From Aurealis Magazine, Issue 174

Hope’s Song by Larry Ivkovich, IFWG Publishing

Review by Joseph Sullivan

Hope’s Song is a steampunk novella by Larry Ivkovich depicting an interdimensional war between humanity and alien invaders. The two sides begin as completely foreign to one another but, over time, discover that there is more to their conflict than it seems. As the battles become increasingly destructive, factions within both sides vie for their own agendas to succeed and change the course of their people.

Hope’s Song is a relatively short novella but is written in such a way that Ivkovich conveys a lot to the reader even with the small page count. Each character, no matter how small their part, has an important role to play, and it feels as though everything in the novella has a place within the story. The result is a tight yet strong read.

The main themes throughout the novella deal with everything that surrounds the war between humans and aliens: the destructive effects of the conflict, the motives behind it, how war can lead to otherisation of the opponent, and how class privilege can separate the elites of a society from the soldiers that fight and die in their names. While it is still science fiction, the war feels very fleshed-out and eerily realistic.

Ivkovich’s cast of characters informs the conflict, populating it with believable people of different shades of morality. Soldiers are varied in their motives, from simple bloodlust to a desire to protect their people. Civilians deal with their suffering in different ways, from seeking peace to pushing for escalation in vengeance. Elites can afford to treat the war like sport, as one businessman profits off the war and sees hunting the enemy as amusement.

Hope’s Song is a recommended read for those who enjoy war stories, classic science fiction, the aesthetics of steampunk, and novellas that make the most of page count.

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