Resonance

by Dora M. Raymaker

Outrageous and acclaimed, 26th-century musician Caran Watts depends on two secrets to stay a dangerous drug that hides his illegal neurodivergence, and the help of an alien species whose vulnerable existence he has sworn to protect. But when he arrives in the Galilean system to tour his latest work, those secrets are hijacked by a powerful force to advance a genocidal plot. As fear infects Jupiter's moons, Caran must choose whether to keep hiding or risk both his own life and the lives of the aliens in hope of a better future.

Genres: Science Fiction

516 pages, Paperback

Published March 20, 2022

About the author

Dora M Raymaker, PhD, is a scientist, writer, multi-media artist, and activist whose work across disciplines focuses on social justice, critical systems thinking, complexity science, and the value of diversity. Dora is an Autistic/queer person with a deep love of soft yarn, restless cities, extreme writing events, and hard-boiled cyber-noir.

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Be careful. . . when you analyze our stories. There are no heroes or villains in this or any real life story; there are only people each thinking they are right from their own perspective.” So Jordis Ansari, political powerhouse and interplanetary syndicate leader warns Steven Kwon, the anthropologist through whose interviews we experience the story he titles “Narrative Voices in a Phenomenological Study of the Great Changes of the Early 26th Century: Part One, ‘Resonance.’” And so, too, does this layered and multivocal text warn the reader. It is an apt warning: I fell deeply in love with each of the main characters–Caran, Jordis, Djen, Noa, and Cami–and I have been conditioned to see those I love as heroes, and those who stand in opposition as villains. But that kind of thinking does not hold the humanity of either the heroes or the villains, and /Resonance calls us to see, to welcome, to celebrate, and to set free the magnificence of each individual.

The interview-based structure is a brilliant feature of this text, bringing forth information in the language of memory–a language spoken differently by each mind– as well as interweaving the past and the present and holding a mirror up to the reader in the form of Steven. It should be noted that these are not ordinary interviews; these interviews are mediated by the élan vitals, alien lifeforms whose existence was not widely known by humans before the events of the story. Élans are creatures with access to a much wider range of the electromagnetic spectrum than humans, hence their ability to control electricity and also to enter into resonance with humans, a state of connection between all minds in the resonant link in which thoughts and emotions can be shared directly. Resonance itself is neither good nor evil. It tends to create feedback loops–whether of hope or fear–that may have far reaching consequences, not to mention foiling standard protocol of research methods and ethics.

/Resonance goes deep into the human experience, at the individual, relational and societal levels, without sacrificing for one instant the fascinating world building and gripping plot that science fiction readers will expect. I want everyone I know to read this book. It is published by a small press, so yes, it costs more than you may be used to paying for a book, and yes, there are typos, but you know what else? You had better get a copy before they run out of the first printing! Also, the press is a worker-owned cooperative that publishes works relating to neurodivergence and queerness, written by neurodivergent queer people, and its motto is “Weird Books for Weird People,” so heck yes.

[Azzia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dora is a great storyteller. You can support an autistic queer author and get a superb book in the process.

[Clifford Beinart · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the most engrossing books I’ve ever read

I’ve never experienced more immersion into the world of emotion and felt sense while READING. I’m blown away and can’t recommend this book more strongly.

[Emmaa22 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Proper sci-fi, alien world building with so much going on. Epic, so much in it to unpack.

[ncn nothing · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this book 6 stars if possible. Because I give a book 5 stars if I love it, but this book I more than love, I feel like, "Wow, this book is canon in the best sense, this is a Great Book." What's great? The language is great. Example: the opening lines of the intro:

"The lungs of the sky made whistles of the wheat."
"What?"
"You asked me to do an intro for the archive, a beginning. That's the beginning: the lungs of the sky made whistles of the wheat. On Agrippa, in the Iae-Kuat star system. [...]"

The characters are great. The story is told by multiple main characters plus a framing narrator, a qualitative researcher-- each one sympathetic, complex, and irresistible. The structure--the story is told as a series of interviews--is great. It supports the themes and content well. (Stories within stories, navigating connection across difference, multiple truths, etc.) The content of the story is great: gripping, heartbreaking, romantic, epic, no spoilers here but I laughed and I cried many times, I read it twice so far, I love this book.

I also love that there is another book and some short stories set in this same world. Resonance is the most ambitious. Hoping for more to come and also a soundtrack!