Order Alex Kitko and
the Mechas from Space HERE
OFFICIAL AUTHOR
INFORMATION:
Alex White was born in Mississippi
and has lived most of their life in the American South. Alex is the author of
the Starmetal Symphony Trilogy and The Salvagers Trilogy; as well as
official novels for Alien (The Cold Forge, Into Charybdis) and Star Trek
(Deep Space Nine: Revenant). They
enjoy music composition, calligraphy and challenging, subversive fiction.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: When an
army of giant robot AIs threatens to devastate Earth, a virtuoso pianist
becomes humanity’s last hope in this bold, lightning-paced, technicolor space
opera series from the author of A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe.
Jazz
pianist Gus Kitko expected to spend
his final moments on Earth playing piano at the greatest goodbye party of
all time, and maybe kissing rockstar Ardent
Violet, before the last of humanity is wiped out forever by the Vanguards – ultra-powerful robots from
the dark heart of space, hell-bent on destroying humanity for reasons none can
divine.
But
when the Vanguards arrive, the unthinkable happens–the mecha that should be
killing Gus instead saves him. Suddenly, Gus’s swan song becomes humanity’s
encore, as he is chosen to join a small group of traitorous Vanguards and their
pilots dedicated to saving humanity.
FORMAT/INFO: August Kitko and the
Mechas from Space is the first ‘movement’ in The Starmetal Symphony Trilogy.
It consists of twenty-two chapters, divided into three parts, from the third
person singular point of view of Gus and Ardent, and is written in the simple
present tense.
The
novel was released by Orbit Books on
12th July 2022 in a
paperback edition of 464 pages, as
well as in ebook and audio formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: It’s the year 2657 and
humanity seems doomed to live out just one, final night. Up to this point,
humans have managed to survive to survive generations of ecological disasters
of their own creation, and the consequent wars over resources and power. The
technological ingenuity required for humanity’s survival has led to expansive
colonization of space. As in the past, these technological developments have
done little to change political, economic, or social divisions of power.
Humanity remains definitively human: a contradiction of exceptional nobility
and exceptional flaws.
Then
the Vanguards and their associated weapons arrive, exterminating humanity
everywhere through space. A small group of these giant, sentient, mechanized
beings systematically attack human colonies, wiping them out. Their attacks
include packs of mechanized, fanged beasts under their networked control,
“Ghosts” that bite down on the heads of victims to harvest memories and
consciousness for digital compilation, assimilation into their collective
robotic memory. Disturbingly, they use this data to resurrect simulacra of
individual’s voices and image to pose as survivors that can lure humans from
surrounding space in for destruction and compilation.
As
humanity becomes aware of the threat and their tricks, communication and travel
between colonies and with Earth swiftly halt behind a “Veil” of isolation, in
fear over what messages can be trusted and in favor of local self-preservation.
Now, all signs point to no surviving human colonies. All Earth military ships
venturing out have been destroyed. And two of the Vanguards are headed toward
Earth to finish their genocide.
If
you’re a rich celebrity and all life is about to be snuffed out, you might as well
go out with a party: a blaze of glory with your biggest fans. That’s exactly
what super fashionable rock/pop star Ardent
Violet chooses to do, and Montreal jazz pianist August (Gus) Kitko is among those hired to provide musical
entertainment at the celebrity’s French Riviera blow-out.
The
military claims to have developed a secret weapon they feel sure will stop the
incoming Vanguard mechas. But Gus
can’t shake his pessimistic outlook, an ennui that has set in his life amid the
Apocalypse and the death of his two bandmates during past Vanguard attacks.
For
one brief moment, Gus felt ecstasy
and hope. Gus’s introduction to Ardent, and their immediate attraction
to one another, led to a red-hot, rapid romance. But, things quickly fizzled
out in argument. The outgoing Ardent
wants to spend their last hours with their fans. The more introverted Gus would prefer spending his last
moments alone with Ardent, to enjoy their newfound connection. When Gus belittles Ardent’s pop music talent during the heated exchange, Ardent angrily banishes Gus from their immediate presence.
Left
alone again at the party as simple musical entertainment, Gus greets news of the failure of Earth’s secret weapon, and the
continued imminent arrival of the Vanguard destroyers with depressed
acceptance. Nothing left but to get behind the piano and give himself to the
music up until the end. The great ship Earth may be going down, but the band
plays on.
But
when the Vanguards arrive, one of them – Greymalkin
– is not behaving as expected. It seems enraptured by the complexity of Gus’ jazz, and Gus in turn begins to improvise around the audio emissions of Greymalkin. Hearing and seeing this, Ardent grabs their precious guitar,
Baby, and joins in the improv: a jam session to end all. But even more
perplexing, though causing massive damage to property and life, Greymalkin seems intent on fighting the
other Vanguard.
Gus expects all will be over
when Greymalkin’s massive arm and
hand reach out to pluck him up, and the chest cavity of the mecha opens to
engulf him, its cybernetics fusing with his body, his neural system. He soon
learns that Greymalkin has chosen
him as a Conduit, a human passenger to help guide the Vanguard in fighting its
fellow mechas. Greymalkin and some
of the Vanguards have rebelled, and decided that humanity should not be
destroyed.
With
all of this opens just the first chapter of August
Kitko and the Mechas from Space. And it’s a wild, thrilling ride from
there. Amid the explosive, action-packed start, White is able to give readers
the setting, the basic premise of the novel, and introduce the two main
characters with all their important history and quirks. It’s quite impressive.
