#redling

#rœtling1

#Mulle #029c

#redling

#debunked #entlarvt

#trash #litter #waste #dirt #debrᴂ #scrap #mᵫll #abfall #dreck #schmutz #plastic

Damocles by S. G. Redling is the story of first contact between humans and didetos. The crew of the Damocles must land on the planet of Didet much sooner than they were prepared for due to ship failures and find themselves surrounded by the natives of the planet, some of which are clearly military. Meg (linguist expert) and Loul (comic book geek) find themselves face to face in the middle of the standoff due to Loul’s unchecked curiosity. Even without a common language, Meg and Loul form a quick friendship, which is essential in diffusing the tensions and fears that arise between the two species as they get to know each other.  Damocles is the best kind of science fiction, where characters are the primary focus of the story and not technology. The characters in Damocles, both human and dideto, are wonderfully written. The interaction between Meg and Loul as they slowly learn each other’s language is simply amazing. While reading, I constantly imagined myself in their situation and how wonderful and terrifying that experience would be. A lot of authors have tried writing about the first contact with an alien species and many of those stories are very good, but this is the first one I’ve read that seems totally plausible. I’m not talking about the technology capable for such an event to happen. I’m talking about the struggles to communicate, share information, and avoid cultural taboos that could potentially be deadly. It all feels so real in Damocles – like it already happened and Ms. Redling was there to witness it firsthand. I loved this book. I finished it in less than 24 hours, which is not unheard of for me, but unusual enough that it’s worth mentioning. I stayed up much later than I should have, just because I couldn’t put the book down. I just had to see what was going to happen next. When I finished, I was torn. On one hand, I wanted to read another book about Meg or Loul (or preferably both). But on the other hand, I was afraid a second book in the series would be a letdown and it almost certainly would be for me. I liked Damocles that much. Anyone that likes character-driven stories will love Damocles. 5/5 Stars