so excited at finishing seaschool that they (who are amphibious) celebrate by physically grabbing a 'landling' (nonmod or non-amphibious human) and throwing him into the water while he screams and they sing a children's song.
Willett uses the scene to establish that the victim has a horror not only of the water but of the Selkies, and regards them as animals, due to religious indoctrination by his mother, and this sets him up as the 'traitor' who initiates the threat to the planet and the Selkies. But his hatred is also based on being bullied and humiliated by his Selkie age-mates in childhood. That the Selkies have a cute little song about throwing landlings in the water and watching them sink argues that bullying landlings is culturally acceptable to the point of being taught to Selkie children. When Emily and her friends are scolded, the basis is not that they violated someone's bodily autonomy, but that they picked the one victim who couldn't swim. The scolding is brief, and finished with a grin at these high-spirited youngsters and their pranks.
And yeah, I realize that 'push my buddy in the pool' is an accepted prank among the young and stupid, but the people who think it's funny tend to be the ones who do the pushing.
After that, the Selkie characters never got my sympathy back. Emily's scientist mother had an ethical struggle that came across movingly and which had devastating consequences for her mental health, but ended up feeling like an easy out for the Selkie culture as a whole.
The sections written in Chris Keating's pov read rather like Eustace's diary from Voyage of the Dawn Treader, in that the reader is meant to see his narrative as biased and unreliable, and to despise him. Contrarian that I am, I ended up feeling more in sympathy with him, though not with his aims. Calling him a traitor doesn't seem entirely justified, since he was never given a choice of allegiance.
The novel doesn't spend much time with landlings other than Keating, so it's not clear whether there is landling discontent and resistance on Marseguro, given that the original non-Selkie settlers weren't offered a choice when Hansen hijacked their ship, other than the terrifying oppressive theocracy on possibly-doomed Earth, or being thrown out of the airlock. (Reading Club question: Does Marseguro have religious freedom?)
I didn't find said terrifying oppressive theocracy's later control of the whole Earth to be very convincing, but since its narrative purpose is to start the plot and to make Marseguro society look good by comparison, that's not a big deal. Oh, and to provide a possible love interest for Emily when the dust (spray?) has cleared.
It's not a bad book. Once the expositiony stuff is past the story moves along, and despite the galaxy-spanning events the focus is pretty tight on a limited number of characters. The writing is unadorned and easy to read. But the incongruity of the Selkies both being an oppressed refugee minority who had to fight for their very existence, and individually being privileged entitled fratboys made reading this book feel like going on a blind date with the guy who thinks yelling at the wait-staff will impress me.
Young Selkie Emily and her friends are so excited at finishing seaschool that they (who are amphibious) celebrate by physically grabbing a 'landling' (nonmod or non-amphibious human) and throwing him into the water while he screams and they sing a children's song.
Willett uses the scene to establish that the victim has a horror not only of the water but of the Selkies, and regards them as animals, due to religious indoctrination by his mother, and this sets him up as the 'traitor' who initiates the threat to the planet and the Selkies. But his hatred is also based on being bullied and humiliated by his Selkie age-mates in childhood. That the Selkies have a cute little song about throwing landlings in the water and watching them sink argues that bullying landlings is culturally acceptable to the point of being taught to Selkie children. When Emily and her friends are scolded, the basis is not that they violated someone's bodily autonomy, but that they picked the one victim who couldn't swim. The scolding is brief, and finished with a grin at these high-spirited youngsters and their pranks.
And yeah, I realize that 'push my buddy in the pool' is an accepted prank among the young and stupid, but the people who think it's funny tend to be the ones who do the pushing.
After that, the Selkie characters never got my sympathy back. Emily's scientist mother had an ethical struggle that came across movingly and which had devastating consequences for her mental health, but ended up feeling like an easy out for the Selkie culture as a whole.
The sections written in Chris Keating's pov read rather like Eustace's diary from Voyage of the Dawn Treader, in that the reader is meant to see his narrative as biased and unreliable, and to despise him. Contrarian that I am, I ended up feeling more in sympathy with him, though not with his aims. Calling him a traitor doesn't seem entirely justified, since he was never given a choice of allegiance.
The novel doesn't spend much time with landlings other than Keating, so it's not clear whether there is landling discontent and resistance on Marseguro, given that the original non-Selkie settlers weren't offered a choice when Hansen hijacked their ship, other than the terrifying oppressive theocracy on possibly-doomed Earth, or being thrown out of the airlock. (Reading Club question: Does Marseguro have religious freedom?)
