Alshain
J. Pekka Mäkelä's second sf novel is published at
Finncon 2006 - 19th August, 2006
Mankind has spread itself to the stars. The furthest colony resides in an almost completely sea covered planet orbiting the star Alshain (β Aqulae), fifty light years from Earth. The colony and its few million inhabitants have history, lives,rebellions, revolutions and stories.
An immigrant from Earth, a bride of a seriously invalid man, old man with a secret past, a police investigating the murders of his colleagues, a young marine biologist four thousand meters under the sea - five people, whose lives change inalterably when a starship crashes into the Alshainian ocean. They have to face their lives and their home planet in a way nobody has expected. In Alshain, everything happens where nobody is looking.
What the reviews say...
"On the top of Finnish science fiction." -- Jone Nikula, Ovi
"Alshain follows the spirit of sf greats like Arthur C. Clarke and Stanislaw Lem. Mäkelä sends his reader to an alien solar system with the technology of the future. Sill, in its core is a story about the fates, the relationships and the lives of empathically described people... Compared to his first novel, this second novel is more beautiful and, in a paradoxical way, even more timeless." -- Tiina Raevaara, Kiiltomato
"Despite alien surroundings, the themes are humane: loneliness, leaving the past behind, communication problems, friendship... the story feels real. The protagonists' ponderings about the past tragedies are well accompanied by the barren, deserted beaches by the mysterious ocean of Alshain." -- Vesa Sisättö, KirjaIN
"All in all, Mäkelä has used the relationships between the people for a rather interesting little social speculation... enjoyable and very entertaining science fiction story. With the right length and its own voice, it's really something completely different from your Anglo-American space operas." -- Jukka Halme, Tähtivaeltaja
"Alshain is not your standard science fiction. It doesn't remind you about Philip K. Dick novels Mäkelä has translated... Mäkelä writes completely original and idiosyncratic science fiction, and it's more than just sci-fi. He combines sci-fi, romance and crime story and, by that, he creates pure literature that's not just on the top of Finnish sf but on the top of Finnish literature in general. Mäkelä deserves to have readers from outside of the genre and hopefully he gets them... I recommend: Make a trip to Alshain. It's worth it." -- Harri Erkki, Portti
"With Alshain, J. Pekka Mäkelä secures himself a place as the most humane storyteller in Finnish science fiction." -- Toni Jerrman, Helsingin Sanomat