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Triangulum
The fate of humanity hangs in the balance while the Gods play.
The distant future. Humanity is ruled by the godlike Dawn and her Triangulan allies. Her Golden Swarm keeps the garden world of Prithvi safe. Her nephew’s Red Fleet secures the rest of the Nine Worlds. In the depths of the system, her regents—the Charioteer of Daitya, and the Huntress of Himenduh—bolster her authority with their own fleets, their own armies, and their own power. So it has been for three thousand years.
But, of course, nothing lasts forever.
On Daitya, a refugee family arrives from Prithvi. A mother sells her daughter into slavery. A princess seeks forbidden knowledge. Their lives could not be more different, but their stories are intertwined. They will meet in the belly of the juggernaut Skо̄lex—a vast, living starship (vimana). They will witness the fall of kingdoms and the destruction of fleets and the toppling of the old order. They will participate first-hand in the confrontation, millennia in the making, between the Dawn and her long-estranged sister, the Night, who has traveled a million light years to right an ancient wrong.
They will discover that not all is as it seems. The Triangulans are not gods. The Dawn is not just. And above all, the future—their future, humanity’s future, the future of the Nine Worlds of Surya—is nothing like what they thought it would be.
Welcome to the battlefield of gods and humans. Welcome to the Nine Worlds of Surya.
The distant future. Humanity is ruled by the godlike Dawn and her Triangulan allies. Her Golden Swarm keeps the garden world of Prithvi safe. Her nephew’s Red Fleet secures the rest of the Nine Worlds. In the depths of the system, her regents—the Charioteer of Daitya, and the Huntress of Himenduh—bolster her authority with their own fleets, their own armies, and their own power. So it has been for three thousand years.
But, of course, nothing lasts forever.
On Daitya, a refugee family arrives from Prithvi. A mother sells her daughter into slavery. A princess seeks forbidden knowledge. Their lives could not be more different, but their stories are intertwined. They will meet in the belly of the juggernaut Skо̄lex—a vast, living starship (vimana). They will witness the fall of kingdoms and the destruction of fleets and the toppling of the old order. They will participate first-hand in the confrontation, millennia in the making, between the Dawn and her long-estranged sister, the Night, who has traveled a million light years to right an ancient wrong.
They will discover that not all is as it seems. The Triangulans are not gods. The Dawn is not just. And above all, the future—their future, humanity’s future, the future of the Nine Worlds of Surya—is nothing like what they thought it would be.
Welcome to the battlefield of gods and humans. Welcome to the Nine Worlds of Surya.
- GenresScience FictionFantasy
300 pages, Paperback
First published January 16, 2024
7 people are currently reading
165 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 5, 2024
4.5 rounded up.
I don't really like sci-fi and before reading this book, I had no fucking idea what a space opera is (I googled it, so now I know), and I love this book.
This is 100% my own idiosyncratic biases, but I have found that a lot of the sci-fi I picked up and casually read when I was younger felt mostly like an opportunity for dudes to blow shit up in space and create Big War in a setting where you could read about that and feel like there were no real consequences to the massive galactic-scale death that must necessarily be taking place. Throw in what essentially amounts to space-magic (e.g. this space suit allows the creatures only from Planet blah blah blah to walk into the center of a red giant) and I could not connect with anything in the book.
I read Triangulum because I know the author and suspected that would not be the story he told even though the cover of the book does lend itself to such assumptions. I was right.
This book has some of the most stunningly beautiful prose I have read in years. About 25 pages in, I grabbed a highlighted just to keep track of the parts of the book that caused me to sigh (audibly, on a plane; it was a little awkward at times). I do this for all books I read -- keep track of the lines that really blow me over. But there were enough of them in Triangulum that had to keep the highlighter out.
