Bibliography: Gill, David Macinnis. (August 2010). Black Hole Sun. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN: 978-0061673047
Plot Summary: Durango is the chief of a small band of mercenaries who live by their own code of behavior on dystopian Mars. Joining Durango to defend a community of miners from the cannabalistic Draeu are second in command Vienne, mercenaries for hire Fuse and Jenkins, old timer Ockham, and regulator wanna be Jean-Paul.
Critical Analysis: At ALA this year, I attended the YA Author Coffee Klatch. When David Macinnis Gill sat down and started describing this book about a future Mars where the planet stinks because of the intentional pollution to make it livable, I was interested. When he talked about how the idea for symbiarmor came from an exercise at a writing conference with Orson Scott Card and was taken from a journal with here and now technology, I was intrigued. When he started talking about an assassin ballerina, I knew I had to get my hands on this book. (Plus the title alone makes me want to play that Soundgarden song over and over and over again). I went to the HarperCollins exhibit, they had none left. But many thanks to the very kind publishing assistant who tracked a copy down and sent it my way.
It was worth the effort. This book reminds me why I love science fiction. (And yes, in the technical sense, this is a dystopia, but even more I am reminded of good old futuristic based in science science fiction.) And witty dialogue and adventure and romance and lots of shooting and blowing things up and monsters both created and real and yes, even artificial intelligence. There is even some character growth and development in between the plot twists and explosions. This book has all of that and more, and makes me hope for a sequel as well as the beginning of a trend: Please sir, can I have some more?
Readalikes: I was greatly reminded of Timothy Zahn’s Dragon and Thief, which features a symbiotic relationship between a boy and a dragon who requires a host to live. It also features lots of action, adventure, and futuristic setting and space ships.
Review Excerpts: “If intelligent sophomoric humor exists, Gill is the master at creating it….Readers will have a hard time turning the pages fast enough as the body count rises to the climactic, satisfying ending, which will leave new fans hopeful for more adventures.”–Booklist
Reviewed from publisher provided advanced copy. Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.
