Book Review - ARTIFACT SPACE by Miles Cameron

(Title: Artifact Space / Author: Miles Cameron / Publisher: Gollancz / Publication Date: June 24, 2021 / Pages: 576)

Book Blurb

Out in the darkness of space, something is targeting the Greatships.

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.

It has always been Marca Nbaro's dream to achieve the near-impossible: escape her upbringing and venture into space.

All it took, to make her way onto the crew of the Greatship Athens was thousands of hours in simulators, dedication, and pawning or selling every scrap of her old life in order to forge a new one.  But though she's made her way onboard with faked papers, leaving her old life - and scandals - behind isn't so easy.

She may have just combined all the dangers of her former life, with all the perils of the new...

Review

Miles Cameron (also known as Christian Cameron) is right up there among my favorite epic/heroic fantasy authors ever.  His The Traitor Son Cycle is a must-read in my opinion for anyone who claims to be a fantasy fan.  It's so beautifully written and brilliantly constructed with a story that is second to none.  So when I heard that Cameron was writing a space opera book???  Well, I was both surprised and extremely eager to get my hands on it.  Miles Cameron was gracious enough to provide me with an advance copy (thank you Miles) about a month ago, in exchange for an honest review.  And so with that, I excitedly started my reading journey with the crew of The Athens.

There is virtually no buildup at all in the beginning of this book as we immediately encounter the main character Marca Nbaro as she is being pursued by some gigantic scary dudes.  For what reason isn't clear at that moment but the excitement of the chase and the tension with regard to whether or not she will be caught is thrill enough.  This is the launching point (no pun intended) for Cameron's ARTIFACT SPACE and it really doesn't ever let up from there.  The tone is set in the opening chapter for what turns out to be an unbelievably action-packed space opera interwoven with so many different intriguing mysteries that make up the heart of the story.

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.

As I was reading ARTIFACT SPACE I made a comment that it reminded me of some of the space operas of Peter F. Hamilton, and there are some similarities.  However, what Miles Cameron achieves that I never seemed to get from Hamilton's books is that complexity and depth of character development.  And that in the end is what seriously separates this SF story from so many others.  Yes there is a ton of action and suspense, yes there are cool ideas and advanced science, but there is also a moving human element that I rarely have come across, that made this a much more fulfilling read.

Marca is such an easy character to root for as she seems to have gotten a pretty raw deal and her plight is one that is very relatable.  Does she always go about things the legal and honest way?  Not really.  But we can't really fault her for it most of the time because her earnest intentions are always behind her sometimes questionable actions.  And let's be honest, who doesn't love seeing someone who has had their life placed firmly behind the 8-ball dish out some payback?  So yeah there were quite a few times when I definitely cheered out loud for her.

As I finished the book I couldn't believe how quickly those last 100 pages or so went.  If you are looking for a fun and electrifying SF book to engross yourself in this summer, ARTIFACT SPACE is the book that will satisfy on so many levels.  I totally enjoyed this multi-layered space opera and would recommend it to anyone looking for an accessible SF book that doesn't bog you down with overly-technical mumbo jumbo and headache-inducing terminology.  Read and savor this one for the wonderful space adventure and the extraordinary story.  Well Miles Cameron, you can add yet another genre, Science-Fiction, to the ever-expanding list that you have already mastered.  ARTIFACT SPACE will be officially released on June 24th, but you can pre-order it right now on Amazon.  Get your hands on this one as soon as possible!

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