What do you think?
Rate this book
The Shoal Sequence #4
Marauder
Megan has a mission. But must she sacrifice herself to save our worlds?
Pilot Megan Jacinth has three goals, and they all seem unattainable. She must find her friend Bash, who she’d left for dead to save her own life. Then she needs Bash’s unique skill-set to locate an ancient space-faring entity. Lastly she must use this Wanderer’s knowledge to save human-occupied worlds from an alien incursion. The odds seem impossible, but the threat is terrifyingly real.
Megan finds Bash, but the person she’d known and loved is a husk of his former self. Bash is also held captive by her greatest enemy: Gregor Tarrant. Tarrant wants the Wanderer too, even more than he wants her life, with motives less pure than her own. And he’s close to finding Megan’s most closely-guarded secret.
A race across space to reach the Wanderer seems Megan’s best option. But this entity is also known as the Marauder, and is far from benign. The price for its secrets may be just too high. Megan should know, as she still bears the scars from their last encounter …
Pilot Megan Jacinth has three goals, and they all seem unattainable. She must find her friend Bash, who she’d left for dead to save her own life. Then she needs Bash’s unique skill-set to locate an ancient space-faring entity. Lastly she must use this Wanderer’s knowledge to save human-occupied worlds from an alien incursion. The odds seem impossible, but the threat is terrifyingly real.
Megan finds Bash, but the person she’d known and loved is a husk of his former self. Bash is also held captive by her greatest enemy: Gregor Tarrant. Tarrant wants the Wanderer too, even more than he wants her life, with motives less pure than her own. And he’s close to finding Megan’s most closely-guarded secret.
A race across space to reach the Wanderer seems Megan’s best option. But this entity is also known as the Marauder, and is far from benign. The price for its secrets may be just too high. Megan should know, as she still bears the scars from their last encounter …
384 pages, ebook
First published September 12, 2013
27 people are currently reading
453 people want to read
About the author
Gary Gibson
52 books420 followersGary Gibson's first novel, Angel Stations, was published in 2004. Interzone called it "dense and involving, puzzling and perplexing. It's unabashed science fiction, with an almost "Golden Age" feel to it ..."
His second novel was Against Gravity in 2005; the Guardian described it as "building on current trends to produce a convincing picture of the world in 2096."
Stealing Light was first published in 2007, and garnered a wide range of positive reviews. The London Times called it: "A violent, inventive, relentlessly gripping adventure ... intelligently written and thought-provoking".
Stealing Light is the first volume in a four-book space opera, the final volume of which, Marauder, was published in 2013.
To date, Gary has written ten novels, most recently Extinction Game and its sequel, Survival Game.
His second novel was Against Gravity in 2005; the Guardian described it as "building on current trends to produce a convincing picture of the world in 2096."
Stealing Light was first published in 2007, and garnered a wide range of positive reviews. The London Times called it: "A violent, inventive, relentlessly gripping adventure ... intelligently written and thought-provoking".
Stealing Light is the first volume in a four-book space opera, the final volume of which, Marauder, was published in 2013.
To date, Gary has written ten novels, most recently Extinction Game and its sequel, Survival Game.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
April 12, 2024
There was a sound like moons grinding together…
This is a sequel of sorts to the Shoal trilogy. It is a stand-alone novel and can be read as such, but it does reference the events of the Nova war and Dakota Merrick’s dealings with the Magi ships.
Marauder takes place around two centuries after the original trilogy, and the political landscape has changed significantly. It starts off with two separate story arcs, and two different protagonists, but Gibson deftly weaves these together and there are some really cool revelations regarding the characters. It is at this point that the value of having read the Shoal trilogy becomes apparent – but it isn’t a deal breaker.
Either way, whether you are reading this together with the original trilogy, or on its own, it’s actually a pretty good book that is well paced and filled with action and drama. My only gripe: there are no interesting aliens, like the Emissaries or the Shoal, this time round. They are mentioned in passing, but don’t really form part of the narrative.
Marauder does, however, introduce a new player, namely the marauder (or wanderer) of the title, and the Maker swarm is still a threat to contend with.
I enjoyed the Shoal trilogy, and it’s good to see the author revisiting this world.
This is a sequel of sorts to the Shoal trilogy. It is a stand-alone novel and can be read as such, but it does reference the events of the Nova war and Dakota Merrick’s dealings with the Magi ships.
