SLOW GODS

One person’s quest to find meaning in life—and the universe.

The pseudonymous North’s latest is a deeply philosophical standalone SF epic that brilliantly and subtly utilizes elements of cosmic horror to complement its metaphysical speculations. Mawukana na-Vdnaze is a laborer on a world ruled by a star-spanning regime that purports to reward hard work with increased socioeconomic status, called Shine. In fact, those who cheat and lie get ahead—so long as they don’t get caught. When a godlike machine known as the Slow sends messengers to multiple star systems warning that they have approximately 100 years to prepare for a supernova event that will obliterate everything in its path, the corrupt leaders of Maw’s planet attempt to cover up the Slow’s warning, essentially sentencing their subjects to death. Amid the ensuing chaos, Maw is wrongfully arrested and sent off-world to a labor camp. He volunteers to pilot a space-jumping arcship, generally a short-lived job as most die shortly after interfacing with the ship’s navcomm systems. A jump goes wrong, and everyone on the ship is killed except Maw. Though completely unharmed, something is irrevocably changed deep within him; he’s a copy of himself, “a monster made in the dark.” As the end of the world looms for billions of people, Maw sets out on a jaw-dropping journey of enlightenment by charging into the darkness of space and his altered mind. The character development isn’t particularly noteworthy, but adept worldbuilding, grand-scale storytelling, and philosophical speculation more than make up for it. Maw’s conversations with various characters and his thoughtful introspection about the seeming meaninglessness of it all will leave readers—somewhat surprisingly—invigorated: “We are the seeds of the forest, are we not? Where we fall, others may grow. So live…Before all is dust: live, and blaze bright.”

The best kind of science fiction: mind-blowing and wildly thought-provoking.