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language: Irish
country: Ireland
year: 1940
form: novel
genre(s): science fiction
dates read: 18.12.22-29.12.22
Máiréad Ní Ghráda’s Manannán was a bit of a mixed bag, but the giant robot battle in chapter 13 pushed it up to 4 stars. it’s a pretty generic Flash Gordon-style planetary romance (they literally fly to the hidden planet in an airplane with rockets attached to it), but it’s got some interesting stuff, too, particularly the ambivalence about the politics of (the city they visit on) Manannán.
there were characters in the book, but they barely matter; the only character whose POV is presented through medium-close narration is Brian, the astronomer’s son whose age I’m not sure is ever specified but which I’d peg as around 12-13, probably. there are a few chapters from Brian’s POV, but most of the book is in a pretty distant third person that moves between the astronomer, whose name I definitely remember (jk I do remember, it’s Micheál, and I definitely also know his surname; in my defense, he is almost exclusively referred to as “an réaltóir”); the…other scientist, Máirtín Mac Con Midhe; and the pilot, Seán Ó Maolchatha. Seán has Flash Gordon vibes, but really the stars of the show are Máirtín, Micheál, and Brian — Seán is mostly there to provide color commentary, which I kind of like as a narrative choice.
mostly what matters is the plot: they arrive on Manannán, get accused of espionage by the Árd-Mhaighistir (the tyrannical ruler of the city they landed near), prevent a coup (but with some trepidation), build a giant robot to fight off the monstrous sea creatures/amphibians (borrowed, I suspect, from Čapek), become unintentional rallying figures for a growing rebellion against the Árd-Mhaighistir, and finally escape back to Earth.
I was charmed by the book’s unapologetic and unexplained confidence that they could just…be from Ireland. the best living pilot and two of the best-known and most respected scientists in the world happen to be Irish, and they all naturally speak Irish among themselves — and they assume that the aliens (who seem to inexplicably just also be human) whose planet they land on will also speak Irish and are mildly surprised when they have to learn a whole new language. on which subject, I really appreciated that not only did Ní Ghráda bother to account for the language barrier, but also she stuck with it through the entire book, with the adults consistently relying on Brian and his Manannán-ian friend Nící to translate for them or clarify local culture.
was this the best sci-fi novel I’ve ever read? not even close. but it’s way more interesting than I originally gave it credit for, albeit in an unpolished kind of way where it never quite pushes as far as I want it to, and I enjoyed reading it.
moods: adventurous, inspiring