Review: plan to lose sleep and maybe your hope in humanity
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 15, 2013
The Last Hour of Gann was nothing like I've ever read in my life. I've read R Lee Smith's Heat previously so I thought I had a notion of what this might be like. Other than the two books being fish out of water alien stories they don't have too much in common.I need to preface by saying that if you intend to read this book, block out a good week. The book is over 400K words and I cannot say that there were parts that could have been cut out to make the story shorter. Each word and story of this book was essential to the outcome.There is a spaceship that is leaving earth to colonize another planet. It's the future (I don't think the date was ever said) and Amber and her sister Nikki need to do something. Thier prostitute mother has just died and they're being thrown out of their apartment. Pretty soon they will be homeless and will be sent to the work-camps if they cannot figure something out. Amber convinces her younger sister Nikki eventually but really, they have no options. It's made clear that the two sisters are barely ecking out an existence and they have no future. This is thier only chance to perhaps make something of themselves.The ship crash lands onto the planet Gann. This was not their destination, and all of the colonist have woken from a hyperbolic sleep chambers unprepared and shell-shocked. Amber awakens and gets herself and Nikki off the ship. Predictably, people are panicked. One of the crew members Scott takes 'command' and leads a small group of 50 away from the ship to make camp. I have never, ever hated a character more than I have Scott. Scott is completely dangerous in a Hitler kind of way. He's not strong or even cunning. He's a persuasive sociopath who is obsessive with being in charge. Because Amber is the only member of the the new crew who is ever against Scott's ideas she ostracizes herself as being the 'bitch'.Meoraq is a Sword of Sheul a Sheulak. In Gann, that basically means that he's like the Pope. His, is the highest position you can possible attain. You have to be high born to earn this position and you also have to be a great warrior. In Gann, if you're going to be a Sheulak you are sent away to an all boys camp after you're weaned. If you've ever seen a kung-fu movie where the boys are training everyday in snow, wind or hail a Sheulak warrior would consider that a vacation. Meoraq sees 'the hand of God' which is really Amber's ship fall from the sky and decides to make a pilgrimage before he starts a family which it's clear he's dreading. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING that Meoraq does is a sign from God. He's not condescending about his religious beliefs it's just who he is.Meoraq eventually meets up with the camp and sees what he first describes as 'people' with no faces. I have to think that R Lee Smith is actually a space alien because she does such an amazing job of describing what an alien species would think if they were to see humans for the first time. Here are a handful of creatures with horribly made 'spears' attempting to clumsily kill an animal. The only reason that he finally thinks that they are sentient beings is when Amber attempts to 'talk' with him. She takes Meoraq into their camp (vehemently against Scott's wishes) and tries to further communicate with him.Meoraq think that the humans are ugly awful and useless but he thinks that everything happens for a reason. After praying, God tells him that the should lead the humans to the holy temple and then he'll know what to do.I can't really break down more of the story (and this is only the first 20%!!) without revealing major plot turns. There's some wonderful moments but there are mostly horrific moments. The journey is difficult, the people are mean (humans and natives) and there are billions of hardships for Amber and Meroraq. This story is hard to categorize as one genre, instead I'd say that it's many. It's a love story between Meoraq and Amber. They go beyond their aesthetics and really find admiration in the other . It's a theological story Meoraq' philosophy and Amber being an atheist. The book constantly have them debating on religion. It's certainly science fiction with elaborate world building and layered mythology. It's an adventure ala-Lord of the Rings meeting unusual creatures and long quests. It's also sociological with Scott's zealot leadership and the breakdown of humanity.I really have no words to describe this book but here's my attempt: amazing, thoughtful, visceral, intelligent, revealing, heart pounding, sad, and epic.