Artifact Space

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After completing the next Main Quest, Starborn, the following Main Quest, Further into the Unknown, will repeat the process of sending you to two randomized points of interest on two random planets: There are so many cool elements to this book, and one of them is the amazing Greatships that can carry up to 10,000 crew members. Oh and did I mention they are shaped like swords? You didn't think that Miles Cameron was going to leave his epic fantasy influences behind completely did you? Envisioning these transport ships and their unique construction really captured my imagination and Cameron does an outstanding job of giving such a vivid description of these enormous space vessels. So right away I was blown away by the technology aspect of this story. But this isn't just a hollow tale with cool tech as window-dressing, on the contrary, this story is about a person trying to overcome a dubious past that seems to follow her wherever she goes. And along the way we find that Cameron takes us in so many directions we never even imagined with thrilling side-stories aplenty. Imperious ignored him, instead issuing a braying warning to the approaching knight. Running away clearly wasn’t the beast’s style. Anyway, the story line skips and jitters about but is easy to follow. Just be prepared for abrupt changes in dialogue or sudden scene shifting. Two, there's a definite military flavor throughout the book. It is, after all, a navy, and there are legitimate space battles. There's also detailed bits about flight paths and trajectories that I largely ignored. One of my friends noted Cameron had a tendency to go on about armor in one of his other books. So you probably have to either have a tolerance for armor and battle specifics, or the ability to read past. Guess which I did?

Artifact Space | Sebastien de Castell Artifact Space | Sebastien de Castell

The world building is really, really good. The way that space travel works and the restrictions on it, and how the human part of the galaxy has evolved based on that, is really well thought out and makes total sense. Adrienne Martini has been reading or writing about science fiction for decades and has had two non-fiction, non-genre books published by Simon and Schuster. She lives in Upstate New York with one husband, two kids, and one corgi. She also runs a lot. Abbot Venia no longer rules Isola Sombra,’ the knight said icily, his countenance darkening. ‘He who once defied kings now cowers beneath the covers inside his tower while madness and devilry reigns over that holiest of islands!’Overall, it was an engrossing memorable read that had me very sorry to reach the end – and hopeful that the second book in this series won’t take too long to hit the shelves. Very highly recommended to fans of well written space opera adventures. While I obtained an arc of Artifact Space from Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own. And now what shall we do, Imperious?’ he asked the mule. ‘We’re under no obligation to heed the abbot’s request for judicial arbitration between his unruly monks. As Venia so reliably reminded us in his letter, Isola Sombra does not consider itself subject to the King’s Laws. Why should we tarry here when we could already be on our way home?’ An incredibly useful Power to have early, Elemental Pull simply mines minerals and metals on a planet surface instantly. No more mining laser! Nearly ten years on – and eight Fantasy books later – Miles has now turned to Space Opera. And it’s brilliant.

All Starfield Powers and How to Unlock - Starfield Guide - IGN

The book reads like a season of a TV show, which is a bit of a breathe of fresh air from a singular on-going battle or trip across the universe. Chapters feel like episodes where you can either read one and set it aside, or binge the entire thing to your heart’s content. Gives you sort of a reason to continue as chapters sometimes end on cliffhangers and, well, you just have to know what happens next. It starts well and promising! But... A lot of filler in boring trainings (a lot of sword practice - in a Space Opera not named "Star Wars. Then we have the protagonist: usually you would like her: the teenager, who suffered at an orphanage and gets the oportunity of a lifetime! But the author REALLY want you to like her: a math genius, a brilliant pilot from her first flight, a mastermind in espionage and saves the ship a lot of times - with ideas that veterans, a powerfull IA and the Augmented Humans on the ship never tought! But though she’s made her way onboard with faked papers, leaving her old life—and scandals—behind isn’t so easy. So many people were convinced that an image had been sculpted on the surface of Mars that NASA ultimately put out a substantial release in 2001 to make clear that the face was actually a mountain.Artifact Space is what fans of Star Trek the Next Generation who’ve longed for something updated and more reflective of a diverse human society yet still holds to that same core of optimism and idealism about human beings have been waiting for. It’s filled with intriguing space ship troubles, conflicts large and small, the spirit of camaraderie one would hope we’d achieve when going into space, and yet with all the intricacies of our human foibles intact rather than glossed over. The Abbey of Isola Sombra is less than half a mile across the causeway,’ Estevar observed. ‘The monks are known for their gracious hospitality to all who arrive at their gates. Why await me here? Unless it was to prevent me from reaching them myself?’ Estevar closed his eyes a moment, allowing the eerie echoes to surround him. The voice was deep, confident, but that gravitas was trained rather than natural. The accent – most notably the rising inflection on the last vowel of the abbey’s name, almost as if he were saying ‘Som–brae’ – suggested a commoner raised in this duchy, not highborn himself, but accustomed to being in the presence of nobles. Just... all my favorite things. I realize that this is not going to be everybody's cup of tea - it falls squarely into the sub-genre of military SF (they are not a true military though, but an armed merchant fleet), so expect to learn exactly how everything works (you can skip the explanations and jargon if that's not your thing, but I loved it). Another aspect that may not be for everyone: the book focuses on a group of really good, admirable people who are excellent at their jobs (although everyone still messes up and makes mistakes: they're not Mary Sues). This kind of environment is wonderfully healing for Marca Nbaro - who's grown up in orphanage hell with a very different sort of people - and I loved all the genuine friendship and loving, optimistic atmosphere. But if you're the kind of person who usually hates that and who prefers dark, villainous protagonists: this is not going to be the book for you! This book is not-unrealistic and I'm not that much of a Pollyanna. But it was a lovely story where, for the most part, people were decent. There was plenty of plot, and adventure, and even people who were doing dubious things but, mostly, for reasons that made perfect sense to them.

Artifact Space - Miles Cameron

If you enjoy watching a smart heroine learning the ropes on her first deployment, Artifact Space will be a treat. It’s smoothly written and spares no detail in telling the story of Nbaro’s journey from a fresh-faced midshipper to a key figure in the fight for the survival of the Athens. If you don’t particularly care for naval details—and I don’t—you’ll see more than you care to, but the crises interspersed regularly throughout the narrative should still be enough to prevent the novel from dragging. No known asteroid or comet from our solar system varies so widely in brightness, with such a large ratio between length and width. The most elongated objects we have seen to date are no more than three times longer than they are wide. Another Long War novel? Unexpected and very welcome. I now have to debate whether or not to change criteria for selecting "best read of the year, 2022". Long War was a shoe-in for that. But, I intended to award that honor to a series only if it is complete. Oh well, rules are made to be broken, as they say. Age of Bronze is another series I'm quite taken with. Fun times ahead, reading-wise at any rate. Please,’ Sir Daven said, jabbing the message sheath at Estevar’s chest, ‘read my lord’s words and heed them, I beg you.’

With thanks to our good friend, Windshadow, who brought this to our attention. Artifact Space was one of my favourite novels last year and there has been no news on its sequel - until now! Also looking forward to the 2nd in the Age of Bronze books. Which I'm predicting will end up as a mixed genre scifi/fantasy creation.