The Nome King and The Shroud by Tim Pratt is a scifi novella about Earth colonists aboard The Nome King, sent into space in search of a new home for humans. When the ship's AI Tugboat comes across a strange anomaly not too far from their final destination, they wake Mahza Sun, a troublesolver, from her stasis to consult on what to do next.
This novella was reviewed during the first round of SFINCS3.
This review may contain minor spoilers.
Worldbuilding: The worldbuilding in this story isn't too expansive, but there's certainly enough there to scratch my itch. It's set in a distant future where Earth has fallen away to climate disaster and colonists have been shot into space (much like a very smart bullet, as the author puts it) in arc ships. The alien anomaly they encounter is based upon in the real world Dyson Sphere theory which I thought was a lot of fun. I'd classify this somewhere in between soft and hard scifi, where everything that happens sounds logical enough (at least to someone who's knowledge of space and physics is rudimentary at best), but you aren't bogged down too much with the specifics as to make it overwhelming.
Emotions: I found this story incredibly funny. The prose was witty, and both AIs we encounter have an uncanny knack for humor. I was laughing out loud more than once while reading, but there were certainly some shocking and somber moments that tugged at my heartstrings. Pratt does an excellent job at making you care deeply about The Nome King/Tugboat and their little probe children. I had a slightly harder time forming an emotional connection to the human characters, but I think that was partly due to the limited word count and need to spend more time in the Nome King's perspective that gave them less room to breathe. I easily could have read 50,000 more words of this story.
Intrigue: There is an overarching mystery throughout this story regarding what happened to the original inhabitants of The Shroud (the name for the Dyson Sphere the main characters encounter). It's a somewhat predictable plotline, but that didn't necessarily take away from my enjoyment while reading and it wrapped up with a very satisfying ending.
Relationships: The most important relationship in this story was that of the humans to the Nome King. There is a constant back and forth of distrust but still having compassion for the other on both sides. Nome King struggles with their loyalty to the humans and newfound friendship in The Shroud, with all of it clouded by their anger at being trapped behind safeguards for so long. The humans fear Nome King, but they also love them and don't want to believe that they would be betrayed by the AI they had built and who had carried them safely through space for so long. I would also be remiss to not mention the inclusion of lesbian relationship that while it wasn't a major focus of the plot was nice to see.
Descriptions: The prose was lovely and I think Pratt did an excellent job at conveying the sheer size of The Shroud and describing the terrain of the inner sphere. The dialogue of the human characters was a bit lacking at times, feeling a little awkward or stilted. The dialogue between the AI characters, however, was a delight to read.
Engagement: I absolutely devoured this story, finishing it in one day. It was a very easy read that kept me hooked the whole time.
Final thoughts: Overall, this was a very fun read. If you enjoy killer AIs, humans just trying to survive in a worst case scenario, and excellent comedic timing then I highly recommend you pick up The Nome King and The Shroud.
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