“Every world is different, except they’re all out to get you.”

– Wildcatter by Dave Duncan

Reading Dave Duncan’s latest – a little science fiction gem entitled Wildcatter that was just released from Calgary-based EDGE Publishing – brought me back to the days of my youth growing up in the ‘70s, when reading new (and now classic) SF adventures like Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama, John Varley’s Titan, and Frederik Pohl’s Gateway blew my mind with visionary storylines, jaw-dropping speculation, and an undeniable sense of wonder.

Set a few hundreds centuries in the future, Duncan’s latest revolves around a group of independent wildcatters whose job is to explore new worlds in search of unlikely treasure: like new chemical compounds or flora with advantageous properties, etc. Although wildcatting is “the most dangerous of all legal occupations,” it’s also the most lucrative.

Hired as the prospector on the ship Golden Hind for its inaugural mission, Seth Broderick is essentially an adrenaline junkie. He never feels so alive as he does when he is immersed in a highly dangerous situation. He gets his wish – and more – when Golden Hind arrives at its destination 1500 light years away: the unexplored planet of Cacafuego. When the ship – with a relatively small crew of six – arrive at Cacafuego, they find the planet already flagged by Galactic, a “billion-ton gorilla of the stellar exploration business” that has deemed the planet too dangerous to explore. A recorded message states that Galactic lost three members on the planet’s volatile surface. Golden Hind’s commodore – and owner – JC Lecanard believes the flag is a ploy to keep other wildcatters away and, after much discussion, he talks Seth into shuttling down to the surface.

Battling a higher gravity, oppressive humidity, and unpredictable weather, Seth eventually finds Galactic’s crashed shuttle – but a barely surviving crewmember is the least shocking revelation…

Without giving away too much of the plot, I will say this: even the most critical science fiction aficionado will find this short novel (just over 150 pages) to be undeniably diverting. The narrative is stripped down, the characters are all well developed, and the pacing is brisk.

Most readers probably know Duncan from his extensive fantasy work  – like Tales of the King's Blades (The Gilded Chain, Lord Of The Fire Lands, etc.) and The Seventh Sword saga – but if Wildcatter is any indication, I’m hoping for more science fiction from him in the very near future. Science fiction fans who enjoy their literary fare character-driven and action packed need look to further than this entertaining new old school science fiction novel. Readers, in particular, who were weaned on Asimov, Clarke, Bradbury, etc. will find this novel to be reminiscent of the classics they grew up with.

Paul Goat Allen has been a full-time book reviewer specializing in genre fiction for the last two decades and has written thousands of reviews for companies like Publishers Weekly, The Chicago Tribune, Kirkus Reviews, and BarnesandNoble.com. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. 

You can follow him on Twitter at @paulgoatallen and get all the latest Barnes & Noble book news from @BNBuzz.