Remnant Population Author:Elizabeth Moon For forty years, Colony 3245.12 has been Ofelia’s home. On this planet far away in space and time from the world of her youth, she has lived and loved, weathered the death of her husband, raised her one surviving child, lovingly tended her garden, and grown placidly old. And it is here that she fully expects to finish out her days–un... more »til the shifting corporate fortunes of the Sims Bancorp Company dictates that Colony 3245.12 is to be disbanded, its residents shipped off, deep in cryo-sleep, to somewhere new and strange and not of their choosing. But while her fellow colonists grudgingly anticipate a difficult readjustment on some distant world, Ofelia savors the promise of a golden opportunity. Not starting over in the hurly-burly of a new community . . . but closing out her life in blissful solitude, in the place she has no intention of leaving. A population of one.
With everything she needs to sustain her, and her independent spirit to buoy her, Ofelia actually does start life over–for the first time on her own terms: free of the demands, the judgments, and the petty tyrannies of others. But when a reconnaissance ship returns to her idyllic domain, and its crew is mysteriously slaughtered, Ofelia realizes she is not the sole inhabitant of her paradise after all. And, when the inevitable time of first contact finally arrives, she will find her life changed yet again–in ways she could never have imagined. . . .
Very different first contact story, as the human is an older(70+) woman, who illicitly chose to stay behind after her colony was removed from their planet. Her personal transformation due to solo living and subsequent interaction with the previously undiscovered intelligent natives is intriguing and the alien culture is well developed.
This book creeps up on you. I first felt Ofelia was an idiot. Slowly, you realize that she is a product of her culture. And then I was very sad when the book ended. It was excellent, complex and actually makes you think.
Very disappointing. Great premise, heroine with terrific potential, but after a promising opening, Moon doesn't know where to go with it.
Some spoilers below, but these are only details that are revealed in the cover blurb and summary ...
I think this would have made a good novella -- stretching it out to full novel length just doesn't work, as the challenges that Ofelia faces (either before or after she encounters the native species) just aren't that interesting. It's all too easy: unlike Robinson Caruso, who had to build his survival strategy on his desert island from the ground up, Ofelia inherits a fully functioning colony town, where goods and equipment have conveniently been left for her to take over and, conveniently, she remembers pretty well how to handle it all. The native aliens -- who have slaughtered a group of new colonists -- offer no real threat to her. The company representatives are cardboard cut-out villains, and pretty dumb with it (which is hardly surprising when you think that this is the Company that twice missed all signs of a native species with enough technology to slaughter a group of colonist upon arrival ... Good work, guys!!)
Moon is no Ursula Le Guin. (I would cheerfully give my right arm to see what Le Guin would have done with this.) That's my shorthand for the fact that's Moon is no stylist, that after the initial novelty of Ofelia as protagonist, and her (could have been) interesting situation, the writing is clunky and repetitive. But Moon is no anthropologist either, and the aliens, the People, come across as implausible and ... well, twee. The potential of the situation -- the ethics of terraforming "empty" worlds, and the fact that some people, both human and alien, are treated as disposable -- is never dealt with in a satisfying way.
A missed opportunity for a novel with an unconventional heroine.
This book was refreshingly different. There were no huge battles against Bad humans or aliens with the good guys winning at the end by some sneaky, low chance means. It is a book that champions the idea that you are "never to old to...'. This book might make you look at Grandma, your Mom or maybe even yourself a little differently. It is about starting over and figuring out what needs to be done when you don't know the right answer.
