"Natural History" by Justina Robson

Natural History (2003) is Justina Robson's third novel and the first of hers that I have read.

It's set in a future version of our solar system in which humanity has changed itself significantly. There's a new group of people called the Forged who are combinations of technology, AI, human personalities and DNA from other creatures. For instance, one of the main characters, Corvax is a Roc-type Forged. Those of you who remember Sinbad will know that Rocs are huge birds of prey. His name also brings to mind the Latin name for the raven - Corvus corax.

Another of these Forged beings is a huge terraformer called Kincaid. Kincaid and Bara (another terraformer) have been put into a kind of suspended animation after they finished work on the Moon and Mars. Kincaid seems to be named after Jamaica Kincaid, the novelist and gardening writer. There are probably lots of other literary references in the book, some of which I have not picked up on. Another one is that Zephyr Duquesne could be named in tribute to Skylark DuQuesne, one of E. Doc Smith's SF novels.

Anyway, the Forged are not happy. They have been made to do a certain job and cannot live in other environments other than that they were designed for (for instance some are jellyfish-like creatures that can live on gas giants). They cannot reproduce and are treated as things (remember those terraformers). They often have to work and live alone (Corvax lives in an asteroid) and cannot have any kind of sex life. One thing they do have is a virtual playground in which they can be whoever they want to be, and many seek escape in this way. Others, like Lonestar Voyager Isol, are politically active and want independence for the Forged.

The opening of the novel focuses on Isol as she experiences a "First Contact" event that is to drive the whole course of the novel.

So, I am not going to do spoilers. There were lots of things to love about this book. The First Contact aspect of the book was very well handled and I was surprised and convinced by the alien life form Robson presented. I enjoyed the idea of the Forged and the strange beings that had been created as part of that initiative. I liked the humour provided by Gritter - an Ornith (bird) spy used by Machen (who is a human general dealing with the implications of Isol's discovery.

I liked that Justina Robson is a British writer and therefore some of the planet-side scenes take place in London. My favourite characters were Corvax and Zephyr. I especially liked how Robson used Corvax's experiences in the virtual world to explore his character and the decisions he would take.

This is a very ambitious novel. I really enjoyed it. I will read some more of Justina Robson's books in future.