Richard’s Ribbon World Reviewed

Mish Medhat

VINE VOICE

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully entertaining crime noir conspiracy with a hard-hitting edge

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 April 2021

Verified Purchase

This is the third book that I have read from this author, and each time I’m more amazed by Mr Dee’s ability to create worlds that feel real, as if they may already exist. That is quite a talent, and for a sci-fi writer, absolutely essential, for it brings the reader into moments on the page. Without that sense of realism; that essence anchoring the reader into something they can believe in, they are forever detached, and remain isolated from the immersive experience of the worlds being described.

It has been cited before, that Ribbonworld is a crime noir set in the future in space, on a distant planet. True, it does possess such a tone and vibe. Miles Goram, the protagonist in the story, delivers his narrative with a knowing wink and a touch of the cynical, befitting of crime noir gumshoes from the literary universes of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. But it is much more than just a story of an unfortunately placed murder. Miles is a famous gossip journalist who years before made a wrong move, trusted the wrong people and ended up on the wrong side of the law. Eventually incarcerated despite his pleas of innocence, his fear of confined spaces and transport shuttles – following incident on his release from the jail ship that caused him to be fighting for his life – permeates throughout his adventures on Reevis – the Ribbonworld of the title, and shows his considerable vulnerability. Another aspect that makes Miles instantly likable and accessible to the reader.

Given the chance by Gaynor Rice, a friend that stood by him, to make it back into the press gossip circuit again, Miles is on Reevis to do a review on a super-luxury new hotel launched by leading entrepreneurial star Nic Stavriedies. The only problem is the star of his review article is jammed up inside Miles’ hotel bathroom, and he’s not doing cartwheels… And so, Miles’ investigative brain fires into action.

At the very centre, the question being asked is what happens if global corporations – like the Balcom Industries in the book – have the freedom to do as they wish, acting with absolute impunity, totally comfortable in the knowledge their activities are far from prosecution. Extend that thought to if a powerful corporation actually ran a planet – as Balcom does on Reevis – what could they hide, and what lines would they cross to maintain their lucrative status quo? Would murder, corruption and extortion be part of their playbook? Miles as the tenacious journalist probes into such questions, and as the situation starts spiraling out of control, becomes, in a moment of pure déjà vu, almost framed for a murder he didn’t commit.

Desperate to clear his name, Miles searches for clues across Ribbonworld as to who the killer of Nic Stavriedies really is. In his investigations, he meets the enigmatic, beautiful and intelligent Tash Perdue. An engineer and planetary explorer, Tash catches Miles’ eye, and the romantic dalliance that appears to be a brief fling, gradually takes over Miles’ heart, creating a depth of feeling toward the clever explorer that is quite touching and unexpected.

Mr Dee notches up the tension between the warring factions on Reevis – the off-worlders, Balcom engineers and workers, the Rangers and the myriad of authority figures. Despite being a small strip of land – hence the name Ribbonworld – cutting between the superhot larva-encased world on one side of the planet and the frozen, crystalline ice world on the other, Reevis, housed under ginormous domes, is awash with secret police, subterfuge, lies, fear and intimidation. As a colony world, built on the backs of tough Balcom workers, like Harris Morgan, who braved the tumultuous environments of heat and cold to install the domes, there is one word that resounds throughout Reevis, and that is survival. In a place as dangerous as it is captivating, the need to survive is the ultimate objective. People do what ever they have to, to live another day. The taut account of the domes held in check by finely balanced atmospheric pressure is a superb reflection of the environmental balance having to be ‘just right’ to sustain life. This is a barely disguised nod toward Earth’s own climate change and the fact our planetary balance is now off-kilter.

The world building of Reevis, by Mr Dee is impressive, enabled with a sensitivity and a clear passion of science, engineering and technology, the author ensures explanations and future-tech capabilities are both authentic and believable. From reading Ribbonworld, it’s apparent that Mr Dee enjoys playing with the reader, creating red herrings, as one would expect in a whodunnit of this caliber. However, there is also a deep sense of untrustworthiness, so that as a reader, you’re constantly questioning each characters true motives, and how genuine are they to what they claim to believe in.

Ribbonworld, with Miles, as an almost reluctant hero, and its twisted path of clues, corporate conspiracy and murder is a book to savor, indulge in and while away the hours, in another time and place. A really wonderful book that I recommend highly.