Last year I was charmed by Doug Johnstone’s first contact novel, The Space Between Us. I hadn’t expected that we’d be treated to a sequel but I was thrilled when I learned about the return of Lennox, Sandy, Heather, and the rest of the cast from the first book. For his follow up Johnstone returns to northern Scotland where he further examines the depths to which humanity might dive to prove that it is King of the Hill.
What Is The Collapsing Wave?
The Collapsing Wave is a direct sequel to The Space Between Us and definitely shouldn’t be read without reading that book first. If you haven’t read The Space Between Us, do so; you’re in for a treat. It’s a quick read, the lightness of which belies its emotional heft.
Beware spoilers for The Space Between Us from this point on.
The novel opens several months after the events of The Space Between Us. Ava is on trial for having caused the death of her husband, Heather and Lennox are incarcerated in an American military compound that has newly sprung up on the edge of Loch Broom. The military is trying to capture live specimens of the Enceladons, now living in the waters of northern Scotland.
Perhaps predictably, the US military is not taking the arrival of telepathic aliens very well. It wants answers fast, and it’s happy to get them by probing, torturing, and killing the new arrivals.
Heather and Lennox look to escape the compound and then help Sandy lead the Enceladons to safety. Along the way, they will meet new allies and encounter new villains in this tale of freedom and free will.
Why Read The Collapsing Wave?
There is much to love about The Collapsing Wave, although I did not find its story as compelling as The Space Between Us. I very much enjoy Johnstone’s writing style. It’s effortless to read, keeping you locked in page after page. His books are not only thrilling they’re heartfelt too. Reading The Collapsing Wave will make you angry!
At its heart, The Collapsing Wave examines how humans deal with things they don’t understand; humanity’s tendency to lash out when scared or confused. I think the story is partly a swipe at the UK government’s attitudes toward refugees. While the main aggressors in the book are members of the US military, it’s easy to see some prominent UK politicians reflected in the book’s characters. Certainly, the “suits” in the book see the Enceladon arrival as a problem to be solved, rather than an opportunity to enrich the lives of the parties involved.
This novel doesn’t quite have the same depth as the first book. The death of Ewan at the end of book 1, is a sad loss to us, moving forward. He was a great character and there is nothing here large enough to fill the void created by his absence. The new characters are interesting but their interactions never reach the heights they did in The Space Between Us.
My main criticism of the book is that the military officers involved were perhaps a little too “Hollywood.” They’re stony-faced psychopaths and feel a little two-dimensional, against Johnstone’s other well-rounded and complex creations. There are no shades of grey here. The military is bad and does bad things.
This gripe aside, The Collapsing Wave is a compelling novel. It was great to be reintroduced to old friends and continue on their journey of discovery, both of their own limits and in their relationship with the Enceladons. While some aspects of the novel were less subtle than I might have liked, it is surely a depressingly accurate assessment of how we as a species might react to the arrival of strangers from a strange land.
The book has some tremendous set-pieces as Lennox and Sandy try to find their way to safety. Johnstone is an author who is great at showing us the internal turmoil of his characters. We care deeply for this group of underdogs and the alien race they will protect, by putting everything on the line. As a pair of novels, they make an excellent “first contact” speculation and showcase the best and worst of what humanity has to offer any other denizens of the universe who might happen to pass by. The novels are science-light science fiction that will capture every reader’s heart. Highly recommended!
If you would like to pick up a copy of The Collapsing Wave, you can do so here, in the US, and here, in the UK. (Affiliate Links)
If you enjoyed this review, check out my other book reviews, here.
I received a copy of this book in order to write this review.
