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”Possibilities, when you get down to it, are rainbows, beautiful, and meaningless.��

From its earliest beginnings, its deepest roots, science fiction has been a tool used to address social and cultural issues. H.G. Wells�� The Time Machine, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein are but two of the best known, early examples. With her impressive duology (The Space Between Worlds and Those Beyond the Wall) Micaiah Johnson joins this time honored tradition. She spins a great, gritty tale, full of action and suspense, love and violence, but were you to excise from the story her overriding themes of racism, classism, and privilege (along with a more minor, but still potent one of transphobia) nothing would remain but a hollow shell. Johnson is not at all subtle is delivering her message, but neither is she ham-fisted and awkward with it. Her social message rings out clearly while functioning seamlessly within the fascinating story she is telling. It is impressive work.

Those Beyond the Wall is a sequel, part two of what feels to be a completed duology that began with The Space Between Worlds. It’s not impossible to read it independently, but I would not advise it. Not only did Johnson do most of her world building in the initial novel, but she there introduced powerful characters, infused with complex backstories and emotional resonances that are important in this book. A reader needs that background to fully appreciate this story. Indeed, though the novels are narrated by different first person protagonist, and are divided by about a decade of in world time, they feel more like a single story divided into two volumes than anything else. You need to read these books together.

Several final, important notes are necessary. One: Johnson has a true mastery for writing compelling characters. She seems to have a particular knack for creating massively damaged and flawed people who remain strong and resilient in the face of their past or ongoing traumas. Two: a minor theme that runs through her story is the conflict between science and religion which Johnson handles in a deft way. Instead of representing this as a dichotomy between irreconcilable differences, a zero sum game, she presents it with a lens similar to quantum mechanics �� a wave/particle duality where the observer become part of the answer. I found this impressive and satisfying. Three: despite the fact that this book is harsh, gritty, and sometimes near grim dark, full of violence, murder, duplicity, systemic racism and classism, Those Beyond the Wall falls firmly into the tradition of optimistic science fiction rather than its pessimistic dark mirror. Johnson tells a story that believes in the possibility of redemption, both personal, and for our world.

Separately, I would rate the individual books of Johnson’s story 3.5 stars (rounded up), but the 5 star rating I am giving this book reflects my opinion of the impact of the combined duology. Together, these books tell a thrilling, fascinating, and significant story.