The novel “Afterburn” by R.K. Higgins was published for the first time in 2018. It’s the first book in the Afterburn series.
Reme Reagan is not cut out for the farming life and dreams of participating in anti-gravity racing even though his father would like him to continue the family job. While trying to enter the competitions, he runs into Vick Dozz, who has just repossessed a racing pod and is looking for a pilot to earn some extra money before returning it to its owner.
For Reme, this is a unique opportunity to compete in a circuit that is not professional but is still very popular. He has to compete with other human pilots, Ternions, and cyborgs of both species but the greatest dangers could come from ruthless people outside the race tracks.
“Afterburn” is set in a future where humanity has expanded into space and met the Ternion aliens. There was a war between the two species but in the end, they managed to find a way to work together. Years later, they manage to share most of the planets even though the Ternion home planet has too high a gravity for humans to live there easily.
One type of racing in that future uses technologies such as magnetic levitation and anti-gravity with pods that race on special tracks. Despite those advanced technologies, the very high speeds reached during the races make them risky for the pilots. Cyborgs are pilots who had serious accidents and had to resort to cybernetic implants to continue their activity.
The story of the boy who grew up on a farm – even if in this case, drones are used – but dreams of a very different and above all much more exciting type of life, is certainly not new. Even in the science fiction genre, there are various examples of this type of story. R.K. Higgins imagines a protagonist with that type of dream who finds himself facing situations that go far beyond competing with highly motivated pilots.
“Afterburn” is labeled as a young adult and is certainly a novel in which it’s easier for young readers to identify with the protagonist Reme Reagan. His dreams, his relationships with his family, and the problems he encounters in his attempts to enter the racing world can easily have similarities to what young readers are experiencing.
The fact that the story is told in the first person by Reme stresses the importance of elements such as his dreams and his emotions. However, ethical and moral issues in which things are not black and white give the story a depth that can be appreciated by readers who are not that young. This also concerns the use of advanced technologies in both racing and cyborgs. A certain complexity that follows and the extensive use of “colorful metaphors” by the characters makes it not recommended for reading by children.
The races are an important part of the plot but everything that is around them is also significant and often influences what happens on the track. Even though the circuit is not professional, the large following brings a lot of publicity and consequently a lot of interest from the teams. Vick Dozz also shows from the beginning various ambiguities from an ethical and moral point of view connected to his activities. He’s not the only character to have some secrets that are discovered during the novel.
“Afterburn” is a relatively short novel, as it’s just over 200 pages long. It focuses on the world of anti-gravity racing, so there are only the details on that future that are essential to understanding the setting. It’s the first book of a series but it has its own ending, so you can read it and then decide if you want to continue with its sequel. Beyond the science fiction setting, I recommend it to readers who appreciate stories of boys who follow their dreams and have to face their dark sides too. It’s available on Amazon USA, UK, and Canada.
