Debris Dreams by David Colby

Published by Candlemark & Gleam on November 13, 2012 

If you read military science fiction, you've read Debris Dreams many times before. A cadet rather improbably becomes a leader and war hero within a short time, all the while questioning her courage and ability. While Debris Dreams isn't a bad attempt at a science fiction novel, the writing occasionally comes across as amateurish, the plot is formulaic, and the characters are underdeveloped. For the most part, David Colby's writing style is competent and the environment in which the story unfolds is carefully considered, but there is little in Debris Dreams that will engage the imagination of a veteran sf reader.

The Lunar Separatist Movement destroys the space elevator, killing Drusilla Xao's parents, stranding her on a space station, and dampening Dru's relationship with a girl on Earth named Sarah. The Chinese-American Alliance responds with a declaration of war against the LSM. This causes Dru to be conscripted into the Space Marines, which leads to standard scenes of military training led by a bullying drill sergeant, as well as discussions of strategy and tactics that are somewhat reminiscent of (if considerably less compelling than) those in Ender's Game. Training is followed by the first mission, giving Dru a chance to face her fears and be heroic. The war involves CAA forces and LSM forces shooting at each other through a debris field, unless you count Texas, which seems to be at war with the rest of America (as always).

Dru is an inexperienced lipstick lesbian who has a lipstick lesbian girlfriend on Earth, although they have never met in person. This gives Dru an excuse to compose anguished emails that Colby probably hoped would flesh out Dru's personality while creating an opportunity for the kind of expository writing that fills in background. Dru (or perhaps Colby) has a sophomoric obsession with sex, particularly of the lesbian variety. When a team member dies, Dru mentally composes his memorial, beginning with "He never turned down sex." That just makes him a teenage boy, not a hero, but sex seems to be all Dru can think about, perhaps because she never has any. Other than her sex-obsessed thoughts, however, there's nothing interesting or unique about Dru: she's the standard reluctant hero, thrust into a world she never made. The other characters have no personality at all.

The most interesting aspect of the plot focuses on a moral dilemma involving a potential war crime. It didn't strike me as much of a dilemma (or much of a crime), and the likelihood of the General who orders it thinking he could get away with it (and thus actually issuing the order) is nil. Dru's response to the illegal order is ridiculously self-righteous, but she's a teen and teens are always getting self-righteous so that, at least, rang true. Also interesting is the notion of the debris field, based on the Kessler Syndrome. Using the debris field as a backdrop is the story's most original touch. The rest of the novel tends to be standard (and unconvincing) military sf. The battle scenes are all pretty much alike; none are so powerfully written as to convey the adrenalin-rush of true combat. Maybe military sf junkies will get a kick out of Debris Dreams and find value in its carefully developed setting, but the absence of compelling characters and sharper writing prevent me from recommending it to most sf fans.

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