Artifact Space
This was a re-read before listening to book 2 - and boy was it just as good the second time around. It has beena while since a book gripped me sufficiently that I wanted to spend every spare minute reading it and hence dash through the whole thing in a few days but this had me hooked all over again.
A fantastic piece of space opera with all the trimmings, giant star-faring ships, space habitats, trade, weaponry and military action. We follow the story of Marca Nbaro from the orphanage to the Greatship Athens and her adventures with new friends on the trade routes and encounters with aliens. There’s nothing new here, no trope or situation that you haven’t already come across before but the way that they are used and the pacing, style and use of language really drive this along. We get right inside Marca and her feelings and motivations and share her successes and her pains.
Terrific work and I’m really looking forward to the conclusion in “Deep Black”.