Laura J. Mixon

Mixon, Laura J. [published as M. J. Locke]. Up Against It. Tor, 2011.
Published in March 2011, Up Against it had the misfortune of coming out three months before Leviathan Wakes, the first volume of James S. A. Corey’s Expanse series. Both books deal with bioengineering and asteroid mining in a solar system in which Mars, the asteroid belt, and Earth are locked in a three-way power struggle. Leviathan made all similar books look like imitations, even if they were published first. In a more just world, Mixon’s book would have gotten more attention. It is a solid coming of age story. Geoff, a young man living in an asteroid mining community whose economy depends on finding rocks with substantial amounts of water, is good with genetic engineering and nanotechnology. He is also good at doing the open-space equivalent of bicycle racing. When his older brother is killed, Geoff, his buddies, and Jane, a resource commissioner, begin to investigate. A second plot thread involves the accidental creation of an unprogrammed sapient AI, which is one of the known dangers of nanotechnology. Such an AI is called a feral. They are dangerous and must be destroyed before they do irreversible harm to the computer system the asteroid depends on. Part of the story is told from the point of view of the feral, which in its own clumsy way has discovered that humans are also sapient. All the characters except the villains are well drawn. The world-building is impressively detailed. Mixon makes good use of her experience as a chemical engineer working on creating sustainable environments. Unfortunately, there has been no follow-up novel from Mixon, who seems to have quit publishing. 4 stars.… (meer)

A society of people living in the asteroid belt has managed to mostly free themselves from control by earth. Earth is a dying planet which needs the materials the Belt can provide. The story concerns a growing artificial intelligence in the Belt's computer systems. The AI is aware but doesn't know that it is controlling the environment of a society of humans. In fact, it doesn't know anything outside of itself at first. The humans, threatened by the AI, seek to destroy it. Based on the ending, I strongly suspect a sequel.… (meer)

This was quite a fun read with a storyline that wasn't too complex. I enjoyed learning about Ruby's world, where (of course) the socially advantaged and less affluent have different ways of dealing with the unfriendly environment. I note the book was originally published in 1992. The author's rendering of remote-controlled androids (waldos) now feels more futuristic than her methods of access to "online information." That's an interesting contrast to Snow Crash, also published in 1992, where the (virtual) Metaverse seemed more significant than physical/mechanical technology.

A couple of things didn't quite tie up for me - perhaps I simply missed them. The first issue was that I don't know if we ever got a reason why the deceased was there for Ruby to encounter in the first place. Secondly, for someone with such an aversion to physically going Outside, once she had done so, she didn't seem to have any problem after that, which felt a bit inconsistent.

An interesting story that's aged somewhat, but still an enjoyable read.… (meer)