Star Pattern Traveller by Joyce Chng

I would like to thank the author for an advance copy of this novella in exchange for a fair and honest review

Published – 1 /2

Price - £3.95

When Maya Chang crash-lands on a planet little does she know that her life would totally change. For the Mahar, the arrival of the star pattern traveller causes an upheaval in their world. The clash and eventual meeting of two species and two cultures has far-reaching consequences.

Science Fiction can be all about the science but also it’s the power of what if – less the in depth mechanics of physics and biology but the imagination of what could be out there and what happens when humans meet it. An emotional pull works perhaps more for me than the technical explanation’s validity. In Joyce Chng’s Star Pattern Traveller, we get a tale of the latter delivering a fascinating encounter with aliens and leaves us wondering how the meeting of cultures will end.

Maya is a human xenobiologist whose craft crashes on to a previously unexplored planet. She is found by Thui a leader of the Mahu people they take the unconscious Maya back to their settlement for medical support. Maya awakes to find herself surrounded by a wolflike humanoid species who initially unsettle her and then awaken her curiosity. Her bond with Thui grows but what happens if Maya’s people find her?

This is a really lovely piece of SF creativity. We get the tale told from Maya and thui’s perspectives. It would be some simple to have Thui a more primitive beast like culture, but we soon see an advanced space faring species that has great technology and science that helps maya understand language and aid her recovery. We watch Maya explore the culture that bears some wolf-like elements like hunting skills and a pack mentality but also how the groups are quite independent and actually not too gender focused. In a short space of pages the whole place comes alive and feels to have depth even without going into the mechanics of evolution and biology.

Then in the centre is the growing closeness of Maya and Thui – two people not erven of the same species yet alone other worlds. The find a common bond and the slow bur approach really cements that these two have a connection. The secondary plot is Thui’s concern that maya’s people may find them and that leads to a interesting and refreshing finale that perhaps needed a little more drama in its conclusion but the finale as to what happened next is very poignant indeed and neatly bookends the whole story.

This isa heartwarming tale of exploring other worlds with a creative alien culture to enjoy and two main characters to root for. Fun, joyous and well worth a look!