Book Title: Citadel: First Colony
Author: Kevin Tumlinson
First Colony is the first book in the Citadel Trilogy.
The crew of a colony ship are awoken unexpectedly. The ship is in orbit of the wrong planet, and they’re crashing. After a nail-biting ride to the surface, the surviving crew must find the sleeping colonists, and solve the mysteries that surround their situation. They’ll come up against a colonist who thinks he should be running the show, and a crewmember with a plan that could effectively kill them all.
I’m always on the lookout for a certain type of science fiction book. One that scratches the right itches. Some of the same itches that are scratched for me by Star Trek. This book scratched all those itches. We have a group of people building a new life on a strange new world. Aliens that are unique and interesting. Some political intrigue. Big twists and turns, and mysteries that are established early on and then paid off satisfactorily.
This was an ensemble story so it’s hard to pick out a single favourite character. I found myself sympathising with many of them. Captain Somar, the only alien amongst them. A former enemy of humanity now thrust into command, who must deal with the prejudice and disgruntlement.
The crewmembers, Thomas, Mitch, Reilly, and Alan. Billy, who had a very interesting and emotional arc. And a few characters I loved to hate.
Here’s a little quote that I really connected with.
“Despite this, you changed your heart. I hold no grudge for what might have happened.”
and then later,
“You too are a good man. Though you do not think so now. That is perhaps, part of what makes you good.”
There was a theme of grace and forgiveness in this subplot, which I loved.
Overall, I give this book 5 out of 5 Glix’s. This one ticked all the boxes for me. Kevin Tumlinson has found much success writing archaeological thrillers, which are also great, but for my sake, I hope he someday turns his pen back to science fiction, because he writes exactly the kind of science fiction that I want to read.