Book Review: A Man Walks Into a Bar by Steven H. Wilson
Several senior crewmembers of the spacefaring Confederate Naval Vessel, Arbiter, have been assigned to the surface of the practically lawless planet known as Den, on the border of Confederate space. Their mission: to gather intelligence on the Qraitians, an aggressive enemy race.
While in a bar (named, simply and appropriately, "Bar"), Midshipmen Kevin Carson and Cernaq, a peaceful telepath from Phaeton, watch as their senior officer, Lieutenant Metcalfe, flirts with two local girls. For Carson and Cernaq, it is an otherwise uneventful night, until a man walks into the bar--gun in hand. No sooner does he barge in with apparent agitation, than he is shot dead by Cernaq.
Carson is shocked by the Phaetonian's display of cold violence. Later, when Captain Jan Atal visits the local constabulary to bail out the midshipman, Cernaq explains that the man, identified as a local undesirable named Danvard, had every intention of killing Metcalfe. His thoughts screamed hatred for anyone purely Terran. As such, Cernaq had no choice but to act quickly.
To everyone's surprise, the constable not only releases Cernaq without bail, but awards him with a medal for helping to maintain public safety by eliminating an unsavory element.
However, it isn't long before the normally tranquil and disciplined telepath begins to exhibit wildly uncharacteristic behavior. At first, his friends dismiss it as an emotional reaction to killing someone for the first time. Yet as Cernaq's behavior turns from irrational to violent--including a mind rape of Carson--the Arbiter's CMO Celia Faulkner examines Cernaq and realizes what has happened--the telepath's mind has been invaded by another more sinister force.
Faulkner's solution: Link the minds of Cernaq's closest friends in an artificial telepathic environment and send them into Cernaq's mind to thwart the evil lurking there.
But the cost could be their lives.
A Man Walks into a Bar was originally the second script in the award-winning SF audio drama, The Arbiter Chronicles, created by Steven H. Wilson and podcast on Prometheus Radio Theatre in 2004. The story received the Mark Time Silver Award for excellent in science fiction audio drama and it's easy to see why. Now, Wilson brings his audio scripts into novella format.
While it is never explained precisely how Danvard knew that Metcalfe was in the bar, or how he knew Metcalfe was a pure Terran, the story does a phenomenal job with character development for Cernaq, Carson and Metcalfe by delving into the worst fears and deepest pain of all three. It's pacing is tense and laconic, keeping the story tightly focused on the main characters while still giving you a glimpse into the personalities of the other main crew members.
While in a bar (named, simply and appropriately, "Bar"), Midshipmen Kevin Carson and Cernaq, a peaceful telepath from Phaeton, watch as their senior officer, Lieutenant Metcalfe, flirts with two local girls. For Carson and Cernaq, it is an otherwise uneventful night, until a man walks into the bar--gun in hand. No sooner does he barge in with apparent agitation, than he is shot dead by Cernaq.
Carson is shocked by the Phaetonian's display of cold violence. Later, when Captain Jan Atal visits the local constabulary to bail out the midshipman, Cernaq explains that the man, identified as a local undesirable named Danvard, had every intention of killing Metcalfe. His thoughts screamed hatred for anyone purely Terran. As such, Cernaq had no choice but to act quickly.
To everyone's surprise, the constable not only releases Cernaq without bail, but awards him with a medal for helping to maintain public safety by eliminating an unsavory element.
However, it isn't long before the normally tranquil and disciplined telepath begins to exhibit wildly uncharacteristic behavior. At first, his friends dismiss it as an emotional reaction to killing someone for the first time. Yet as Cernaq's behavior turns from irrational to violent--including a mind rape of Carson--the Arbiter's CMO Celia Faulkner examines Cernaq and realizes what has happened--the telepath's mind has been invaded by another more sinister force.
Faulkner's solution: Link the minds of Cernaq's closest friends in an artificial telepathic environment and send them into Cernaq's mind to thwart the evil lurking there.
But the cost could be their lives.
A Man Walks into a Bar was originally the second script in the award-winning SF audio drama, The Arbiter Chronicles, created by Steven H. Wilson and podcast on Prometheus Radio Theatre in 2004. The story received the Mark Time Silver Award for excellent in science fiction audio drama and it's easy to see why. Now, Wilson brings his audio scripts into novella format.
While it is never explained precisely how Danvard knew that Metcalfe was in the bar, or how he knew Metcalfe was a pure Terran, the story does a phenomenal job with character development for Cernaq, Carson and Metcalfe by delving into the worst fears and deepest pain of all three. It's pacing is tense and laconic, keeping the story tightly focused on the main characters while still giving you a glimpse into the personalities of the other main crew members.
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