The
nature of the Vanguard’s mission and the Infinite that has created them become
clearer as the novel progresses, as does the reasons for some of the Vanguards
turning rebel and choosing to take on humans as conduits. Doubtless, these plot
threads will also be expanded more fully in future movements of this delightful
space opera symphony.
The
start of the novel also immediately makes clear the importance of music to the
novel, both thematically and literally to the plot. Music serves as the
powerful tool of universal communication, a way for disparate entities and
personalities to find common ground and peaceful coexistence despite
competition or strife. After their fight, the music draws Ardent and Gus back
together into a relationship that grows fuller, in both sexy and tender ways.
The
cooperation forged by the common tie of music is not just the source of love
and respect between Gus and Ardent, but also the basis for cohesion
between Gus and the other human
Conduits of the other Rebel Vanguards. Gus
learns through his connection to Greymalkin that some Earth colonies have
survived, and the collection of Rebel Vanguards and their humans can now start
working together. Each of the Conduits is a musician of specific talent and
brilliance. But they come from vastly different genres and styles and each
carry their own creative egos. It’s wonderful how White parallels their
learning to function as a coherent band of individuals to them learning to
fight together functionally within their Vanguards.
Just
as each of the human characters are unique, so too are the Vanguards. Not all
agree to rebellion for the same reason, and not all have a particular concern
for humanity necessarily. This diversity of characters, yet showing how they
all can manage to find resilience to work together in common cause is another
thing that White does extremely
well. There’s a rich characterization in not just Gus and Ardent, but in
the other core secondary characters – human or artificial. White makes them
all, on some level, lovable. Even if a lovable curmudgeon or the overbearing
military cliché. The characters (like the prose) get injected with basic humor
and tenderness to balance their gruffness or faults.
(Picture courtesy of Scott @Book_Invasion)
I
could go on about how I adored all the characters, particularly the other human
Conduits and Ardent’s agent. But, I
should focus on the two point of view protagonists here: Gus and Ardent. The two
are opposite pieces that fit perfectly together. The upbeat and borderline narcissistic
Ardent shines powerfully as powerful
young non-binary individual who uses their talent to live exactly how they want
and justify themselves to no-one (except perhaps their adorable mother.) Part
of their personality seems to be a guard against hurt, failure, or
unacceptance, and White interestingly
balances Ardent’s strengths with a susceptibility
to panic attacks. Ardent knows they
are not perfect, but they also know they are fabulous. And they will do
anything for what, and who, they love. Gus,
on the other hand is more introspective and hesitant, an unlikely hero who is
trying to find his place in a life he thought would be blissfully over. But
with Ardent, he’s starting to find
something to care about, a reason for resilience and fight. Even a restored hope
in humanity.
The shifting point of view between Ardent and Gus works very well, giving
readers a variety in the voice and tone that moves the plot forward. The simple
present tense of the prose also works effectively in giving things an
immediacy, propelling the pace of the novel forward. The shifting points of
view also help balance the heavy weight of large-scale destruction and death
with the tenderness and humor of individuals trying to figure their way through
it together.
The
action and setting of the novel evoke space opera, but one element of the genre
that readers might find themselves looking for in August Kitko and the Mechas from Space would be the world building.
As mentioned above, some aspects of that are here: the nature of the Vanguard
threat and their rebellion. However, what I found notably absent were
distinctions between Earth and the colonies. Characters, whether from Earth, or
not, didn’t seem noticeably culturally unique from that separation. Details on
ways humanity may have diverged from those distances weren’t there. Now, I felt
this issue, but wasn’t particularly bothered by it because White does so much
other stuff with the novel. However, I could see how some readers who really
adore or demand those types of details might be disappointed.
Speculative
details do appear aplenty within the novel, nonetheless, particularly in terms
of new technologies humans on Earth utilize and what geopolitical changes have
occurred on Earth over the centuries from our day. Though not a focus of the
novel, White peppers these details into the plot from the action sequences to
the quiet moments, such as a dinner date between Gus and Ardent where Gus
decides to make them the universe’s best hot dog for the romantic evening. The
little details on obtaining groceries and cooking walk that SF tightrope of
balancing familiarity with new technology/conventions and vocabulary nicely.
In
the end though, August Kitko and the
Mechas from Space is mainly
two-pronged: 1) a story of Gus’ and Ardent’s resilience, and their relationship,
as microcosm of humanities resilience, and potential for growth/achievement,
and 2) a rip-roaring rock opera, mecha adventure in space – an entertaining
page turner of unabashed fun amid chaos.
No
novel is ‘for everybody,’ but this is one that readers should easily be able to
figure out whether it’s in their zone of appreciation and enjoyment. Like its
characters of Ardent and Gus: from cover to premise to
unfolding, August Kitko and the Mechas
from Space isn’t hiding what it is, it’s boldly and loudly and proudly
advertising for fans to dig into this Starmetal
Symphony.
CONCLUSION: August Kitko and the
Mechas from Space bursts with action,
humor, and heart. Amid a dire and tragic setting of humanity facing apocalyptic
extinction, it’s a hopeful shot of joyous adrenaline and whimsy. Confronting
death, Gus and Ardent choose to celebrate life to its fullest, taking every moment
they may have left to fully be themselves, and to be there for one another.
White uses lively characterization and pacing – with an effective blend of
space opera, mecha anime, and music – to tell a story of human strength,
weakness, and resilience. The
Starmetal Symphony is simply ripe for adaptation into a rock opera musical,
and I’ll be sorely disappointed if that never happens.
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