Marauder takes place around two centuries after the original trilogy, and the political landscape has changed significantly. It starts off with two separate story arcs, and two different protagonists, but Gibson deftly weaves these together and there are some really cool revelations regarding the characters. It is at this point that the value of having read the Shoal trilogy becomes apparent – but it isn’t a deal breaker.
Either way, whether you are reading this together with the original trilogy, or on its own, it’s actually a pretty good book that is well paced and filled with action and drama. My only gripe: there are no interesting aliens, like the Emissaries or the Shoal, this time round. They are mentioned in passing, but don’t really form part of the narrative.
Marauder does, however, introduce a new player, namely the marauder (or wanderer) of the title, and the Maker swarm is still a threat to contend with.
I enjoyed the Shoal trilogy, and it’s good to see the author revisiting this world.
July 21, 2020
This was really a good story. I want to give it 5 stars...and it is definitely a 4.5* star book...It sits apart from the rest of the trilogy, but dovetails into it by the end..i like books that deal with old alien presences within the universe and how we humans deal with them, and this ticks those boxes nicely....
August 15, 2024
This series started off so very strong, but with every subsequent book it loses more and more of its charm. The original concept of a galaxy in which one species has a monopoly on FTL travel, and all the intrigue that goes with it, is so strong - all the more of a shame that that core component was ditched 2 books ago. Now, there's just a tangled mess of inconsistencies, horrid pacing, and flat characters. What a waste.
March 1, 2020
Hopefully it's not too much of a spoiler to say this is an extension of the Shoal Sequence - and IMO it's easily the best book in that series.
Again, it starts off fractionally hesitant. Once established, however, there's a compelling sense of urgency, and some deceptively nuanced characterisation as well as properly but believably unpleasant villains: at times this felt like a dissection of toxic masculinity. With the context of the earlier books, I believed the genocidal mindset of the antagonists, and got why retaking Redstone from the Demarchy at all costs is such a massive deal for the Freehold. It's existential: their beliefs are as extreme as those of the Demarchists, and to lose would undermine their narrative of superiority. This opens them to exploitation by forces even more ruthless. I'd like to know if it was intentional, but all this feels like an allegory of the kind of die-hard misogynistic fundamentalist mindset entrenched in certain high-profile parts of contemporary Western society.
This grotesque institutionalised machismo is what the long-suffering heroines have to navigate. Despite their pluck and resourcefulness, their loneliness, vulnerability and suffering under the sheer crushing weight of it is keenly felt (in a touching moment we see Gabrielle's delight and astonishment at encountering a community where relationships aren't based on domination and manipulation). Each time they pick themselves up, they're brutally slapped down. We share their outrage; their sense of being overwhelmed. Female characters in this are (with one understandable exception) all trying to achieve higher goals - research and community in the case of Stiles, and (at least, ultimately) saving mankind in the case of Gabrielle and Megan. The key sympathetic male character is caring, self-aware - and gay. Unfortunately, toxic men keep getting in the way, thwarting them all with selfish and short-sighted murderous idiocy. I saw another reviewer claim this book was an example of science fiction being right-wing. Erm ... have we read the same book?
The tautological phrases which escaped editorial attention in the previous books are far less evident in this one. Although torture features again, it benefits greatly from being off-page. Marauder realises the potential of the series in a very satisfying way. By the second half it feels properly, page-turningly epic, with a real-world unpredictability that makes it feel grounded. Bits of the series' jigsaw puzzle slot into place. Key characters finally find unexpected redemption. Enough threads are left for a sequel.
One of those immersive books which leaves you sad when it's over.
Again, it starts off fractionally hesitant. Once established, however, there's a compelling sense of urgency, and some deceptively nuanced characterisation as well as properly but believably unpleasant villains: at times this felt like a dissection of toxic masculinity. With the context of the earlier books, I believed the genocidal mindset of the antagonists, and got why retaking Redstone from the Demarchy at all costs is such a massive deal for the Freehold. It's existential: their beliefs are as extreme as those of the Demarchists, and to lose would undermine their narrative of superiority. This opens them to exploitation by forces even more ruthless. I'd like to know if it was intentional, but all this feels like an allegory of the kind of die-hard misogynistic fundamentalist mindset entrenched in certain high-profile parts of contemporary Western society.
