Artifact Space

Artifact Space (Book 1 of 2 in the Arcana Imperii duology) is an engaging, accessible foray into “realistic” science fiction by Miles Cameron. My only other experience with Cameron’s work was The Red Knight which I found to be an exciting, yet exhausting, experience. In contrast, Artifact Space had me enthralled and energized to keep reading late into the night.The book tells the tale of Marca Nbaro, an orphan who finagles her way aboard a merchant greatship to escape her past and present. As the world grows more threatening through the byplay of conspiratorial factions, Marca must grow out of her negative self-perception and distrust of others in order to ensure the survival of her ship and new friends.Classic sci-fi tropes like alien races, relativistic space travel, and ships controlled by artificial intelligence are prominent. However, the exact proportions of each element are blended together into an amazing worldbuilding smoothie that offers a fresh taste of its many influences. This is an enjoyable mashup of Corey’s Expanse series, Card’s Ender’s Game series, and Whedon’s Firefly TV show. The economic undertones and merchant subplots sometimes felt like the cast of Critical Role playing a game of Jaipur.The author effectively captures the intensity, instability, and uncertainty of the setting while still grounding the plot in a warm bubble of friendship, human perseverance, and positive relationships. The protagonists are worth rooting for and often behave in ways that surprised me, as a reader more used to modern sci-fi books with dark or cynical themes. Some of the supporting characters are not as fleshed out, but “proper name overload” is not nearly as bad as in The Red Knight. The ending is dramatically self-contained enough to satisfy, but big questions remain unresolved that are clearly reserved for the final volume.This is a book that I would recommend to anyone with a passing interest in sci-fi, especially someone with toes in the water who wants to get into the more meaty stuff. While there may seem to be a lot of technobabble and unexplained terminology up front, the author reinforces the language through repetition and narrative clues that don’t interfere with the story’s momentum. I was in the right mind space to understand the world and its acronyms just a couple chapters in.

The world building is great. It's imaginative and grand while still feeling grounded. I love the way Cameron tackles spaceflight and FTL travel. It allows for interstellar travel without giving characters free reign to zip from across the galaxy at will. It has well defined limits and serious consequences for pushing them. The characters are where Cameron really shines. All are multi-dimensional. They act and react like real people. And what I really love is that The Service feels like a real, professional organization. The people are professional and focused. They are good at their jobs with our being infallible.Some of the foreshadowing is a little heavy handed and obvious, but it doesn't hurt the storytelling. I'm excited to see where the adventure goes from here.

This was a pleasant surprise, with overtones of David Drake’s "Starliner" but taken in different and interesting directions. The protagonist is Marca Nbaro, orphaned child of nobility raised and abused, in the dystopian Orphanage. Her dream is to escape to space, and by hook or crook she makes it to the Greatship Athens, one of the unimaginably huge megaships which keep humanity’s vital long-distance space trade moving. But someone’s targeting the giant ships, and Nbaro isn’t safe either.This was fantastic. Cameron writes well, and the characters and situations are believable and lively. There’s a strong, well-constructed space opera element, but the book also has a nicely-crafted set of interlocking mysteries built in alongside the SF. Nbaro is a great main figure who suffers from a completely believable set of fears and flaws, and Cameron surrounds her with excellent supporting personalities, including the all-too-fallible AI who keeps the ship running. Even the weaker moments–Nbaro’s unlikely inclusion in the secret council of war and the transparent traitor within it–are still well-done. Worth the read.8.5/10 (4.25 stars, rounded up)

I got this book as a recommendation on my kindle. The premise look good so I gave it a try. I was pleasantly surprised to find a well written book by an author unknown to me. The world building was very well done with enough fill throughout the book to make it believable. (I've read a few other reviews that complain about some of the history, however it is the future so who really knows what will happen). The book kept me entertained enough to read it in two settings. My only real problem is not knowing when the next book will be published. I love these types of book that have a rounded out main protagonist with interesting side characters. Enough action to keep me interested and as an ex naval combat corpsman although simplified enough true to life similarities to to make me recall my time in the service. So all in all I liked this book very much. Enough to be eager for the next book. 5 stars from me.