Burn / James Patrick Kelly

When DailyLit.com went free a few months ago, the science fiction section looked a little thin. What’s there is dominated by Cory Doctorow books. However, DailyLit.com did have Burn by James Patrick Kelly. I took it as an opportunity to read something by him that’s a little longer than the short stories I’ve already read.

Laid up in a hospital after suffering injuries, Spur, a firefighter on a planet normally kept out of contact with other planets (the upside) has the opportunity to make unrestricted phone calls. Bored, he starts calling people who have his given name, Prosper Gregory Leung. One of them happens to be the High Gregory of Kenning, a member of the ruling class of the Thousand Worlds, but also still a child. Shortly thereafter, Spur is released from the hospital to spend compassionate leave with his family before he is to head back to fighting fires. The fires are actually part of a war between the pukpuks, a group opposed to the Transcendent State of Walden, which has spread a forest over the entirety of the planet. Walden is supposed to be a world of simplicity much like Thoreau’s Walden. The pukpuks start fires. The firefighters fight them. There doesn’t appear to be any direct fighting. But Spur’s phone call to the High Gregory has set in motion events a bit outside his control. The High Gregory comes to Walden to intervene in the war.

I much prefer stories like this that tell stories about clashes of countries from an individual perspective rather than from the the centers of power. This story is all from Spur’s perspective, and showcases a number of aspects. Spur and his standoffish relationship with his father. Spur meeting his wife, somewhat friendly but both are looking forward to the upcoming divorce. Spur both disliking the simple culture of his town, but not wanting to rock the boat by revealing the High Gregory to them as an outsider. And particularly Spur coming to terms with the fact that his best friend, his wife’s brother, was a torch who had switched sides to the pukpuks.

One part that didn’t especially move me was the Star Trek-like prime directive theme. That’s the idea of non-interference in someone else’s culture. It’s not exactly the same thing in Burn, just similar. In Burn, Walden has voluntarily secluded itself from the rest of the universe, directing it not to interfere in it’s internal affairs. I think the idea could be mined for excellent commentary on current political regimes that try to wall off their citizens from the rest of the world and prevent outsiders from interfering because how they treat their citizens is an internal affair. But Burn treats this very shallowly, as does a lot of science fiction that uses the trope.

Plot-wise, the story drags for the first half of the story but picks up midway. Spur mostly does a lot of thinking for the first half. Midway, the High Gregory arrives in Spur’s hometown of Littleton and stuff happens. People meet. Baseball is played.

I really liked the characters and the action and the setting and the story. But putting it all together I wasn’t overwhelmed. My mom used to serve casseroles consisting of leftovers from previous days all mixed together. When we protested, she would exclaim But you like everything I put in this earlier! This is almost like that. I like all the pieces, but am very middle of the road about the combination.

Title: Burn
Author: James Patrick Kelly
Imprint / publisher: DailyLit.com
Format: Daily email
Length: 52 installments
Publication date: 2005 (original publication)