The Awakening

© 2002 Dru Pagliassotti
All rights reserved.

The Awakening
by Lee Garret
Publish America
ISBN: 1-59129-425-8

Lee Garrett first appeared in The Harrow in January 2002, and since then he has been a regular contributor, his stories spanning poignant realism to fantasy to horror to science fiction. The Awakening is his first novel, a science-fiction fantasy that stands alone, although a sequel is in the works. Garrett also created the book’s cover art.

The Awakening is a return to pulp-style action-adventure writing, combining science fiction and fantasy reminiscent of Michael Moorcock’s Hawkmoon series, or Edgar Rice Burrough’s John Carter of Mars novels. The Awakening features the pulp-requisite Europeanesque heroes and heroines, the clear divide between good and evil, the manly two-fisted action, the weird science, the world-shaking peril, and the strange worlds and dimensions yet to be explored. It’s a nostalgic flashback for those of us who were introduced to science fiction and fantasy via the great pulp heroes.

The story revolves around Holly, erstwhile heroine and crippled psychic; Rhian, a superheroic warrior from the deadly world of Edoth; and Tigo, Rhian’s brother. They are pursuing a renegade Edothican criminal, Khan, who has teamed up with the psychic and irreverent dragon Pallosadah. Unfortunately, Rhian removed Holly from her family rather abruptly, leading her powerfully psychic Aunt Beth to commandeer the spacecraft of an old lover, Michael Kincade, and his current … partner? lover? captain? pet? a feral feline alien known as Tyg’rr. By the time they all converge on the same planet, things there are quickly going to hell, as an evil greater than Khan awakens, and it’s dragons versus spaceships and psychic powers versus swords when the forces of good and evil clash at last.

True to the genre, Garrett’s characters are larger than life, striding heroically across the pages and laughing in the face of danger. The Edothicans’ evolution on a dangerous planet has made them nearly invincible in all but matters of the heart (shades of Harry Harrison’s Deathworld), and although the Edothicans are the clear heroes of the piece, the other characters provide a strong support cast. In fact, the main characters, Holly, Rhian, and Tigo, are ultimately less interesting than the support cast. Pulp heroes, after all, traditionally aren’t granted many endearing or frustrating quirks and habits. They have to be larger than life, after all. Sidekicks and villains always get the most interesting personalities. Thus it is that the relationship between the villains Khan and Pallosadah is far more entertaining than that between Rhian and Holly.

The Awakening is a first book from a small publisher, and it has the usual first-book, small-publisher flaws. Typos abound, which, though irritating to the reader, do serve the unintentional function reinforcing the pulpesque style of the novel. Editors also failed to catch a few continuity problems, such as the use of Rhian’s name in the narrative before Holly has been introduced to him, while he’s still being referred to from her point of view as a mysterious and fascinating stranger. Such errors aren’t fatal, but let's hope that if the book goes into a second edition, they will be cleaned up.

As a feminist, I have mixed feelings about the women in the book. Holly’s immediate romantic reaction to Rhian is very stereotypical, redeemed only by the fact that Rhian’s reaction to her is just as simplistic. She's a bit traditional, although she's scrappy enough when she isn't mind-controlled. Aunt Beth is a tough, efficient, no-nonsense lady, but she is primarily defined by her relationship with Holly, which motivates her throughout. This is in contrast to the male characters, who have multiple motivations, not all derived from their familial relationships. Tyg’rr’s feral femininity is disturbing; is she pet or lover or some uneasy combination of the two? The sequel, Tyg’rr and the Space Pirates, should clear this up, and, I hope, establish her as a powerful woman in her own right. Finally, the only Edothican woman to get much coverage is Lady Cynna. She is interestingly bitchy and holds a high position in Edothican society, but we don’t get to see if she’s just as tough in a scrap as her sons. I can only imagine that she would be; Edoth doesn’t sound like the kind of planet where wimps bear and raise children. She’d probably give Tyg’rr a run for her money. Now that would be a scene worth reading! I guess what I want is a central female character with whom I can feel comfortable identifying as I read….

This caveat aside – and maybe it isn't fair to analyze pulp from a feminist perspective, as most of the classics would fail that test – Garrett's characterizations are amusing and entertaining, and the plot clips along across several worlds at a good pace.

The Awakening is complete in itself, but leaves a few loose ends that will be addressed in the sequel, Tyg’rr and the Space Pirates. (How's that for a pulp title?)

In summary, The Awakening is a solid first novel, true to its roots in pulp science fiction/fantasy.

To read more of Lee Garrett’s fiction, see his work on The Harrow: The Return of Captain Glory, Night of the Hunter, Eventide, Crossroads, and The Bamboo Flute.

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