Review by Frank Plowright

Humanity long ago left Earth and thousands of years have passed since they colonised the star system known as Cayrels Ring. It was a gradual process, originally based on the calculations of an artificial intelligence. We learn early that it’s flawed, having been trained for human requirements and not taking those of other species into consideration.

You’ve got to love a writer whose science fiction isn’t just influenced by recognisable sources, but lists Emile Zola’s generational fiction as an equal inspiration, and that features very strongly in Cayrels Ring. Shannon W. Lentz starts with the problems of the early colonists, and then shuffles around the galaxy looking at how others are living their lives. The focus is resolutely on ordinary people, and how they cope with hardship and living within a system that allocates people to a particular planet and then forbids them to leave. Bounty hunters and more humane trackers trail those who do depart.

Beginning with a mother carrying her young child through a desert environment, Lentz establishes connections between the featured people. Some are independent, some connect with a person featured in another of the seventeen chapters, and others have several touchpoints. The narrative jumps back and forth through time, so we’re also seeing people at different stages of their lives. And although connected, each chapter tells an individual story.

Given that a dozen artists contribute, the complexity could be a recipe for an unholy mess, but each new artist takes their cue from whoever first drew a character, and bases their version on the original design. Not all the names will be familiar, but with the likes of Farel Dalrymple, Simon Roy and Dustin Weaver there’s some first rate talent on show, and it’s a rare contributor among the remainder whose art disappoints. The sample page is the work of Alchemichael (M. L. McDonald), who draws five chapters overall, including the opener and closer. There’s an obvious Moebius influence, but they modify their work according to the tone of the chapter, from broad cartooning to nuanced shading.

Although the trappings are of the future and the occasional plot exploits that, it’s the captivating people and their motivations that make for a continually absorbing experience. And it’s crying our for a sequel.