Secret Harmonies by Paul McAuley (400 Billion Stars #2)
This can be read independently of the first book in the series but they do share a similar background theme.
Elysium has been colonised by humans, most of the first colonists where from Australia so the wilderness beyond the human inhabited areas is the Outback. The indigenous population of near human looking creatures are called Aborigines and going out on your own into the Outback is called ‘going dingo’.
Port of Plenty, the first city to be built by the colonists has strict laws about where new colonists can go, build and even what they can and cannot do. All the towns around Port of Plenty are mainly there to supply food, labour and anything else the citizens of Port of Plenty might need. Of course there has been rumblings among these outer communities about the way the authorities run everything. Underpinning the authorities is an AI called Constat that monitors every detail of human life on the planet.
Every few years a colony ship arrives from earth with new colonists. Everyone is gathering to celebrate the expect arrival of the latest colony ship but it does not arrive as expected. A civil war breaks out after no news is heard from Earth about the lost colony ship.
The story follows Miguel who has ‘gone dingo’ who survives in the Outback by scavenging food where he can and Richard who is a university DR. Their lives seem very separate. Miguel has been taken over and controlled by something he calls the blue brother. It guides him to do his bidding. Richard finds himself enrolled in the city volunteer defence force, a position he really does not like.
Secret Harmonies is another cracking read by McAuley. All the SF you could want without being overwhelming. A strong storyline with well rounded characters. A civil war that seems unfathomable to comprehend until the final 50 or so pages when a lot becomes clearer yet you do not feel as if you missed out by not knowing earlier.
A very good read.
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