Bird Deity by John Morrissey

Speculative fiction has been a powerful tool for exploring real world issues for Australian Indigenous authors. Claire G Coleman focussed on invasion and colonialisation in her novel Terra Nullius. Mykayla Saunders took on a range of topics in her book Always Will Be and curated a fabulous collection of Australian indigenous speculative fiction in This All Come Back Now. One of the authors in that collection, John Morrissey, has now released his debut science fiction novel: Bird Deity.

Bird Deity is set on an unnamed planet where there is a human outpost. People are sponsored to go to the planet and make money while working off their debt. David was a scout for ten years. His job was to go to the mysterious tableland that looms above the human settlement to hunt for artefacts created by the local indigenous species, known as the parasapes. Those artefacts need to be handled with care as they can effect the human brain. David’s contract is finished and he has earned enough to go home and live in luxury. Despite being warned off continuing to work, David agrees to take on one more mission – an unsanctioned trip to the tableland with Sarah, an anthropologist who has her own theories about the parasapes.

Bird Deity focuses on a flawed, conflicted individual. David has been taught to see the parasapes as lower than human and yet he knows that their technology is beyond his understanding. This perception will be challenged further on his final journey. David is scheduled to return to Earth but is conflicted about this choice, the alternative being to stay for another five year contract. This is because he is also in love with Eliza, his best friend’s wife, who has given birth to a child that might be his. That friend, Tom, another scout, has been missing for weeks.

There are strong analogies in Bird Deity to the historical actions of colonial invaders. The parasapes, despite clearly having some technological knowhow, are treated as if they are just part of the planetary ecosystem, an annoyance at best. Yet despite this, David and the other scouts raid their artefacts which are taken to Earth to be studied. As the narrative progresses, Morissey gives readers some glimpses into the parasape culture which is far stranger and richer than humans can comprehend. This builds to an almost hallucinogenic conclusion as David tracks Sarah across the tableland while he is himself hunted by the authorities.

Bird Deity deliberately holds its secrets close. Some of the key scenes have a dreamlike quality that can be interpreted in numerous ways. What Morissey successfully does with this technique is to give the reader an insight into the attitude of those who first came in contact with Indigenous peoples – of their lack of understanding or appreciation of what was and still is a deep culture. By placing his ideas a science fiction context, Morrisson is able to engage readers without any of the historical or cultural baggage that they might otherwise bring to this issue.

Bird Deity adds another fascinating work to the growing canon of science fiction by Australian Indigenous authors. The best works in the science fiction genre use their narratives to give readers an insight into the world as it is. Bird Deity achieves this – delivering a strange new world sometime in the distant future while also asking readers to reflect on the one in which they live.

Bird Deity by John Morrissey

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8.0/10