The Silver Ships and Libre (S.H. Jucha): Two Gentle Books and an Infallible Hero

OK, a really quick review of the first two books in the Silver Ships series. Don’t go into this expecting any amazing writing, or any new and amazing technology or military battles, because you won’t find them. If those are what you’re after, you’d be better off with something like The Ember War, which has plenty of all three. What you will find, however, is a cute, sweet little story that actually engages you almost from the get go.

The characters, while being somewhat two-dimensional, are interesting and quite likable. The hero, again as in many others of this type of book, is apparently infallible and can make no mistakes. In fact not only is he infallible, he also happens to be the smartest and strongest person around! His kindness and empathy resonate not only with other humans but even with AIs. Basically, he’s the best of us magnified a million times!

What to expect

It’s worth being upfront about what kind of series this is. The writing is plain, the technology is mostly there to move the story along, and the military side of things is thin, which means that anyone coming for hard SciFi or tactical combat will probably be disappointed. That’s not a criticism so much as a warning, because plenty of books in this corner of the genre are chasing the same readers and doing something different. What the Silver Ships have instead is warmth, a simple and likable lead and a story that moves quickly, and those are real strengths if you’re in the mood for them.

It’s also a very easy series to start. The first book gives you everything you need within a few chapters: a new colony world, a derelict ship, a group of survivors and a mystery about who attacked them. There’s no heavy backstory to wade through, and the idea that mankind learned hard lessons about caring for the environment before leaving Earth gives the setting a hopeful, slightly idealistic tone. That optimism runs through both books, and it’s a big part of what makes them feel so different from the grim, battle-heavy stories that I usually read.

The Silver Ships

The first book, The Silver Ships, tells of a derelict ship careening through a distant solar system. When mankind departed Earth in the near future they learned some hard lessons along the way, namely that they needed to care for the environment and the planets and couldn’t continue their destructive patterns. One of the colony ships eventually made its way to a new Terra, which is where Alex came across a drifting Meridian ship.

While the technology of the new Terrans was not significantly greater than our own (although they are in space), Alex himself is, as mentioned, an infallible genius, and he’s able to capture the Meridian ship before it escapes the solar system. After gaining access to the ship he was able to not only restore it to functionality but revive the remaining 17 occupants of the vessel, and he learned their story of a hostile attack on the ship. Choosing to believe in the Meridians, who were human also but from another colony ship that had left Earth at about the same time, he was still astounded and amazed by the level of technology that they demonstrated.

However, as a peaceful society the Meridians had no weaponry or warfare, and they were completely unprepared when they were attacked by this other, hostile ship. After Alex was able to restore their ship he is installed as captain of the vessel, and together they return to Meridian. Here Alex is able to capture one of the silver ships and decides that he’ll still need additional assistance if he’s to defeat this enemy for good. It’s a simple setup, and it gives the book a very clear goal to build toward.

Compared with something like Troy Rising, where every page is a battle or a plan, this is a much gentler read. What works about this first book is how easy it is to get into. There’s no long wind-up and no need to learn a complicated setting before the story starts moving, and the idea of a human finding a stranded group of humans from another ship is a nice, hopeful one. It’s not the kind of book that’s trying to shock you, and the Meridians being a peaceful people who’ve never had to fight makes for a pleasant change from the usual warlike aliens. If you want something light and easy to read, it does the job.

Libre

In book 2, Libre, Alex and his crew arrive at the planet Libre, which is populated by independents. These independents are Meridians who don’t agree with or conform to the status quo of the rest of their society. While Alex initially hoped that they would have some more ships, in actuality the Meridians on Libre had chosen to build massive colony ships so that they could run away from the attacking silver ships. Alex and the Librans realize that they have no choice but to accelerate the building, as the superships would be attacking them even sooner.

Alex is able to interact not only with the other AIs but also with the implants, and his skills continue to advance and quickly surpass those of any other Meridian. One is forced to wonder whether Alex really is human himself! That’s about as far as I’ll go with the plot, because a lot of the fun is in seeing how Alex handles each new problem. The Meridians who ended up on Libre have chosen to leave their own society behind, and that gives them a different outlook from the people Alex met first, which keeps the second book from feeling like a repeat. The independents are an interesting bunch, and the idea of a society that’s chosen to flee instead of fight gives the book a different feel from the first.

It also adds a bit of urgency, because the building of those colony ships is a race against the enemy. The Librans aren’t soldiers, and they’re not sure how to deal with the threat of the silver ships, so the story is as much about getting them ready as it is about any actual fighting. That’s a nice change of pace if you’ve read a lot of military SciFi, as I have. It shows that the series is more interested in people and their choices than in big battles.

One thing I’d add is that the two books work well together. The first sets up Alex, the Meridians and the threat of the silver ships, and the second widens the picture by showing a whole community that’s chosen a different path from the rest of Meridian society. You get a sense that there’s a larger story building, and that the enemy is a serious problem that nobody is going to be able to solve alone. That’s enough to make me curious about where the series goes next, even if I don’t expect the writing or the battles to get any more sophisticated. For a quick, light read with a likable hero, that’s a perfectly good place to land, and it’s the reason I wanted to give these two books a short write up here on the blog, even though they’re a bit outside my usual military SciFi picks. If you try them, go in for the charm and the likable hero and you’ll probably have a good time.

The infallible hero

It’s worth saying a bit more about Alex, because he’s the thing you’ll either love or find annoying about these books. He’s a character who can do just about anything, from capturing a ship to bringing its crew back to life and even working with AIs and implants better than the people who built them. That makes the stories a lot less tense than they might be, since you rarely doubt that he’ll find a way through. On the other hand, it’s comforting in a way. His kindness is what sets him apart, and it’s why the AIs and the Meridians respond to him the way they do.

The supporting characters are two-dimensional, but they’re likable, and they give the story a warm feel. If you prefer your heroes flawed and your battles tense, look to a book with more bite, like Empire of Bones. But if you want a sweet, light read that hooks you quickly, the first two Silver Ships books are a good pick.