There are two ways of dealing with living in space. In one, there’s always enough room for everyone, supplies are plentiful, and gravity is a constant. We’ve all seen that sort in Star Wars, or Star Trek. In the other way, space is cramped, claustrophobic, incestuously tight, and supplies are at a premium. With In the Company of Others, we have a case of the latter. Julie Czernada’s latest book tells a story of a human expansion aborted at the last minute by an alien encounter gone so horribly wrong that the newly terraformed planets were placed off-limits, the Earth system prohibited to incoming traffic, and the thousands of colonists already enroute stranded on space stations far too small to handle them all.

Years later, the situation has only gotten worse, with the crowding on places such as Thromberg Station so bad that people live, work, and sleep in shifts to accommodate the lack of resources, and tensions are always at a fever pitch. But Thromberg holds a secret. Aaron Pardell, perhaps the only human to ever visit one of the Quill-infested planets, planets which kill any human who sets foot on them, lives a secretive life. Unable to touch anyone because of his unique medical condition, he represents the most claustrophobic aspect of the living arrangements, someone surrounded on all sides by people he can’t touch, lest they, or he, die. But while his life isn’t perfect, at least it’s his to live.

That is, until Earth scientist Gail Smith comes to Thromberg seeking him, in the hopes that by studying Aaron, she might cure what is now called “The Quill Effect” and reopen all those planets to colonization. In doing so, she’ll tear Aaron and his friends away from the only home they’ve known for years, reveal long-lost secrets about his parentage, and discover the astonishing secrets of the Quill, a formerly harmless race who somehow turned deadly.

There are plots within plots, as everyone has his own agenda. Aaron, his best friend Malley, the old spacer Rosalind Fournier, Gail Smith, the crew of the experimental starship Seeker, they all have their goals, and in far too many cases, what they want is going to come in violent conflict with what they get. The fates of the Seeker’s crew, Aaron, Gail, Malley, the thousands of colonists, and the Quill are all tied together in the secrets buried in the soil of the forgotten planet called Pardell’s World, named for Aaron’s lost family.

In the Company of Others is a rich and believable book, with extremely strong characterization, and a tense plot that wouldn’t let me go. Without a doubt, this is Julie Czernada’s best work to date, and a good sign for the future. I could feel the cramped, claustrophobic corridors and rundown nature of Thromberg Station, as well as the combination of promise and terror held by Pardell’s World, and the nifty-keen technology of the Seeker and its crew. This is what science fiction is all about: the characterization, plot, setting, and technology play off of each other in a well-balanced manner. It’s definitely worth checking out.