Official Review: Mark of the Harbinger: Fall of Eden

[RussetDivinity]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Mark of the Harbinger: Fall of Eden" by Chris R. McCarthy.]

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Mark of the Harbinger opens with an unnamed man lying on a surgical table with no knowledge of how he got there or what will become of him. The sheer lack of knowledge at the start of this novel is chilling, particularly since the first part of a book is generally filled with exposition that the reader needs to understand the setting and the plot to follow (especially in science fiction, as this is). The reader learns things about this world at the same time as the protagonist does, since we see everything through his eyes. The premise – that humanity has left Earth and now lives in a ship called Eden, with separations between what are essentially two different social classes – is interesting, though some of the exposition and dialogue are clunky. Because of this, I can only give the book 3 out of 4 stars.

Lately, there have been several examples of class warfare and the rebellion of lower classes in science fiction, The Hunger Games and Snowpiercer being two notable examples. Mark of the Harbinger is the latest addition to this trend, but I don’t think it can stand at the same level of some of the other pieces of media dealing with this. While the discussion of both topics is apt considering current events, and while this book is full of philosophical discussions regarding not only class warfare and rebellion but also a bit about life and death, simply having a topic isn’t enough to carry a novel. The story itself must also be strong.

As I mentioned before, the premise itself is interesting, even if it’s rather easy to tell where the story will go once everything has been laid out. It isn’t entirely a weak story, either, since a tale of self-discovery and rebellion peppered with philosophy could well be every geek’s dream, bringing together the best parts of both Star Wars and Star Trek. However, the story itself needs to carry the novel, and in this case, I felt that it was the philosophy that did most of the work, along with the exposition. The introduction to the world takes up a good third of the book before any of the proper action begins, and despite all the explanation, I felt that some elements (such as the romance subplot) were tacked on and not as clear as they could have been.

With all the criticism I’ve given this book so far, it might be hard to see why I gave Mark of the Harbinger 3 stars instead of 2. I very nearly gave it two stars, but then I remembered that the book is the first in a series, and it leaves off at a very interesting point. My favorite series are the ones where something has radically changed by the end, and the world as the characters know it will never be the same. That’s the case here, and even though it was sometimes a bit of a struggle to get through all the exposition and figure out whether I was supposed to side with the protagonist despite the other characters making very good arguments (if this was intentional to show that the protagonist didn’t entirely understand what he had gotten himself into, then well done to the author; if I was supposed to side wholly with the protagonist, then it could have used a little more work), I’m curious to find out how the protagonist will react to this wildly new circumstance and what will happen next.

In short, I’d recommend this book, but only cautiously. If you feel like getting through over four hundred pages of philosophy that can feel rather heavy-handed in exchange for a story that doesn’t feel nearly as powerful as it should in exchange for the curiosity at the ending, then pick up a copy somewhere and give it a go. The setting itself is rather well done, after all. Otherwise, I’d suggest you pass.

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[Kappy]

Excellent review! I love SF tales with a good dose of philosophy in them.