A Hole in the Sky
★★★★★
Hamilton’s latest YA trilogy is a bit of a departure from his space operatic doorstops. In his 400-page opening novel, we follow the coming-of-age story of Hazel, growing up in a generation ship’s fallen agrarian population. Five centuries ago, a mutiny wrecked the machines and left the survivors under the ‘electronic captains’ rule.
Harsh laws have been imposed to stabilise the population at a sustainable primitive level while they await arrival at their fabled destination. But when a hole in the sky threatens to make the ship uninhabitable, a pastoral society unused to change is ill-equipped and even unwilling to do anything about it.
The constrained setting means a much greater character focus, which Hamilton pulls off for Hazel as she uncovers the lies that rule their existence and has to step up to the crisis. In places, she’s frustratingly naive about the politics of change, but on the whole, she’s a humanist protagonist I liked and wanted to succeed.
The rest of the cast is flat and stereotypical. But I didn’t find too much of a problem in this shorter form, except for the key character of Hazel’s brother who I wish had more depth than just the clichéd ADHD smart kid.
The obvious question is - has Hamilton added anything new to a very familiar trope? Whilst the answer, for now, is no, this first book is a clear character-focused setup for the rest of the trilogy where I expect Hamilton will show us something new. Regardless, I love a generation ship story, and this one is well executed, with a likeable protagonist, a strong dose of action, and solid worldbuilding. I’m keen to see where it goes next.
Disclosure: ARC kindly provided by the publisher @angryrobotbooks for review
