I am grateful to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
‘Bee Speaker’ is a new novel by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It is the third instalment of his ‘Dogs of War’ science-fiction series, set in a future where genetically engineered Bioforms live alongside humans. Although I have not read the first two books of the series, I did not sense I was significantly missing out on any background or context in this book. It is a riveting story, something of a ‘First Encounter” between humans and non-humans. Entertaining and thought-provoking throughout, with a fine ending. I greatly enjoyed it and look forward to reading the first two books in the series.
The setting is as follows (paraphrased from the publishers description).
The end of the world has come and gone. Humanity has bled almost to death from a thousand cuts. While Earth fell apart, on the almost forgotten colony on Mars, engineered humans and beasts aided by Bees and their Distributed Intelligence, has survived and thrived, becoming an independent entity over the generations with little to connect them to their ancestors on Earth. Until a signal arrives, begging for help…
What happens next is the story told, from multiple perspectives, in this book. What could go wrong ? Well, the reader will soon find that pretty much everything could and does go wrong.
This book has a lot of characters and communities. The population on Earth has significantly decreased due to one reason or another and humans have abandoned cities and major population areas. The surviving communities pretty much live a subsistence lifestyle, with some groups having a little more technology and therefore hegemony than others. Conflict is common, alliances shaky with various superstitions and folk-traditions becoming commonplace. Some groups have old and failing technology while others attempt to retain human knowledge for a better future. Then there are the groups with weapons who use them or threaten violence to pursue their aims.
In short, a desperate mess of humanity, lacking any unity or cooperation. The remaining humans face an even bleaker future without external help.
The initial chapters set the scene. A dystopian Earth of course, but with some human communities having Bioform dogs. Physically powerful and sentient creatures, they are largely equivalent to their humans partners, although feared and distrusted by many.
Mr Tchaikovsky’s books rapidly grab the readers attention and this is certainly the case with “Bee Speaker”. His plots are exciting and the cast of humans and other Spacers is always fascinating. What I enjoy most are what has formed these characters, what makes them who they are and how they think. And most of all, the relationships they build, cultivate and cherish. In this book, relationships within and between various groups of humans and ‘human-adjacent sentience’. The plot unfolds from several perspectives, with multiple protagonists providing the reader with their thoughts amongst the fears and uncertainty of their lives.
And into this dysfunctional Earth, the arrival of a small expedition of capable and carefully selected Martians, returning to their ancestral home to provide much-needed help. That is the plan anyway.
The four Martians are a mix of the lifeforms that have evolved on Mars. Far in advance of humans in many ways. Not only in technology but also their worldview and attitudes to other lifeforms. Intelligence and societal governance is more advanced than Earth has ever been. Peaceful solutions and cooperation have been essential to their survival on a hostile planet. They do not see themselves as Humans. There was much discussion about even sending help to Earth. A distant planet which has largely lost contact with the Mars Colony over generations. Yet their advanced and benevolent society concluded, not entirely by consensus, that helping their very distant ancestors was the right thing to do.
The Martians who arrived on Earth are a diverse group. Democratic in leadership, individualistic in their outlook on Earth and their views of the human inhabitants. And to further complicate matters, the Earth environment, climate, atmosphere and gravity is having exaggerated influence on their physiology and thought processes. Beyond what they had expected. I loved these otherworldly characters. They are the heart and soul of this book. And the action and excitement as well. The Martian society may be far advanced in behavioural terms, but there are still signs in their DNA of their human and animal origins, both strengths and weaknesses. Instincts are near the surface as they encounter this ancestral planet of Earth. Once they enter the plot, we see the story from their perspective as well. This is a particularly attractive part of Mr Tchaikovsky writing. Seeing and feeling a foreign world from a Martian point of view. And the Martian characters have a wide range of feelings and opinions about their mission, particularly when things go wrong !
This brings us to another fascinating aspect of the story. Earth societies are a mess. How will the people respond to the arrival of a group of strangers, in their eyes barely resembling humans and some of them closer to medieval beasts. One would think (hope ?) that failing societies would be grateful or at least open to external assistance. It goes without saying, events do not progress as planned. There is death and mayhem amongst the fear and misunderstanding. Also some fine examples of tolerance, benevolence, dignity and bravery. It is probably not hard to guess which groups display the more humane characteristics.
I loved the plot developments and many of the side stories of life on Mars and Earth. As in his other books, Mr Tchaikovsky injects humour into the plot, amongst the action and excitement. One Martian character is particularly snarky in thought and speech. Laugh-out-loud hilarious sometimes ! An example is his initial impressions of life on Earth:
It is truly amazing how many flavours of dumbness an apocalypse can spawn.
The other Martian characters tend to be more cerebral, thoughtful and compassionate. The reader will enjoy these characters as well, with their admirable aims and determination to help the dysfunctional human communities, come what may.
Bees play a role as well, but not until the latter stages of the book. Whilst AI is the current obsession in the Technology industry today, perhaps mankind should prepare for what might come next. Distributed Intelligence, or DisInt. The Bees have this attribute and consequently have comprehension, thoughts and actions proportional to their numbers. And they can quickly increase to very, very large numbers, consequently achieving superior influence and power. The Bees role on Mars is portrayed as not entirely benign, but enabling and then almost separate to the Martian society and its evolution. The reader will wonder what role Bees might play on a messed-up Earth. Almost as a side story, DisInt has become a part of some humans on Earth, albeit in a basic, limited mode. This adds richness and colour to the story and enables twists and turns in the plot.
The conclusion and what may happen next is somewhat unexpected, poignant, a little bitter-sweet yet satisfying. Thought-provoking and offering tentative optimism.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed Mr Tchaikovsky’s other books. While the plots is certainly compelling and imaginative, it is the character development that really stands out. Particularly with the Martians visitors. Deep, rich, believable characters with all the flaws and strengths one might hope to find in such a story.
Which brings me to my one, small quibble. Very small. The book has a lot of moving parts; distinct entities and characters. I care less for some of them, not due to their behaviour or actions, but due to a lack of background. Not knowing very much about their past and how they came to be. Perhaps this is something developed in the first two books of the series ? One or two characters could have been omitted from this book and the plot would not have been greatly affected. This might have allowed a deeper, richer character development for some of the secondary yet important characters.
I finished reading this book about a week ago and it is still fresh in my memory and will, I expect, remain there for a long time. It has been a pleasure writing this review, revisiting the fascinating plot, a ‘First Contact’ of sorts. Exploring themes of communication, comprehension, learning, trust and benevolence between cultures and species. And of course revisiting with the memorable characters, particularly the Martians. I do hope Mr Tchaikovsky is able to weave some of them into his future writing plans. ‘Bee Speaker’ is a Great Read and a wonderful addition to Mr Tchaikovsky’s body of work. I wish him all the very best with the publication.