On earth, Dalton Greaves was slowly drinking himself to death to cope with grief and depression. One would think that this would make him a poor candidate to be an emissary for the galaxy-spanning Unity organization. The giant sentient snails that run Unity, however, hire Dalton because they like his military career and the fact that his recently deceased father was his only relative. In Edward Ashton’s new novel, The Fourth Consort, we get to watch what happens when Dalton puts aside his grief for the promise of a boatload of money if he survives his years of service.
Dalton’s first mission does not begin auspiciously. Not only does he not beat Unity’s rivals, the Assembly, to make first contact with the minarchs, Dalton and his human compatriot Neera end up stranded on the minarchs’ planet when the snail piloting their ship launches a suicidal attack on the Assembly ship. Dalton, Neera, and the Assembly emissary, Breaker, now have to rely on the kindness of strangers—strangers who turn out to rather violent when it comes to enforcing their rigid code of conduct.
Dalton’s sojourn among the minarchs is enlightening, mostly because it brings him into proximity to Breaker, one of the “stickmen” Unity officials firmly declare to be their (and the humans) mortal enemy. For someone he was told would dismember him on sight, Breaker is surprisingly willing to get to know Dalton. All Breaker knows about Dalton is what he’s learned from the Assembly’s always combative encounters with Unity. Breaker believes that because Dalton and Neera evolved from a prey species, it is impossible for them to behave honorably. Humans lie and deceive. They don’t fight unless they have to and, when they do, they’re probably cheating.
It’s curious, at least to me, that Breaker and the minarchs have such a strange concept of evolution. Both Breaker and the minarch characters we meet are very proud of being descended from predator species and that this is why they straightforwardly fight when faced with a challenge. As I understand it, evolution is adaptation. Sure, evolution is survival of the fittest but “fittest” doesn’t necessarily mean becoming the deadliest thing on the planet. I also take issue with describing proto-primates and early hominids as prey animals. Our ancestral species hunted and were hunted; homo sapiens is a bit of both, especially when we have the chance to use technology.
Aside from the eyebrow-raising evolutionary psychology, I was entertained by The Fourth Consort and Dalton’s adventures with Breaker and the minarchs. There was humor, tension, and a solid helping of pathos to give it all some depth. Readers who prefer their science fiction to be heavier on foreign relations with aliens than spaceship specs should enjoy this one.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.