This grotesque institutionalised machismo is what the long-suffering heroines have to navigate. Despite their pluck and resourcefulness, their loneliness, vulnerability and suffering under the sheer crushing weight of it is keenly felt (in a touching moment we see Gabrielle's delight and astonishment at encountering a community where relationships aren't based on domination and manipulation). Each time they pick themselves up, they're brutally slapped down. We share their outrage; their sense of being overwhelmed. Female characters in this are (with one understandable exception) all trying to achieve higher goals - research and community in the case of Stiles, and (at least, ultimately) saving mankind in the case of Gabrielle and Megan. The key sympathetic male character is caring, self-aware - and gay. Unfortunately, toxic men keep getting in the way, thwarting them all with selfish and short-sighted murderous idiocy. I saw another reviewer claim this book was an example of science fiction being right-wing. Erm ... have we read the same book?
The tautological phrases which escaped editorial attention in the previous books are far less evident in this one. Although torture features again, it benefits greatly from being off-page. Marauder realises the potential of the series in a very satisfying way. By the second half it feels properly, page-turningly epic, with a real-world unpredictability that makes it feel grounded. Bits of the series' jigsaw puzzle slot into place. Key characters finally find unexpected redemption. Enough threads are left for a sequel.
One of those immersive books which leaves you sad when it's over.
October 15, 2013
Trying to continue the high after reading Nexus I read this book. I'm sorry, but I haven't the foggiest how it got a 4 star rating. It's awkwardly put together, and the ending contains the magical introduction of new characters like the Librarian, flat descriptions, impossible technology discontinuities. Sorry :-/
August 24, 2018
Ends up being good ending for the series. Has some interesting moments, distinguishing itself from the rest. But story progression in it, in overall, is not an interesting one. People in captivity, kept against their will, occasional escapes, things like that dominate this book. Depends on if someone likes these things or not, but for me they stop this book from becoming an adventurous or thrilling story.
January 9, 2018
A standalone novel set in the Shoal universe, featuring mostly new characters but with some familiar, Marauder is a superb novel written by an author who continues to astound me for his perfect blend of accessible but visionary science fiction. A bonus for me is that Marauder is led by strong, courageous and real female characters.
August 15, 2016
This review is going to be short and sweet because if I tried to explain why this book deserves five stars, I would go well over the 20k character limit.
Stealing Light is the book that re-invigorated my love for science fiction. The intensity of the main character, the clever weaving of past and present storylines and the genuinely gripping plot made me understand there was more to science-fiction than humanoid aliens, blaster rifles and tricorders.
The Shoal Sequence as a whole left a lot to be desired as the unique aspects of Stealing Light's storytelling fell off in later installments. Other issues included the overall inconclusive ending and two-dimensional characters, so when I heard Marauder had been released I wasn't too interested in picking it up.
It was one of the biggest mistakes I have made in recent years and I fully regret it.
Marauder brings back absolutely everything I loved about Stealing Light, whilst retaining the streamlined style that Gibson developed in later Shoal books and his Final Days duology. Deep, multi-layered characters rear their faces again, antagonists make my skin crawl and, good God, the intensity of what was going on meant I couldn't even consider putting it down.
I enjoy the literary devices of in-medias-res and congruent plots so much that I have tried to replicate them in many of my own works to varying levels of success. To see them employed here once again in such crisp ways really puts back my faith in Gary Gibson and solidifies his spot as my favourite author currently working.
5/5 stars. My datastream has been forever influenced.
Stealing Light is the book that re-invigorated my love for science fiction. The intensity of the main character, the clever weaving of past and present storylines and the genuinely gripping plot made me understand there was more to science-fiction than humanoid aliens, blaster rifles and tricorders.
The Shoal Sequence as a whole left a lot to be desired as the unique aspects of Stealing Light's storytelling fell off in later installments. Other issues included the overall inconclusive ending and two-dimensional characters, so when I heard Marauder had been released I wasn't too interested in picking it up.
It was one of the biggest mistakes I have made in recent years and I fully regret it.
Marauder brings back absolutely everything I loved about Stealing Light, whilst retaining the streamlined style that Gibson developed in later Shoal books and his Final Days duology. Deep, multi-layered characters rear their faces again, antagonists make my skin crawl and, good God, the intensity of what was going on meant I couldn't even consider putting it down.
