A Darkling Sea by James Cambias

Published by Tor Books on January 28, 2014

The Ilmatarans inhabit Ilmatar, naturally enough, but since they live on the sea bottom, having evolved where volcanic vents warm the water far below the ice-covered surface, it isn't easy to observe them. An attempt to do so leads to an inadvertent first contact between a human and a group of Ilmataran scientists. It doesn't go well for the poor human, who is mistaken for a big fish. But just when you think this is a book about humans and intelligent crustaceans, aliens from Shalina show up. This isn't a first contact; humans and the Sholen are parties to treaties that govern places like Ilmatar and the Sholen are ostensibly present to investigate the human's inadvertent (and potentially treaty-breaking) contact. In truth, a political faction of the Sholen would like to restrict humans to Earth where their meddlesome ways will not trouble the rest of the universe and they intend to eject the human scientists from Ilmatar. Conflict ensues.

James Cambias gave some intelligent thought to the Ilmatarans' social structure and legal system. He imagines how books might be constructed that can be read underwater, how farms might operate, how sound becomes a weapon when wielded by or against a race that depends on sonar, how apprentices might be gained by capturing the young and forcing them to be educated. The Sholen are described in less detail. We know that they are stocky and have extra limbs and breathe oxygen but we don't know much else. Not much differentiates the Sholen from humans, although their social structure is even more dependent on sex and drugs than human societies -- yet the Sholen are not as fun as you'd think those traits would make them. The Sholen are just as scheming, manipulative, self-serving, and underhanded as humans tend to be (creating the risk of interstellar war) while the Ilmataran civilization, despite roving gangs of bandits and culturally controlled violence, has existed for millions of years in a state of relative tranquility.

As much as I liked the Ilmataran (I always like aliens who don't look like lizards), the humanlike (albeit kinky) behavior of the Sholen is unimaginative, as is the typical sf portrayal of scientists as enlightened and benevolent while politicians are selfish and warlike. The humans are the novel's other weakness -- their personalities (to the extent they have any) remain largely undeveloped until late in the story. A Darkling Sea is more a novel of ideas than of characterization, but the ideas are good (the descriptions of humans adapting to underwater life are particularly strong) and the plot pushes all the right buttons (at least for fans of interstellar conflict).

Although A Darkling Sea is a self-contained novel with an ending that completes the story in a satisfying way, it easily lends itself to a sequel, or perhaps to a series of novels about the conflict between humans and Sholen. The final chapter also sets up a reason to return to Ilmatar. I don't know what (if anything) Cambias has in mind, but I will gladly read the next book if he writes one.

RECOMMENDED