07/26/2024
Forty thousand years ago, humans fled a dying Earth in a great exodus to reach the habitable worlds of the Centauri Cluster. Through complex and intricate planetary engineering, they forged advanced and Eden-like civilizations. However, some of the ships that initially left the Sol System all those millennia ago arrived late, with the original humans still inside from eras long past. A couple of these individuals rescue Finn, a young man who is disillusioned with the oppressive dominions of their society and rebels against his hereditary duties. Unfortunately, he crosses the wrong people and is thrown out of an aircraft; from there, the adventure begins. With such a grand scale, the story flows through multiple perspectives set in diverse cultures. VERDICT This hefty tome is the first of two novels set in the world of the Exodus video game, for which Hamilton (The Saints of Salvation) is a creative consultant. As a result, it's easy to imagine this epic space opera as an immersive gaming experience, and many of the author's strengths shine through. It's full of heroics and fast-paced action, interplanetary intrigue, and the innovative exploration of futuristic technologies and their societal impacts.—Andrea Dyba