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Dark Space (The Sentients Of Orion book 1) by Marianne de Pierres
01/06/2007 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
pub: Orbit. 416 page paperback. Price: £ 6.99 (UK), $19.95 (CAN). ISBN: 978-184149-428-9. Buy Dark Space in the USA - or Buy Dark Space in the UK  check out website: www.orbitbooks.co.uk and www.mariannedepierres.com
I don't always trust cover blurbs. They either give too much about the plot away, inadvertently misdirect or not give enough about what is going on. 'Dark Space' barely touches on a lost unknown powerful alien creature befriended by a mineral scout. Instead, there is focus on the activities on the mining planet Araldis. The main human people there are from old Italian stock, with the language peppered accordingly that way.
There is an upper class nobility led by wealth or gene talent. It is with the latter, that the Baronessa Mira Fedor belongs and is forced into hiding when the Pellegrini family want to harvest her genes that allow her to fly spacecraft for the eldest son and heir, Trinder. To add to the turmoil, the planet is suddenly invaded by Saqr, an alien species who kills by sucking the brains out of people.
I should point out that the planet is already a multi-culture society of both humans and other aliens. What is left of Trin Pellegrini's people and Mira Fedor's lower classes end up uniting but knowingly outmatched as they are deprived of food and water. Their only chance is for Mira to escape to an island and pilot the Pellegrini spaceship to go to the consortium for help. However, before she goes, Pellegrini rapes her to ensure he himself will have a heir. Where this leads is onto the next book.
For the moment, lets consider this book. The civilities of this governing family Pellegrini are hardly a nice bunch, although their stock obviously was chosen to indicate hot-bloodedness and to do whatever they choose. Whether or not such a society would survive into the future let alone off-world, I'm not entirely sure about mostly because we don't see much of other worlds.
I'm not entirely sure if Marianne de Pierres has gone far enough in showing how nasty they can be. It gets hinted around the edges much of the time rather than firmly established by more of their actions. Mira Fedor, in contrast, is more the typical heroine rising about her background to do things she has never done before. For her, the learning curve of change is likely to be more far-reaching.
This is very much in the manner of space opera and will probably find fans simply because it is slightly different to the atypical English-speaking humans we normally come across in such stories. De Pierres has laid down the roots for this reality to take off in and no doubt will draw them together in the course of the successive books.
There are indications that she might not follow predicted paths but I do hope she will press more emphasis that a lot of the people here are not particularly nice or compassionate so you don't end up rooting for the wrong people. Whether this is her intent or not will have to be seen. In the meantime, its worth a look.
GF Willmetts
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