A stagnating humanity is crushed onto seven small worlds, while the enigmatic union of alien life seems to set impossible goals to qualify for contact. When a discharged mental patient finds himself bankrupt, his only escape is to venture further into the cosmos than he ever dreamed.
Do his inner demons hold the secret to peace with our stellar neighbours? Or will a fanatical leader and his cult return humanity to the dark ages?
The Pollutant Speaks guides the reader through a future universe to experience alien languages, philosophies and drama.
Cochran’s accomplished novel debut paints a possible future of humanity on the brink of both first-contact discovery and societal collapse. At its heart is Evans Ezra Evans, an author who once poured all my “broken parts and anger” into a book also titled The Pollutant Speaks, “a long, punk epic of discontent.” Evans finds himself on the brink of eviction and being hunted by the “Cannots,” a cult that uses his book as a manifesto to justify their extreme actions. At a time when humanity has spread to “seven miserable, overpopulated systems,” Evans is rescued by the love of his life, Annie Bugatti, who assists him in securing a spot as a candidate at the prestigious Border Institute for Languages, whose mission is to understand Para, the intricate language of the alien world with which humans are desperate to establish contact, and to train ambassadors to communicate with it. “Was it any wonder that an alien super-culture wasn’t interested in talking to us?” Evans wonders. But the Border still prepares, and the diverse supporting characters that surround Evans not only breathe life into the narrative but also prompt Evans to confront his beliefs and shift his worldviews. Crossley, a self-proclaimed messiah, proves a formidable antagonist, orchestrator of the devastating “Crush” incident that led to financial ruin for Evans and countless others, and now dedicated to sabotage the Border’s efforts. Cochran cleverly uses dark developments to catapult Evans from passive protagonist to determined leader, armed with knowledge and a “Para ring” as he plans a meticulous assault on the formidable g-Russ, a five-headed being who possesses the key to Crossley's downfall.
Telling this surprising story with brisk efficiency despite rich concepts, a sense of poetry, and welcome literary ambition, Cochran deftly portrays the power of human minds to learn, teach, and stand up to the worst of our species. Evans’s journey of self-realization and redemption features fascinating and sometimes head-spinning development of Para language and future technology. This will delight lovers of thoughtful, ambitious science fiction.
Takeaway: Ambitious first-contact novel with humanity on the verge of collapse.
Comparable Titles: Peter Cawdron’s Whatever Seeds May Fall, Nancy Kress’s Tomorrow’s Kin.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
