(Drivebycuriosity) - It seems that science fiction is in a crisis. There are too many authors who don´t care about science, which once defined the genre. The genre is now dominated by fairy tales about dragons and princesses and woke messages. But there are still some exceptions. James L. Cambias novel "A Darkling Sea" belongs to them (amazon ).
Apparently the author was inspired by Europa, a moon of Jupiter. The moon is covered by an ocean under a deep layer of ice. Scientists believe that Europa`s ocean is some miles deep and that on the ground are - like on the bottom of earth`s oceans - volcanic springs, called vents. On earth these vents feed warm water, sulfur and chemicals into the ocean which allow some microorganism to live in an otherwise lifeless and cold environment. Scientists assume that there are possibly some microorganism on the bottom of the Europa`s ocean as well.
The novel is set on a fictional moon which like Europa is covered by an ocean and thick ice. In this novel the hot vents allowed the evolution of an intelligent life form, who settles around these springs on the bottom of the ocean.
The plot follows three groups: The natives of the moon, huge lobster like intelligent beings, who are living on the ocean ground; humans who have a submarine station near the ocean bottom and explore the behavior of the natives; and space faring highly developed aliens, who distrustful observe the humans. There exists an universal treaty that humans - and other explorers - are by no means allowed to interact with the natives and spoil their development.
The story constellation creates a lot of conflicts, which lead to dramatic consequences (this is a spoiler free blog). Parts of the book are like classic space adventures and space operas. But Cambias also dives deep into the evolution, sociology, psychology & economy of the natives and the complex relations between humans and the more technological advanced aliens.
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