Millennium (Gollancz)

1999 London, paperback £5.99

ISBN 1 85798 564 8

Beginning with promise, this is an original take on that perennial SF theme, first contact. The aliens have issued an open invitation to anyone wishing to be transported aboard their spaceship. Thousands have accepted, for many different reasons. What they find aboard is nothing like the typical space-opera conception of an alien ship. No control panels, no flashing lights, just synthetic grass, trees and stone. The people are left to their own devices, in an environment that at first appears entirely unsuited to human habitation.

Most have come prepared, to a greater or lesser extent, for something like an extended camping trip. But those who have brought sophisticated scientific instruments find that these no longer function. Even simple electrical devices don't work, so the travellers must improvise in order to stay alive, while trying to figure out what's going on.

It's a fascinating intellectual puzzle, seen through the eyes of four characters: a pathologist, a scientist, a criminal, and a pregnant young woman who happens to be the scientist's niece. The narration cycles between their points of view.

We get plenty of introspection on the part of three of these, but in a detached manner that never truly lights them up. The young niece, however, writes letters that she hopes will eventually return to Earth and be read by the remainder of her family. Though we never see inside her head, her forthright, heartfelt scribblings reveal her as the most rounded character.

With little in the way of subplot, Cavalcade reads like an extended short story, proceeding at an unvarying pace and developing too steadily to grip. There's some tension towards the end, but even this is related in a matter-of-fact, unemotional manner. Scientific extrapolations abound, explained in some detail, contributing to the clinical feel of the novel.

The one person who jumps off the page is the niece, Hathaway; her uncomplicated jottings often serve to elucidate, in simple terms, the abstruse scientific discussions of the previous chapter. The end of the novel -- also a beginning of sorts -- is not unexpected.

With its serious consideration of first contact, survival, and human co-operation, Cavalcade is a worthy, if perhaps underwhelming addition to the genre.

Copyright © 2001 Paul S. Jenkins

Note: This review originally appeared in the Usenet Newsgroup rec.arts.sf.reviews, and has been archived at: http://sf.www.lysator.liu.se/sf_archive/