Title: The Seams Between the Stars
Author: Kameron Hurley
Series: Bel Dame Apocrypha #0.5
Format: Short Story
Pages: 18
Genre: Science Fiction, Military
Publication Date: September 1st, 2011
Publisher: Kameron Hurley
Rating: 6.5
Summary:
From Smashwords:
A rogue squad of interplanetary warriors plot to escape their conscription.
Why did I read this book? The Seams Between the Stars is a short story set in the same world as the novel God’s War. I loved that book, especially the world building, and wanted to take the chance to explore it more.
Source: Read on Smashwords
My Review
This novel is a very quick read that only barely scrapes the surface of what is revealed in God’s War. It takes place in space, rather than on the planet Umayma, and follows a young man working on a ship. The crew drops onto planets, in this case Old Lucifer, to kill anyone left living after the battles. I’m not sure why people are killing each other or dying – there’s some kind of war going on, I suppose. The crew eliminates these people to stop contamination from spreading.
So, I won’t go into the other developments of the story, other than the main character is from New Kinaan, another world we seen mentioned in God’s War. We briefly find out about the culture there (which uses a caste system) but we don’t get very much. We also experience Nasheenians from Umayma and their interactions with the New Kinaanites. While the story was interesting, I wish there was more here. I read it after reading the novel and I feel like it was a teaser rather than a meaty story for those wanting more of Hurley’s world.
Still, there are some good snippets, especially since this story is told from the point of view of men rather than women. On Umayma, women are very prominent, but in space, all of the crew are men save for Birdit, the captain. Service on the ship was described as a negative thing, as though the boys on these many worlds are a dime a dozen. Here’s a chilling passage:
It was that, then, that finally made my throat close and my gut clench. They did not want us. We were just bodies to them, so much star dust. Another bellyful of dead boys on a shuttle. A boy’s corpse, lost in deep space. Just one more.
Rating: 6.5
Overall, the story was worth the read, although it would probably be more valuable to someone who’s already read God’s War. It raises some questions for me such as, what is life like on New Kinaan? What are the positions of women there like? How is this different from what we’ve seen in Umayma? Honestly though, these questions are all there because I am just so engrossed in this world. I’m definitely going to dig up more from Hurley!
