This book is the sequel to Refractions, but works fine as a standalone. In Inversions, we follow three main characters: Jason Nevsky, Elizabeth Lake, and Ranath Eyre.
✿ Jason Nevsky - head of Earth's Food Alliance.
It's close to the year 2400 and Earth is in dire straits. The planet has never adapted to climate change and is reeling from scarcity wars and the plague - a phage that kills crops. All terrestrial populations are going hungry, barely holding on with help from the Food Alliance, headed by Jason Nevsky.
The Food Alliance has a deal with the Yun Ju, a conglomerate of wealthy organizations on outposts in space. In return for food shipments from Earth, the Yun Ju supplies anti-phage treatments and technology. Nevertheless Earth is on the verge of becoming unable to sustain life (at least human life).
A big part of Jason Nevsky's job is to limit Earth's population growth and restore its natural ecosystems, such as rain forests. Unfortunately, this means less farmland for growing food. If countries don't agree to the environmental restorations, Jason can withhold phage remedies and technology. Thus starving populations throw feces and trash at Jason, who's the most hated man on Earth.
✿ Elizabeth Lake (Liz) - an engineer with a double doctorate in heliophysics and magnetospherics.
Liz just graduated from the Aspire Academy on Earth, and applies for a job with the Renewal Corporation of the Yun Ju. Liz has been working toward this for years, her ambition being to leave Earth forever, and have a life and career in space.
Liz is actually Jason Nevsky's daughter, Anna Nathalie Nevsky. Liz changed her name twice (at great expense) to break ties with her father, and the hate his name stirs. Liz hasn't spoken to her dad for ten years, since she left home at age fifteen. This breaks Jason's heart.
✿ Ranath Eyre - head of the Renewal Corporation.
Ranath is head of the Yun Ju's Renewal Corporation, which builds and sells 'assemblers' (robots) that do various kinds of work. For three decades, Ranath has used the Renewal Corporation to secretly accumulate a fortune - not for herself but to build an 'Ark' (a human habitat) near Saturn.
Ranath believes the Earth is doomed, and she has a clandestine plan to populate the Ark with the best of humanity, such as professionals, scientists, philosophers, artists, writers, etc. In Ranath's view, the Ark will eventually be self-sustaining.....and will be the future of humankind.
Ranath is aware of Liz Lake's secret identity but still hires her to work for the Renewal Corporation.
*****
Just like countries on Earth are rivals for power and resources - and spy on and plot against each other, the corporations that make up the Jun Yu are rivals for power and resources - and spy on and plot against each other.
Ranath has two main competitors in the Jun Yu: 'Liberty' run by American Nevil Richardson.....
......and the 'Sunrise Group' run by Chinese Li Qiang.
Both Richardson and Qiang want more than their fair share of Ranath's assemblers, particularly the newest model just now coming off the assembly line.
To keep her Ark a secret, and to hoard the assemblers needed to build the Ark, Ranath is constantly scheming, prevaricating, lying, and maneuvering. Hardly a word out of Ranath's mouth is the truth.
Everyone up in space seems to have a secret agenda, and much of the book is about the negotiating and manipulating among the various groups.
One thing the entire Jun Yu shares is a strategy to keep the populations on Earth poor and subjugated, almost like serfs whose sole purpose is to supply the Yun Ju with food. Jason Nevsky was unaware of the Yun Ju's devilry for upwards of twenty years, but he's caught on now, and institutes a plan of his own.
As the complicated situation plays out, Liz finds herself caught between her boss Ranath and her father Jason, and Liz has some difficult decisions to make.
The story is engaging, but most of the main characters are unlikable. Ranath is a liar; Liz is a spoiled brat; and Richardson and Qiang are blackmailers. Jason is almost the sole sympathetic protagonist, doing his best to save Earth. Will he succeed? What do you think?
On an amusing note: Most of the characters in the novel are CONSTANTLY drinking coffee, and I thought this was a plot point, that the coffee was laced with drugs, or exerted mind control, or stripped memories.....or SOMETHING. But no, these folks apparently just love coffee. LOL
M.C. Melcer deserves props for her (probably) realistic portrait of what will happen to Earth if humanity doesn't wake up and roll back global warming, and repair the damage we've done to the flora and fauna.
All in all, I enjoyed the book and recommend it to sci-fi fans.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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