Wow, that was intense. In this novella, Gary Rendell is lost and alone inside an alien artefact in the outer reaches of the solar system. The exploratory mission he was on went wrong, and now he’s wandering the corridors of this strange ancient place, trying to find his way home, or at least something familiar.
Adrian Tchaikovsky captures the alienness of the location, and everything that Gary comes across while he’s exploring, brilliantly, and there is a creepy sense of otherness that maintains the tension. The story is told in a dual timeline - the beginning of the mission, and Gary’s current predicament - alternating between chapters. We slowly learn what happened to the exploratory team at the start of the expedition, while Gary’s current attempts to find a way home slowly unfold. The slightly flippant first-person narrative helps the story skirt the edges of unreliable narration, giving the question of how Gary has survived so long a sense of doubt and unease.
A very well paced, straight-forward plot, just the right length, excellently told, and nicely disturbing.
My rating: ★★★★☆
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