Perhaps more importantly, this book was so intensely human and departed exactly from the problems I generally have with this genre--namely the way sci-fi can divorce the reader from their humanity as planets and aliens and humans are dying, and all that death is (supposed to be) okay because pew-pew and exploding spaceships. In this way, Triangulum reminded me of Enders Game -- in that it is character-driven and the reader is called to empathize deeply with characters utterly unlike themselves. I cared so much what happened to these characters; I thought about them after I closed the book; and I miss them now that I've finished it.
There were a few places where I thought the sequences of what was happening to whom got a little unnecessarily opaque--mood or tone of the writing was prevailing over clarity. I also initially thought a few places were rather melodramatic, but then I read that that's actually a feature of the Space Opera genre, so well done there, too. The ending though... the reader comes to care about these characters and they are treated with care by the author as the story comes to a close. And it was just a beautiful read.
I don't really like sci-fi and before reading this book, I had no fucking idea what a space opera is (I googled it, so now I know), and I love this book.
This is 100% my own idiosyncratic biases, but I have found that a lot of the sci-fi I picked up and casually read when I was younger felt mostly like an opportunity for dudes to blow shit up in space and create Big War in a setting where you could read about that and feel like there were no real consequences to the massive galactic-scale death that must necessarily be taking place. Throw in what essentially amounts to space-magic (e.g. this space suit allows the creatures only from Planet blah blah blah to walk into the center of a red giant) and I could not connect with anything in the book.
I read Triangulum because I know the author and suspected that would not be the story he told even though the cover of the book does lend itself to such assumptions. I was right.
This book has some of the most stunningly beautiful prose I have read in years. About 25 pages in, I grabbed a highlighted just to keep track of the parts of the book that caused me to sigh (audibly, on a plane; it was a little awkward at times). I do this for all books I read -- keep track of the lines that really blow me over. But there were enough of them in Triangulum that had to keep the highlighter out.
Perhaps more importantly, this book was so intensely human and departed exactly from the problems I generally have with this genre--namely the way sci-fi can divorce the reader from their humanity as planets and aliens and humans are dying, and all that death is (supposed to be) okay because pew-pew and exploding spaceships. In this way, Triangulum reminded me of Enders Game -- in that it is character-driven and the reader is called to empathize deeply with characters utterly unlike themselves. I cared so much what happened to these characters; I thought about them after I closed the book; and I miss them now that I've finished it.
There were a few places where I thought the sequences of what was happening to whom got a little unnecessarily opaque--mood or tone of the writing was prevailing over clarity. I also initially thought a few places were rather melodramatic, but then I read that that's actually a feature of the Space Opera genre, so well done there, too. The ending though... the reader comes to care about these characters and they are treated with care by the author as the story comes to a close. And it was just a beautiful read.
May 8, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author balances the macro-level detail of his thoroughly imagined solar system, its inhabitants, histories, and conflicts, against the micro-level detail of his individual characters, their personalities, attachments, and motivations. The interplay between world-building on the one hand and plot development on the other is excellent, neither one seeming to have gotten less imaginative attention than the other.
I won’t give details about Wijeyeratne’s carefully crafted world or its characters, because that’s half the fun of reading a well imagined other-world, learning its vocabularies, tensions, and traumas. I do regret the book jacket shares that it is a far-future tale, because that point is only slowly revealed in the book itself. The frisson of recognition when you finally realize Surya and its nine planets are in fact our solar system, was enjoyable. It would’ve been even better if I hadn’t suspected it was coming.
The plot has a few twists and turns, some expected, some not, and it’s occasionally quite funny. In sum, this is well-crafted, entertaining scifi/fantasy.
I won’t give details about Wijeyeratne’s carefully crafted world or its characters, because that’s half the fun of reading a well imagined other-world, learning its vocabularies, tensions, and traumas. I do regret the book jacket shares that it is a far-future tale, because that point is only slowly revealed in the book itself. The frisson of recognition when you finally realize Surya and its nine planets are in fact our solar system, was enjoyable. It would’ve been even better if I hadn’t suspected it was coming.
