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A review by a_bailey
Junction by Daniel M. Bensen
4.0
This is another book in the new FlameTree Press SF series. It is the first novel by Daniel Bensen. Previously, he was awarded Sidewise Award for a short story. That particular award is given for alternate history fiction. What happens is that the main characters are stranded on the other side of a wormhole that forms on earth. There they encounter different alien creatures living in a variety of native biomes. Of the main two characters, one is a biologist and one is a nature show host, a sort of science adjacent adventurer/actor of sorts. While all of this is happening there are some political aspects and a little bit of a mystery but, in my opinion, they really just provide a vehicle to explore the aliens.
The creatures are really the focus of a lot of the story, and are completely fascinating. Even more fascinating is how the creatures interact with the characters, and the other creatures. It gets even weirder and more interesting when the creatures between biomes interact with each other. It’s kind of like if you took one of those video games where you can evolve a bunch of creatures into unusual species, but you have five different games next to each other and then had a group of people try to travel through them and live.
The main thing about this novel is the weirdness factor. Which I think is it’s defining characteristic as well as its biggest strength. If you are into biology, aliens, or straight out weirdness, this is the story for you. Also, I have to give Mr. Bensen props for making the cast diverse and interesting. While I could see him taking a little criticism for one character in particular, he does make a lot of effort avoid stereotypes and make strong, rounded characters.
The creatures are really the focus of a lot of the story, and are completely fascinating. Even more fascinating is how the creatures interact with the characters, and the other creatures. It gets even weirder and more interesting when the creatures between biomes interact with each other. It’s kind of like if you took one of those video games where you can evolve a bunch of creatures into unusual species, but you have five different games next to each other and then had a group of people try to travel through them and live.
The main thing about this novel is the weirdness factor. Which I think is it’s defining characteristic as well as its biggest strength. If you are into biology, aliens, or straight out weirdness, this is the story for you. Also, I have to give Mr. Bensen props for making the cast diverse and interesting. While I could see him taking a little criticism for one character in particular, he does make a lot of effort avoid stereotypes and make strong, rounded characters.