C.A. Higgins
Supernova

"Supernova" (2016) is the sequel to "Lightless" (2015) and the second novel by young American science fiction writer C.A. Higgins, as well as the second chapter of a trilogy, whose third chapter ("Radiate") should be published soon on Urania like the previous two. With a degree in physics, after trying her hand at translating texts from Latin, she began to delve into theater and then practically recovered, let's say, her knowledge of physics in writing science fiction novels where a certain psychological thriller component remains dominant.

The characters in "Supernova" are practically the same ones we met in the first novel: reading this one becomes somewhat less functional without reading "Lightless," although it is perhaps more in this second chapter that events develop in a more compelling way, stimulating the reader's curiosity. The story here develops on two different tracks. On one side, it tells how the armed struggle against the "system," which despotically commands the entire solar system, proceeds, led by Constance Harper, also known as the "hunter," the infamous Mallt-y-Nos (which is a nickname borrowed from Welsh mythology, the famous witch also known as "Matilda of the Night"), and by Milla Ivanov, wife of the legendary Connor Ivanov, the first truly great hero of the revolution long-imprisoned and deceased after the destruction of planet Earth during the clashes. On the other hand, we follow the events of Althea, once at the service of the system but now effectively independent, and her grotesque relationship with the advanced spaceship "Ananke," which after becoming self-aware, has developed a real personality that becomes increasingly aggressive over time and in the desperate search for a sort of "soulmate" who can share its particular existence of sentient and immortal artificial identity.

The novel maintains a very high level of tension from the first to the last page concerning the development of both events, but if these appeared closely connected in the first novel, where after all the events aboard the Ananke were directly linked to Mallt-y-Nos's plans, this sequel seems interlocutory and leaves us suspended in a state of anticipation without enough clues to know how the story might evolve. In fact: any possible development, even assuming that the two stories are destined to cross paths again (surely), appears unpredictable. If this is overall positive, as it demonstrates the author's good literary skills and inventiveness, this great curiosity, not rewarded in the outcomes of the novel itself, perhaps prevents judging it and giving it the high rating it still deserves. But there is already a great merit that must be highlighted: that is, the author's style and narrative skills already appear to have developed further compared to the debut and first novel of the series. All this is ultimately at least very promising, also in light of the upcoming (hopefully) publication in Italian of "Radiate."