The Politics of Oppression Fan the Flames of Rebellion

The distant Federal Colony Alpha-2 (commonly known as Haven) is a heavily populated but distant outpost within the jurisdiction of Federal America, one of the preeminent galactic governing bodies. While the people of Haven are of little consequence to the faceless bureaucracy that runs things from afar, their world’s resources are hugely significant. Alongside an apparent shortage of cheap labor, that makes feasible the system of convict labor that provides the spark to the titular rebellion.
Naturally, a system in which greed is fed by prison labor leads to abuses: particularly for the underclasses, it’s very easy to wind up in chains on Haven. Those abuses have lead to anger and acts of sedition, large and small. Those acts in turn have fed into encroaching government crackdowns on previously guaranteed constitutional rights like, oh, freedoms of speech and assembly. (Any of this sounding familiar?) Mercenaries like Free Trader Sasha Nerov and her crew are bringing guns from off-world to support the growing insurgency, even as the colony’s generally moderate governor is working to keep the peace despite the constraints on both sides.
Jamie Grant is one of those caught up in the system: he’s been serving a prison sentence for drug-related offenses, but the drugs weren’t even his. His mother was an addict, and Jamie’s offense was in trying to alleviate her suffering when the government cut off her aid. He’s engaged to marry the daughter of a local war hero, and is nearing to release when a prison riot threatens his future. It’s in that dynamic that Allan makes things really interesting.

The problem (if you can call it that) with Star Wars and Firefly and their ilk is the general sameness of representations of oppression: big, faceless bureaucracies with no interest in normal (meaning poor and unconnected) folk under their control. From the top down, with very few exceptions, each stormtrooper is every bit as committed to evil as the big bads. Allan’s Federal America is similar in many ways, but he’s also not afraid to play with ambiguity. The government is unquestionably oppressive, cruel even, but there are few saints on either side of the conflict. Sasha Nerov and her crew of gunrunners are well intentioned, but they’re also just collecting their paychecks. The prison riot is ostensibly a blow against the regime, but it’s lead by hardened criminals, including apolitical murderers, the sort that would and should be in jail under any government.
The soldiers brought in to quell the riot are humanized as well: without justifying their brutality on behalf of a corrupt system, we’re given the opportunity to see the crisis through the eyes of the people living under constant threat from rebels and prisoners who see them only as a symbol of Federal America’s rule. Sasha Nerov’s friend, a fellow Trader, was summarily executed by Federal soldiers. But, like Sasha, that captain was running the guns that would ultimately be used against the soldiers. The insurgents even resort to some good, old-fashioned media manipulation: leaders of the rebellion are aware that the riot is unlikely to succeed, but they support it knowing that it might goad the military into an overly harsh response, thus bringing more converts to the cause. None of this is to say that Allan is asking us to side with an oppressive government, but he recognizes that wars are rarely black and white affairs.
Well, at least until the arrival of the brutal Colonel Robert Semmes, which leads to a harsh crackdown. Allan can certainly be forgiven the presence of at least one unambiguously bad guy.
Politics and intrigue aside, this book is also fast-paced and surprisingly fun. The deeper issues creep in around the margins of a story full of explosive set pieces and spaceship combat. Fans of the Far Stars trilogy will recognize that blending of elements; even as it treats in strikingly timely politics and philosophy, Flames of Rebellion never slows the pace one bit.
Flames of Rebellion is available now.