I’ve been taking a break from the H. P. Lovecraft collection I have been reading to re-read one of my favorite science fiction series: The Chronicles of the High Inquest.  I finished the first book the other day, and I wanted to blog a bit about why I like this series so much.

First and most obvious is that these books are science fiction.  From the very first page, the characters talk about displacement plates which teleport matter from one place to another, and before long we are introduced to humans that live in complete darkness without eyes and ears, tachyon bubbles used to travel through space, and carnivorous alien plants.  However, Somtow doesn’t leave it there, there are fantastic elements as well – the twin cities of Effelkang and Kallendrang where the latter hangs inverted above the former, the purple trees of Shtoma, and the whale-like delphinoids that float in the currents of the wind and make their music and light shows.

As a counterpoint, this universe is primarily a human one – there are no aliens, and the books concern themselves only with the Dispersal of Man.  Instead, there is a caste system with the Inquestors at the top with nigh unlimited power and responsibility and the common man at the bottom, barely aware of the games played by the Inquestors.

The main theme of the book revolves around the dichotomy between the decisions and power of a godlike inquestor, Davaryush, and those of two children, Kelver and Darktouch, and this is where the book really draws me in.  Like Dune and Riverrun, The Light on the Sound illustrates how the powerless are capable of heroics while the powerful are trapped into inaction at best and forced into what many (themselves included) would consider evil deeds at worst. The thought that power leads to responsibility to an imperfect set of ideals is particularly poignant here – the High Compassion seems unequivocally good as an ideal, but because it is a human ideal, executed by human beings, there are flaws that make pursuing that ideal imperfect.

This is why I like the character of Davaryush – he is the old man of the Inquest, and recognizes the fallacy for what it is, but also knows that he doesn’t have the ability to fight it.  He recognizes that he is irredeemable, and that he can only set things in motion, even though they must lead to his undoing.  That, to me, is heroic.