Book Review: Suborbital7 by John Shirley

Suborbital7 by John Shirley

336 pages, Paperback
Published June, 2023 by Titan Books

Check my podcast interview with John On Suborbital7:

Video of my interview with John on this book

Audio of interview

For those who have never spent time in LA, it is easy to forget that the studios and people who make movies are actual people, not computer programs. After getting my copy of this book signed at Dark Delicacies I crossed LA to catch my train back to San Diego and passed striking writers and actors out in front of those buildings. Since then at least the writers won their right to return to work. The process in Hollywood normally starts with translating multi-dimensional pieces of art into a ridiculous binary process of boiling down every story into this popular movie meets this successful movie.  Every time I describe books or movies that way a part of me dies but it has to happen.

So here it is brace yourself for the soul-killing cross description of John Shirley's new novel.  "Well, kiddies this novel is Apollo 13 meets Blackhawk Down."  This description of Suborbital7 is an absolute go-order for me as a movie. I can immediately see that concept working as a movie. As a novel, the concept is all in the execution as a novelist has to get details, upon details right. It has to be well-researched and written with a certain power.

Enter cyberpunk and horror fiction legend John Shirley who co-wrote one of the best genre action movies in The Crow. John has written several pieces of Science fiction masterpieces including (the far too advanced for 1978) City Come A' Walkin, and The groundbreaking early 80s Song Called Youth Trilogy. In the tie-in world, he wrote Hellblazer, Alien, and Batman novels to name a few. One of his best tie-in novels is the underrated Forever Midnight - a  Predator franchise novel that is fantastic Sci-fi action and is dripping with classic Heinlein vibes.

John Shirley has Science Fiction action experience in several forms of media and that makes him one of the smartest people to develop this concept. Considering that this is being developed by Alcon Entertainment (Folks behind The Expanse and Blade Runner franchise) and published by Titan Books it is clear the novel is IP management.  Intellectual property for those not that steeped in movie talk. Regardless of Alcon or Titan's motivation John Shirley's main concern is the person holding the book and reading gets a thoughtful thrill ride.

In a year when I have read some really great mind-bending Science Fiction epics from thought-inspiring works like Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler, weird epics like S.B. Divya's  Meru or M.R. Carey's bonkers Infinity Gate. Cracking my top ten reads this year is no small feat. John Shirley has written that next-level weird books in the past but that was not the mission with this one.  It is a solid exercise in by-the-numbers genre writing that is effective.

The mission is a realistic hard science fiction near future look at orbital combat. Shirley showed a bit more restraint than his excellent recent underrated Cyberpunk cli-fi novel Stormland. If you want to get the full modern Shirley experience you must really read that one.  Suborbital7 in lesser hand would not have flowed. My reading experience was quick, mostly read over two long bus trips that made my commute to a series of events fly by.

Rightfully, Shirley is as you'll hear in my interview protective of spoilers giving away a few of the twists in the second and third acts. I  understand because the novel is about a team of Delta Force-style rangers who use a space plane to rescue hostages from the Russian mafia and that happens fairly quickly in the first act. The techno-thriller subgenre most famous for Gravity or Apollo 13 gets a military upgrade. Suddenly the Astronauts trying to solve a disaster in space, have hostages and the political ticking clock that might mean global war. Plot-wise these are the many elements that Shirley is weaving into the narrative.

Shirley creates a team of space combat rangers that jump off the page.  These are not cookie-cutter characters, A Muslim ranger, and a lieutenant who has to balance command as a woman in this unit. Art Burkett who opens the book is a great POV character but he doesn't dominate the story. His arc and his wife's on-the-ground efforts could've dominated this story, but Shirley balances several settings and characters to dramatic effect. The wife of the ranger on the ground fighting for her husband is one of the tropes of the genre used like a power cord to drive the rhythm of the story. Trope is not a dirty word here. As a fan of the genres being crossed here part of the fun is to see how Shirley hits these notes and deploys them for this story.

It is too much to quote but over pages 26 and 27 Shirley introduces the teams and their backstories through the eyes of Art. Once the action starts the background of the characters informs how the team works together. The hostages and political situation are expertly women together.

The best example of this happens on page 121.  The team is trying to problem-solve the escaping Oxygen. They have 18 hours left.  

"We're sure to get help before we run out."
Mayweather snorted. "We're sure, are we?"
Burnett wished he was sure."Okay, we'll probably get help.  despite the political...complications."  Political bullshit, he thought. "Meanwhile, we could do some Orbital scavenging."

This is the source of the thrills. So if you are looking for gun battles and that type of combat, just know those don't fill up the pages.  This is more Apollo 13 than Blackhawk Down, but the suspense and tension are there for the reader who relates to the characters.

Suborbital7 is better than I expected. Yeah, John is one of my favorite authors, a friend, and a colleague.  I knew he would do a great job, but he exceeded my already high bar. I finished this book really wanting to see the movie, which I think it can be done for a relatively modest budget. Alcon has zero-g experience with The Expanse and honestly creating the micro-gravity is the filming challenge.

The biggest challenge is getting the story right, and that John Shirley has solved.