The novel “A Darkling Sea” by James L. Cambias was published for the first time in 2014.
Ilmatar is a moon of a gas giant planet with an ocean of liquid water beneath the thick, frozen surface crust. That ocean is home to complex ecosystems that include a sentient species. A human expedition is on site to study the natives in a collaboration with another alien species, the Sholen, also based on the observation of the natives without getting noticed.
During what’s supposed to be normal scientific activity, Henri Kerlerec, one of the members of the human team, commits an imprudence and loses his life. This starts generating tensions between humans and Sholen with ramifications determined by the presence in both species of factions with different ideas about the policy towards the other species.
In the solar system there are moons such as Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moon Enceladus with a thick layer of water ice on the surface, but under it is kepts liquid by the heat generated by the tidal forces due to nearby planets. Various scientific studies examined the possibilities that life forms developed in those subterranean oceans, but for now they’re only theoretical assessments. In recent decades, many gas giant exoplanets have been discovered, so it’s plausible that at least some have moons with subterranean oceans. James L. Cambias drew on this idea to create Ilmatar, which hosts life forms that include a sentient species.
An interesting element of “A Darkling Sea” is the presence of three sentient species. One of them is native to Ilmatar, and is being studied by two species that are alien. Humans and Sholen have generally friendly relations, and work together keeping hidden from the natives so as not to interfere with their society. The development of the plot and the characters is also used by James L. Cambias to show the peculiarities of the various species and their societies.
The positive side is that the author offers information on the various species and on the relationships between humans and Sholen in a way that is well integrated into the narrative, without infodumps but with details well included here and there, also in the dialogues. The downside is that alienity is limited and everyone seems somewhat human, with immediately understandable emotions and reactions.
What seemed to me the main problem of the novel is the confrontation between different factions among the Sholen. James L. Cambias tried to create an alien society in which consent is crucial and in which relationships between individuals also have strong sexual connotations, but in my opinion the result is only partially successful. If you find the many discussions among the Sholen interesting, perhaps this choice of the author will seem a merit for you.
Also due to those discussions, the first part of “A Darkling Sea” is rather slow. That’s at least in part inevitable because James L. Cambias has to introduce protagonists of three different species. The stories of humans and Sholen are closely intertwined from the beginning while the story of the natives initially forms a self-contained subplot.
The growing tensions between humans and Sholen following the Henri Kerlerec’s misfortune initially lead to many discussions also between humans and between humans and Sholen. These are discussions that include ethical and moral considerations on the ongoing study in Ilmatar’s ocean. Action increases, and with it the pace, in the second part of the novel. Various twists make the plot intriguing to the end.
Some of James L. Cambias’s choices left me some perplexity but overall “A Darkling Sea” seemed to me a good novel about the encounter with alien sentient species. It has its own ending, but some parts of the story are left open for a possible sequel. I recommend it to especially readers who appreciate stories in which aliens are among the protagonists.
