Book Review: 'Nightrider' by David Mace
‘Nightrider’ (304 pp.) was published by Panther / Granada (UK) in April 1985. The cover illustration is uncredited, but attributed to Chris Foss. The novel was published in the US in 1987 by Ace Books.
I have reviewed two other novels by UK author Mace; ‘Demon-4’ and ‘’Fire Lance’, which also mingle sci-fi with technothriller stylings and a determinedly mordant worldview.
However, ‘Nightrider’ is much worse than those two titles. It’s so awful I gave up around page 70. I couldn't take it anymore.........
The plot has something to do with the eponymous spaceship being dispatched to find a rebellious colony located in ‘Hades’, a desolate region of space outside the boundaries of the solar system. Along with a multiethnic crew of six, Nightrider is equipped with the latest in AI and advanced weaponry. Once the rebel base is found, then Nightrider and its crew are expected to destroy the base and its inhabitants.
This sounds like a decent enough premise for a sci-fi action novel, but Mace’s prose in ‘Nightrider’ is an exemplar of how to not write a narrative.
Routine shipboard maneuvers are ponderously related, as if being transcribed from an accompanying technical manual (an account of how much better it is to eat Chinese food, as opposed to other types of cuisine, in a higher gee environment takes up three-quarters of a page).
And dialogue between crewmembers goes beyond wooden in its presentation, as this excerpt from an early chapter, where crewmembers Kim and Sandra are having a conversation, shows:
‘Well, let’s say it’s got most of the chaos back under control. It’s a principle of pragmatic rationalism not to underestimate the problem by exaggerating your achievements. Of course I like it. It works and it’s honest. Take us. It’s a much more intelligent procedure to co-opt and assign the right individuals to fill your requirements than to condition people to volunteer on grounds of national or political or religious chauvinism. How can you target that kind of conditioning to be sure that exactly the right people happen to volunteer ? If there’s a job to be done that’s evaluated as necessary for the Earth, then whatever the job is, do it right.’
‘You don’t have qualificationist sympathies, then ? Sometimes you almost talk as if you do.’
‘Ah, that’s just my flippant style. I wouldn’t question the reasons for necessity evaluation. Think of the economic load that Nightrider represents. We wouldn’t be here if there weren’t reasons enough. No, no – I’d just be interested in the reasons if they happen to be available. I just look at things that way. Maybe it’s the political instability in Westamerica during my formative years. Not as serene as Serenity.’
I'm not sure what 'qualificationist sympathies' refers to.........but by this point in the novel, I was too bored to care.
The verdict ? If you absolutely have to read a David Mace book from the 1980s, then 'Demon-4' and 'Firelance' are much better reads than 'Nightrider'.
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