Description:
Would you go to a planet that has never known war, hunger, or even a single murder?
This
daring new novel explores the difficulties of space travel, planetary
colonization, and the loss of friends, family, and identity due to time
dilation and the distance between stars.
Humans established a
utopian colony on Kipos, an Earth-like planet orbiting a Sol twin.
Unfortunately, the birth rate continues to plummet and without an influx
of human DNA, Kipos has eleven generations before it reaches failure.
With Earth over ninety light-years away, time is short.
On
the over-crowded Earth, many see opportunity in Kipos's need. After
medical, intelligence, and physiological testing, Abby and her younger
siblings, Jin and Orchid, are offered transportation. Along with 750,000
other strong young immigrants, they leave the safety of their family
with the expectation of good jobs and the opportunity for higher
education.
While these second-generation colonists travel
to the new planet in stasis, the Kiposi, terrified that Earthlings will
taint their paradise, pass a series of indenture and adoption laws in
order to assimilate the savages.
When Abby wakes up on
Kipos, Jin cannot be found. Orchid is ripped from her arms as Abby is
sold to a dull-eyed man with a sterilized wife. Indentured to breed, she
is drugged and systematically coerced. To survive, Abby learns the
differences in culture and language using the only thing that is truly
hers on this new world: her analytical mind. Haunted by the agony of her
loss, but determined to make a better life for herself, she joins a
planetary survey team where she will discover yet another way of life.
Review 4 of 5 Stars
The
difference between a good book and a mediocre or awful book is the
amount of time that seems to be involved. A great book will fly by until
you find yourself at the last page not wanting to read the last
paragraph because it will be over. Last week I read one that I had to
struggle to finish. Fortunately, a good book much like a cold beer on a
hot summer day will find you at the end of it surprised that you are
already done and that's how this book was. I will freely admit that
Other Systems isn't a love it so much I'll read it over and over yearly
book; however it is a good book that covers some disturbing subjects.
I
received a request to read this book and participate in a blog tour for
it, but to be clear I don’t receive any compensation for anything I
write here. Since I found it to be a good read I'm going to give the
lady her due and hook the links up on the right in my links list so you
fine people can find it without too much trouble.
As far as I'm
concerned what's listed in the official synopsis doesn't quite give the
flavor of the book. In my opinion what the synopsis describes is the
actual build up for where the story really begins, the background if you
will. For me the action part of the story really began at the last
line of the synopsis where she joins the planetary survey team.
I
have no idea at this point why the author chose to begin this story in
quite the way she did, but maybe we'll find out. As part of the blog
tour there will also be a Q&A section following the review when I
publish it on July 6th as part of the tour, but I haven't done that part
yet. Today is June 19th and I'm writing while it is fresh. Today,
having just finished the book I have no idea why she went the way she
did with the story, but in the end I would have to say it worked out
fine. It is not only a story about awakening to a similar yet divergent
culture where it seems things have gone terribly wrong, but a coming of
age story for Abby who becomes an explorer of both the universe and who
she wants to be. It's a story about how families are not only born, but
made from the friends we collect and keep throughout the journey of
life.
Some of the beginning is pretty dark. That it is dark didn't
bother me at all. As it turned out to be partially a story about coming
of age and acceptance that was done pretty well while out exploring
alien landscapes and a different culture, in some ways I kind of think
it is a shame that it's not a book I would be able to share with too
young of an audience due to some of the subject matter. Nevertheless, it
was a good read. I truly enjoyed the story of Abby's rise out of
servitude and adventurous explorations to strange new planets with the
survey team. It flowed smoothly and the story kept my interest enough to
leave me wondering about it when I wasn't reading. The characters had
depth and were believable. If you're looking for a good story and have a
bit of free time you might want to give it a try.
Q&A
TJ:
I really enjoyed reading Other Systems. Thank you for agreeing to do a
Q&A session to go along with the book review. I saw in your bio that
prior to being an author you were an artist with tons of paintings who
did some work on graphic novels and a comic book series. What made you
decide to go more to the printed format as opposed to graphic novels and
comics?
Elizabeth: I still do artwork and comics. I did the illustrations and cover design for
Other Systems. The 4
th episode in the comic book series
Out for Souls&Cookies comes
out in October of this year. (It’s going to be the Christmas Special,
because every comic about demon dogs needs a Christmas Special.) My
next graphic novel
Unintentional Colonists will be coming out in Spring 2015. It is another hard science fiction story dealing with emotional themes so fans of
Other Systems probably will really like it.
The reason why Other Systems is
a written novel versus a graphic novel is when the story hit me, I saw
the vision of a written novel in my head. As soon as I know a story, I
know what it is going to be.
