Teaser

The human race has spread to the stars, and in doing so has stumbled across the remains of an ancient species. Yet no matter what wonders are out among the stars, humans will never truly change . . .

Review

And so my bid to clear out my TBR in chronological order has brought me into the 1990s. It also brings me to a book that has been on my TBR for almost a year, making it one of the longest-term residents in my unread collection. Summertide is one of those books that I knew nothing about beyond what was written on the cover. A shot in the dark in the hopes of finding something wonderful. As it turns out, it wasn’t a wholly successful shot.

I really enjoyed the opening of the book, and that’s largely due to the set-up for the Heritage Universe. As I was saying just the other day (in my review of Bob Shaw’s Orbitsville), I’m a sucker for a megastructure. Give me a big, mysterious alien artefact and I want to learn everything about it. Sheffield drops one into the opening of his book, but doesn’t stop there. His enigmatic Builders have littered the galaxy with strange and unique objects. Some are fairly simple megastructures, others are more bizarre, like ‘the Elephant,’ which is a giant gas cloud that may or may not be a sentient being. Any one of these could have been the springboard for a short story or novel in its own right, but by scattering them throughout the novel, Sheffield creates the impression of a universe that is vast, unknowable, and thoroughly interesting.

The way Sheffield introduces these relics is interesting in its own right. Another of my literary loves is found documents, and Sheffield masterfully infodumps (I don’t use the term as disparagingly as some others. If there’s information I need, just give it to me straight) about the relics via a series of encyclopaedia entries written by one of the characters in the novel. It’s great way of building the universe, through hints and rumours that don’t directly impact the central plot, while also serving to give the characters a place in that universe.

Where the book falters is in the main story. There’s a chase across the megastructure, and a race against time, but it’s ultimately very forgettable and doesn’t really make the most of a very unique setting. This is not to say that it does anything wrong, but it is unexceptional nonetheless. Summertide is also quite a short book, so there isn’t enough space for the plot to flesh out, and I dare say it’s a more competently written plot than its thematic contemporary Ringworld, but it failed to elicit any strong reaction than me. There are great ideas, and a mediocre story, and the two rarely intersect in any meaningful way.

This is a common failing in science fiction. The disconnect between strength of idea of lacklustre narrative execution. the earlier a novel is written, the more forgivable this oversight is. Ringworld still feels ground-breaking. Orbitsville set a new standard for alien artefact fiction. Summertide, coming almost two decades later, is in good company, but it is the lesser of that company almost entirely due to its late arrival. Building on such famous foundations, one can’t help but expect more than we got.

Book Stats

• The Heritage Universe #1
• First Published in 1990
• 281 Pages