Five Planes: The Rule of Five Season 1

by Melissa Scott, Don Sakers

THE RULE OF FIVE

FIVE...colony ships fall into a pocket universe.

FIVE...dimensional planes, rent by a cosmic fissure.

FIVE...Lineages.

FIVE...hundred settled worlds

FIVE...thousand year pass.

Space opera adventure. Pirates. Judges. Weird physics. Desperate refugees. Struggling colonists. Missing persons and a mystery ship. A quest for human origins in a pocket universe.

Genres: Science Fiction

381 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 12, 2018

About the author

Scott studied history at Harvard College and Brandeis University, and earned her PhD. in comparative history. She published her first novel in 1984, and has since written some two dozen science fiction and fantasy works, including three co-authored with her partner, Lisa A. Barnett.

Scott's work is known for the elaborate and well-constructed settings. While many of her protagonists are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered, this is perfectly integrated into the rest of the story and is rarely a major focus of the story. Shadow Man, alone among Scott's works, focuses explicitly on issues of sexuality and gender.

She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction in 1986, and has won several Lambda Literary Awards.

In addition to writing, Scott also teaches writing, offering classes via her website and publishing a writing guide.

Scott lived with her partner, author Lisa A. Barnett, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for 27 years, until the latter's death of breast cancer on May 2, 2006.

Reviews

[Henry Lazarus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don Sakers & Melissa Scott (whose The Roads of Heaven I’ve read numerous times since their publication in the mid 80's and which need to be republished soonist) start a neat series in a complicated far future that has humanity spread out over thousands of worlds and across Five Planes (paper from Speed-of-C Productions) of existence. Justices, aided by artificial intelligences settle legal disputes across the five planes, overruling governments and large corporations as needed. Large luxury Plane liners, piloted by a huge A.I, carry passengers. The tale starts when one of these liners, attacked by pirates, would have been lost in the maelstrom of hyperspace currents is led to safety by the mythical fifth generation ship that apparently had helped ships before. The human pilot, Val Milat is ordered to keep silent about the event and quits the ship to discover the truth. Supreme Justice Nalani Lotuma has come out of near retirement to find a missing friend and co-Justice. Pirates attack the Liner Quintile Illumination’s A.I, killing it with a logic bomb and leaving the huge liner potentially lost mid-drop. There’s a major war starting on the fourth plane that’s forcing a settled asteroid to dare try to drop a plane on it’s own. Alas, not everything is tied up. I’m hoping for the next episode to come soon Review printed by Philadelphia Free Press

[Doctor Science · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as an ARC received via NetGalley and SFWA.

This novel collects the first "season" of an ongoing space opera serial, The Rule of Five. I had a great time reading it, though it was difficult to keep track of the characters (especially in a PDF where I couldn't flip back and forth), and I had to just let myself figure out the world's structure subconsciously: I could have really used a Cast of Characters (especially since people have very complex names shortened in many different ways, like a Russian novel) and the basic universe intro that's on the Rule of Five patreon.

Aside from that, it's just the kind of space opera I like: a very diverse cast of humans and AIs, a complex society with pirates and merchants and judges and good things to eat, more space travel than fighting. Warm human affections, large movements of people and ideas. And none of our POV characters appears to be the child of wealth and power: there's conflict and struggle, refugees and wealth, but so far no aristocracy. What a relief! Also I love that people swear by "physics!"

I will probably go over and support Season 2 on Patreon, because I actually love WIPs: it gives me something to look forward to every month.

[Warren Rochelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to read the next installment! Pirates. Judges and a judiciary who can call in military support. Really weird physics. Refugees. A pocket universe with five dimensional planes with travel between. Missing persons. Conspiracy and intrigue. A ghost ship. A thoroughly engaging cast of characters inhabiting intersecting well-constructed plot lines, so well constructed that the size of the cast isn't a problem, nor are the different, yet connected crises. World-building at its best.

Melissa Scott fans, take note. Don Sakers fan, likewise. Fans of space opera, start reading. Stay tuned, more is coming.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit - I was confused a lot of the time as I read this. Five Planes are pocket universes that humans have settled. There is travel between the five and each has its own flavor. There is a lot of world building, character development and back story. The story jumps between characters and planes. Most of this is build up to the next book in the series. The story just stops and I was left hanging. I will look for the next book to see just exactly where the plot is leading.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.