TJ: The beginning of Other Systems
is pretty dark and Abby has to deal with some pretty horrific things
being done to her. This is definitely not a young adult book, but in
many ways this books seems to be a coming of age story for Abby. What
made you decide on the path you chose and does it concern you that at
least some of the beginning of the book may not be appropriate for mid
to late teens who might really relate to the story?
Elizabeth:
Kind of, but teenagers rarely care about adult themes and content.
Parents do. In fact, my mom has complained about the adult content in
Other Systems, specifically Cole and Harden’s swearing.
While
there is a coming of age aspect to Abby’s story, that doesn’t (and in
my opinion shouldn’t) automatically classify it as Young Adult. Plenty
of New Adult Market and Adult Science Fiction Novels have coming of age
plots and subplots. Abby’s story has “good” messages about education,
self-actualization and safe sex, however the major themes were always
about slavery, dehumanization based on fear, and finding freedom.
There
are other reasons: Abby is a young protagonist, but she is surrounded
by smart adults. There are no heroes in this series. There are just
decisions by people who justify whatever they do for good or ill. I
allowed the horrors of rape and slavery to be part of the story.
Other
contributing “adult” factors are the unabashed scientific terminology,
the length of the novel, pacing and finally the ensemble cast of humans
just trying to get by.
TJ: I was really interested in the
artificial intelligence aspect of this story, but not much was brought
to light overall. Do you plan to explore that subject more in later
stories?
Elizabeth: Yes. In Book 2: The Light Side of the Moon,
there is another AI character named Vasili. His character will further
the overarching storyline for the all the AI characters over the course
of the four planned books. You will meet one more android named,
Conner, in Book 3 and Rover comes back as well.
TJ: I was
fascinated by the explorations of the survey ship and the various things
the crew found. Are you planning more adventures for this crew?
Elizabeth: Definitely. Though
The Light Side of the Moon follows
what happened to those who stayed behind on Earth. Book 3 (Still
Untitled) will return to Kipos and the fleet. I don’t want to give too
many hints, but Harden plans to try to create a stable Einstein-Rosen
Bridge are moving forward.
TJ: Is there anything specific that you would like to share with readers regarding your inspiration for writing Other Systems?
Elizabeth:
I knew I wanted to write a science fiction story that my smart friends
were not just shaking their head at. Something that moved beyond a
disaster.
The concept for Other Systems really hit me
when I was out walking the dogs. A young Earth woman goes to another
planet for a job and realizes she has become a slave. That very night, I
saw an article about young, uneducated girls from India’s rural areas
traveling into cities with the expectation that they are going to get
factory jobs only to end up working as sex slaves. Suddenly, I knew the
how Abby got caught up in all of this.
I wrote
the scene where Abby and Orchid get separated first, as it is the first
pivot scene in the book. Though obviously it was edited for copy, it
remained largely unchanged. I also wrote the scene in which Abby escapes
the DePauls which went through major changes both in my own drafts and
with the editors from 48Fourteen.
TJ: Since this is your first
published book can you share with us a little bit about your experience
writing this book and any pitfalls you fell into?
Elizabeth: I am
a bit of a loose planner. If I know a pivot scene such as the ones I
talked about above, I’ll write them first. Then I create a relaxed
outline. I write a scene/chapter a day until the story is told. This
process takes me about a month. Then I go back and rewrite it and make
sure everything fits. One of the biggest surprises that came up during
the drafting process is Mark who screamed, “I would never do this!” and
changed his whole subplot which changed the whole course of the novel.
I
wrote seven drafts before I started sending it out to publishers and
agents. I got 16 rejections. After 48Fourteen agreed to publish, there
were big and small changes during the editing process. The editor was
concerned Abby has no love interest and yet is a sexual character. At
17-19, she does what almost everyone does at that age: she thinks about
love and sex. In this aspect of the book, I refused to budge to “market
expectations.” Was that a pitfall? I don’t know. I do know my gut told
me to not bend on this point.
However, please
don't think I am the type of author that refuses to listen. The editors
also told me I needed to darken the beginning. So it didn't start as
innocently. The last scene I wrote before publication was actually the
first scene in the book. I originally just referred to Lucy’s suicide as
the driving factor in Harden’s research. Now it sets the tone. Readers
know the book will be dark. It will deal seriously with family and
reproductive freedom before anyone every meets Abby.
As
for other pitfalls, honestly I’m extremely proud of my first novel. I
learned so much from the process that I don’t really look at any
“failures” necessarily as bad. They were learning experiences. I do wish
I had begun targeted marketing sooner. Though there are a few scenes
that need to be tightened, I won't make the same mistake with The Light Side of the Moon. I'll be up to making new and better mistakes with my second novel :)
TJ: Thank you for taking time out of your day to answer my questions and I look forward to seeing more of your work.
Elizabeth: Thank you for having me.
See http://elizabethguizzetti.com/ for more information about this author.
