Artifact Space

Artifact Space by Miles Cameron

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I listened to this as an audible book. It was a first-rate science fiction space opera. Author Miles Cameron has done a phenomenal job of thinking through his fictional universe and fleshing it out in a way that makes it interesting and entertaining. As I was listening to this book, I was constantly put in mind to its similarities to David Feintuch's “Seafort Saga” in telling the story of a midshipman in a future navy who seems destined for great things. That is not to say that this book was derivative in any way, but, rather, that it stayed true to the traditions of this kind of story.

In this case, the navy belongs to the Directorate of Human Corporations (the “DHC.”) The DHC seems to be one of several human political entities in human space. The backbone of the DHC navy are the “great ships” that can carry cargo and make long jumps through “artifact space” to other star systems. These great ships are huge and as the story opens, someone is killing them off.

The focal character is Marca Nbarro, who is an expelled student from an orphanage operated by the DHC in the underside of a space-based city. The decks are stacked against Marca in many ways, not the least of which is that the head of the orphanage wants to prevent her from joining the DHC navy, which Marca is determined to do no matter what gets in her way. Marca does join the navy and is able to follow the path of success and luck blazed by Horatio Hornblower and Nicholas Seafort and others.

Marca is, of course, phenomenally lucky, but that does not make her a “Mary Sue” character any more than Hornblower is a Mary Sue. The book puts Marca into desperate situations and then follows her as she makes realistic decisions to extricate herself. This is just good, fun, and engaging writing.

The first chapter is a fairly difficult introduction since the author throws a lot of jargon and concepts at us before we know what is going on. After the first chapter, things settle down and we learn the backstory of Cameron's setting. It turns out that the economy of the DHC is based on the traffic of “Xenoglass,” which is manufactured by aliens at the tail end of the DHC navy's commercial caravan route. As we move through the jumps, and the crew of Marca's ship, the Athens, find themselves beset by external and internal enemies, we come to understand that there may be other aliens in the game, who are pulling the strings on the foreign enemies and DHC traitors.

This chapter is the first installment of what may be a trilogy (or series.) However, it ended on a logical point, albeit a cliffhanger. I don't begrudge this book for not being complete in itself because Cameron's universe is so well crafted that I want to see more of it.

Epic Space Opera does not get much more epic than this. We have giant trade spaceships, galactic alliances, criminal underworlds and alien threats all rolled into a very fun and digestible package. Miles Cameron has made his name on fantasy and historical fiction, but this first dive into SciFi is mightily impressive. His roots in historical reenactment shine through in his adaptation of historical ideas (the trade route we follow almost reads like an ancient trade route around the Mediterranean, just set in space) and naming the ship Athens is obviously a nod to his other interests. His understanding of watch keeping and proper military practices lend an air of believability to the story too. I have not seen the world ship idea done better than this though - the ship and the crew are definitely living, breathing entities that drive the story along.

Our lead character is the fallen scion of an ancient family - she had been brought up in an abusive orphanage with shady links to the underworld. For her this voyage is one of escape from her old life. Her adventures are what drives the story forward - learning the ropes of an officer position on board this mighty vessel. I have seen the story likened to ‘hornblower in space' and I can get that - it has a lot of the feel of that, but with the scifi setting

Overall, this is a masterful take on the genre - fun, fresh and enjoyable

Originally posted to dragonsandwhimsy.co.uk

Marca Nbaro grew up on City, ???the greatest orbital in Human Space.??? Her life up until this point has been traumatic, to say the least, growing up in City???s Orphanage as a ward of the state, a place for kids orphaned by their parents who died in service and we fast learn that it???s being run by a crook who gives them the bare minimum. Nbaro is able to escape by the skin of her teeth, though she has angered somebody very powerful and it???s her hope that out in space, they can???t get to her. And so she gets onto the greatship Athens, one of 9 magnificent and very old spacefaring vessels that exist to ensure the mercantile nature of the DHC can continue, particularly with its most important cargo: xenoglas, a mysterious and highly valuable material traded with the only other aliens that humans have come into contact with, the Starfish, a non-bipedal squid-like species that live in ammonia rich atmospheres who nobody has ever communicated with.