I didn't find said terrifying oppressive theocracy's later control of the whole Earth to be very convincing, but since its narrative purpose is to start the plot and to make Marseguro society look good by comparison, that's not a big deal. Oh, and to provide a possible love interest for Emily when the dust (spray?) has cleared.
It's not a bad book. Once the expositiony stuff is past the story moves along, and despite the galaxy-spanning events the focus is pretty tight on a limited number of characters. The writing is unadorned and easy to read. But the incongruity of the Selkies both being an oppressed refugee minority who had to fight for their very existence, and individually being privileged entitled fratboys made reading this book feel like going on a blind date with the guy who thinks yelling at the wait-staff will impress me.
May 5, 2015
An interesting and relatively plausible story (which is all SF can aspire to, really). A Saskatchewan reader will definitely recognize some character names. There are some real startles in the area of "actions can have consequences," and while I have slightly over-rated the book (oh, for a half-star capacity!) I do recommend it. Fans of Larry Niven should get on well with it.
December 25, 2008
Willett's novel of religion gone horribly wrong is a "monster" of a tale (pun intended). It takes place some 50 years after a man named Victor Hansen stole an Earth ship (or Body Purified Ship), fled across the galaxy, and established a new colony for he and his modified mer-people called the Selkies. The problem is that he's pissed off all of the Body Purified in doing so, and they are still actively trying to find him and his "abominations" so they can be "purified" (a.k.a. killed a la the same way that Philip K. Dick meant "retire" in that famous androids book we all know). You see, the Body Purified is like conservative religion gone absolutely insane (and we're not talking about what you might call insane today, but more like what we would call insane in the middle ages). Anything that isn't human is deemed an abomination and must be "purified", and there is a strict (and that's an understatement) moral code that all Body Purified members must follow. It's a nasty religion, to say the least. Even clones aren't human and must be destroyed (and if you screw up somehow, you could find yourself in a not-so-happy position yourself). And all of this is awesome and chilling at the same time.
The novel starts off slow, and probably a little slow for me, but once it gets going at around 60 or so pages in, it just doesn't let up. The action and pace move perfectly from that point on. And when it ends, you're left wanting more (Willett better have an awesome sequel in mind, because the ending does leave it open for one). I wonder what a war within the Body Purified would like and I imagine it would be nothing short of "badass". The way Willett has pulled together military technology into this story is fantastic. It's like space opera and military SF got together and had a love child, or something equally as fascinating.
Marseguro has a rather large cast of characters, which was an issue at first for me, mostly because of the slow start. Once things get moving the characters fit together better. Emily (a Selkie) and Richard Hansen (member of the Body Purified, kind of) have a good amount of "face time" and I feel like I got to know them well enough to make them likable characters, and interesting characters to boot. Chris Keating really could have used more space, I think. I feel like Willett wanted me to hate Keating (or at least dislike him), but I was more or less ambiguous about the boy. If that was the intention, then good, but the farther you get into the novel, the more Keating does things that are clearly bad, but for me, I found those thing to all be strangely justified, even if they were wrong. This is in part due to what we learn about Keating. It's hard to not understand why he is doing things. The other characters fit into their roles fine, but were mostly there to provide different POVs for what goes on in the novel. You remember them, but mostly you focus on Richard and Emily, which is the intent I imagine.
The only major flaw I found with the story, as I said, was that it started slow. Maybe it was that things didn't seem to be interesting at first, or perhaps there were too many characters in the beginning. Thankfully it picked up and dragged me kicking and screaming into the whirlwind of the last 300+ pages (I mean this in a good way). Willett's writing shares an even balance between showing and telling, which is good. I find that SF tends to tell more than fantasy, or at least it's more obvious, but the way that Willett tells things (or gives info) doesn't detract from the story, in my opinion. Mostly the information is interesting or useful, and anything that doesn't make sense at first, comes crashing into "sense-land" by the end of the novel when you realize just how nuts the Body Purified really is. The only other flaw I can say exists is that the Body Purified, or at least certain members of it, are far too arrogant for their own good. There comes a point where I wondered if they would figure out they're being really dumb, but they never do. Perhaps this serves to show that being too obsessed with a cause is ultimately not a good way to live and perhaps I'm just too optimistic for my own good to think that humans would learn eventually. However, now I think, that that Willett's novel is just a perfect example of human arrogance and that it isn't a flaw after all (well, at least not a writing flaw, but certainly a clear example of a human flaw).
