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I’ve just enjoyed The Mercy of Gods, the latest novel by James S.A. Corey, which focuses on some distant future offshoot of humanity that has lost touch with their earthly origins and is suddenly introduced to the rest of the galaxy by way of an imperial alien invasion force. It kicks off a series called Captive’s War, presumably because the POV characters are all POWs attempting to sort out how best to understand their enemies and resist effectively despite bleak prospects and bizarre challenges.

Given that Corey’s nine Expanse novels and many side-stories and novellas consistently impressed me over the last decade, this felt like a safe purchase and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s more of the same style of writing, but with different settings and scope. The concepts of the different alien species were varied and interesting, and I found the characters’ internal struggles and decision-making thought-provoking—even when their choices didn’t strike me as optimal.

The most resonant structural choice of the novel for me was that the story is broken into six parts, and each part opens with a historical analysis from one of the enemy alien captors about where things went wrong for them after capturing these humans. As a science fiction reader, this initially feels recognizable and comfortable, like Asimov opening chapters of Foundation novels. As the story progresses, a disconcerting feeling creeps in that while the captor alien is trying to pin the blame for his failings on a particular human, this may not be that straightforward a narrative. It feels like a Cardassian enigma tale, where every character is guilty, and the exercise for the reader is to determine guilt of what. The answers all seem to be some small manifestation of hope as resistance, which collectively may tip things in future novels.

As the other books in the series aren’t out yet, I don’t know if they’ll stick the landing the way Expanse Book nine did, but what I’ve read is pretty good. I’m confident enough to encourage folks check out this novel while we wait for more.

Recommend.

I apologize to any subscribers who received a ghost notification for my now-deleted YouTube community post on the evening of January 26th, 2025 condemning what I felt to be lax historical research standards in a particular YouTube video.

Folks I trust claim that I don’t fully comprehend the impact that someone in my position can have when criticizing others.

I have removed the community post to avoid any potential unintended harm its persistence may have caused.

Self-employed artists and small-business owners, 2024Q4 estimated taxes are due tomorrow!

If you’re like me and plan to spend January 15th wearing palm leaves, eating bread delivered by a raven, getting buried by lions, and generally partying near a clear pool in celebration of Paul, the first Hermit, it’d be wise to remit that today.

Every year, Sparkling Noise and friends record a cover of a song and create a music video. I’m one of the friends!

My vocal solo starts at 2:50 and the vacuum-sealed giant teddy bear I brought for the Dirty Santa gift exchange is visible briefly at 3:34.