I enjoy the literary devices of in-medias-res and congruent plots so much that I have tried to replicate them in many of my own works to varying levels of success. To see them employed here once again in such crisp ways really puts back my faith in Gary Gibson and solidifies his spot as my favourite author currently working.
5/5 stars. My datastream has been forever influenced.
July 26, 2017
OK, but one of his best. Rambled too much and didn't have quite the narrative drive needed.
March 16, 2021
Marauder
An enjoyable read once the story really got going. I thought there were too many plot threads and time lines. After these merged the story romped along.
An enjoyable read once the story really got going. I thought there were too many plot threads and time lines. After these merged the story romped along.
November 30, 2019
In a way it’s a book that was not needed but was ok in the end. It leaves the door open for another hopefully final book but I hope the author spends his time in some other universe.
March 28, 2014
Warning: you probably will not appreciate it if you have not read the previuos books from the same author, in the same cycle, such as "Nova war" and "Stealing light" and Empire of Light". Without this background the book, even if it says it is a standalone tale, will not much make sense.
The story starts about three hundred years after the events in the previously mentioned books.
Basically there is a hunt for a Maker Swarm which develops through the eyes of Megan Jacinth and Gabrielle (no surname) the Speaker Elect of the Demarchy, one of the Uchidan States which warred with the Freeholders in the previuos books. So you see that if you did not read them, it will be hard to understand some of the events or the whole background.
The story is quite good and movies with a pace which is fast enough. There is an incredibly old manufact from a galattica civilisation which lived in the galaxy centre which is incredibly evil, the Wanderer, called Marauder by the Shoal.
There are men from the the Freehold, only carino about their primitive way of living and cruel without remorse.
The story starts with a travel from the speakeraggi Elect to a Magi ship relict, whilst at the same time recounting a tale of 12 years previously which involved the hunt for the information within the Wanderer.
After a while the two tales merge into one, which I will not mention, but it is griping and strong.
A very nice universe, hope there will be more stories about it. As there is hint of Dakota Merrick being alive after a few thousand years, I am pretty sure there will be.
The story starts about three hundred years after the events in the previously mentioned books.
Basically there is a hunt for a Maker Swarm which develops through the eyes of Megan Jacinth and Gabrielle (no surname) the Speaker Elect of the Demarchy, one of the Uchidan States which warred with the Freeholders in the previuos books. So you see that if you did not read them, it will be hard to understand some of the events or the whole background.
The story is quite good and movies with a pace which is fast enough. There is an incredibly old manufact from a galattica civilisation which lived in the galaxy centre which is incredibly evil, the Wanderer, called Marauder by the Shoal.
There are men from the the Freehold, only carino about their primitive way of living and cruel without remorse.
The story starts with a travel from the speakeraggi Elect to a Magi ship relict, whilst at the same time recounting a tale of 12 years previously which involved the hunt for the information within the Wanderer.
After a while the two tales merge into one, which I will not mention, but it is griping and strong.
A very nice universe, hope there will be more stories about it. As there is hint of Dakota Merrick being alive after a few thousand years, I am pretty sure there will be.
May 2, 2015
Marauder is the latest installment in the Shoal Sequence. Set over 200 years after the original trilogy, it revisits well-known places (Redstone), concepts (the Makers, Nova drives, etc.) and characters, after a fashion (with a twist I won't mention here to avoid spoilers). The Shoal are gone and the Accord has filled in the void it left behind. On Redstone, Uchidan has won over the Freehold. All this provides the setting for an interesting book, albeit a somewhat predictable one.
The characters' motivations are clear and the story proceeds at a good pace throughout the book. Readers of the previous books will be able to foresee some of what is about to go on, which may have depleted some of the impact expected for some passages. On the other hand, I'm not sure to what extent will someone that hasn't read the other books enjoy this one. Most of my motivation to read the book was to see what had happened since Empire of Light and to "revisit the familiar". I fear the lack of referents may hinder the enjoyment of newcomers to the Shoal Sequence.
The book leaves open the door for a new installment in the sequence that I would very much like to read. As foreshadowed, it could be a good story full of new exciting concepts. As for Marauder, it was a nice book I'd recommend to readers of the original trilogy but perhaps not to those that haven't yet read it.
