The Pilots of Borealis

Nabhan’s debut novel stars a pulpy paragon of a hero drawn in the primary colors of golden-age military SF. Earth has been weakened by wars over dwindling petroleum, and now its influence over the solar system runs a distant third to the human settlements at the Borealis lunar base and the orbiting Terran Ring. Borealis controls production of the helium-3 that’s vital to manufacturing and energy production everywhere, and another resource war seems inevitable. Ruthless Earth-born Clinton Rittener, who puts on mechanical wings to compete in low-gravity races, works as a mercenary spaceship captain. After quelling inevitable rebellion in the asteroid belt, Rittener decides it’s time to force the solar system’s governments to come to some agreement about their mutual futures and the ownership of energy resources. Unfortunately, Rittener and his “swashbuckling hubris” fail to convince or entertain the reader. With a haphazardly sketched setting, a muddled plot, and a slate of one-dimensional characters, this story evokes a science fiction past it cannot live up to. (Aug.)