Fermi's Progress 1. Dyson's Fear

Fermi's Progress #1

by Chris Farnell

"Fermi's Progress is fresh, fun SF with a dark conceit, dangerous thought experiments, thrilling action adventures, and lots of wit and warmth." Ken MacLeod The Fermi is Earth’s first faster-than-light capable spaceship. It’s also its last. The moment its engines engage, it unleashes a shockwave that vaporises entire planets, entire solar systems. Fermi’s crew, the last surviving members of the human race, now find themselves circling an ancient Dyson sphere in a distant corner of the galaxy, where they must explore a city of ships and negotiate with a vast, lonely AI for their survival. But that isn’t their only problem. Because the Fermi’s engines are powering up again… "Simultaneously a tribute to the classic TV SF 'planet of the week' format and a very literal demolition job of the same - and so smart that it's never afraid to be silly. Brilliant stuff." Nate Crowley, author of Notes from Small Planets "Clever and strange, genre-bending and darkly funny, it’ll take you on a ride between myriad times and places, Fermi’s Paradox observed through the lens of interstellar call-centres like it was the grim spawn of The Dark Forest and Hitchhiker’s Guide, or the fleshy junction of Alien, Embassytown, and Office Space." Andrew Skinner, author of Steel Frame

Genres: Science Fiction

114 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 15, 2021

Reviews

[Runalong · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun novella adventure exploring the last humans after earth’s demise reminded me of Red Dwarf and Douglas Adams but also a pilot episode of a show that needs to flesh itself out more

Full review

https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The crew of the Fermi are a rag-tag bunch of mildly odd souls.

Samson is your typical alpha male; part James Tiberius Kirk, part Zapp Brannigan. Ok, maybe not quite so smug as those two but he is certainly self-confident to the nth degree. Failure is not a word in Samson’s vocabulary. There is only ever one direction he can go and that is always forward. Samson isn’t the captain though, he’s not in charge of the mission, but you get the distinct impression he thinks that he is. How could it possibly be otherwise?

Rajita Deb is the on-board technical wizard. While the rest of the crew are off out galivanting on alien worlds Rajita, has to try and figure out how to solve the tiny problem of the ship incinerating planets every time the engine starts.

If anyone is the captain of the Fermi, it’s Liz Gordon. The self-made queen of hi-tech start-ups has dared to dream the impossible. Using all her vast resources she has made faster than light travel possible. In comparison, actually captaining a spaceship should be a walk in the park, so why does it constantly feel like trying to juggle cats?

Finally, there is Connor, Samson’s brother and reluctant crew mate. Connor is the polar opposite of his sibling. Where Samson is all gung-ho and always ready for adventure, Connor wants nothing more than a sedate existence. The back and forth between these two is fun, an endless stream of positivity from Samson and ground down acceptance from Connor. You’ll probably not be surprised when I tell you families are hard work, doubly so when space travel is involved.

When the crew meet the inhabitants of the Dyson sphere Farnell does a grand job of capturing the sense of curiosity on both sides of the encounter. The humans, and their alien counterparts, really aren’t sure what to make of one another. The culture shock feels palpable.

There is a 1950’s sci-fi movie vibe to the novella that I really liked. A plucky crew hurling themselves into the void, unsure of what they’ll find. Alien races and adventure ahoy! Farnell tempers these retro stylings with a nicely judged modern sensibility. The author injects some subtle humour and the odd pop culture reference or two into the narrative.

There is an episodic air to the story which works well. Dyson’s Fear can definitely be viewed as a standalone tale but I suspect it will also fit neatly into the larger narrative the author is working on. I think this novella achieves exactly what it sets out to do. The main characters are well established and the beginnings of a larger plot are merging. Dyson’s Fear is a solidly entertaining slice of science fiction that I thoroughly enjoyed. Turns out it was the perfect way to begin my 2021 reading

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly self-aware and delightfully silly in places, the main impression I came away with was how dark it was below all its flippancy. This is absolutely sci-fi comedy, in the tradition of Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Red Dwarf, but Farnell seems to take the darker aspects of both of those and give it that extra special twist. What you end up with here is a humour that sits possibly closer to Inside No. 9 or Black Mirror, whilst remaining a highly readable, entertaining adventure throughout.