In a way, I am thankful that Willett didn't turn this book in a soppy love story in the end (he started to set up for something like that, but it's left a little ambiguous in the final chapter, at least to me). I think given all that happens in this story, having a big love affair take place at the end would have made everything that happened before seem a little cheap. But that's me, and again, Willett didn't do this. He did the right thing (there's evidence of a love affair, but he doesn't really describe it, which is better, in my opinion).
All in all I think Marseguro is a good space opera/military SF piece. It certainly has a couple flaws, but if you like this genre, or just find the premise interesting, I don't think you'll disappointed. It's an action-packed ride filled with creepy creatures with gills. How can you go wrong with that, right? Willett writes well enough to make sure you aren't pulled out of the story by weird POV things or odd wording, which is good, because being pulled out of the action would not be good at all. You'll find this book also grapples with some serious issues (particularly the issue of organized religion and what happens if it gets too much power), but does have a little bit of a light-hearted side. It's not all serious. Definitely a good book. I keep getting lucky and reading good things. Either I'm really easy to please, or the publishers have me pegged really good (or SQT does, since she sent me this book). If you'd like to get a taste of the book you can go here to read the first two chapters, or maybe check out his other work too.
And with that, here ends my review. BPS Awesome out! (Willett might get that joke).
The novel starts off slow, and probably a little slow for me, but once it gets going at around 60 or so pages in, it just doesn't let up. The action and pace move perfectly from that point on. And when it ends, you're left wanting more (Willett better have an awesome sequel in mind, because the ending does leave it open for one). I wonder what a war within the Body Purified would like and I imagine it would be nothing short of "badass". The way Willett has pulled together military technology into this story is fantastic. It's like space opera and military SF got together and had a love child, or something equally as fascinating.
Marseguro has a rather large cast of characters, which was an issue at first for me, mostly because of the slow start. Once things get moving the characters fit together better. Emily (a Selkie) and Richard Hansen (member of the Body Purified, kind of) have a good amount of "face time" and I feel like I got to know them well enough to make them likable characters, and interesting characters to boot. Chris Keating really could have used more space, I think. I feel like Willett wanted me to hate Keating (or at least dislike him), but I was more or less ambiguous about the boy. If that was the intention, then good, but the farther you get into the novel, the more Keating does things that are clearly bad, but for me, I found those thing to all be strangely justified, even if they were wrong. This is in part due to what we learn about Keating. It's hard to not understand why he is doing things. The other characters fit into their roles fine, but were mostly there to provide different POVs for what goes on in the novel. You remember them, but mostly you focus on Richard and Emily, which is the intent I imagine.
The only major flaw I found with the story, as I said, was that it started slow. Maybe it was that things didn't seem to be interesting at first, or perhaps there were too many characters in the beginning. Thankfully it picked up and dragged me kicking and screaming into the whirlwind of the last 300+ pages (I mean this in a good way). Willett's writing shares an even balance between showing and telling, which is good. I find that SF tends to tell more than fantasy, or at least it's more obvious, but the way that Willett tells things (or gives info) doesn't detract from the story, in my opinion. Mostly the information is interesting or useful, and anything that doesn't make sense at first, comes crashing into "sense-land" by the end of the novel when you realize just how nuts the Body Purified really is. The only other flaw I can say exists is that the Body Purified, or at least certain members of it, are far too arrogant for their own good. There comes a point where I wondered if they would figure out they're being really dumb, but they never do. Perhaps this serves to show that being too obsessed with a cause is ultimately not a good way to live and perhaps I'm just too optimistic for my own good to think that humans would learn eventually. However, now I think, that that Willett's novel is just a perfect example of human arrogance and that it isn't a flaw after all (well, at least not a writing flaw, but certainly a clear example of a human flaw).
In a way, I am thankful that Willett didn't turn this book in a soppy love story in the end (he started to set up for something like that, but it's left a little ambiguous in the final chapter, at least to me). I think given all that happens in this story, having a big love affair take place at the end would have made everything that happened before seem a little cheap. But that's me, and again, Willett didn't do this. He did the right thing (there's evidence of a love affair, but he doesn't really describe it, which is better, in my opinion).
