Beyond the Sun by: Matthew Jones

 

Beyond the Sun is a loaded title.  To Doctor Who fans it is a small reference to the second serial, The Daleks, which used the title on certain paperwork in the early stage as well as being associated with The Edge of Destruction in some circles.  For the first story that goes outside of the planet Earth and into a fictional solar system beyond the sun, it is a fitting title, but Matthew Jones using it for the third Bernice Summerfield New Adventure is an interesting trick.  It makes the reader think this is going to be something about going light years away, but beyond here is used more closely to having power more than a sun.  Power and the power of people is essentially the theme of the book here, as Jones crafts an alien civilization built around living as a family unit of eight.  The Eights make for an interesting society and Jones includes a commentary on capitalism and consumerism, as the planet Ursu is under the thumb of the Sunless and profiteers.  Jason Kane has found himself kidnapped by someone, initially thought to be Dr. Kitzinger who has been experimenting on the native population, as he became too close to stopping the finding of an ultimate weapon.  Benny has to go and rescue him, taking two students along for the ride as they were on a makeup course at the time.  The plot itself is relatively simple, and that’s where Matthew Jones’ work actually succeeds, in providing a framework for interesting character exploration and dynamics.

 

Benny and Jason’s relationship as it stands post-Eternity Weeps is first explored here.  They were divorced by editors who believed that in becoming the lead to her own series, Benny shouldn’t have been tied down to a husband.  This is clearly seen as a mistake by Jones as he, along with Paul Cornell and Justin Richards when bringing up Jason in previous books, shows Benny still longing for Jason.  She drops everything once she hears that he has gotten himself into trouble and is ready to save his life.  He becomes her motivation for doing everything, but Benny also finds caring and tries to do the right thing.  She understands the importance of preserving culture and teaching history through archeology.  Once she meets the person who is built up as the big bad villain, her own skepticism is confirmed when Dr. Kitzinger is revealed to being a woman who is just trying to help.  Kitzinger may not be the best person, but she is trying her best and that’s really all anyone can ask for.  Her interludes are excellent, Jones giving us several pieces of ambiguity building up the mystery of the Blooms, the Sunless, and the Eight.  The first third or so sets up the two major supporting characters, Emile Mars-Smith and Tameka Vito.

 

Tameka is an interesting look at a teenage girl: choosing archeology because she finds it interesting, but finding herself out of her own depth and disliking the process of learning.  She believes in the uselessness of being taught to discover knowledge, even if that knowledge is already known by the greater scientific community.  It allows the childishness to be brought out while still making her a realistic university student.  Emile, on the other hand, doesn’t have a formed identity at the start of the book, which isn’t a bad thing, as he is the son of a higher up in one of the corporations and is taking archeology for similar reasons.  He is also deep in the closet, and Beyond the Sun chronicles him as he discovers his sexuality.  There is denial throughout most of the book, before he finally sees the love between the Eight, especially Scott and Leon.  This is a familial love, but as it is an untraditional form of love and not the traditional sort, it gives Emile the strength and first steps to understanding himself.  The Eight, with Scott in particular, are never stated to be pansexual, but that is what Jones is getting at and are comfortable enough to use sex as a connection.  The sex itself is also not actually included in any gratuitous manner, it is simply described in terms of the emotions the characters are feeling which is an introspective viewpoint to take.  There are a few points where the fear becomes Jones creating a love triangle, however, that really doesn’t come to pass.  Scott, Leon, Michael, and Iranda are the members of the particular Eight that Beyond the Sun is following and they each have their own characterization with their own goals.  This Eight is technically a Ten, though the other six members aren’t ever shown, but are named as being important.

 

Overall, Beyond the Sun is actually a beautiful little tale which examines what Benny and Jason’s relationship actually means, how it feels to come to terms with oneself and one’s place, and how to adapt to change without losing sight of one’s principles.  Sure there is one large reference to the earlier VNAs but really it continues a streak showing just how well Benny works without the Doctor.  9/10.