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A Just Determination
by John G Hemry
(Ace, US$6.50, 259 pages, paperback; May 2003; ISBN: 0441010520.)
This is a very unusual mil-SF novel. Really, it's just barely SF, and
might better be  termed
a naval procedural -- and very nicely-done, too. In 2098, Ensign Paul
Sinclair's first duty assignment is aboard the USS Michaelson CLE(S)-3,
a long-endurance space cruiser, newly-deployed to patrol American-claimed
space. Young Sinclair suffers through the agonies of on-the-job officer
training -- trials that will bring a twinge of sympathy from anyone
who's started out green in a demanding job with a difficult boss. Hemry's
portrait of the trials and triumphs of day-to-day naval life rings true
[note 1] to
this former naval officer -- and I'm pleased that the Supply Officer,
the humble 'porkchop', is one of the more sympathetic characters, since
that was my job, too.
On patrol, the Michaelson detects a South Asian Alliance ship trespassing
on the American claim. Challenged, the rival vessel flees. The Michaelson
orders the intruder to heave to for boarding. The intercept goes horribly
wrong -- the American cruiser fires on the SASAL ship, killing all on
board. The intruder turns out to be an unarmed research vessel.
Captain Wakeman is called to account for his actions at a general court-martial,
described as meticulously, and as grippingly, as any fictional courtroom
drama I've read. Ens. Sinclair, who doubles as the ship's Legal Officer,
feels compelled to testify in favor of his disgraced Captain, even though
he thinks Wakeman was a piss-poor commanding officer...
All of this is related in thoughtful, serviceable, workmanlike prose
that clunks at times, but gets the job done. The job, in this case,
is a sympathetic examination of how the modern US Navy actually works,
with fallible people doing their duty, or dodging it, or bungling it...
Naval SF novels tend to be Hornblower-knockoffs (Weber, Drake, Feintuch,
etc.), so it's a pleasure to see one drawn from the 21st century instead
of the 18th. The young Ensign's coming-of-age reminded me of Heinlein's
classic Space Cadet, which was drawn from his 1930's Naval service.
And Hemry clearly has read The Caine Mutiny, from a bit later.
Hemry is a retired Naval officer who grew up as a Navy brat, so he's
walked the walk, too. His space warships are, reasonably enough, extrapolated
as subs/tin cans-in-space, with similarly compact and, um, challenging
interior dimensions. About the only substantial change in Hemry's end-of-the-21st
century US Navy is the complete integration of women into the service.
This is reasonable, too, as the Navy is a very tradition-bound
organization.
This is the first of a projected four 'Paul Sinclair' novels -- the
next, Burden of Proof, is scheduled for March 2004 publication.
I'm looking forward to reading it.
Note 1) -- except for the language, which is sanitized for the intended
YA audience. Perhaps not the wisest choice, but a defensible one. [...back
to main text]
Links:
Review by Peter
D Tillman; more of Peter D Tillman's reviews can be found at:
SF Site and Amazon.com. Google "Peter D. Tillman" +review for many more!
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