All in all I think Marseguro is a good space opera/military SF piece. It certainly has a couple flaws, but if you like this genre, or just find the premise interesting, I don't think you'll disappointed. It's an action-packed ride filled with creepy creatures with gills. How can you go wrong with that, right? Willett writes well enough to make sure you aren't pulled out of the story by weird POV things or odd wording, which is good, because being pulled out of the action would not be good at all. You'll find this book also grapples with some serious issues (particularly the issue of organized religion and what happens if it gets too much power), but does have a little bit of a light-hearted side. It's not all serious. Definitely a good book. I keep getting lucky and reading good things. Either I'm really easy to please, or the publishers have me pegged really good (or SQT does, since she sent me this book). If you'd like to get a taste of the book you can go here to read the first two chapters, or maybe check out his other work too.
And with that, here ends my review. BPS Awesome out! (Willett might get that joke).
August 21, 2018
Almost juvenile except for passages of introspection. Certainly the writing is elementary. The story skips is about the best single verb I can find to attach to it. The premise is fairly good although wobbly as the concept of the Body is weak at best. If this was first in series I'm pretty sure I can avoid the second - this is a major problem with series. I understand why so many authors indulge in series writing but I'm not always sure it is in their best interests.
June 7, 2012
I've just finished Marseguro, the first book in the Helix War by Edward Willett. This book, along with the second Terra Insegura, have been released more recently in an omnibus edition by DAW called The Helix War, so if you're looking for it, look for the omnibus edition.
The main premise is that, fifty years ago, Earth was threatened with destruction by a massive meteor. This caused a radical shift in religions, and when the meteorite is hit by another meteor shortly before impact with Earth, a new religion called the Body Purified rises to power, claiming that because of their efforts to "purify" the Earth of all of the genetically modified life we've created--including genetically modified humans--God Itself saved them. During the religious wars, with the Body Purified slaughtering everyone genetically modified they could find, Victor Hansen, a geneticist, packed himself and his modified humans called Selkies into a ship and vanished.
He landed on a planet the Selkies and non-modified humans in his ship call Marseguro. They've lived there for fifty years, undetected by the Body Purified, who have solidified their power on Earth . . . but have not stopped looking for Victor Hansen. In fact, they've created clones of Victor in an attempt to figure out where he went with his monstrous Selkie creations. The current clone, Richard, and the gene-bomb placed in his DNA that will give him Victor Hansen's memories, is searching for them and has narrowed the field down to a particular section of space. It might take decades to find what planet Victor Hansen and the Selkies fled to . . . except that a few of the non-modified members of Victor's crew believed in the Body Purified, and one of them, Chris Keating, has been pushed far enough by the Selkies that he activates a distress call from Victor's original ship, leading the Body Purified directly to them.
The rest of the novel deals with the fallout of that setup. Can those on Marseguro protect themselves from the Body Purified's attempt to "purify" their planet of all genetically modified humans? They've only had fifty years to survive and attempt to settle the world, so have almost no weapons, but the Selkies can breath underwater and they certainly haven't been idle. Yet they have no idea that the Body Purified is on the way.
I don't read a lot of science fiction, but I liked the setup of Marseguro and, more importantly, liked the characters in the book. Most SF that I've read has a tendency to NOT have characterization, at least not at the same level as the fantasy novels I generally read, so I was pleasantly surprised in that respect. In this novel, a bunch of questions are raised about the ethics of genetic modification, whether what we create can still be considered human, etc, but I don't think the author beat us over the head with moralistic dilemmas. The book comes down pretty solidly on the side of the genetically modified humans as being . . . well, human, just like everyone else. The story focuses instead on the main characters and their struggles, to survive and to deal with unreasoning hatred. Richard has to deal with who he is--is he Richard, or is he just Victor Hansen?--while Emily Wood, a Selkie, is forced to grow up rather fast when the Body Purified arrives. Emily's mother, a geneticist, must face the consequences of the genetic battle--is it good or evil?--when she uses her skills in Marseguro's defense.
So, I thought the story, the setting, and the characters were all interesting. They certainly kept me reading. I've already started the second book, Terra Insegura. There were a few less believable factors in setting up the premise--such as a second meteor showing up in the nick of time to save humanity, plus a few other things--but none of those had major impacts on the plot and could be easily overlooked (at least by me). The story and characters themselves were solid and entertaining.
A word of caution though: This is NOT what I'd consider a military SF novel. It's science fiction, but there is little actual "battle" in the military SF sense and it's not hard SF either. Keep that in mind if you pick this up.
The main premise is that, fifty years ago, Earth was threatened with destruction by a massive meteor. This caused a radical shift in religions, and when the meteorite is hit by another meteor shortly before impact with Earth, a new religion called the Body Purified rises to power, claiming that because of their efforts to "purify" the Earth of all of the genetically modified life we've created--including genetically modified humans--God Itself saved them. During the religious wars, with the Body Purified slaughtering everyone genetically modified they could find, Victor Hansen, a geneticist, packed himself and his modified humans called Selkies into a ship and vanished.
