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February 2007
The Steam Magnate by Dana Copithorne
One look around Robin Turner's website and the phrase "Renaissance man" may come to mind. He teaches in the English programme at Bilkent University, has published extensively on linguistics and philosophy, and is interested in computers and music.
It is almost a cliché to say that what defines science fiction is the question "what if": "What if we could travel through time?" "What if there were three sexes rather than two?" "What if scientists created giant walking stinging nettles and, by an unfortunate coincidence, most of the world's population went blind?"(1) This could also be said to apply to many works outside the genre: "What if someone was murdered by all the other passengers on a train?" "What if a middle-aged professor became infatuated by a pubescent girl?" "What if someone took Utilitarianism too literally and murdered an old woman for her money?" (2) What makes good SF, though, is the originality of the question and its answer, and the skill with which the implications are worked out. Dana Copithorne's The Steam Magnate asks the question of what a world with no fossil fuels would be like. Although the title may lead us to expect nineteenth-century technology, the steam in question comes from underground springs, and powers most of Copithorne's world (though wind and wave power are also used, and one character professes an interest in solar cells). This is no green utopia, however. Copithorne surmises (correctly, in my opinion) that in a world powered by local, renewable energy sources, those who control the resources have great economic (and hence social and political) power. This is why Eson, one of the main characters, is a steam magnate, not a steam steward or a steam coordinator; this is essentially hydraulic despotism softened only by conflict between different financial interests. Although Eson is the focus of the book (and the only one whose story is told in the first person, rather like the old practice of inserting diary entries into novels), most of the narrative concerns Kyra, described annoyingly in the blurb as "a young slip of a woman", who is hired to infiltrate Eson's circle and recover a contract. In this world, contracts have an almost magical power: people are bound psychically as well as financially by the contract, and much of Eson's power comes through the collection of contracts he has built up over the years. This is a fascinating, though insufficiently explained, feature of the society Copithorne has created. Contracts are obviously important in a world that depends so heavily on the relation between energy suppliers and producers, but since this is science fiction, not fantasy, I wish the author had gone some way towards explaining how they exercised such a physical (or metaphysical) power. Perhaps this will come in the sequel, since The Steam Magnate is not only Copithorne's first novel but the first in a planned series set in this world. The book has other faults, mainly to do with language. Some readers may find the frequent switching between first and third person narration irritating, although I got used to it after a few chapters. More annoyingly, Copithorne occasionally uses plural nouns such as "simulacra" in the singular, and her style is sometimes excessively florid, with occasional mixed metaphors. She also commits the sin of double-marking an emotion, e.g., "He was sweating with fear." Either tell the readers that he is afraid and let them imagine whatever physical symptoms they like, or tell them that he is sweating and let them deduce that he is afraid. However, these are minor flaws in what is otherwise a well-written tale. Copithorne's world is intriguing and her characters, particularly the enigmatic Eson, are distinctive and well-drawn. The plot proceeds at a leisurely pace, and there is almost no "action" (in the sense of people killing each other), but this suits the nature of the characters and their society: the emphasis is on plotting and planning for social and economic leverage, not revolution or galactic conquest. All of these factors make The Steam Magnate an enjoyable, original story, and a promising first novel.
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