Short summary: Zats rule the universe, and they are evil. The main characters are part of a rebel ship, fighting against the Zats. But they are all also misfits and outcasts, with no home other than their battered ship . . . .

Generally, space fiction isn’t my cup of tea; I dislike the technical jargon, the unpronounceable names, the focus on technology and gadgets more than on the people themselves.  This story, however, avoids many of these pitfalls. While there is a strong focus on technology, which drives the plot forward, there is little technical jargon

Compellingly written, this story takes you through every emotion in the book, my most vivid memory being of breaking down into tears halfway through.

However, I did find that most of the characters were initially very hard to connect with, as they are all filled with quiet despair and inner turmoil, hardly seeming to have lives outside of their battle with the Zats. It is only quite late in the novel that their hidden depths are shown, but this is perhaps in character with the setting, which is bleak and dystopian.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this. The plot is perhaps a little plodding in parts, but the characters, and their reactions to their bleak situation, is oddly fascinating, almost like watching a car crash in slow motion.

The novel ends on a hopeful note, with a clear opening for a sequel, which I will definitely make sure to check out.

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Sometime in the future the human population of Earth is scattered throughout space.  Planets are colonised and aspects of the settlers’ original culture survives.  The peoples of Harvest appear to have descended from the Celts, and those of Waga Chun from Native Americans.

For the ambitious Zatvians, one planet was never [more . . .]

“Exiles Burn” is the story of a telepath named Rat and a woman named Neva.  Rat and his “le-murr”, Jasmine, have stowed on board a ship leaving a space station.  He’s having problems controlling his abilities and wants away from people.  Neva was one of the few survivors of an attack on her planet but she’s badly disfigured, making her [more . . .]

Exile’s Burn is not hard science fiction (as Iain Banks said: "you have to have completely new ideas in there somewhere or it doesn’t really cut it as proper SF") and should not be read as such. I don’t want to make it sound like this book is completely empty on interesting ideas, I particularly liked the limitations put on hyperspace travel, they’re just not very central to the story. Rather than a believable vision of the future (the word ‘quaint’ as used by the main villain comes to mind) it is a well written piece of space fantasy. Think something in between Star Wars and Firefly. It has its fair share of decently interesting characters and a plot that, while segmented into convenient sized ‘episodes’ which may go off on tangents, never loses sight of where it’s going. Perhaps to the point of being just a little too predictable.

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