He landed on a planet the Selkies and non-modified humans in his ship call Marseguro. They've lived there for fifty years, undetected by the Body Purified, who have solidified their power on Earth . . . but have not stopped looking for Victor Hansen. In fact, they've created clones of Victor in an attempt to figure out where he went with his monstrous Selkie creations. The current clone, Richard, and the gene-bomb placed in his DNA that will give him Victor Hansen's memories, is searching for them and has narrowed the field down to a particular section of space. It might take decades to find what planet Victor Hansen and the Selkies fled to . . . except that a few of the non-modified members of Victor's crew believed in the Body Purified, and one of them, Chris Keating, has been pushed far enough by the Selkies that he activates a distress call from Victor's original ship, leading the Body Purified directly to them.
The rest of the novel deals with the fallout of that setup. Can those on Marseguro protect themselves from the Body Purified's attempt to "purify" their planet of all genetically modified humans? They've only had fifty years to survive and attempt to settle the world, so have almost no weapons, but the Selkies can breath underwater and they certainly haven't been idle. Yet they have no idea that the Body Purified is on the way.
I don't read a lot of science fiction, but I liked the setup of Marseguro and, more importantly, liked the characters in the book. Most SF that I've read has a tendency to NOT have characterization, at least not at the same level as the fantasy novels I generally read, so I was pleasantly surprised in that respect. In this novel, a bunch of questions are raised about the ethics of genetic modification, whether what we create can still be considered human, etc, but I don't think the author beat us over the head with moralistic dilemmas. The book comes down pretty solidly on the side of the genetically modified humans as being . . . well, human, just like everyone else. The story focuses instead on the main characters and their struggles, to survive and to deal with unreasoning hatred. Richard has to deal with who he is--is he Richard, or is he just Victor Hansen?--while Emily Wood, a Selkie, is forced to grow up rather fast when the Body Purified arrives. Emily's mother, a geneticist, must face the consequences of the genetic battle--is it good or evil?--when she uses her skills in Marseguro's defense.
So, I thought the story, the setting, and the characters were all interesting. They certainly kept me reading. I've already started the second book, Terra Insegura. There were a few less believable factors in setting up the premise--such as a second meteor showing up in the nick of time to save humanity, plus a few other things--but none of those had major impacts on the plot and could be easily overlooked (at least by me). The story and characters themselves were solid and entertaining.
A word of caution though: This is NOT what I'd consider a military SF novel. It's science fiction, but there is little actual "battle" in the military SF sense and it's not hard SF either. Keep that in mind if you pick this up.
July 12, 2009
When author Edward Willett was at a Science Fiction workshop at the Banff Centre in western Canada, the assignment from instructor Robert J. Sawyer was to write a sentence that might be used as an opening line. Willett's sentence in that workshop introduced him, and by way of the author's pen, us, to the Selkies. Selkies are a race of genetically modified humans who share DNA with seals. They are marine-dwelling humans (aqueous, not amphibious...there's a difference) who can do nearly anything underwater as well as "landlings" (or 'nonmods') can do on dry ground.
The Selkies share Marseguro, a distant planet in a distant future, with 'nonmods' - the humans whose DNA is strictly human. Both races were delivered to Marseguro in the careful hands of the geneticist who "created" them, in an attempt to save their lives, culture, and civilisation. The unbending, fanatical, militaristic "Body Purified", a religious order in control of much of the Earth after a near apocalyptic event, systematically eradicate the genetically modified Selkies. On a planet so far from Earth, seventy years removed from Earth history, the Selkies should be safe to live out their lives untouched by the Body Purified.
They should be, but they aren't. Marseguro is an action-packed adventure full of humour, characters who are familiar as soon as they're introduced, and a sense of urgency that doesn't stop from beginning to end. With nods in the book to Canadian Science Fiction writers and politicians, and to Science Fiction classics like Star Trek, Willet has written a captivating novel with many, many layers.
Although it isn't specifically marketed to a teen/young adult audience, both Marseguro and its sequel Terra Insegura would be welcome additions to any adventure-lover's bookshelf; teens will love the adventure, the setting, and the stories. There are characters they will identify with, and lines that will make any reader laugh out loud.
