In this exciting YA science fiction adventure, Theo and
Meghan live on another world, in the colony of Stephen's
Point. Colonisation costs money, and this generation are
the first born debt free. But they're not entirely free,
nor free from hunger. Resupply ships have stopped coming.
Theo's skill with computers could get him punished if it's
found that he stole a list of names - and added his own.
CHIMERA is a space ship being rebuilt, and young people are
needed to crew it on a voyage back to Earth; Meghan's name
is on that list. Theo doesn't get the same kind of grades,
so the only way to stay with his friend was to force the
addition of his name. Now the real selection process will
start, and it won't be easy. Added to the physical
toughness is the fact that big bully Marcus aims to get a
hold over the light but skilled Theo. Survival is hard
enough.
I enjoyed the landscape descriptions, with a sun emerging
from twilight behind a nearby planet to illuminate an
alkali lake. Interestingly the colony is on a moon orbiting
a gas giant planet. There's also new tech, such as a spider
neural net that helps a pilot interface with and fly a
trawler - a space ship hunting for metal ores, not fish. A
great deal of thought has gone into creating this world.
Selena, a trawler pilot under her dad's stern eye, is more
inclined to take risks than she should be, needing money
for her family. Her flying record is good - so far. She
doesn't even consider making the list, but before she can
find out if her name is called, she's about to have the
crash of her short lifetime.
Another engaging feature is that the original colony ship
navigator Stephen has been elevated to godlike status, and
the CHIMERA waits in hope for him to be reborn. We see the
different personalities of the characters changing as they
grow, and learn some background which has shaped their
mindsets. These young people find that their desperate,
contracting society is willing to jeopardise their lives in
order to expand again. CHIMERA, which contains mildly
strong language, has been written by a trio of authors as
N.J. Tanger and is the first instalment in 'Universe
Eventual' series. I found similarities to Joelle
Charbonneau's The Testing. I'll be very interested to see
how the well-detailed, multi-layered story continues.
On the verge of extinction, the Stephen’s Point colony must
take desperate measures to save themselves. Without
communication or resupply from Earth for the last fifteen
years, the colony has but one chance to survive: restore the
ancient starship Chimera and train a young crew to pilot
her. The fate of the entire colony rests on the shoulders of
a pair of misfits: Theo Puck, a sixteen-year-old hacker with
a gift for speaking to machines, and fifteen-year-old Selena
Samuelson, a brash but talented pilot with a dark secret in
her past.
To Theo, the Mandate to crew the Chimera seems like a
game—one he isn’t invited to play. A brutal murder changes
everything. Left with no choice, Theo has to complete the
Selection training and make it aboard the Chimera or face
terrible consequences.
Selena wants to do what she does best—fly. Piloting her
father’s ore trawler is the only life she’s known before a
horrifying accident strands her aboard the Hydra, the
station responsible for rebuilding the Chimera. Forced into
the Mandate testing against her will, Selena encounters an
unexpected ally, forever changing the way she sees the
Chimera and herself.
Forced to make brutal choices in order to survive, Theo and
Selena’s fates intertwine. But behind the scenes, someone
else sets into motion events that could destroy everything
they’re fighting to protect.
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