At first glance, I assumed Artifact Space would be about a stowaway trying to flee her past life while trying to remain undetected among the lower tiers of the spacecraft, but ultimately becoming a part of the ship???s ecosystem as pirates or a mysterious alien race threatened their existence, and while I was wrong with my assumptions, as I often am, I wasn???t disappointed with what the story did provide.

Nbaro is a black woman dealing with her past trauma as she pretty much tries to ???fake it ???til she makes it??? on the Athens, and very quickly is taken back by how welcoming and kind the crew really are. She???s used to being surrounded by dirtbags. In fact, her skipper, Trueknor, tells her that she is part of the Athens now, so long as she gets to work and does as she???s told. The crew itself is militaristic, and Nbaro understands that. We get the joy of watching her grow from this frightened, downtrodden girl who escaped the Orphanage and always felt the need to watch her back, to a smart and confident woman able to lead. In doing so, she finds her family among the crew of the greatship and her friendships with them all were for sure my favourite thing in this book.

I did have a few issues with Artifact Space, however, I will admit that I???m unsure if some of this is my relevant newness to the science fiction genre, especially as a reader. Case in point, the first few pages were like torture for me and I couldn???t tell you if I was struggling because I???m just generally not used to ???sci-fi jargon??? or if some of the terms could have been explained a little better. My husband informed me it was worldbuilding to get you into the mindset of the world and that???s something I can certainly get behind. Regardless, it was only the first few pages before I was hooked, even if some of the quantum physics (and other such things) descriptions went way over my head. I still barely understand how ???insertion??? (this book???s term for ???hyperspace jumps???) works, but it???s okay.

However, there are a lot of pages wherein Nbaro is learning things and going through the motions that felt a little lethargic. I felt these could have been condensed somewhat, though they were not a deal breaker for me because when chracters interacted and the action happens, Artifact Space really shines.

I loved how much ???life on the ship??? there was throughout the book. You get a lot of time to know the characters, and see the bonds forming between them, and understand why the greatships are so important. So when things begin heating up, and believe me they sure do, you understand the stakes and heck, there were moments in the story that brought me to tears. That is really rare for me. All I want is to spend more time with these characters!

The book also handles LGBTQ+ people pretty well, in my opinion. People are gay or asexual and it gets just as much attention as the straight people get. There are also ???androgynes???, who are androgynous people, as you may be able to guess. I was a little bit confused over whether they were born as a result of living upon the orbitals within Human Space or if it???s part of the gender spectrum as we know it, but either way, it was neat to see a lot of gender-neutral language for a few of the characters.

If you pick up Miles Cameron???s Artifact Space, expect a lot of subterfuge and unknown forces working from all angles, as well as an interesting look at capitalism and class divisions from the perspective of people around 700-800 years in our future. Or, just a really neat space opera story about merchants working hard and working together to make sure they don???t get destroyed.

Reading this book, I???ve learned that Miles Cameron is a great storyteller with some fantastic worldbuilding chops, and I can???t wait to read the follow-up and get into his fantasy books. 

I was pleased to receive an uncorrected proof.

I have been a fan of space operas for many years and this is one of the best that I have ever read. It's on a par with some of my favourite authors; Iain M Banks, Alistair Reynolds, John Scalzi.

Enter the world of Marca Nbara as she flees the Orphanage to become a junior officer aboard the massive, hundreds of years old, Greatship, Athens.

A roller-coaster journey across the Galaxy on a routine trading mission, that suddenly becomes fraught with danger and enemies.

Miles Cameron has created a unique, believable, universe. Great characters and their relationships are core to making this story enthralling.

I can't say more without giving too much away. Bring on the next volume of the story.
Just buy it!