The Selkies share Marseguro, a distant planet in a distant future, with 'nonmods' - the humans whose DNA is strictly human. Both races were delivered to Marseguro in the careful hands of the geneticist who "created" them, in an attempt to save their lives, culture, and civilisation. The unbending, fanatical, militaristic "Body Purified", a religious order in control of much of the Earth after a near apocalyptic event, systematically eradicate the genetically modified Selkies. On a planet so far from Earth, seventy years removed from Earth history, the Selkies should be safe to live out their lives untouched by the Body Purified.
They should be, but they aren't. Marseguro is an action-packed adventure full of humour, characters who are familiar as soon as they're introduced, and a sense of urgency that doesn't stop from beginning to end. With nods in the book to Canadian Science Fiction writers and politicians, and to Science Fiction classics like Star Trek, Willet has written a captivating novel with many, many layers.
Although it isn't specifically marketed to a teen/young adult audience, both Marseguro and its sequel Terra Insegura would be welcome additions to any adventure-lover's bookshelf; teens will love the adventure, the setting, and the stories. There are characters they will identify with, and lines that will make any reader laugh out loud.
August 3, 2008
I finally had the chance to finish reading Marseguro by Edward Willett. Regular readers will recall I won the book from a give away on the author’s site a few months ago. Sorry it has taken me so long to get to this review, but baseball season and various other Spring time events have set me behind in my reading.
I really enjoyed reading Marseguro by Edward Willett. It was a little hard for me personally to get into because I’m not big on religion and the bad guys are all about hard line religion. But I really liked the Moddies, genetically modified humans created to live in water environments. Well developed characters with clear motives prevailed in the story and once the plot got going, it rolled right along at a nice clip right to the end.
I was also amused by the Star Trek reference towards the end. Not sure if anyone else has done that before, but I liked it. Interesting to imagine that the future would be altered by the fiction of the past.
I intend to go back and read Willett’s first novel, before I take up his sequel to Marseguro that is due out later this year, I believe. I was “this close” to getting Lost in Translation, before I won Marseguro. Anyway, if you like Space Opera, and boy do I like me some Space Opera, you will enjoy Marseguro.
I really enjoyed reading Marseguro by Edward Willett. It was a little hard for me personally to get into because I’m not big on religion and the bad guys are all about hard line religion. But I really liked the Moddies, genetically modified humans created to live in water environments. Well developed characters with clear motives prevailed in the story and once the plot got going, it rolled right along at a nice clip right to the end.
I was also amused by the Star Trek reference towards the end. Not sure if anyone else has done that before, but I liked it. Interesting to imagine that the future would be altered by the fiction of the past.
I intend to go back and read Willett’s first novel, before I take up his sequel to Marseguro that is due out later this year, I believe. I was “this close” to getting Lost in Translation, before I won Marseguro. Anyway, if you like Space Opera, and boy do I like me some Space Opera, you will enjoy Marseguro.
August 30, 2008
Willett sets up an intriguing premise: a world of gene-modified Selkies must face an invasion from Earth: the Body Purified, a fanatical religious cult (which has outlawed all other religions of the past, including Christianity). The plot is full of twists, and the most intriguing character is Richard Hansen. I'll say no more. Good style, pacing, and such, though the changes in one character are rather precipitous. I wonder if there might be a sequel. It would be interesting to see, if so.
October 29, 2013
The book starts out somewhat poorly, with extremely dislikable characters popping up in all sides of the (eventual) conflict. However, once it gets going it serves up a pretty good story of genetic modification, religious zealotry, bigotry, and overcoming prejudice to a broader world view. It is not perfect, but most of the science is reasonable (with a glaring exception involving genetic memory transfer), and if the end relies a little too much on dumb luck, it still ends up a pretty good tale.
September 18, 2013
I've just finished Marseguro, the first book in The Helix War by Edward Willett. This book, along with the second Terra Insegura, have been released more recently in an omnibus edition by DAW called The Helix War, so if you're looking for it, look for the omnibus edition.
Read the rest of the Marseguro review at SFReader
Read the rest of the Marseguro review at SFReader
July 25, 2010
It's a good book. I didn't really feel anything for the characters though. There wasn't really a central hero that I could associate with. Character progression seemed forced. Still an interesting story though.
December 15, 2012
Good story of a planet with modified water-breathing humans under attack from an Earth wanting to annihilate them for being "non-human." Sadly, the writing glaringly turns campy, b-movie halfway through.
August 28, 2009
Would that I could find the reviewer or review site what said this was a bright young talent, that I could curse him to his face. Or her.
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