The Cord

This high-concept sci-fi tale from O’Laughlin (Kurt Vonnegut Remembered) can’t quite live up to its own ambitions. Station, an artificial mini-world geocentrically orbiting 40,000 kilometers above Earth, can only be reached via a nauseating five-day journey on the Cord, a claustrophobic space elevator tethered at a South Pacific island city born in response to climate change. In reverse chronological order, O’Laughlin traces the struggles of various groups to control Station. Each section focuses on one of Station’s inhabitants, starting in the present with Imogen, who finds peace and serenity there, and proceeding back to the Cord’s creation. The cast are only loosely connected, but they’re united in their desire to fend off those who would use Station for political, military, scientific, or capitalistic purposes, and their idealistic—possibly unrealistic—hope that someday humans may learn to live with one another in peace. The unusual structure proves somewhat clunky and confusing, and many of the characters’ voices feel oddly contemporary for the futuristic setting. O’Laughlin’s hopeful message is appreciated, but his execution falters. (May)