Science Fiction Review: Spire
Science Fiction Review: Spire
A short jaunt through mind bending cosmic horror
Spire is a fascinating book brought to you by the wonderful people at Bizarchives, who I can’t recommend enough. It’s a short read at around 100 pages, which is a nice break for habitual readers. There aren’t enough stories that you can pick up and finish in a few brief sittings that tell a compelling and complete story, Spire does that.
For those familiar with older science fiction, there used to be a word thrown around a lot to describe a theme that was once common. The concept of “cosmic horror” was used to denote a sort of “HP Lovecraft in space” vibe. It hasn’t been a terribly common theme in the last 20 years, with some notable exceptions such as Blindsight by Peter Watts, or the movie Event Horizon.
Alien beings, strange worlds, the void of space, elements of which are incomprehensible to humans and show how fragile we really are in the scheme of things. If you stare into the abyss you might go mad, and many do. Strange forms of sentience that humanity cannot fathom hold no regard for our insignificance.
Attempting to tame them with science is always a foolish errand of hubris, and if they notice your attempts, watch out.
Our brief jaunt through the world of Spire
Spire takes place on a planet known only as “IV”, the last settlement of humanity on the planet, taking place at the base of a giant spire of rock from which the settlement takes its name. These humans are the last remnants of a colonization attempt that has ended in disaster.
The planet is prone to hostile natural disasters which have destroyed all the other settlements and the huddled masses of Spire, with its curiously hospitable biome, are all that remains. The colonists mine underground in the hopes that they will make their mining quota someday, signaling the fleets of humanity to come and pick them up.
Life is hard on Spire, a shadowy government known as “Central” controls access to all resources with biometric surveillance and bank balances that reset every payday to control the economy. Its denizens work, drink, and stare at their mountainous namesake, dreaming of the day they can finally leave. A cult of miners known as the “Antennites” worship the spire and believe it is an antenna sending and receiving messages from the heavens.
Our story centers on Thaig, a monstrous man, even for a miner, who is a veteran of the Spire underground and known for his temperament that goes from quiet to explosive in an instant. Thaig has been promoted out of the backbreaking mining work of Spire into the position of “Exploratory Geologist” and manages one of the mines. He hates the bureaucrats at Central and lives a monotonous life of mining and drinking, until one day he digs too deep, making a discovery that will decide the future of Spire, and perhaps humanity itself..
The Writing
Spire is a masterful example of the “Short Story” medium. It manages to tell a captivating tale from start to finish in 106 pages, while never feeling rushed or stripped down in the exposition. The world-building that we do get is a perfect balance; just enough to let your imagination stretch its legs and do the rest of the work fairly easily.
Riding around in Thaigs mind is a pleasure in his quest to find out the truth of his existence. His circumstances and character feel very authentic, a practical but clever man with an imposing physicality he uses to his advantage in a society where guns are few and far between.
This review is a bit shorter than others, due to the length of the book. I don’t want to spoil anything for readers, so I heavily recommend buying this book and giving it a read. It’s fantastic, and I love short books that manage to tell an entire story and conclusion in a small package. I finished it in one sitting, but it’d easily make for an interesting bathroom book or a bit of entertainment on a flight. This is easily one of the best science fiction short stories in many years, and it’s already climbing the charts on Amazon.
