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Altered Straits
The future of all the known universes hinges on a boy-soldier and his tenuous connection with a merlion.
In an alternate 1947 filled with mystical creatures, Singapuran boy-soldier Naufal Jazair is bonded to the merlion Bahana and enlisted in a war against an aggressive neighbour. Meanwhile, in an apocalyptic Singapore in 2047, SAF officer Titus Ang is tasked with entering Naufal’s universe and retrieving a merlion to save the future of Singapore from the Concordance, a hive intelligence that is close to consuming what remains of humanity.
In an alternate 1947 filled with mystical creatures, Singapuran boy-soldier Naufal Jazair is bonded to the merlion Bahana and enlisted in a war against an aggressive neighbour. Meanwhile, in an apocalyptic Singapore in 2047, SAF officer Titus Ang is tasked with entering Naufal’s universe and retrieving a merlion to save the future of Singapore from the Concordance, a hive intelligence that is close to consuming what remains of humanity.
384 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2017
About the author
Kevin Martens Wong
5 books11 followersKevin Martens Wong is a civil servant, director of the Kodrah Kristang revitalisation initiative for the critically endangered Kristang language in Singapore, and founder of Unravel: The Accessible Linguistics Magazine. His first novel, Altered Straits, was longlisted for the inaugural Epigram Fiction Books Prize, and he won the NUS Creative Writing Competition in 2015 for his short story “A Merlion for His Majesty”. His work has also been published in Transect and Entitled magazine. He lives in Singapore.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 11, 2017
It is refreshing to see a unique perspective of sci-fi from a Singaporean author. Overall, I loved the concept and the general idea that the author was trying to pull off. Yet, I felt its execution rather lacklustre.
[MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD]
One issue I had was with the story was the villain, the Concordance. As the name implies, it seeks to assimilate all into its hive mind. I like villains whom I could symphatise with; it basically justifies their existence. Yet I felt nothing of the sort with the Concordance. It just 'was' and I felt it was only there as a spice to the sci-fi flavour of the book. I have no idea where the Concordance came from, how it came into being, and why it does what it does. Details of its origins were shoe-horned near the end, by the time where every major character was involved in interdimensional travel.
Which brings me to the vague world mechanics that are present in this sci-fi novel. It would seem these days, anything with robots, time travel, and "hurr-durr futureeeee" is considered sci-fi. For me, good sci-fi forces me to ponder the future of human's relationship with science, like what the Foundation series and Space Odyssey did to me. Of course, I enjoy interdimensional travel as much as any other geek out there, but the way it is used in this novel is a bit pushing it. It does nothing to explain how it works and why shit happens to the characters as they pass through dimensions. Likewise, how and why does interdimensional travel grant the characters superpowers?
Speaking of shit happening, the characters in this novel are bland and underdeveloped. Titus is by far one of the best-developed out of the crop. The others are strikingly one-dimensional, making me unable to care for them. Naufal was also well-developed. I thought he was a portrait of a Singaporean boy who had to go through Singapore's National Service as a mandatory rite of passage. I could really symphatise with Naufal and his emotional antics. Although near the end, I felt Naufal's potential was utterly squandered. He could have seen great development near the end, yet shit happened.
I'd end this review by pointing out the not-so-subtle political and social commentary that the author was trying to convey. First, the LGBT issue. As homosexuality is still banned in Singapore, this book tries to be "in-your-face" about it by making the main protagonist gay and having him being chastised once his sexual orientation was found out.
Second, Singapore remains the only bastion of humanity in defiance of the Concordance. As such, its society has had to push meritocracy and its "kiasu-ness" to its extremes. As is written,
"A criminal is anyone who does not contribute to our society. And not just to our society, but to the survival of our species ... All Singaporeans are called upon to active, community-oriented citizenship. Anyone who presumes to behave otherwise acts against the interests of society, and is, therefore, a criminal," (p. 12-13)
Again, not-so-subtle commentary on the state of affairs in contemporary Singapore.
