The Sum of All Things
by Seb Doubinsky
Genre: Science Fiction / Satire
ISBN: 9781946154392
Print Length: 200 pages
Publisher: Meerkat Press
Reviewed by Peter Hassebroek
An intricately woven plot about saving Earth’s freedom with disparate, personable characters
In a not too distant future (the Internet and Google Translate are still current), Earth is on its way to yielding its freedoms to the Subliminal Empire. Other planets have already done this, and one escapee from Planet X (Vita) is determined to not let Earth suffer her planet’s fate. To her advantage is the formula for the liberating, reality-altering Synth, which is:
“. . . a DNA-based drug that you could control as you wished. You could turn it on or off as you pleased, behave totally normally, and no test could detect it… With it, you could live wherever you wished, in a universe that was simultaneous with the reality surrounding you.”
Vita’s mission takes her to the city-state of Samarqand, which lies geographically and ideologically between the Western Alliance and Chinese Confederation. A convergence of events—including a dying king with an uncertain, polarizing succession; a culturally controversial discovery threatening a museum opening; and terrorist activity—could destabilize Earth enough to precipitate its Subliminal Empire subjugation.
Vita isn’t working in isolation. She’s supported by a liaison officer who gets her in touch with Thomas, a bookstore owner who, like Vita, is a refugee and Synth user. Thomas in turn is linked to an ensemble of POV characters, including his lab researcher wife, his policeman friend and protector, a poetess and her lover, and a newly hired museum director with a dubious past. There’s also the Egregorian Society to which Thomas and the policeman belong, which has interests that coincide with those of Vita’s agency.
The interconnectedness of elements, characters, and intrigues come into focus in a plot that on the surface might seem unwieldy for so short a novel. Yet the story never seems unclear or cramped. The pace is leisurely to start, but the poetic economy of often very brief chapters effectively amps up tension to propel the conflicts forward. Their symmetry brings cohesiveness in a prose showcase of the author’s apparent poetic talents.
Brevity in such an involved plot means character development can only go so deep. Nonetheless, each person is rounded out in subtly artful ways. Such as on Vita’s initial visit to Thomas’s store when she purchases a few books: “She put her loot on the desk and took out her wallet. He checked the prices and rounded the sum down.”
The rounding down is a seemingly throwaway detail but one that reveals Thomas’s unselfish, accommodating nature. It also conveys Vita’s thriftiness as someone who’d note this—and she does it again later when wanting to sell the books back. It’s ironically humorous too because the books she returns are about UFOs, and Vita (from an earth perspective) lives in a spaceship. Other incidents (i.e. domestic bickering) with the other characters establish the humble humanity that grounds them in the grander story.
This was my introduction to the City-States Cycle, despite it being book 10. I didn’t know what came before or which characters might be recurring, but never felt as if I needed to know. I put my faith in the author and wasn’t disappointed. No doubt those who have read previous parts will be more familiar with certain aspects—for instance, the technical workings of Synth—but enough is provided via concise exposition to make it clear and enjoyable as a standalone work.
The Sum of All Things is a deftly packed & poetic novel that you’ll be glad you picked up.
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