Not quite sure what to say about this novella. It’s definitely not the kind of story I typically enjoy. The story of an unnamed boy from an underclass, the Chained, who toil in the belly of a gargantuan mining ship in space is given the opportunity to be brought up out of The Hold, and be educated at the ship’s university in the upper levels among the privileged. His professor, herself a daughter of one of the Chained, follows him on a quest that tests the constraints of their constrictive society, driven by the need to rediscover human connections. 

I’m describing a plot synopsis in vague, movie-poster-style thematic terms mainly because the plot is not the key to this story. The narration, though not using first-person voice, mostly favours the thoughts and memories of the characters over physical description or dialogue. it focuses on what they are thinking as the events take place. In their minds, the boy is never named, only referred to as “the boy”, the professor is mostly referred to as “the woman”. As a result, it was a bit challenging for me to stay grounded in what was going on (I found myself rereading paragraphs to orient myself) until the second half, when more “action” was described.

I liked the writing a lot, which was simple yet poetic and evocative: “Once, he said, on ancient Earth, there was a Horizon, and to gaze on it was to look neither up nor down. Look out, he said, pointing a finger. He put his hands to his ribs. He said the breath expanded the body in all directions.” I also liked how the story blurred the lines between concrete scientific concepts and mystical/spiritual ideas. In particular, there is a system of anklets applied to all of the middle-class of this society (a moderate version of the chains that were used on the lower-class slaves). The anklets have the subtle effect of linking wearers psychically/mentally with each other. There is also a character known as “the prophet” who teaches the boy about a kind of philosophy or meditation, known as The Practice, whose techniques and ideas lead the boy to tease and explore the anklets’ psychic link, discovering a greater human spiritual connection as a result.

I say that the plot is not as important also because the plot is rather classic and predictable. What do you think will happen when a member of an oppressed class is given the opportunity to step above his station? (It’s not Red Rising, but it kind of is.) What I enjoyed and admired about this story is mostly the lyrical prose, and how Samatar’s story was able to use a modest science fiction setting to express and explore a social and spiritual message in a gentle, yet effective and urgent way.

3.5 stars  

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