The plot has a few twists and turns, some expected, some not, and it’s occasionally quite funny. In sum, this is well-crafted, entertaining scifi/fantasy.
June 30, 2025
You have got to check out “Triangulum” by Subodhana Wijeyerante! The subtitle describes this book as “An epic of the 9 worlds of Surya,” and an epic it is. Inspired by, and with frequent references to Vedic mythology, Wijeyerante has constructed an astounding world of inter-related planets, cultures, humanoids, other-worldly beasts, gods, and demi-gods. His characters are complex, multi-faceted creations who fill the pages with their mistakes, regrets, ambition, indecision, and most importantly, their humanity.
At times Wijeyerante’s novel reads like a Greek tragedy moving inexorably toward a disastrous denouement, but with a final hope for redemption. At times it is a very personal tale of relationships, respect, heartbreak, love and ill-fated love. Throughout the book, the author’s remarkable story-telling ability and his uncanny knack for depicting the colossal leave lasting images on the consciousness and make for an exhilarating reading experience.
At times Wijeyerante’s novel reads like a Greek tragedy moving inexorably toward a disastrous denouement, but with a final hope for redemption. At times it is a very personal tale of relationships, respect, heartbreak, love and ill-fated love. Throughout the book, the author’s remarkable story-telling ability and his uncanny knack for depicting the colossal leave lasting images on the consciousness and make for an exhilarating reading experience.
September 6, 2025
OK, this was one of the most fun books I've read. I loved the world-building, the slow reveal of what the Triangulans are, the character development. Indra, the princess, and the snake-girl are compelling in their sincere beliefs, their gutsiness, and also cute as heck. Most of all I loved the fact that metaphysical secrets underlying the universe are known to Ratri and "The Thrones" but never revealed to us (as it should be, who knows how things really work in this world of ours?) - like (spoilers!) was our little Indra the Prabho Indra? It doesn't matter, and we'll never know. I loved the debates between little mortals and the so-called Gods.
April 28, 2025
Amazing.
This is one of the best sci-fi 'opera' like books I have ever read, and I have read thousands.
Super plot, deep interesting characters, loads of interesting ideas.
Excellent writing, creative and poetic.
It's a work of genius, on par in my opinion with the classics (e.g. Hyperion, Lord of Light).
I'm not kidding, this book will be a classic.
It was nominated, and should, have won the Phillip K. Dick award.
I can't say enough. I hope there will be a next, follow-up.
This is one of the best sci-fi 'opera' like books I have ever read, and I have read thousands.
Super plot, deep interesting characters, loads of interesting ideas.
Excellent writing, creative and poetic.
It's a work of genius, on par in my opinion with the classics (e.g. Hyperion, Lord of Light).
I'm not kidding, this book will be a classic.
It was nominated, and should, have won the Phillip K. Dick award.
I can't say enough. I hope there will be a next, follow-up.
October 25, 2025
3.5 rounded up. the cover is a little misleading for the nature of the story, in my opinion--more personal and reflective than a mid-battle spaceship would imply. greatly appreciated that wijeyeratne trusts readers enough to spare us expositional info-dumps about the worldbuilding, but the conversations/character reflections on the Themes did come across as trying very hard to be deep and not misunderstood, which wore on me a bit by the end. all in all though very worth a read
March 23, 2025
OMG what a great book... read this book you will be glad you did. One of the most effective world building novels I have read a long time. I compare it to the best Brin and Pohl. Well designed plot with compelling characters suffering both horror and redemption. Cheers
July 2, 2025
Some of the best sci-fi I've read, and I've read a lot. The setting, the pacing, the premise, the little jewels that I'll always remember (the Metaphorical Hammer, the Wolves playing fetch, the rabbits, etc). Just wow. Highly recommended if you enjoy the Culture Series, The Martian, etc.
November 9, 2025
Maybe the best book I’ve ever read
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews