Emerald to Ice by Matt Colborn
(Independently published, 2021)
Reviewed by Phil Nicholls
Emerald to Ice revolves around an anthropology mission to the planet Nyuki. The novel’s binary star setting is one of its best features. Nyuki orbits the smaller star Biloko, which in turn orbits the much larger Asali. This combination produces dramatic climate shifts on Nyuki, from verdant emerald to thick ice. Nyuki's climate is similar to Bran Aldiss’ Helliconia, although on a shorter timeframe.
The planets Xue and Leng orbit within the system’s Exo Kuiper belt. Six Abode space stations orbit Leng, home to the resident human population. Colborn thankfully includes a helpful diagram of this system.
The underlying theme of the novel is the interactions between humans and three other species at different levels of evolution. The first of these is the Humbles on Nyuki, egg-laying humanoids with a primitive culture. The Humbles share a hive mind which allows the young to learn their native language and understand the humans after barely three months of simple schooling. The anthropology mission from the Abode stations lands on Nyuki to study a Humble clan. The two observers are slowly drawn into the dramas of the Humble society.
The second species are the Taiyangren, who live alongside humans on Abode. Taiyangren are genetically altered and cybernetically-enhanced to live easier in space. Colborn’s names for the Taiyangren undercut the tone of the novel. Heron Y Mouse is quirky, but not a patch on Corncrake E Shrew or Penguin A Hake. I admire the consistency of his naming system, but they seemed jarring.
Finally, Colborn weaves in the Zungui, an aggressive AI. Contact with the Zungui attempting to colonize the Asali system leads to equipment failure on Nyuki, trapping the expedition for longer than they planned. Given the extreme weather of the Nyuki winter, this is a serious threat to the anthropologists. While the Zungui made an interesting thread, I am not sure Colborn dealt with it adequately and the ending of this thread seemed rushed.
Despite the detailed setting and complex interactions between the species, I felt the book was let down by the language. Colborn acknowledges the contribution of an editor, but I felt a tighter editorial pass was needed. For example, the term ‘klicks’ for kilometres is sometimes ‘clicks’. The term “Earthian” seems jarring, but Colborn also used Terran and Earth-strength. In places, the language is dense with scientific terms:
“The mountain on which she stood was composed of water ice with a reddish brown-ochre tinted, tholine impregnated surface.”
Colborn uses gender-neutral pronouns in the book for both the Humbles and the Taiyangren. He explains his choice of ey/eir/em in the notes. Yet, he is not consistent in their use. Sometimes the baby Humbles are ‘it’ and at other times gender-neutral pronouns are used. Likewise with Flora, the rebel Humble, who at times uses female pronouns, even combining them in the same sentence.
“The worker visibly matured as the weeks and months passed: eir legs filled out with lithe muscle, her russet pelt darkened a shade and she lost the white-yellow halo around her face.”
Colborn also uses the gender-neutral pronouns with contractions and the possessive case. These may develop over time, but ‘eiy’d’ and ‘eir’s’ jump out on the page at the moment. I admire his use of these pronouns, but they do not always help the smoothness of his prose.
The language is not the only challenge in the text. Part I of the book is divided into eight short chapters, each clearly marked with a date. Yet the chronology jumps back and forth too much. Were these chapters read in chronological order, then the sequence would be 2-4-6-8-1-3-5-7. The pattern suggests a deliberate choice by Colborn, but as a reader I was lost.
Overall, I wanted more of Flora’s story, the Humble rebel who befriended the anthropologists. The setting was fascinating, but a simpler plot would have allowed the best parts of this book to shine brighter.
Review from BSFA Review 17 - Download your copy here.