Dom on Writing

Right, this is the third Max Barry I’ve read this year, so I think it’s safe to say, I’m a bit of a fan.

Earth finds itself in conflict with a seemingly invincible enemy from a distant star system: strange insect-like creatures whose primary method of attack is to launch miniature black holes at the enemy.

Did I say “seemingly invincible”? Why, yes! The planet responds to the threat by launching a new fleet of starships driven by AIs so sophisticated that they take the battle to the enemy with very little need for a crew. In fact, the biggest problem for the four-man crew of one these Providence-class vessels is boredom; the ship finds the enemy, plans the attack, executes, and leaves. It can even manufacture its own weaponry and crab-like robots to carry out repairs. This leaves the crew with plenty of time on its hands to contemplate the loneliness of being cooped up in an intelligent starship, light-years from home, with three other people they neither like nor trust. …