Conway is living the idyllic life on the planet Chalcedony, walking along the beach, drinking with friends, catching up on reading. But when his friend Kee, seeking visions of the future, leaves to participate in a potentially lethal bone-smoking ceremony, he and his friends head off into the wilds to attempt to convince her otherwise, in the process revealing personal histories long kept secret.
Brown has a way of writing that flows, creating relatable characters and a vivid sense of place in just a few words. He expertly sets the scene for the alien anthropology and the mystery to be uncovered, while grounding the story in a heartwarming tale of friendship.
As we get deeper into the story, Conway forms a relationship with a washed-up holo star, lamenting the decline of her career. While the initial chapters created a sense of quiet self-assurance and emotional intelligence, this relationship felt a little juvenile. His ‘love-struck teenager’ motivation seemed at odds with his earlier maturity, making his behaviour feel contrived in service of the plot.
Apart from this minor niggle, Brown has created an intimate character-driven story wrapping an engaging mystery, which has encouraged me to seek out the other novellas in the series to learn more about these characters.
