Review of "The Deep Sky: A Science Fiction Novel" by Yume Kitasei

At some time in the not too distant future, the Earth is in dire straights. Global warming, massive fires, earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts, floods, people living in refugee camps, dissension among rival countries, etc. It seems humanity might need an alternative home, so plans are made to launch a starship called Phoenix to a distant world called Planet X.

To choose the passengers for Phoenix, 800 twelve-year-old girls, from various countries, start school at an elite institute called EvenStar. The students are culled little by little, and after eight years, 80 young women are picked to go to Planet X.



The females, all of whom are twentyish at launch time, will give birth (by artificial insemination) along the way, so Planet X will have an appropriate initial colony. We join the voyage ten years after launch, when the starship is well on its way.











One of Phoenix's passengers, named Anuka, is a half-Japanese woman who was raised in America. Anuka was the last person chosen for the voyage, and - while most other crew members have a specific job (nurse, botanist, engineer, etc.) - Anuka is an 'alternate' who fills in wherever she's needed.



To make the trip more bearable, each traveler has a chip in their head to facilitate Digitally Augmented Reality (DAR). (This is more or less like the holodeck on Star Trek.) Each passenger can 'see' whatever environment they like, and Anuka prefers trees, forest paths, birds, and so on.





As the story opens, Anuka and another crew member go on a spacewalk to check out an anomaly on the ship's hull.



During the spacewalk, a horrific explosion kills three passengers, damages the Phoenix, and throws it off course. Anuka survives, but has survivor's guilt. So when it becomes clear the blast was cause by sabotage, Anuka feels compelled to identify the saboteur.



As the story continues, we observe the various rivalries, friendships, disagreements, romances, pregnancies, etc. among the passengers as they attempt to root out the bomber and get the Phoenix back on course.

There are also flashbacks to Anuka's childhood, and we observe Anuka's relationship with her parents, the tragic death of her little brother Luis, her years at the EvenStar school, and her selection for the Phoenix voyage. It turns out Anuka and her mom had a falling out that deeply affects Anuka during the journey.



The book, which is 'light science fiction' has some intriguing ideas, such as: a starship with a young, all female crew; the expectation that each passenger will get pregnant en route; the ability to communicate instantaneously with Earth via some advanced sci-fi gizmo (this gizmo seems similar to a communications typewriter on the science fiction series 'Fringe'); the different DAR scenarios, which vary from passenger to passenger; the bots that clean and repair the ship; the Alpha AI program that advises and counsels the travelers; and more.





The mystery part of the novel, where the crew looks for the saboteur, has the usual red herrings and twists. I was surprised by the perpetrator, but (for me) the motive wasn't 100% credible.

All in all, this story seems more like a character study than a sci-fi novel, but it's entertaining and a bit off the beaten track.

Rating: 3.5 stars