Elizabeth Moon
The Speed of Dark (2002)
Author: Elizabeth Moon
Genre: Science Fiction
Plot Summary:
By his mid-thirties, Lou Arrendale is an employee of a large pharmaceutical company, has his own apartment, and enjoys fencing. As a high-functioning autistic man - born too early for the genetic treatments that will eventually cure autism - Lou struggles with nuances of communication, conflict, and his inability to form romantic relationships. He spends his work days doing pattern analysis exclusively among other autists in the company's Section A managed by Pete Aldrin. While incredibly productive, this group of employees requires special "support apparatus" (such as a private gym and trampoline), a fact that endlessly chafes Aldrin's superior Gene Crenshaw. In his desire to trim the fat off the corporate budget, Crenshaw figures out a way to get rid of Section A by persuading them to "volunteer" for a new drug trial designed to erase all traces of autism. Faced with a vague threat of job loss for refusing, Lou's group must make the difficult decision as to whether becoming "normal" will be worth the uncertain outcome and the possible loss of self identity. In the meantime, Lou finds himself the victim of escalating acts of violence by a former friend, tarnishing his idea of how "normal" people think and operate. SPOILER: Company CEO John Slazik finally discovers Crenshaw's plan and thwarts him in time to prevent Section A from being uniformly coerced to participate, although Lou eventually agrees to the treatment anyway.
Geographical Setting: United States (unspecified region)
Time Period: 21st Century (around 2030)
Appeal Characteristics:
Moon breaks from her usual adventurous, militaristic science fiction to write this stand-alone Nebula Award winning (2003) novel that focuses more on philosophical issues and the plight of an individual. The intimacy of having raised an autistic son is reflected in the convincing perspective of Moon's hero, Lou Arrendale, who largely drives the story. While mostly written in 1st person, 3rd person narration is employed occasionally (such as discussions among corporate executives) to give the reader information necessary for the development of the subplots. Moon examines human relationships and language from the perspective of a cultural outsider; for example, the confusing meanings of common American idioms (Lou is baffled when one character calls another "a real heel"). She chronicles the limitations and humiliations which her character faces (and overcomes) daily, and the results are both compelling and inspiring. While fairly slow-moving and predictable with superficial secondary characters, this novel keep the reader interested by creating an endearing protagonist who continually exceeds our expectations and whose psychological development blossoms and changes over time, even asking whether autism is truly a disability. Lou's near-future world hardly differs from contemporary norms with the exception of radical medical advances, of which the resulting philosophical complications are sensitively explored here.
Read-alikes: For readers who especially enjoy the 1st person (autistic) narration, try: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon). The protagonist here is a 15 year old autistic boy attempting to solve a mini-murder mystery. Another title told from an unusual perspective incudes The Pleasure of My Company (Steve Martin). This title follows the struggles of a man afflicted with autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder, in a more humorous tone. Depending on the reader, such a narrator will either bore or captivate, so this characteristic should be pointed out. Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes) is a darker work of SF engaging similar themes, in that the protagonist is a man with a perceived mental defect (mental retardation) who is given an opportunity to be "improved" through modern medicine. The reader will be subjected to the misspellings and punctuation errors of a man with the IQ of 68, lending a sense of authenticity. For readers who enjoy SF with a medical plot, try Charisma (Steven Barnes) or The Judas Virus (David Best). Charisma is about the horrifying outcomes of an experimental medical procedure designed to give disadvantaged children the probability of success through genetic imprinting. The Judas Virus is a medical thriller that explores the terrain of pig-organ transplant experimentations that carry an unexpected, deadly retrovirus. The Bo Bradley mysteries by Abigail Padgett (Child of Silence, Straw Girl, Moonbird Boy, The Dollmaker's Daughters) follow the plight of a protagonist Bo Bradley dealing with manic-depressive disorder as she struggles to investigate and resolve child-abuse cases. For those seeking real-life, auto-biographical stories dealing with autism, lead them to Temple Grandin (Animals in Translation, Thinking in Pictures) or Donna Williams (Like Color to the Blind, Somebody Somewhere), both of whom have written provocative, touching memoirs of their experiences as autistic women in contemporary society.
Red Flags: Brief, vague references to sexual thoughts/desire; descriptions of pubescent curiosity; a few occurrences of mild profanity.
Trading in Danger (2003)
Author: Elizabeth Moon
Genre: Science Fiction/Space adventure
Plot Summary:
Kylara Vatta starts her new career by being thrown out of a prestigious military academy. She runs home to her very wealthy merchant family and takes a job as captain of her own ship. The boring job and ship duty will keep her out of "harms way," and the spotlight for at least a year. Ky, unfortunately, has a habit of getting herself into trouble and as soon as the ship docks at its first port of call she ventures off into dangerous waters. She proposes a new assignment to her crew, and with their agreement they head off to fulfill an order for cargo and delivery. Unfortunately, the space system where the cargo is located is in the midst of a colonial war. Ky and her crew are stranded because of the political upheaval and mechanical failures to their ship. The ship is used as a contract vessel by mercenaries running the war, and as a result Ky and her crew are put into several hazardous situations, including a mutiny and close call with space pirates. Throughout the entire plot Ky is growing and learning as much about her ship and engineering, as she is about self-defense and business.
Geographical Setting: Space galaxy system
Time Period: Future tense, though no time was actually given
Series: Vatta's War: this is book one
Appeal Characteristics:
This is a fast paced, compelling, and character driven novel. The female protagonist is very independent and strong willed. Her crewmembers are all experienced cargo/shipping veterans. They are accustomed to visiting and doing business in different space cities and dealing with alternative cultures, and races. There are survival situations that require the ship's captain to save her crew and the ship. This story would appeal to anyone looking for an adventure a la Star Wars or possibly Star Trek.
Red Flags: There is a certain amount of violence including passenger deaths. The captain is shot and 2 of her crew are killed with some splatter patterning that is described. No sex
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