Title: No Earthly Shore
Author: Jilly Paddock
Genre: SF
Price: $1.99 (ebook)
Publisher: Cathaven Press
ISBN B006XCVC1A
Point of Sale: Amazon
Reviewed by: Chris Gerrib
I frankly
don’t remember how I found out about Jilly Paddock’s novella No Earthly Shore, but I did, and I’m
glad of it. Set in a far-future
universe, this gentle story is that of Dr. Zuzana Aaron-Jones, Zuzu to her
friends, and Boadicea Nantucket, Boodie to her friends.
Boodie is
a young teenager on the human-colonized world Yemitzov Five, and she claims
that the squilts – masses of gray tissue that float in the local oceans – saved
her from drowning. More importantly, she
claims the squilts are sentient, which could force the human colonists to pack
up and leave. Dr. Zuzu and a team arrive
from Earth, and quickly start to investigate.
While they are investigating, romance blooms.
I found
this novella near perfect. There’s
conflict, both between the Earth team members and internally (Zuzu doesn’t want
the humans to have to pack up and leave) but no great violence. The characters are well-rounded, and although
the colony bears a striking resemblance to an English seacoast village, the
setting worked. I found myself at the
end of the work wishing for more.
9/10
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