The Superlative Stream, by Kerry Nietz

I recently read Kerry Nietz's first novel, A Star Curiously Singing, loved it, and was delighted to see that the adventures of Sandfly continue in a sequel, The Superlative Stream.  In ASCS, we meet Sandfly, a debugger who is sent to investigate the self-destruction of a robot on the space ship DarkTrench.  In the course of the investigation, he discovers a possible cause: curious singing from a distant star.  TSS picks up where ASCS leaves off.  Sandfly and his fellow debugger HardCandy take DarkTrench to search for the source of the singing, the superlative stream.

Nietz clearly matured as a writer with TSS.  As good as ASCS is, TSS adds a higher level of depth and complexity to his engaging style.  Utilizing flashbacks to their lives on Earth, we get to know Sandfly and HardCandy better and see how circumstances have brought them together.  We also gain insight into the Muslim culture of their world.  Nietz will not win friends in the Muslim community, as he takes certain elements of Sharia law to their logical, painful conclusions.

A subplot in both books deal with Sandfly's implant.  As a result of his encounter with the superlative stream, his stops are removed, so, if he wishes to, he can sin with impunity.  For the first time in his adult life, he experiences free will unencumbered by the programmed controls of the implant (and this right at the time time he embarks on an interstellar voyage, alone, with a beautiful woman!).  Given the Islamic theology of good works, he struggles with the realization that his good works can never tip the scale in his favor; his sinful nature will continually pull him toward 50.1% bad works.

Sandfly's understanding will no doubt continue to develop as he gets to know the source of the stream, whom he knows now only as "(A~A)³."  (That's A not A cubed, A being the shorthand for Allah, who is not named in the novel. )  Nietz skillfully weaves basic, thoughtful ideas like this throughout the story without preaching or distracting from the overall plot.

Much of the story takes place on a planet in the Betelguese system.  There the humans encounter a whole new civilization, technically far ahead of human civilization.  This part of the story will feel very familiar to any reader of sci-fi or viewer of sci-fi movies and TV shows: an idyllic, communal society, where there is no evident material need, where everyone seems happy, yet everyone sort of looks and dresses alike.  Nietz kept me going for quite a while, trying to decide if this were some sort of angelic community, or if there were something more ominous under the surface.  I'll leave that discovery to you when you read it. . . .

Nietz shows his skill as a bona fide sci-fi writer with his use of hard science as a driver in the story combined with plenty of realistic scientific and technological speculation.  Combining that with his use of hard theology, exploring theological questions from a refreshing outside perspective, he gives us a thoroughly entertaining and satisfying read.  And here's the good news: the Dark Trench saga will continue!  An e-mail from Nietz confirmed that he has completed book 3.  It's in the hands of the publisher now, so we should see it in the coming months.  Keep an eye out at Marcher Lord Press for the release.