All That Is In The Earth By Andrew Knighton
I would like to thank Luna Press Publishing for an advance copy of this novella in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher – Luna Press Publishing
Published – Out Now
Price – £10.66 paperback £3.19 ebook
When Clifford crash lands on the planet of Abaddon, he might as well be dead: a terrible plague and a strict quarantine mean that no one leaves Abaddon alive.
Clifford isn't the only dead man walking. Corporate mercenaries and desperate survivors are looking for ways to live in a hostile world. Constantly on the run from flesh-hungry monsters, there's no chance to escape or to build something more
What’s the point? It is a question we can ask ourselves when the alarm goes off on a Monday, when we see terrible news stories yet again on our phones or gazing up intro the stars. Reading is often about uncovering a character’s motivation, but what is actually the best outcome? in Andrew Knighton’s great science fiction novella All That Is In The Earth while structurally this looks to be another tale of science fiction problem solving it also contains some excellent thoughts on why we do things.
The planet Abaddon has been in significant quarantine by all the galaxy’s main powers for some time. It is the source of a powerful and devastating infection known as Chalk Rot that has decimated planets and many many lives. Now various starships circle it with orders to destroy anything attempting to get to the surface or indeed trying to escape it. Unfortunately for soil scientist Clifford an accident in his team’s laboratory ship means he has to flee in a shuttle, and he crashes onto the surface of the deadliest planet in the galaxy. While indeed Abaddon’s native flora and fauna is often deadly and infected Clifford is surprised to find he is not the only person on the surface. The big question is what can anyone do next to survive?
I was having a conversation this week on what science fiction is and how it is for me morphing into something possibly new while in their eyes has a very firm definition that means a lot of work on the edges is not science fiction. For them it is about the consequence of technology on people. For me it is far more about using a technology or scientific principle (or two) to explore being human. With All That Is In the Earth we get an intriguing synthesis of the two viewpoints. With a kinetic crash scene, the setting up of Abaddon’s danger and indeed some very visceral scenes of what we come to know as the swarm with some mild body horror this sets up a mystery and action. Clifford a young but ambitious scientist can’t resist a problem to resolve. A certain strand of science fiction would make that the crux of the story and indeed we start to find out why Abaddon’s environment is the way it is and what could potentially be doe to stop the rot.
However, what for me really makes the story work is that Clifford finds himself with an odd assortment of other people sent down or trapped on Abaddon. He meets the strange (and green) Dr Solvesdin who teaches him a few simple tricks to survive and introduces him to the other ‘residents’ there is a mercenary troop that has an odd group to get to know. Merel who works hard to get the dream retirement and riches he craves, Boran who has turned into a wolf soldier following his dreams and the more silent, efficient but deadly Tork who captains her team. This story then asks why are the people doing what they do on a planet where the chance of a long life is non-existent and a horribly painful death is very high? Clifford starts the story scared and resigned to death but that urge to solve a problem keeps him going. Indeed, we find lots of the cast have little dreams, ambitions and hopes to keep them taking every hour as it comes. Knighton though does start to explore the ways some people’s dreams are often more selfish than others. Clifford knows his work may actually mean he becomes once again valuable and could just possibly escape but that would mean not everyone he meets can be saved. For me far more than the environmental science the story works best as we as the reader makes judgment calls. Indeed, the more selfish instincts of humanity get explored and we find are often quite destructive and indeed bloodily so in some scenes. The big question the story asks is what you would be happiest doing and who is it for. In a chaotic world do we all stand alone? It has got a magnificent final line that neatly sums up the book’s conclusion to that question.
All That Is In The Earth is a novella that shifts shape and direction several times and asks the reader some much more interesting questions than you would initially expect from where we arrive. How we too would respond to these events may make us appreciate our own little contributions to the universe the next time that alarm goes off. It is strongly recommended!
