The Inferior by Peadar Ó Guilín
(Corgi)
Stopmouth and his tribe follow the ethic of reciprocity - 'Do onto others as you would have them do onto you' - very closely. But in his debut novel, Peader Ó Guilín adds his own little addition to the age-old Golden Rule: There is but one law - EAT OR BE EATEN.
The humans' daily struggle is brutal and very simple. To survive they must hunt the alien species that share their strange world. Everything that isn’t intelligent is poisonous, so the tribe can only survive by each male learning his craft quickly, hunting hard, and succeeding in getting meat back to the crumbling ruin that serves as their village. If the hunts are going poorly and there isn't enough food then the old, lame, and invalid are expected to volunteer to be flesh-traded to a rival species in return for meat.
For Stopmouth, a young stutter-prone warrior viewed as hunt-fodder, life looks especially bleak. However, when he is betrayed by his idolized brother and the sky literally falls down on the village, Stopmouth’s life changes from a tale of daily struggle to an epic quest to save his people. He is helped by the mysterious Roof-woman Indrani and the brutish but loyal Rockface, as he sets out to find the place where the Roof and Land meet.
This book certainly sits well in the genre of Science Fiction, and while it's definitely on the violent side, the story is surprisingly chaste (considering they're savages bent on the will to survive you'd think some of them would get around to mating) with Stopmouth's single moral imperative being survival at all costs, which he will let nothing stand in the way of. There are some strong and well depicted scenes of violence, though mostly against alien species, and some sinister suggestions of abuse. And of course, let’s not forget all the death, killing and flesh-eating that happens. Ó Guilín doesn’t shy away from violence but he doesn’t revel in it either; he gets it just right, setting it within culture and tradition.
Often SF is as heavy on science as it is on the fiction (Haldeman’s Forever series comes to mind) this one doesn't and its is a hugely enjoyable story regardless. That’s not to say there isn’t a healthy dose of mind-boggling science in Stopmouth’s world; though not explained explicitly, the world they inhabit is certainly artificial – with the roof lighting going on and off at regular intervals and alien species being teleported on and off the surface with regularity. A bit more explanation of the science might have been good - who’s in charge of this strange laboratory-world? And what is their agenda? - but the story is fine without it.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in sinking their teeth into (pun intended) quality Science Fiction, both for young adults with a high tolerance for violence or adults of the older variety.
Recommended by Michael Merillo, Venue Manager
November 2008
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