Written by Kathy Tyers
Shivering World is a novel that revolves around an idea called terraforming, the notion that uninhabitable planets can be molded by human beings to be livable. Judging by our own solar system, supporting life is not the norm for planets. The dream of shaping hostile worlds for human habitation is a kind of intelligent design of nature.
Goddard is a shivering world, slowly being warmed and nurtured to sustain life. Its colonists are the mysterious Lwuites, the followers of a scientist rumored to have conducted genetic experiments. Suspected of illegal gene tampering and cultish beliefs, they hide behind secrecy and now seek to separate themselves from society entirely.
Their greatest enemy is Novia Brady-Phillips, the commissioner of the Eugenics Board. She is on the lookout for proof that they are guilty of gene alteration, even if only to heal genetic defects. If she finds it, she will impose the law’s penalty – full-body radiation, invariably followed by slow death.
And now her daughter Graysha is coming to Goddard. Ostensibly for the triple-pay of a scientist terraforming on Goddard, in reality for the hope of genetic healing. Even if she can’t be cured of her slowly terminal disease, she hopes to be made able to have children without passing on her defect.
Shivering World features a staple – the slightly stale staple – of a powerful megacorporation. But most of the science fiction elements are deeply thought out and realistically presented. Terraforming, genetic experiments, society’s new religion and new discrimination, space habitats – all futuristic, but it seemed like a real future. The universe of Shivering World is very detailed; the one flaw is that it is sometimes too detailed. At times it overburdened the story.
The plot was interesting, with a good dose of suspense, though it wasn’t until near the ending that Kathy Tyers raised it to its full potential. There were a large number of threads weaving together to make this story. I enjoyed it, though some may not. One of the most interesting scenes of the book came when two villains of a very different cast fell in together for an unlikely objective. Each accurately characterized and openly condemned the other’s evil, no small amount of hostility between them.
This novel is explicitly Christian. It even contains the Gospel message. But disappointingly, the author uses language three times. Overall I enjoyed Shivering World. If you’re after a thriller, this isn’t it. But if you’re interested in the future projected along current trends, in bioethics or terraforming, pick up this book.