#RRSciFiMonth: The Dire Earth: A Novella by Jason M. Hough

The Dire Earth: A Novella by Jason M. Hough

Genre: Science Fiction

Series: Dire Earth Cycle #0.5

Publisher: Del Rey (November 2014)

Author Info: jasonhough.com

Wendy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars

After reading a great novel or series of novels, you always want more. Origin stories give you a chance to see your favourite (or not so favourite) characters again, and learn something more about the history of their world. The problem is that sometimes for me, origin stories just don’t work.

In the The Dire Earth, The Darwin Elevator is already in place in Australia, but the next mystery from the strange alien Builders has arrived: the disease called SUBS. The disease strips the humanity from its victims, reducing them to a basic fight or flight animalistic existence. The only place safe from the disease is Darwin, and in this novella, we see the world come to that realization. We get to see Skylar, Skadz, Sam, Nigel, Russell, and more again, as they all deal with the end of the world, right as it is happening.

The thing is, while I really loved being able to see the characters again, the story didn’t really give me anything new. There were details that I did not know of how each person got to Darwin or discovered their immunity to SUBS, but having already read the series, the details were not particularly relevant for me. I had figured out or imagined the basics of how and why, so having it all spelled out, as I said, simply didn’t add anything to the lore that I hadn’t already figured out on my own.

That’s not to say this is a bad short story. As it is an introduction to Hough’s Dire Earth series, this would be a great way for someone new to get a taste of Hough’s world. In fact, I consider The Darwin Elevator to be a good starter book for people who are uncertain about science fiction. The balance between reality and science fiction is well done, with no overwhelming use of science. As it takes place on earth, with a focus on amazing characters, the science fiction aspect sits quietly just on the fringe as you slowly get sucked into the mystery of the Builders…