Hugh Howey's contemporary science fiction

Cover image of "Beacon 23," a good example of contemporary science fiction

I finally figured it out. Earlier in life, when I devoured science fiction by the carload, I paid little attention to details such as references to contemporary culture, products, or figures of speech. I’d suspended disbelief, of course. Now these things jump out at me. They grate. And I found myself on edge at a number of points in Hugh Howey’s Beacon 23 because it was too much of a stretch to believe that characters in the late twenty-third century would talk like people in 2015 or that products such as WD-40 (the iconic all-purpose household lubricant) would show up in the narrative. But now I’ve got it! What’s going on, really, is not that the author is attempting to write a story that we will believe is “true.” Instead, he’s relating a long, complex dream that could easily incorporate elements that are extremely unlikely to be found together. You’ve dreamed dreams like that, right?

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

So, tell me, Hugh: is this the way I should look on your work? I’ll say that I enjoy your writing very much — your humor, your lively imagination, your skill in laying out a plot. I was alternately amused and intrigued as I read through Beacon 23. Enjoyed your battle-scarred, empathic anti-hero and the odd characters who came on the scene with him. Found the many references to aliens imaginative to the point of implausibility, but they were certainly entertaining. So, I imagine you had a lot of fun writing this novel. I hope so, anyway.

Beacon 23 is a novel that first appeared online as five Amazon singles, assembled only later into the Omnibus Edition. Very clever, that. Probably very profitable, too.

Beacon 23 by Hugh Howey ★★★★☆

Hugh Howey is one of the crop of the younger generation of science fiction writers who has found success in the newly fractured publishing environment. He favors writing in chunks. Howey’s breakthrough was the five-part dystopian novel, Wool, followed by a three-part prequel entitled Shift. I’ve recently read and reviewed both books. I loved them both. This guy is good!