The Vanished Birds: A Novel

_The_Vanished_Birds_ is--first and foremost-a condemnation of colonialism, with a vast time sweep. The story revolves around the seemingly omnipotent Umbai corporation which was created to exploit some kind of climate crisis that rendered Earth uninhabitable. First it cornered the market for spaceships that ferry the ultra- rich to more desireable planets, then it monopolized the trade routes that sprang up among these planets. The more primitive planets get to trade away their natural resources, but do not participate in the empire. The story opens with an unbalanced romance between a female ship's captain and a native of one of the agricultural planets. As the young farmer ages 15 years, only 8 months pass for the captain. We later meet the designer, herself over 1000 years old, of the ships that haul goods between star systems and a mysterious boy with the potential to overturn the corporation's economic advantage. Exploitation, betrayal, guilt, and vengeance drive much of the plot, interlaced with a simple love story: refreshing by today's standards. There is a suspense-filled climax, where heretofore unrelated sub-plots come crashing together. The story is hard to follow in places due to multiple names for certain characters, and out-of-sequence presentation of events. I would probably have to read it twice to connect all the dots. But I would like to believe the latter are the growing pains of a young, first-time author, and look forward to his next attempt.