Farnell’s writing style is a sheer pleasure. From the start, the narrative voice draws you into the story; true, it draws you in to kill you, but it draws you in all the same. The sardonic, cold humour of the narration is part of what makes this story so very enjoyable to read: much like Adams, Farnell takes the time to dwell over his twisted sense of humour and turns of phrase and what you get as a result is a highly quotable, buzzing narrative - this is a story that really deserves to be given the audio drama treatment - if it did, the real star would be the narrator who would have to be played by someone who specialises in cold deadpan: someone like Mark Gatiss.

Beyond the authorial voice, the main thing that will strike the reader is the unexpectedly twisting style of the narrative. I read the novel without reading the blurb beforehand, and the result was that I had no idea what was going to go on. Instead, I was treated to what felt almost like a cross between a spy thriller and a very traditional science fiction story. And in some ways, at first at least, this is two separate stories, one before the ship launches, which focuses heavily on character building, and one set on a brand new alien world. These separate stories gradually weave themselves together until we get to the climax of the first narrative and we finally discover quite what a predicament our ‘heroes’ find ourselves in.

I say ‘heroes’, but as the narrative acknowledges, for all the various exceptional strengths and fascinating origin stories of our lead characters, this is a story very much in the time honoured tradition of hapless amateur adventurers in out of their depth. The story’s conclusion only adds to that, and sets us up for what promises to be a wonderful series that deserves to become a cult classic.

Highly recommended.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It's no secret that I fell in love with sci-fi last year. And Chris' episodic addition to this genre is very welcome indeed. Dyson's Fear is the first instalment to the Fermi's Progress book, and boy does it throw you in there.

It took me a little bit to get accustomed to Chris' writing style (we can thank too many epic fantasies in a row for that..), and to allow myself to be taken away by the wit and comedy that this book produces. With a multitude of pop culture references that firmly place the book in the current day you'll find yourself swept along with the crew.

It features 4 main characters, all with their strengths and weakness', and some with more than meets the eye. For me Connor felt firmly like the central character of the book, he's the one who holds temp jobs and only got onboard because of his brother, but his lack of science talk means as a reader you can connect with him when the science stuff gets complicated and he's left feeling confused.

Dyson's Fear puts us on a brand new planet. A strange, inexplicable place brimming with intelligent life, and a city that floats on the river (which I'm fascinated by). Complete with its own religion and philosophies Chris has a flair for creating new worlds that are rich in culture. Honestly I could read a whole series set on this planet and still want to know more!

Chris is a fascinating voice in sci-fi and if you like this genre you really must pick this up. His rich and fascinating writing takes you to places that you'll soon be thinking about after you're finished with the book.

Read it. Seriously.

[Katherine Franklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novella, with its continuous something-bad-happened undertone and everything that plays out to be. The aliens we encounter are cool, and I kind of wish we could have spent a little more time with them, but it makes sense why we couldn't. I loved the perspective flip the sphere introduced.

I only got a little confused with how the PoV hopped around sometimes and thought one of the characters acted a little weird near the end, but that didn't distract from the story much.

In any case, I'm interested in seeing what the characters get up to next.

[Robin Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cracking read

I really enjoyed this novella, and am very much looking forward to reading its sequels. Great pacing and humour, decent amount of back story. The lift thing at the end left me baffled, so maybe an editor would improve Chris’ future output. Nonetheless, good science, great story, fun to read.

[Guilherme · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea has promise, but it only works as pure action or as a farce. The book bogs itself down too much with background it literally does not need for the former, and is not nearly satirical enough for the latter.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blackly funny take on hard SF tropes, where poorly prepared characters explore a Big Dumb Object. Cleverly structured and inventive. Great premise for an ongoing series.

[Peter Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can I recommend Fermi’s Progress, Dyson’s fear by Chris Farnell.

A well written easy reading romp. Very enjoyable and entertaining. 👍

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is succinct with great science fiction concepts approached in a totally fresh way.