Teaser

Jemmy was born in Spiral Town, and never thought he’d have reason to leave. But when he kills a man in self defence, flight is his only option. Knowing nothing about the outside world, there is only one choice: to follow the Road wherever it takes him . . .

Review

There’s a slightly odd story of how I came to experience Destiny’s Road. I’ve been on the lookout for more Niven for some time, having regularly enjoyed but not been wowed by his work. He’s written a lot, and co-authored even more, but I was on the hunt for something solo-authored and self-contained. As it so often has, my local free bookshop proved to be my saviour, and I picked up a copy of Destiny’s Road. Like so many books, it went into my TBR with a vague plan to read it in the coming months. A few weeks later, I was browsing the Audible Plus catalogue (and desperately trying to remove the LitRPG from the recommendations) when I found that Destiny’s Road was included in my subscription. And so despite having just acquired the physical version, I opted for the audiobook as my first choice. Don’t worry, I’ve ensured that the paperback has made its way to a loving home.

Destiny’s Road is, by quite some margin, my favourite Larry Niven book to date. There, I said it. Ringworld, eat your heart out. This is not the first book I’ve read about a human colony on an alien world that has forgotten its roots – it’s not even the first of those I’ve read this year – but it’s easily one of the best. It avoids the typical traps of falling back into set historical eras or corrupted understandings of the truth, and goes in entirely new directions.

The society that Niven builds on Destiny is fascinating. A series of wildly different communities who are barely aware of each other, all at the side of one long and winding road. The only contact they have beyond their own borders is the merchant caravans that make their way up and down the road. Of course, the merchants have to come from somewhere, and it’s no spoiler to say that there’s more to that far-off home than just another dead-end town. Niven gives each town along the Road it’s own distinct identity. They’re not all poor farmers. There is a town of beachside surfers (and I am eternally grateful that they were not stereotyped as Australians), fisherfolk who trade with mysterious sea-dwellers, a cheesemonger, a prison camp, and more. They all feel different, and we spend enough time in each to learn about them, but not so much to completely evaporate the sense of mystery that hangs over Jemmy’s journey.

Speaking of Jemmy, Niven also has his fun with the idea of identity. Jemmy is on the run from very early on, and each time he is absorbed into a new culture, he changes his a name, or else has it changed for him. It’s a further way of making each section of the book feel distinct. In spite of all these changes, however, Jemmy’s evolution throughout the book (which covers decades) is simple to follow, and you’ll be rewarded for doing so. Even his sexual encounters (and this is a Niven novel, so there are quite a few) serve more than just titillation. They’re a key part of Jemmy’s growth from sheltered village-dweller to the world-weary man he becomes.

Even though a lot of the book has that intangible feel of a fantasy coming-of-age story transposed onto an alien world, the science of this science fiction is never forgotten. This is particularly true in the second half of the novel, when Jemmy learns about the logic that underpins his world. Looking back, you realise that the clues were there all along, you just didn’t know what to look for. I also have to give Niven credit for making the act of looking things up in a library into a genuinely gripping part of the narrative.

From what I can tell, Destiny’s Road seems to be one of Niven’s lesser-appreciated novels. But I dare say it’s a great place to start reading his works. Having reached the end of this story, I know it’s only a matter of time before I read another one.

Audio Stats

• Narrated by Richard Powers
• A Standalone Novel
• Published in 1998
• Runtime 16hrs 12mins