This one was written by the two-author team (sharing a single pseudonym) who brought you The Expanse (I haven’t read it, or seen the incredibly successful TV series). I did read LiveSuit a few months ago, which was brilliant — so I thought this one was worth a punt.
The story is set around a human colony on a distant planet. Despite having conquered the stars, the human race has yet to encounter an alien species.
Unfortunately, this is about to change.
Enter the Carryx: a race of insect-like creatures who conquer other races for their own good (apparently). The colony is invaded and completely overwhelmed in a matter of days, during which time the Carryx ensure compliance by slaughtering an eighth of the population (millions of people), they also transport the best scientists, soldiers, musicians, and politicians (can’t think why they would need the last lot) to their own outpost and put them to work.
The story follows a team of research scientists from days before the invasion, through their harrowing transportation to the Carryx outpost, and a fairly detailed account of the work their captors demand they carry out.
The main hero of the story is Dafyd Alkhor, a research assistant who, before the invasion, seemed to be relying on his questionable charm and an important relative’s connections to meander his way through life. Post-invasion, he comes into his own, learning how Carryx work in order to keep his fellow captives from dying at their captor’s hands — or being killed by captives from other conquered civilisations.
And if that wasn’t enough, Dafyd learns that this wasn’t the first time their planet was invaded …
Definitely an epic piece of work; no wonder it took two people to write it. It’s not too heavy on the sci-fi, though I occasionally got lost in the science. It’s very much a character-driven story, with the environments kept to a level just detailed enough so you don’t get lost. The characters, on the other hand, are deep, which is a quite a feat given how many there are. Even the aliens are not merely background players, and after a while you do get to wondering exactly what drives them: they seem to believe that conquest is the best way for the galaxy to thrive as a whole. Subjugating civilisations en masse is the best way to ensure that everyone is pulling in the same direction.
Weird.
What this is a study into captivity; how different people respond, and how they eventually get ahead. The ‘getting ahead’ is where things stop being pretty.
A great book, if not a little bit long.