The Six Directions Of Space (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
The hardback version of this book seems pretty hard to come by; they are going for very high prices used on Amazon,I didn't actually get the hard copy; I fortunately found the story in the "Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year 2008" anthology, where it is featured.This is a darker and more brutal tale an some of his others, although it does fall in the same vein as many of his short stories. There is almost a horror aspect to the universes he creates, usually with some kind of chilling revelation that twists the story and doesn't always bode well for the main character.This one is chilling and weird, from the perspective of a galactic Mongolian empire... Definitely chops for originality on that one! Yellow Dog is an undercover agent for the Mongol Empire in the far distant future, where Genghis Khan’s hordes have successfully dominated human culture for the last thousand years. She’s investigating the presence of “phantoms” in the Infrastructure (the faster-than-light-system that allows ships to travel between distant stars). Just as she discovers the phantoms are real, that they’re other, alien vessels, Yellow Dog is taken into custody by Qilian (another government agent) who tortures her into revealing her true identity, then hires her on as an expert to lead their team’s investigation of the same phenomena. They strike pay dirt when they recover a ship inhabited with what appear to be lemurs. The lemurs have taken another human (human-appearing, at least) captive and Yellow Dog’s team is able to wake him from stasis and question (torture) him. He (Muhannad) reveals that there are many realities and continuums accessible through the Infrastructure – and many races/species/forms of intelligent life. Qilian, outfits Muhannad with a ship (he’s a pilot) and coerces him into taking them into one of the portals that lead to the other realities. Their navigational equipment is less than adequate, however, and the ship becomes lost in the continuum. Several encounters with hostile beings leave the ship a little worse for wear, and Muhannad pulls off a scheme to get Qilian to abandon ship. Muhannad and Yellow Dog then make their own escape, hopeful they will find a hospitable reality in which to crash land.This science-fiction novella is short and tantalizing, giving one just enough tech, torture, and travel to spark the quintessential “What if…the Mongols ruled the world? And became space travelers?” I’m certainly thinking about it now. Providing a curious mix of cultures and technologies, and a plethora of aggressive beings, as well as tough, resourceful characters, this fast read will jump start readers’ imaginations.
What do You think about The Six Directions Of Space (2008)?
not bad. not amazing either. interchange. parallel universe.
—lcdancer11
How I wish this story would continue....
—zookelif