In sum, I found the book enjoyable, although I got lost sometimes in the action because of a lack of explanation on how anything works in the universe(s). It is indeed a nicely written sci-fi novel with a Singaporean flavour, although it does have its flaws here and there. If the author is reading this, keep going! You have a lot of potential, improve upon it!
[MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD]
One issue I had was with the story was the villain, the Concordance. As the name implies, it seeks to assimilate all into its hive mind. I like villains whom I could symphatise with; it basically justifies their existence. Yet I felt nothing of the sort with the Concordance. It just 'was' and I felt it was only there as a spice to the sci-fi flavour of the book. I have no idea where the Concordance came from, how it came into being, and why it does what it does. Details of its origins were shoe-horned near the end, by the time where every major character was involved in interdimensional travel.
Which brings me to the vague world mechanics that are present in this sci-fi novel. It would seem these days, anything with robots, time travel, and "hurr-durr futureeeee" is considered sci-fi. For me, good sci-fi forces me to ponder the future of human's relationship with science, like what the Foundation series and Space Odyssey did to me. Of course, I enjoy interdimensional travel as much as any other geek out there, but the way it is used in this novel is a bit pushing it. It does nothing to explain how it works and why shit happens to the characters as they pass through dimensions. Likewise, how and why does interdimensional travel grant the characters superpowers?
Speaking of shit happening, the characters in this novel are bland and underdeveloped. Titus is by far one of the best-developed out of the crop. The others are strikingly one-dimensional, making me unable to care for them. Naufal was also well-developed. I thought he was a portrait of a Singaporean boy who had to go through Singapore's National Service as a mandatory rite of passage. I could really symphatise with Naufal and his emotional antics. Although near the end, I felt Naufal's potential was utterly squandered. He could have seen great development near the end, yet shit happened.
I'd end this review by pointing out the not-so-subtle political and social commentary that the author was trying to convey. First, the LGBT issue. As homosexuality is still banned in Singapore, this book tries to be "in-your-face" about it by making the main protagonist gay and having him being chastised once his sexual orientation was found out.
Second, Singapore remains the only bastion of humanity in defiance of the Concordance. As such, its society has had to push meritocracy and its "kiasu-ness" to its extremes. As is written,
"A criminal is anyone who does not contribute to our society. And not just to our society, but to the survival of our species ... All Singaporeans are called upon to active, community-oriented citizenship. Anyone who presumes to behave otherwise acts against the interests of society, and is, therefore, a criminal," (p. 12-13)
Again, not-so-subtle commentary on the state of affairs in contemporary Singapore.
In sum, I found the book enjoyable, although I got lost sometimes in the action because of a lack of explanation on how anything works in the universe(s). It is indeed a nicely written sci-fi novel with a Singaporean flavour, although it does have its flaws here and there. If the author is reading this, keep going! You have a lot of potential, improve upon it!
June 14, 2018
Wonderfully inventive and difficult to put down. Kevin Martens Wong weaves together two Singapores: one that could have been, had colonial history taken a significantly different path (with the assistance of some regional mythical creatures, because why not) and one that could be, with our patented blend of state authoritarianism, capital punishment, and natalism in a post-apocalyptic world. It features a cast of characters so unapologetically Malay there are two Naufals and military rollcalls that take forever (y’all, I loved this detail so much), female characters doing y’know, things that women do — including being dicks — and one of the cutest gay romances I’ve read ever. The bar is set so low for all of these things and yet Wong aimed so high (and scored!). The plot does get a bit convoluted at the end and I bought less into Titus’ relationship with his sister than with the others, but otherwise, I’m really looking forward to Wong’s future works.
June 25, 2022
great read!
August 3, 2022
Utter Garbage. Avoid. 0.5 Stars.
📚 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔:
I really wanted to like this book. I read its description and I genuinely wanted the book to be good.
It wasn’t.
Okay, let me try to be a little optimistic and share some of its better aspects. (1) I think this book is written in a technically commendable or even beautiful manner and (2) I appreciated the slight LGBTQ+ representation in it too. But, that’s about all of the good things I have for the book.
