Review of "City of Pearl"

"They don't bluff and they don't negotiate."

     Today's title is a science fiction piece by Karen Traviss, entitled City of Pearl. It features Shan Franklin, the strong-willed ex-cop who once held ties to an eco-terrorist movement on the planet Earth. Days before her retirement, Franklin is approached by a politician named Eugenie Perault, who wants to recruit her for a special assignment. Franklin will be shipped to a planet approximately seventy-five years away from Earth, but aboard the spaceship Thetis, the journey will take mere months. She will accompany a crew of civilians, scientists, and soldiers on a hunt to discover new life, colonize the world, and search for the remains of a long-lost settlement. When they arrive, they find that nothing is as expected. For one thing, the settlement is thriving; for another, they share the planet with an alien race that has a wary eye on the Thetis and her crew. Franklin must struggle to keep order and deal with her own moral issues in this thrilling opener to The Wess'har Wars.

     If there is one thing that Traviss is good at, it is fashioning characters that feel real on a gut level. Shan Franklin is tough, logical, and persistent, but through internal dialogue she reveals herself to be just as vulnerable as anyone else. She wonders about her eco-terrorist past, her former job, and, most importantly, the future of tomato seeds. Aras is a wess'har (mostly) who acts as an intermediary between the Constantine colony, the Thetis colony, and the other wess'har. He is lonely and mysterious, but has a lot of heart. Josh Garrod, leader of the "Christian" Constantine colony, only wants to keep the peace. Lindsay Neville struggles to balance leadership with friendships and her sudden, unexpected pregnancy. Each character is unique and so multifaceted you get the sense you might never understand the extent of them, just like in real life.

     The writing style in City of Pearl is also beautiful, in a down-to-earth kind of way. The world-building is fantastic, the many cultures distinct and believable, and the pacing perfect. Every sentence is jam-packed with thousands of details. There are several subplots that weave around each other in a delicate balance which Traviss easily maintains. Each alien species--the vegan wess'har, the overpopulated isenj, the aquatic bezeri, and the helpful ussissi--features unique characters, customs, and vocabularies. Franklin sees bits and pieces of these cultures at first, enough to accustom the reader to their existence before diving head-on into the political battles that have the planetary system in turmoil.

     One thing I do not like about this book is the preaching. The scientists are all intent on sample-taking and hold no respect for the aliens or the Constantine colonists and their wishes. Meanwhile, Franklin, Aras, Garrod, and the wess'har are very environmentally driven, to the point of burying settlements underground so as not to interfere with the wildlife, some even going so far as to eat nothing but what falls from a plant on its own. While I would be all right with the characters having these beliefs--it makes for dynamic culture interactions--it is when the wess'har and the Constantine colonists attempt to force these customs on others that they become disagreeable. Humans are referred to as gethes, or "carrion eaters", by the locals, and the crew of the Thetis is suddenly prohibited from eating meat and taking scientific samples. With these restrictions in place, particularly when they are unexpected, it is no wonder that the crew begins to cause trouble.

     City of Pearl is, without a doubt, an adult novel. It deals with various moral difficulties and sexual situations, and characters cuss. The F-bomb, while not a commonly used term, is used in its intended context throughout this book and the series. Franklin is pragmatic about everything, and regards all euphemism a waste of time. However, do not think that this is an erotica novel full of characters who curse every few words. All instances of swearing are intentional and add to the situations presented. Most sexual situations take place later in the series, so in that realm, at least, the first book is relatively clean.

     I would recommend this book to anyone who was interested in a science fiction novel about an independent woman trying to deal with impossible situations, high stakes, and well-rounded companions. Again, THIS IS NOT A CHILDREN'S BOOK. Although it can be preachy at times and has few "action" sequences, it is remarkably well-written and features political battles with plenty of tension. Karen Traviss' City of Pearl features brilliant writing and realistic characters and cultures. Be sure to set aside a block of time if you are planning on reading this, because it is extremely difficult to put down. Due to the drawbacks mentioned above, I would rate it at four out of five stars.