It seems a common trope of podcast
authors to write science-fiction-esque stories. Possibly because the
technological know-how of releasing them may most accessible to the geekier end
of the author market. Maybe a new generation of novels will entail the new
generation of writers, brought up in the post-Sagan world of a visionary future
in the stars. Either way, as a science geek brought up in a post-Sagan world,
it’s a trope I wholly embrace. The world could use a few more authors
like Asimov of Iain M. Banks.
This
particular podcast novel is The Heavenfield, by I. G. Hulme. Marketed as dark
science-fiction, The Heavenfield universe is one similar to our own, and
concerns a secret scientific project hidden in England’s green and pleasant
land. A breakthrough in “standing point” technology transfers the user to a
different universe, planet, plane of matter, dimension – it’s unclear at the
beginning.
The
Heavenfield is superbly paced, with the listener knowing next to nothing at the
beginning, and the novel begrudgingly offering up a piece of information step by
step. At the time of first episode, the standpoint array is created, and people
have been transported to the Heavenfield. As can be guessed, events conspire
against the British scientists and a catastrophe builds on the horizon. Apart from
this, not much is known of the titular Heavenfield. There’s a vague military
presence, suggesting martial involvement, but as the novel opens the Heavenfield
is explored mostly because it’s there.
The
Heavenfield quickly builds pace, using multiple perspectives on both sides of
the fence – the British scientists and the covert forces working against them. The
main cast is fairly limited, and the well-written characters are distinct and
interesting, character flaws and foibles keeping them accessible. Since most of
the cast are scientists – a breed not known for martial combativeness – the
action is hectic and tense. Less soldiers fighting for their lives and more
desperate survival as the main driving force.
Where The Heavenfield falls down though is perhaps
due to overreaching itself. There’s simply too much going on to add much depth,
and can leave a shallow impression. It starts with a murder, continuing on to a
spy theme, intertwined with a survival horror aspect. As episodes continue,
there’s a whole inter-species war woven in, with religious fanaticism, heavenly
beings (probably to be expected from the title), political hostilities and the
future of The Heavenfield itself.
Being heavy
on content is rarely a poor thing. But with 28 episodes, there is no way for
everything to be satisfactorily explained or rolled up. The ending dénouement
feels a little rushed, with a couple of plot threads left dangling and a fairly
easy to guess deus ex machina. One character in particular seems to go from
relative sanity to a breakdown in a couple of paragraphs. I can see what
snapped them, but the actual transition is brief and poorly justified and
explained. I feel each of the aspects could have happily be fleshed out into
full novels of their own, rather than amalgamated into The Heavenfield. So much
of the novel merits the reader’s interest and attention, but is skipped over rapidly
in order to present us with a new curiosity. The Exiles in particular warrant a
lot more time and development than is given.
Maybe it’s
a set up for sequels/prequels or a continuing series, skimping on the content
in favour of deeper explanation in the future, but I refuse to let podcasts get
away with the same sort of shit as the movie and video game industry. The
Heavenfield contains enough original ideas for a whole series, which I don’t
believe were developed to their true potentials.
On a more
positive note, I found the audio style remarkable. Whilst not pure voice, it
isn’t a full blown audio drama either. The design is very subtle, with Hulme’s
own broad array of accents differentiating characters. The background sound
effects are very easily missed, but serve to add a deeper backdrop than simple
description. The art used for each podcast’s artwork is stunningly evocative of
the world we find ourselves exploring.
In all though,
The Heavenfield is an excellent example both of podcasting and science-fiction,
despite its over ambition. An original concept grounded with relatable characters,
well crafted action and great audio design and quality. It belongs on your iPod
or podcast enabled device, an outstanding example of new media.
