Diving Into The Wreck [Paperback]

Diving Into the Wreck is like something out of the Golden Age of Sci-Fi as it feels like a timeless tale in the far future, which is an amazing irresistible and speedy read. The book is broken into 3 interlocking stories that would have acted well on their own in novella form, but together form a rich universe and history. It is a very personal book that ends up being quite a bit more than you expect. The stories get bigger and bigger with the telling until you reach a somewhat intense culmination.

Diving is very reminiscent of Pohl's Gateway or possible placed in something close to the Babylon 5 universe. The stories are told from Boss's view in an almost journal like fashion. She is not some hero archetype, but a loner who only has human interactions when she deems it necessarily and operates everything she does in a business-like fashion. At first this can make her seem cold, but she has a lot more layers that come through. Boss makes her living traveling through space looking for wrecked space ships, which she hopes can be plundered for treasure, sold, salvaged, or possibly toured with inexperienced divers out for a thrill. Think of her job as an expert scuba diver, but only in space and with a lot more risk.

Diving Into the Wreck is easy on the science for those who don't like amazing long scientific explanations to go along with the story. But Rusch's science is well enough explained to suit the story's purpose. It is her universe's history and character building that you'll be drawn to. The crux of the story surrounds Boss's discovery of mysterious ancient vessel that may have lost technology that could change everything in her sector of the universe. She mounts an expedition of sorts into the vessel with a trusted group of divers and odd things happen. From there we also encounter an eerie space station where people have been disappearing for years.

Perfectly paced and immensely readable Diving Into the Wreck will satisfy even the most jaded of Sci-Fi reader. If I had any complaints it would only be that it was over too soon and left me for wanting more out of Boss and her cadre of divers. I give Diving Into the Wreck 8 out of 10 Hats. I plan on reading more Rusch and have already ordered a copy of The Disappeared, which is book one in The Retrieval Artist Series a Mystery Sci-Fi series. Unfortunately, The Disappeared is out of print, but used copies are easily had on amazon. Rusch also mentioned on her blog another Diving Universe book is possible. I sure hope it happens as there is at least one more major mission waiting for Boss.

I love the Retrieval Artist series but sadly this isn't half as good. I didn't engage with the characters very much (though the author was ruthlessly killing them off) and didn't care for the situation much either. I think Rusch has an amazing capacity to create new and alien cultures, but it felt squandered here - the characters were all too familiar, and the situation, despite the unnerving Room of Lost Souls, was also too ordinary. A misfire

I found DIVING INTO THE WRECK to be a compulsively readable novel. Taking place in the very, very distant future, the main character makes her living finding ancient wrecked spaceships and space stations, studying them for historical reasons, and acquiring "treasure," if it applies. She also will take tourists out to safer wrecks. The work is similar to deep sea diving with its claustrophobia, dangers, and zero margins for error. When she discovers a Dignity Vessel, thousands of years old, in a part of space it has no business being, she assembles a crew and begins the adventure. But things go horribly awry as she encounters technology that could turn the politics of the galaxy on its head--extremely deadly technology. The novel is engrossing, the character interesting, the SF aspects intriguing and very well written. The story is very atmospheric and Rusch applies a nice hard SF mode to the technology, making the dangers and risks very clear to the reader. I ripped through it. Where I started to come apart was toward the end when, for a variety of reasons I won't spoil here, the main character decides to go about destroying the technology. Although her motivations are clear, never once is the word "treason" uttered, although it appears that's what she and her crew are planning to do, and the repercussions of their actions seem downplayed. And I think you could argue that the politics surrounding it are probably understated as well. But within the context of this diverting novel those are fairly mild complaints and I wouldn't hesitate to buy and read any follow-up Rusch might write.

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