At a glance
75 years ago an entity saved humanity and kept them from harming Earth ever again. Amongst the stars we follow Eryn, the Navigator of a sentient/AI ship as it surveys and scouts ahead of humanities fleet of Ark ships, collectively called the Continuance.
But when a distress call from Candidate-623 leads to her sister disappearing, Eryn does what she must to be part of the investigation. Revealing a horrifying mystery she must race to solve.
SCIENCE FICTION, SPACE OPERA, HORROR, NEAR FUTURE, MYSTERY
From the start…
the inclusion of Sam, the talking cat, and a dry sarcastic ship’s avatar set the tone which carried me all the way to the end of the story. We spend most of the novel in Eryn’s perspective, bouncing around a few of the others in the group and one exploring the events of the past. The switching of perspectives are well utilised at forming the structure and manipulating the pacing, but the perspectives were not distinct enough that I ever cared for them besides the flashback perspective.
Powell writes clearly enough that I did not struggle with the audiobook during the action beats (Dyslexia effects my audio processing very mildly, but enough to make intense action intelligible in this format). The audiobook was well narrated by the voice actor, adding subtle difference between voices which fit the descriptions we were given. I was less of a fan of the accents, but not enough to swap to the physical book instead.
A sequel was published in April 2023; however, it follows a new set of characters making this a standalone story with more to explore in the universe.
Powell has a gift for writing these almost-human characters
Review
Of all the fast-paced novels I’ve read this year, none have executed the pacing this well, with enough resolution to buffer the moments of rising action and high tension. The mystery and reveals are well placed throughout the whole novel. The other perspectives tend to be noticeably short, not giving away much on their own, but that brief interlude settles the tension and prepares us for another burst of action hurtling us through the mystery.
As a main character Eryn is likeable with plenty of flaws. I enjoyed being in her head. She can feel unique in the best moments of the story, even if her rebel-lite attitude is a familiar reluctant-yet-dutiful and ready-for-action caricature. It is all the taste of unruly, without all the confusing complexity.
The other characters suffer a similar issue. Like an artist’s manikin draped in a cloth, the contours of the blank underneath endure. There was the angry man, and the untrusting woman, and even a child but none of that made them easy to tell apart.
My favourite characters were the ship’s envoy and the entity which saved Earth from humanity, Raijin. They certainly did have detailed and unique personalities. The avatar of the scout ship Furious Ocelot, through the connection with Eryn, offers some very dry wit and humour throughout the story. Powell has a gift for writing these almost-human characters (which I believe is also present in his earlier works). The Angel of Benevolence has a touch of DEATH as written by Terry Pratchett at times, which might be what I liked most, but the concept is simply interesting and I would like to read more about these beings.
The balance between action, humour and horror were masterfully mixed
The other characters all worked well enough that every scene left me wanting to read on. The answers I wanted were repeatedly teased. The anticipation of having certain characters interact was also teased, which kept me engaged with the story, but was ultimately disappointing.
The balance between action, humour and horror were masterfully mixed, all whilst maintaining a consistent atmosphere making no approach feel out of place.
One area to be aware of is the love interest. From early on you might be anticipating a romance subplot. There is none. That aspect of the story is meant to add dimension to Eryn and give her someone else to feel connected to beyond her sister and niece. Another story might have explored this relationship further, and I might have enjoyed that story more.
The themes of responsibility for looking after our world (before it is too late) were clear and well explored. I commend Powell for not trying to keep it within the subtext, if it comes across as moralising that is only because it has been woven into the core of each part of the novel. The ending was good, and although clear to the reader much earlier on, you believe the characters taking a long time to understand the situation enough to solve the problem.
“It’s a partially completed Dyson shell,” the ship said.
Chapter Thirty: Monkeys In Self-Driving Cars
Final Thoughts
At a length of 8 hours and 30 minutes, this book was not long enough that I regret reading it, but if you aren’t already a fan of the author or interested in the story described above, I would give it a miss.
After this book I have no real interest reading the sequel, DESCENDANT MACHINE (2023) knowing that it does not follow Eryn and Furious Ocelot’s envoy. I am not in love with the universe, or the writing, enough to give it a chance. Although I’d be interested to read more about Raijin and the entities.
Still On My Mind Weeks Later
- Being forced to stop at any suspected life other than their own made me think of Alien (1979).
- If the continuance ships were made using the moon, how did Raijin [Chapter 31] think the animals and plants would fare on Earth? Did it later build a new moon? Or leave Earth moonless? Did it move the moon closer to the Earth to maintain the current proportional effect they have on each other? Why not use debris from the Oort cloud or asteroid belt?
Have you read Stars and Bones? Let me know what you thought in the comments below, or leave a link 🔗 to your review so I can check it out.
L N Sanby 