The characters' motivations are clear and the story proceeds at a good pace throughout the book. Readers of the previous books will be able to foresee some of what is about to go on, which may have depleted some of the impact expected for some passages. On the other hand, I'm not sure to what extent will someone that hasn't read the other books enjoy this one. Most of my motivation to read the book was to see what had happened since Empire of Light and to "revisit the familiar". I fear the lack of referents may hinder the enjoyment of newcomers to the Shoal Sequence.
The book leaves open the door for a new installment in the sequence that I would very much like to read. As foreshadowed, it could be a good story full of new exciting concepts. As for Marauder, it was a nice book I'd recommend to readers of the original trilogy but perhaps not to those that haven't yet read it.
December 10, 2015
I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. I only read it as part of a book challenge and actually loved it! The book has two main characters Megan and Gabrielle.
Megan is a pilot that can communicate with her ships due to implants in her head. Megan and her friend Bash are asked to communicate with a ship that has been flying around space for thousands of years with no apparent mission. The first attempt leaves Bash effectively brain dead and Megan running for her life. But Megan knows that she will need to find a way back to the ship and learn a way to communicate with it before a bigger threat destroys the entire solar system and everything Megan holds dear.
Gabrielle has been groomed for the huge honour of ascending to the top of her culture. All she has to do is take on the thoughts and personality of another person and lose everything that makes her her. Her story is about her trying to escape from this fate while being betrayed at every step and not knowing who to turn to until she meets Megan.
The whole story is a complex tale of cloning, mass genocide and saving the solar system from a threat it doesnt even see coming. The characters are well rounded and realistic. The science isn't too technical and the story sucked me in completely. I cannot wait to read more by this author.
Megan is a pilot that can communicate with her ships due to implants in her head. Megan and her friend Bash are asked to communicate with a ship that has been flying around space for thousands of years with no apparent mission. The first attempt leaves Bash effectively brain dead and Megan running for her life. But Megan knows that she will need to find a way back to the ship and learn a way to communicate with it before a bigger threat destroys the entire solar system and everything Megan holds dear.
Gabrielle has been groomed for the huge honour of ascending to the top of her culture. All she has to do is take on the thoughts and personality of another person and lose everything that makes her her. Her story is about her trying to escape from this fate while being betrayed at every step and not knowing who to turn to until she meets Megan.
The whole story is a complex tale of cloning, mass genocide and saving the solar system from a threat it doesnt even see coming. The characters are well rounded and realistic. The science isn't too technical and the story sucked me in completely. I cannot wait to read more by this author.
October 13, 2014
Based in the same universe as the Shoal series, the action in this novel takes place some years after the Shoal Dominion is shattered. The resulting confederacy of planets, called the Accord, tries to get the monopoly of the nova weapons. But there are always people who just want power for themselves, like some rich families forming an alliance of three planets, who intend to contact an alien intelligent spaceship called the Wanderer and steal its secrets. But the Shoal had a different name for the lost ship: they called it the Marauder, and the two machine-heads hired to lead the expedition soon find out this is a more appropriate name. As the Shoal series, it's a story of searching the truth, overcoming one's condition, hope, family and taking responsibility for your destiny.
May 9, 2015
I loved this book as I have all the books in the Shoal Sequence. The story moved along nicely and worked well. The only negative comment I would have is that you can only appreciate this story in the context of the other books. If you haven't read them yet you'll have gaps and wont be able to fully appreciate the story. So before reading this, read the other books, you wont be disappointed :-)
November 20, 2014
This was a great and comfortable space adventure to read. Also the author's writing is very simple, which makes it more inspiring for one to become a better science fiction writer as well, or to pursue such creative form of writing.
July 27, 2015
The passive-aggressive characters are starting to get to me. They seem to regularly do the stupidest things. Refuse help when they obviously need it, then come running back to plead for it after they run into trouble, and then refuse again.
March 21, 2014
Continuation of the Shoal saga - kept me interested to the end. I expect there will be more and I will get the next book too.
January 25, 2015
Enjoyable space opera that suffers from a slightly anti climatic ending and a plot point that just didn't ring true for me. Still fun though.
November 14, 2015
Not bad.
April 7, 2015
A nice stand alone tale in the universe
September 24, 2015
This was good.
February 22, 2016
Good old fashioned hard sci fi with a believable societal background. Nice characters and well drawn nasty villains.
April 30, 2016
Love the Shoal series. A favorite. Wish this is not the end.
June 2, 2016
not so fantastic!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews