Neal Holtschulte’s second novel Tall Boy Sun was published last month, and it follows on the heels of Crew of Exiles, a book that won the sci-fi category in our first Bookshelfie Awards. This novel marks a confident step forward from his debut, and continues to flag him out as a writer worth paying attention to in science fiction. Both novels take place in a sci-fi world in the distant future, but whereas Crew of Exiles follows an exiled transcendent being, Tall Boy Sun turns inward, focusing on a far more grounded but just as imaginative story.
The story follows Sol Linocass, a struggling and divorced man working at an insect protein farm on a polluted future Earth. He spends his days clearing clogged valves and his evenings drinking and flying simulated ships, clinging to the idea that he is meant for something more. He believes that one big win will fix everything. Things get worse when he is fired from his job after performing a reckless manoeuvre with a hovercraft. Unable to pay rent and close to eviction, his life begins to spiral,
The plot shifts when Sol discovers a hidden datastick containing a blueprint for a faster-than-light drive. Suddenly he becomes valuable, and dangerous people start looking for him. He flees to his sister Trudy, a space pirate, and joins her crew aboard the Basura. But life in space will not be what he imagined. As factions begin hunting the drive, Sol is forced into a double agent role while trying to survive a situation that requires him to finally grow up.
One of my main issues with science fiction is when the author expects you to care about the worldbuilding, but forgets that far more important is to make the reader care about the people living in it. Thankfully, Tall Boy Sun avoids that trap entirely with characters that are just as strong as the world. The focus stays firmly on Sol, particularly his struggle with alcohol, who is likeable and flawed in equal parts, with struggles that are easily to see yourself in.
He sagged with relief, but his heart was a drumming reminder that he wasn’t as young as he used to be.
“Thirty-five isn’t that old,” he told the concrete.
Besides Sol, one of the strengths of Tall Boy Sun is its pacing. Chapters are often short, sometimes just a few pages, which keeps the story moving quickly. For readers tired of slow science fiction that spends pages and pages explaining its lore, this is refreshing. The book does not ramble. It moves quickly, but still manages to build a convincing world through detail rather than long explanations.
The prose itself is strong and consistent throughout, with the author having a gift for describing familiar things in unique ways. The author balances description and internal thought well, and there is a subtle thread of humour running through the book, “The ledger of events gone wrong had plenty of room for more entries.”
What sets Tall Boy Sun apart from many other science fiction novels I’ve read of late is its emotional core. You care about the characters. Kimberlynn is not written as a bitchy ex-wife but as someone trying to protect her children. Trudy stands out as not just as a strong female character but one of the most compelling characters in the book, someone who lives in the world Sol dreams about. Even smaller characters, like Pibble or Barrett on the ship, contribute to the story.
Though characters are important, inevitably worldbuilding is another important element of sci-fi, and thankfully this novel does a great job. This is not an abstract future but one that feels like a natural extension of the present. You see it in small details: the in-universe conlang of “Starspeak” and the casual mention of warp gates controlling travel, which make it feel the world is very well thought out. All of this builds a world that inspires a fascination in space, without being as bleak as the glut of depressing dystopian YA novels.
The book is more or less perfectly edited and formatted. The shift from the grounded, character-focused opening chapters to the larger, high-stakes sci-fi plot can feel quite abrupt. The early chapters are a little slow and introspective, centred on Sol’s personal struggles, while the later sections move quickly into space action, and sometimes it feels like two novels in one. Also, whether you enjoy the Star Wars-style space scenes and the asides on the science of space travel will largely depend on the reader’s preference:
Most starships had radial symmetry. Anything else was an engineering nightmare.
My personal favourite part of the book was probably the relationship between Sol and Trudy, which will be relatable to anyone with siblings who grew apart over time. Despite their differences, you can tell they will always love each other. The letter at the end from Trudy to Sol will probably have many readers tearing up.
In the end, Tall Boy Sun is a character-driven science fiction novel that uses its larger ideas to support a very human story. I have been reading a lot of Snow Crash recently, and (besides the author name) Holtschulte reminds me quite a bit of Neal Stephenson. There is a similar balance of concept and character, even if Holtschulte’s books are considerably more accessible. Similarly, the science fiction elements are engaging, but it is the emotional core that sticks with you.
Final verdict: For fans of Phillip K. Dick and William Gibson, or the recent movie Project Hail Mary, this is a vividly imagined, page-turner of a novel about two siblings, told through a awe-inspiring spacefaring story with the perfect balance of action and character work.
You can get your copy of Tall Boy Sun here!
