Katya's World by Jonathan L. Howard

Published by Strange Chemistry on November 13, 2012 

Katya’s World is an action-driven science fiction novel.  Engaging characters and a high fun factor compensate for its lack of depth.

The Russalkans, out of touch with Earth for more than a century, live in caves they have carved into undersea mountains on the ocean world they have colonized.  When the Terrans finally return, the Russalkans no longer consider themselves subordinate to Terran government.  Russalka goes to war to defend itself from Earth’s claim to ownership of the planet and governance of its peoples.  Russalka prevails when Earth’s fleet unexpectedly departs.  Since the reason for that retreat remains a mystery, the Russalkans worry that their victory is only temporary.

It is against this background that Katya Kuriakova becomes an apprentice submarine navigator.  On her first voyage, however, the sub is commandeered by a federal officer who needs to transport a pirate named Havilland Kane to a federal prison.  Kane, polite and jovial, seems to pose little danger.  More menacing is a deep sea creature they come to call the Leviathan, a beast that seems not quite alive but not quite mechanical.

I’ve always been a sucker for submarine stories, but I thought the undersea action in Katya’s World was particularly exciting.  Yeah, it’s sort of an underwater space opera but how often do you read one of those?  There’s enough plot here to hold the action sequences together, but it’s the action, not the plot, that drives the story.  Fortunately, the action scenes are vivid, making Katya’s World a stirring read.

The most interesting aspect of Katya’s World is Katya’s ambivalence about Earth.  It is, on the one hand, the birthplace of Russalkan civilization, and on the other, the homeworld of an enemy that seems determined to destroy Russsalka.  Her hatred of Terrans is tempered by what she learns of Earth during the course of the novel.  Almost as interesting is the story’s political background, which features not just a war with Earth but a brewing civil war.  While all of that exists only to flesh out the action story, it at least gives the reader something to think about while pausing for breath between chase scenes, shootouts, and torpedo launchings.

Katya is a strong, likable character.  She’s plucky, she thinks on her feet, and she isn’t full of herself.  The other characters tend to be stereotypes but they are effective stereotypes, playing the roles they need to play to move the story forward while manipulating the reader’s emotions with rousing speeches and acts of self-sacrifice.

By the end of Katya’s World, Katya has been tested in many ways, has survived it all and has even matured a bit.  It’s not clear where her life will take her, but I look forward to reading the next novel to find out.

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