Unlike the majority of sci-fi and fantasy stories, which focus on relatively young protagonists, the main character of Elizabeth Moon’s Remnant Population is elderly. Left behind by an uncaring corporation when her colony is disbanded, she’s in no immediate danger of starvation or exposure to the elements thanks to the colony’s infrastructure. But there may be a more subtle threat, because she begins to observe signs that she’s not actually alone. Who—or what—is still on this supposedly abandoned world with her?
I liked the portrayal of the aliens in this novel. They’re close enough to humanity that communication is possible but different enough that it’s not easy. Moon does a great job of showing the slow, laborious, but ultimately fruitful process that allows the human main character, Ofelia, to understand and be understood by the aliens. There are a couple of brief sections narrated from the aliens’ point of view, which serve to give the reader more direct glimpses into their culture. That culture was an interesting one, and I wish we could have seen Ofelia go to visit one of their population centers.
Ofelia is an interesting character in her own right. Used to being steamrolled by her overbearing son and daughter-in-law, at first she relishes her solitude after the other colonists have left. After getting over her initial fright at the appearance of the aliens, her fascination with them is mixed with irritation at once again having to be responsible for other people. Other human characters are introduced later in the story, and I wish we’d gotten to know them a little better. There are some tantalizing hints about differences among human cultures when they appear, and it would have been cool to get a better feel for what those differences are. It does feel like the book missed an opportunity to comment on Ofelia’s relationship with the aliens by showing that different groups within humanity sometimes seem nearly as alien to each other. On the whole, though, this was an interesting and atypical first-contact novel, and I’m glad I read it.
Outside of a Dog 