"My name is Janni. I am a duranni, a native of Outre Mer. I have a mind. I believe that I have a soul. I am a person."
Born into Awakened society, Janni believes that people of all origins can live and work together. He does not understand why Earth sends its death squads into the forests of his homeland to hunt down educated duranni like him. Trained by his human worldmates, Janni leads a mission to rid Outre Mer of its jailers. Many on Earth are content to let Outre Mer go its own way. But a clique of policy makers and shadowy operatives goes beyond the pale to make sure that doesn't happen.
Michael Puttré draws on his experience as an international aerospace, defense, and technology journalist to craft believable worlds in an age of starships. "Outre Mer" is a character-driven story of people on all sides of a conflict struggling to follow their orders, their convictions, and their instincts without always knowing why.
"Great Space Opera!" I just finished reading Michael Puttre’s first novel, Outre Mer, and I was very favorably impressed. Michael is a writer and editor with military specialization, which shows through favorably in his writing. His grasp of matters military and political are impressive, and this book is the kind of big story that defines the term “space opera.” The story is set in a future where mankind, having saved itself from “The Rock” (an asteroid deflected by the US Air Force) and fought a war with The Grays (an alien race that has been kidnapping humans since 1947) has settled a number of inhabitable worlds in various star systems. However, in Puttre’s view, mankind is no more united then we are now. One faction, the Phalangists, terriforms worlds by burning the atmosphere and surface to ash – an act we see from several perspectives, including a Greenpeace-like spaceship. Unlike their 21st century counterparts, Starpeace ships pack heat, and aren’t afraid to use it.... More > Puttre has a long but action-filled prologue where we learn much of this while seeing members of the Outer Systems Service (OSS) a cross between the CIA and a space fleet try to recover a Phalangist defector. The story then shifts to the world of Outre Mer, an Earth-like moon of a gas giant. The moon is populated by human refugees, descendants of those kidnapped by the Grays, and a curious race called Durranis, which are small forest-dwelling creatures. Given artificial hands, they prove to be every bit as intelligent as humans. The rest of the story is an increasingly tense multi-faction struggle between the Durranis and the various human factions on and around Outre Mer. Puttre’s writing is clear and strong, although a bit florid at times, but quite riveting. He weaves a cast of a dozen characters, all believable, through his story in a way that has you rooting for all of them. In Puttre’s world, there is no absolute right and wrong, only shades of gray, and even the apparent “bad guys” aren’t as bad as they seem. I highly recommend this book to any fans of science fiction. It has aliens, politics, military, and even a bit of romance. There’s something for everybody in Outre Mer.< Less
"Plausible Fiction" I just finished reading Outre Mer by Michael Puttre. The book was a pleasure to read from cover to cover. The action starts early and rolls right through the book. Brief interludes and interesting background bits help fill in the historical gaps without overloading the reader. As a result, the characters within Outre Mer not only have a present and a future, but a past as well. Outre Mer has a little something for everyone except an agenda. Puttre has woven plausible starship technology with a complex political structure. Diverse factions are represented honestly from individual member view points. As a result, the reader experiences Puttre’s world from several points of view, each with their own prejudices and preconceptions. A couple of the factions are left a little too shadowy and seem to be an unnecessary layer of complexity. What you won’t find in Outre Mer is a maniacal madman bent on destruction for destruction’s sake. The entire cast of... More > characters is a mix of saint and sinner. Some more saint, others more sinner. All of them enjoyable; a couple of them are even likable. The book manages to unfold surprise after surprise; I even found myself say, “Of course! Why didn’t I see that.” Most of the surprises are foreshadowed. For a brief time, Puttre walks a fine line between co-incidence and manipulation but the issue is trivial with no real harm to the story. His weave of politics, military science, and colonial angst shines through. If you enjoy science fiction, this book will be an enjoyable read. If you have someone on your shopping list that enjoys a good sci-fi book this one would work well.< Less
"A Wonderful First Novel" Outre Mer is that rare science fiction novel that is able to speak to today’s anxieties while painting a compelling and utterly believable picture of tomorrow. It’s also a ripping good yarn, that moves quickly and builds in intensity without sacrificing nuance or detail. In short, Michael Puttre’s first book is a stunning debut and a novel that deserves a wide and grateful audience. The future Puttre presents in the book is completely grounded in reality. He avoids the pitfalls of so many science fiction novels, which have a tendency to ignore human nature as readily as they change the laws of physics. The characters that populate Outre Mer are real people: at times petty, at times noble, never one dimensional. Puttre imbues even secondary characters with a flesh and blood reality that makes them both interesting and worth caring about. The story is complex, involving political intrigue and war, and is told largely through the eyes of a half dozen... More > characters. But Puttre uses the events and people depicted in the novel to dig deeper, exploring issues such as the nature of faith and duty, the need to belong to something greater than oneself, and the extent of our responsibility to those we have dominion over. Thankfully, the author does not provide easy answers. Instead, we see characters grappling with tough decisions that involve compromising one set of principles to serve another. This tension makes the novel tremendously rewarding. Finally, and amazingly for a first time author, Puttre has managed to get right the mechanics of fiction writing. His prose is clear and tight, avoiding overly colorful language while still giving us a steady stream of dazzling description and dialogue. His pacing is also exceptionally good. The story never lags or wanders off in unproductive directions. Overall, this is a wonderful book, one that I enjoyed tremendously and look forward to reading again.< Less
"Big Ideas, Big Space Opera" I have a weakness for Space Opera. Even when I was a kid--when Larry Niven's "Known Space" stories first captivated me. More recently, I've become a fan of Ian Bank's "Culture" novels, Alistair Reynold's "Revelation Space" novels and Walter Jon William's "Dread Empire's Fall" trilogy. Michael Puttre's "Outre Mer" compares favorably to the scope of these authors. Outre Mer is set in a universe where humanity has gone to the stars and seems to have splintered almost immediately into various factions. In the background is a menacing alien race, 'the Greys' ala' Roswell who have been kidnapping humans since 1947. It seems that a war was fought (and won, phyrrically) against the Greys, and the 'taken' returned. But not to humanity. Instead, the taken are quarantined on their own planet, Outre Mer, Which happens to have a sentient race, the Durranni, on it. Why do that? As one of the characters says... More > "It seemed a good idea at the time". But of course it isn't and the interStellar United Nations has decided that the taken are to be removed and settled elsewhere. But the taken don't want to go, and in what is obviously a nod to Star Trek and the prime directive, the humans of Outre Mer have not only made contact with the Durranni, but they have 'awakened' them (reminding one of David Brin's 'uplift' novels) and the iSUN have given a 'mandate' to the PAX (a combination of 'childeren of Abraham'--Jews, Christians and Muslims) to keep the awakened Duranni and the humans of Outre Mer from 'contaminating' the remaining still aboriginal Duranni. This mandate appears to include killing off awakened Duranni and anyone else that gets in the way of the PAX. Despite all that, the PAX isn't a bunch of fundie eviltrons; The taken aren't pure innocents. Puttre has taken care to craft multidimensional characters, that are easy to care about. So, Outre Mer revolts, and can they pull it off? That is the thrust of the main story arc, but there are some side story arcs and enough detail hinted at to make one want to know more about this universe. Puttre's background as a defense technology wonk shows--space warfare here is a mix of electronics and missles and small ships. No huge space battleships or star destroyers here. But its all the more interesting for that. There is a lot here to chew on. My only real complaint is that it ends too quickly.< Less
