The “Massif” in the title of Garth Nix’s latest novel refers to sentient mountain ranges that move through the galaxy on a network of cosmic pathways that pass close to habitable exoplanets. Each Massif has its own avatar and enclaves where humans can exist.
Contact with the avatar is intermittent and they can manifest as unusual entities with the power to inflict delusions and uncontrolled behaviour in humans.
The good side is that they allow humans to have “Basic” spaceships, which enable them to hop from the Massif to any passing exoplanet and create colonies on them.
The bad side is that the avatars severely punish anyone who inflicts violence or uses modern technology in the enclave, but they do allow the forces of the United Earth Government (UEG) to fight against the Mars and Beyond Prosperity Sphere (MBPS) Basic ships, beyond the enclave.
The crew of the UEG Navy Ship “Sassafras” Basic, commanded by Parnell Shi-Sawahla, end up on the Drummer Boy Massif. There they have to deal with the stifling bureaucracy of the military and find out how they can contact the volatile Drummer Boy, who manifests as a 9-foot-tall hamster, to help save a missing crew member.
Nix shows the strong bonds of military comradeship and discipline that helps the crew overcome the obstacles thrown in their path. In the process, we learn more about the motivations and goals of the avatars, in a series of horrifying encounters and battles, which cry out for a sequel.
