Set in a slightly manic future and told through the perspectives of competing alien races, Mike Roy’s THE GODS WHO CHOSE US is a clever science-fiction tome that flits around a complex starscape, but centers very much on an almost oblivious earth. Time travel has just been invented, and space-ships are becoming increasingly complicated. A surface-level peace between a number of competing species from across the galaxy is about to be broken, and humans are unknowingly at the heart of it.
A long-standing agreement not to experiment on humans–an inferior race in a relatively undeveloped corner of the galaxy–has been breached, and this triggers shows of force and covert exercises. In fact, human past is not quite what we think: our technological development in modern times comes largely from alien tweaking of our species, and an ancient alien warrior has long been buried in stasis below our soil. Olympians are very much the superior race in this future, but the Aesir–their allied underlings–are looking to break out from their oppression, and have some tactically astute warriors and smart technology to help them do so. The ultimate battleground is earth, and there is a lot of landscape-flitting of the kind readers would expect were wars to be fueled by spacecraft and advanced technology.
The book is often technical and while we can’t vouch for the accuracy of the physics, it sounds strong, and evokes all kinds of complex concepts about dimensions, phases of space and technical travel–areas that certainly add to the realism, if occasionally slowing the pace of the plot. The story is inventive and sharp, but not always easy to follow. Nevertheless, THE GODS WHO CHOSE US is a memorable tale of inter-species politics and warfare, lent familiarity by its frequently earthly backdrop; a slow builder, and a book with a clever sense of abstract realism.
A dense but charming science-fiction tale based mainly around two competing races, THE GODS WHO CHOSE US explores technological development and clever politics, examining advanced futures tinged with recognizable politics. It’s the creation of a whole new universe and a heady (if sometimes heavy) read.
~James Hendicott for IndieReader