Artifact Space

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Much of the book is about how Marca rises to the numerous challenges through the ranks of the Athens. At the beginning we find that Marca has been thrown out of cadet training because of the influence of a member of one of the great families. Nevertheless, she has managed to sneak on board the Athens with a false identity as a lowly ‘middie’. She spends much of the first part of the book feeling like an imposter and unworthy of her placing, but over time she manages to show potential and makes the most of the opportunities given to her whilst aboard the Greatship. The military structure that the Athens society works upon is clearly something Marca needs in her troubled life and she is determined to make the most of it, which to me echoes the Heinlein juveniles or something like David Weber’s Honor Harrington series.

Artifact Space by Miles Cameron | Gollancz - Bringing You Artifact Space by Miles Cameron | Gollancz - Bringing You

I liked the way that Miles Cameron doesn't gloss over the grunt work of getting on in an environment like this - Nbaro spends a long time working on training in different spheres - and despite the book feeling a little too long, there is plenty of action to keep the reader engaged. The characters are reasonably well drawn, though they rarely surprise you - the good guys are always obviously good guys, and similarly with the villains. Although there is also a touch of Starship Troopers in the military action side, it never dominates - this is a much more subtle book and doesn't attempt to glorify war and killing. We are thrown into a futuristic society, following the character Marca Nbaro, who joins one of the great ships destined for a trade point to collect xenoglas, a precious material that almost dominates society. But, she is a character with a traumatic past and suffers as a result, with no trust for those around her and a constant foreboding of being discovered and thrown out of her newfound home. With their vast cargo holds and a crew that could fill a city, the Greatships are the lifeblood of human occupied space, transporting an unimaginable volume – and value – of goods from City, the greatest human orbital, all the way to Tradepoint at the other, to trade for xenoglas with an unknowable alien species. Big man, shoulders as broad as any soldier’s. I stood maybe half an inch taller, but in every other dimension he was my superior. The muscles on Corrigan’s forearms strained against the bejewelled gold and silver bands he always negotiated into his contracts. Tempestoral mages of his calibre have no particular use for precious metals or gemstones, but when it comes to selling his services, Corrigan likes to – in his words – ‘Remind those rich arseholes who needs who.’ Seven days?’ Estevar had to suppress a groan when the young man’s exuberant squeezing aggravated his wound. He shoved the fellow away, not quite as gently as he’d intended. ‘You expect me to believe you’ve been out in this storm for an entire week?’Estevar’s fever-addled brain rebelled against him, alerting him instead to the flush in his cheeks and the burning ache in his side. What business did he have setting foot upon the ill-fated isle at the end of that storm-drenched causeway armed with nothing but a rapier, his arrogance and a cantankerous mule? This unusually big variation in brightness means that the object is highly elongated: about ten times as long as it is wide, with a complex, convoluted shape,” said Meech. “We also found that it had a reddish color, similar to objects in the outer solar system, and confirmed that it is completely inert, without the faintest hint of dust around it.” He sees only a fat man in a leather greatcoat slouched wearily upon a mule, Estevar thought, someone too slow to present a genuine threat. Someone he can bully as he pleases. Artifact Space is set about 8 centuries into the future and humanity has largely left Earth in a great diaspora. While there are several independent systems and in fact, entire human 'empires', the story starts in New London, one of the original space colonies and the heart of far flung trading empire connected via huge armed merchant ships that (surprise!) look like gigantic 14KM long swords. Our guest seems to be having trouble removing her coat,’ he announced with loud, boisterous good humour as he turned away from me and towards the crowd. ‘Shall we show her our hospitality and assist her in—‘

Artifacts In Space | News | Astrobiology Artifacts In Space | News | Astrobiology

Their five-year lifespans have stretched to 41 years, making Voyager 2 NASA’s longest running mission ever. Estevar could barely restrain his laughter. ‘Has the cold and damp frozen that helmet to your head, Sir Knight? You speak of two hundred pampered, petulant monks as if they were an army of invading soldiers!’

Pros

While originally classified as a comet, observations revealed no signs of cometary activity after it was slingshotted around the sun at a remarkable 196,000 miles per hour. I decided to read this book after an accolade from Sebastien de Castell, which can be read here. The general premise looked well: a story about giant ships, many kilometers long, connecting star systems. So, I had quite high expectations. You’re a fool,’ Sir Daven spat, no longer pretending at admiration, or even sympathy. ‘A mad fool! What will be left of you once the monsters prowling that cursed abbey have peeled away the last layers of your arrogance from your flesh?’ I also liked the world. The merchanting ship Athens and the dynamic with the crew and the wider world holds together in a credible, diverse world that I believed in. There is an upbeat vibe to this world, despite the dangers they undergo, which reminded me, at times, of Nathan Lowell’s enjoyable series The Golden Age of the Solar Clipper. What I especially enjoyed was learning about the onboard politics and rhythms, so that when the Athens is threatened, I very much cared. It was difficult to put the book down as I wanted them all to survive. And that concern and tension was sharpened when some of the crew don’t make it.