Goodbye to the Sun
A nonstop thrill ride across an unstable galaxy, combining moral struggle with character-driven adventure...
Tucked away in the blue sands of Kol 2, the Motes are on the brink of cultural collapse. Razor, a bold and daring pilot, leads a last-ditch gambit against their local oppressors, the Targitians. The plan - abduct visiting Ambassador Keen Draden and use him as a bargaining chip to restore her people’s independence in the Sagittarius Arm. But when the operation unravels, Razor is forced to renegotiate terms with the arrogant diplomat.
Light years away on Heroon a radical resistance blossoms. The alluring rainforest planet haunts Keen. All his problems started there during the Patent War, but it’s where Razor’s troubles may find a solution. The moral tide ebbs, exposing an impossible choice that links their futures together more tragically than they ever thought possible.
Goodbye to the Sun: a space opera inspired by the Greek tragedy, Antigone.
Title: Goodbye to the Sun
Series: Wind Tide
Author: Jonathan Nevair
Genre: Sci-Fi
Paperback: 290 pages
Publication Date: 05/18/2021
Publisher: Shadow Spark Publishing
Language: English
ASIN : B0951S4GZZ
ISBN-13 : 979-8504648316
My Review
“How ironic you are, truth. You’re a shapeshifter who swindles knowledge. But I’m wise to you.”
Goodbye to the Sun is a character-driven sci-fi novel inspired by the Greek tragedy, Antigone by Sophocles. Set in the galactic area called the Sagittarius Arm, wind is a prized commodity in terms of power and spiritual worship. Terraforming technology and the harnessing of energy have turned necessity to greed and domination in three spans in some parts of the arm, while in others, a rebellious resistance is on the rise.
This space opera is told in changing pov’s by Razor’s personal narrative, currently in Targite City Prison, about the events that lead her to this fate, and Keen Draden’s view of events during their time together while he was the Kol 2 Ambassador.
Razor is a pilot for the resistance and in her effort to abduct Keen on route to a diplomatic council meeting to use him as a bargaining tool, things go wrong, and they find themselves in a dire situation. To escape, they will have to work together and negotiate terms that seem the most mutually beneficial to Razor’s cause, but also to allow for Keen’s very personal objective. After all, this was his last Ambassador run before he’d retire rich.
While the narrative slows down some in terms of character conversations/development, we learn of something in Keen’s life from the past, that plays an important part in the outcome of his actions. Both Razor and Keen shift in their initial stance to one another just a smidgen. What begins as complete detestation, garners some insight into their motivations. Keen is working through his memories of the wars and exploring his past relationships while Razor is making peace with what she has left behind. As it turns out, both Razor and Keen are played as pawns in a much larger game of politics.
“The daily readings became his nourishment. He grew eager, waiting with anticipation for the creak of the cantinool door and the old priest’s feet shuffling down the corridor. Each day the priest read to him, another year of wasted time in his life was bled from his veins. The bucket of immoral excess and the decadent distraction emptied into a drain of regret.”
Much will happen in this fast-changing and intriguing story in which the baton is handed off between different players and nations in turn, while the reader is trying to keep track of who is the ally, who will betray the other, and who has the upper hand ultimately in the war between the oppressor and the oppressed.
This space opera is brimming with action but also serves well in showing the tragedy of monopolistic power over societies. Nevair beautifully crafted human insight and moral food for thought into his writing, without weighing down the overall story and action. The changing pov’s views served well as a tool to understand the thoughts of two people with polar opposite views and backgrounds.
Initially, it took me a little while to understand that duality in writing and keeping things separate. I think it makes the story more interesting in the aftermath and worth rereading as it was done so well, but it resides outside of what my usual reading is like. The story was told after the fact, in Razor’s narration, focusing on her thoughts for Keen, while the actions are taking place and Keen’s own reflections and happen in real-time. This also made it a little harder to feel and root for a character at first, but again, it all fell into place by the midpoint and became even better by the end.
What I really enjoyed was Nevair’s amazing writing style. His voice shows such range in vocabulary and intellect, it garnered more focused reading on my part, which I can appreciate, but wasn’t expecting when I started reading. His descriptive writing of landscapes was also quite striking at different places in the novel.
“Deep in the desert on Kol 2, remote sand belts exist where only the Dune Eagle flies. Undulating blue hills pass in unbroken rhythm under its sharp eyes, except for the occasional shadow cast by an unmoving desert hermit. Lone and defiant against the harsh winds and hands of time, the Recluse tree’s roots grasp the planet’s inner rock fast and defy the world above ground. It appears no more than a bony skeleton under Altiron’s blazing light. But deep in the subterranean silence, its roots inhabit cracks and fissures in the dark, coveting the paltry moisture that sustains us.”
For an even better example, check out the author’s reading HERE on his site during the interview with Space Cowboy Books.
One thing I did not mention yet was Nevair’s placement of pronouns in a unique way…a sort of adaptation of what some languages do today in changing letters to make a word male or female as a base. A progressive forward look at a way it could be done and understood unanimously through all languages.
Goodbye to the Sun was a unique space opera with a touch of humanitarian/socio-economic insight and a great start to a trilogy. I look forward to reading more stories taking place in the Sagittarius Arm.
I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.
All opinions are my own.
Thank you!
