“The Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship (SFINCS, pronounced “sphinx”) is a yearly competition to recognize, honor, and celebrate the talent and creativity present in the indie community. We are a sister competition to both SPFBO and SPSFC, and we highlight greatness in the novella format in all areas of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror, etc.).” – from the official SFINCS website
Note: The following review contains my personal thoughts as a judge and does not reflect the views of the team as a whole. I will not include my ratings in my original reviews.
The View from Here
by Leon Stevens
The handwritten note on the dashboard read: Not Abandoned. When Thomas passes the dusty car at the trailhead of a hike he has done many times before, he didn't expect to find himself with a stranger, navigating through a newly discovered world hidden from view at the end of the trail. Getting to the bottom of the mystery might be difficult, but getting to the bottom of the cliff will be their first challenge as they begin their adventure. Only their physical fitness and combined knowledge will get them through everything they may encounter, proving two heads are better than one. Two adventurous people. A strange world. One goal. Unravel the mystery.
Review
The View From Here is an other-worldly exploration story that reminded me of a sci fi puzzle game.
As a reader I am notorious for ignoring all outside information about a book (back cover copy, hype, reviews, etc) before reading it, but also for reading all the interior information (yes, I read your copyright page!). That said, The View From Here begins with a preface.
I have mixed feelings about prefaces or author’s notes that come at the beginning of a work because a lot of the time they feel defensive, as if they’re written to pre-empt criticism. This one read, to me, like it was added to pre-empt criticism of the characters’ choices. Whether that was its intention or not, it did cause me to focus on my reactions to the characters' choices and evaluate them in a way I may not have if I had gone into the novella without the preface.
The biggest issue I had with this novella, in the end, was not that I found the characters' choices unbelievable or even unrealistic, it was that I felt there wasn't enough in the text to justify why those specific human beings would make those specific decisions. I felt this most in the early actions and dialogue. It takes a very special kind of human to find a pitch-black cave in the side of a cliff wall (below the safety rail, no less) and think "yep, I should definitely go on a potentially lethal multi-day camping trip to explore this glitch in reality with a stranger who I found inside the black hole...". Do I think such a person exists? Yes, I'm sure they do. Did the story show me that Thomas was that person? No, it didn't. In fairness, it also didn't make me believe he wasn't that person. There just wasn't much about him at all.
This continued throughout the adventure, with Thomas and April (the companion he found in the void) making both action and dialogue choices that didn't make sense to me in the context of the characters (which was really nothing--I had no context). I did enjoy the surface dynamic between the two characters and was happy to see their relationship avoid a few possible directions it could have gone. I also didn't know enough about them to crave a potential deeper connection.
The best thing about the novella is that I didn't really miss that stuff! The new world and the intriguing but relaxing puzzle-based nature of the story carried me along happily into the unknown. Perhaps the lack of character work included in the story adds to the puzzle-game feel and would be appreciated as a good thing by the right reader. Games like The Witness--that throw the player into an interesting, unknown place with no information--have a similar vibe. I mean...an endless-looking water world beyond a portal? Rotating islands?? More cool things that would be important spoilers??? YES.
There were some pop-cultural references throughout that went over my head, unfortunately. Usually in the form of a character just mentioning something with no follow-up explanation or clear reason for its inclusion. I imagine these will hit well with those who get the references. There was one reference used a few times that I did get, and I have a theory that I'm curious about for the rest of the series... .
The ending of the novella is satisfying for a story inside a series format, though I do think there are bigger reveals on the horizon and a read of the full series would be best. The writing was competent and fit the story.
If you love exploring new worlds and puzzle games, this novella and the series it begins are definitely worth checking out. I enjoyed this first one and will read the rest of the series!
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