Regarding point 1, a technically well-written book doesn’t necessarily mean the end-result would be something enjoyable. This book is perhaps the best example. There exists a creative and complicated plot written in an overly convoluted manner, constantly trying too hard to play with structure and what not. This made it incredibly difficult for me to understand what is actually happening where meaning is lost in between the seemingly needless jumps between the minds and voices of different characters. If I had to summarise my review into one word, CONFUSING (to the point where you can’t actually understand the plot lines).
Moreover, towards the end (last 8 chapters or so), the plot developed into something extremely cringey in a manner where I could already tell that the author was trying so hard to deepen his plot. The entire “we are after all just one mind of consciousness” trope to me was so lame and unfulfilling, and it almost seemed to me like a cop-out of a resolution. The last few chapters seriously did nothing but add additional layers of winter clothing to a plot akin to an Eskimo drowning in his own sweat in the Sahara desert.
I also questioned heavily about how the Concordance was formed and what they really were. Sadly, the book didn’t fully establish their origins nor helped to begetter explain what they were. Surely, the abstract and “deep” nature of important plot points certainly didn’t help.
Lastly, beyond just being a disappointing read, it was a depressing one. In most dystopian-like novels, there always seemed to be hope - something for readers to cling on to. Yet, this book is consistently filled with people dying in the most grotesque ways and I’m honestly not here for it - I read books to escape the harsh realities of life, not to feel disproportionately dejected.
To be fair, some may characterise the plot as “creative”. I beg to differ. I just found it all ridiculous, almost as if the author has ran out of convincing ways to resolve the conflict and to provide us with a proper resolution. Lastly, the most infuriating part would probably be the extremely unfulfilling and unconvincing “conclusion”. However, at this point, I was just glad that I have reached the last page and wouldn’t have to read it further.
📚 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔:
I really wanted to like this book. I read its description and I genuinely wanted the book to be good.
It wasn’t.
Okay, let me try to be a little optimistic and share some of its better aspects. (1) I think this book is written in a technically commendable or even beautiful manner and (2) I appreciated the slight LGBTQ+ representation in it too. But, that’s about all of the good things I have for the book.
Regarding point 1, a technically well-written book doesn’t necessarily mean the end-result would be something enjoyable. This book is perhaps the best example. There exists a creative and complicated plot written in an overly convoluted manner, constantly trying too hard to play with structure and what not. This made it incredibly difficult for me to understand what is actually happening where meaning is lost in between the seemingly needless jumps between the minds and voices of different characters. If I had to summarise my review into one word, CONFUSING (to the point where you can’t actually understand the plot lines).
Moreover, towards the end (last 8 chapters or so), the plot developed into something extremely cringey in a manner where I could already tell that the author was trying so hard to deepen his plot. The entire “we are after all just one mind of consciousness” trope to me was so lame and unfulfilling, and it almost seemed to me like a cop-out of a resolution. The last few chapters seriously did nothing but add additional layers of winter clothing to a plot akin to an Eskimo drowning in his own sweat in the Sahara desert.
I also questioned heavily about how the Concordance was formed and what they really were. Sadly, the book didn’t fully establish their origins nor helped to begetter explain what they were. Surely, the abstract and “deep” nature of important plot points certainly didn’t help.
Lastly, beyond just being a disappointing read, it was a depressing one. In most dystopian-like novels, there always seemed to be hope - something for readers to cling on to. Yet, this book is consistently filled with people dying in the most grotesque ways and I’m honestly not here for it - I read books to escape the harsh realities of life, not to feel disproportionately dejected.
To be fair, some may characterise the plot as “creative”. I beg to differ. I just found it all ridiculous, almost as if the author has ran out of convincing ways to resolve the conflict and to provide us with a proper resolution. Lastly, the most infuriating part would probably be the extremely unfulfilling and unconvincing “conclusion”. However, at this point, I was just glad that I have reached the last page and wouldn’t have to read it further.
June 18, 2017
An original and refreshing read from a first time author. It mixes a few sci-fi tropes with a bit of not-so-subtle social commentary and a hint of Singaporean exceptionalism (for balance I think).
The story is engaging and the characters are initially compelling. As the plot moves on though it becomes a bit unwieldy. As the story ends, the decisions made by the characters left me puzzled as did the incongruous finale.
Overall, it's worth reading and I am looking forward to the author's next work. Even thinking to give it a second read.
The story is engaging and the characters are initially compelling. As the plot moves on though it becomes a bit unwieldy. As the story ends, the decisions made by the characters left me puzzled as did the incongruous finale.
Overall, it's worth reading and I am looking forward to the author's next work. Even thinking to give it a second read.
December 3, 2022
Solid first effort. Interesting world building, great character work. I loved how history and mythology was worked into the story. I liked the fantasy elements and would love to understand more on how it works. A little gory, kind of sad, it was a real page turner.
I never wanted to move on to the next character chapter (alternating chapters) but loved them equally. Mainly two characters - Naufal is the unwilling new army recruit dealing with the trauma of his brother's ruined mind, while Titus is the soldier on a voluntary high risk, high stakes mission for the sake of his family, country, and humanity. Bahana the Merlion is great too, as well as glimpses of the other side characters like Sal and Akash.
There's a lot more going on behind the scenes here, I would've loved more insight into the mechanics of the Merlion pair-bonding and its history.
Just one criticism - in some places the narrative was a bit confusing and hard to follow, and in other places the exposition was jarringly long and out of place.
Nonetheless I still liked it and would recommend to anyone who likes science fiction, especially if you're looking for a different flavour - Southeast Asian culture anyone?
I never wanted to move on to the next character chapter (alternating chapters) but loved them equally. Mainly two characters - Naufal is the unwilling new army recruit dealing with the trauma of his brother's ruined mind, while Titus is the soldier on a voluntary high risk, high stakes mission for the sake of his family, country, and humanity. Bahana the Merlion is great too, as well as glimpses of the other side characters like Sal and Akash.
There's a lot more going on behind the scenes here, I would've loved more insight into the mechanics of the Merlion pair-bonding and its history.
Just one criticism - in some places the narrative was a bit confusing and hard to follow, and in other places the exposition was jarringly long and out of place.
Nonetheless I still liked it and would recommend to anyone who likes science fiction, especially if you're looking for a different flavour - Southeast Asian culture anyone?
December 2, 2019
3 stars
Good points: this combines alternate history and science fiction set in Singapore. I loved the worldbuilding - that people now live underground, in tunnels, along the Downtown Line. I loved the sense of place.
I loved the characters - Naufal and Titus were both characters with their own sources of dissatisfaction and fears, both propelled along by society and the demands made on them. I liked Naufal's .
Minus points: who are the Concordance? How did they start? Why did cause the kind of mutations we see with Titus? I felt that the ending was a little rushed - these issues pushing the plot along could have been better explained.
Saved from 2 stars due to the setting.
Good points: this combines alternate history and science fiction set in Singapore. I loved the worldbuilding - that people now live underground, in tunnels, along the Downtown Line. I loved the sense of place.
I loved the characters - Naufal and Titus were both characters with their own sources of dissatisfaction and fears, both propelled along by society and the demands made on them. I liked Naufal's .
Minus points: who are the Concordance? How did they start? Why did cause the kind of mutations we see with Titus? I felt that the ending was a little rushed - these issues pushing the plot along could have been better explained.
Saved from 2 stars due to the setting.
July 30, 2018
I love sci-fi, gory details, and the fact that this is Singapore reimagined makes Altered Straits the most memorable local novel. The world building, Naufal's in particular, is fascinating stuff and I want more. That said, if there was any parallelism between the wars of the respective worlds, I couldn't tell. Didn't understand the point of the Concordance either. Not sure why the author kept saying things like "Concordance knew that humanity stood no chance." and then really go ahead and have everything wiped out. The lack of an anticipated plot twist is, disappointment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 11, 2021
Highlights:
What is a human? said Bahana. What is a person? To me, it’s always been about empathy. We are people because we understand that everyone else is a person, too.
What is a human? said Bahana. What is a person? To me, it’s always been about empathy. We are people because we understand that everyone else is a person, too.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews