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Heureux comme jamais
À bord du Space Dragon, vaisseau spatial contenant le dernier espoir de l’humanité, les places sont chères. Seuls les plus riches ont pu embarquer pour fuir une Terre au bord de l’extinction. Extinction dont, soyons honnêtes, ils sont responsables.
Noah a presque toujours vécu sur le vaisseau avec son père, seul ingénieur de maintenance autorisé à embarquer. Formée pour prendre sa relève, elle occupe ses journées à travailler et à écouter de la musique d’un monde passé avec BINS-42, son IA de compagnie.
Un jour, alors qu’elle assiste malgré elle à une réunion top-secrète avec les quatre têtes pensantes du Space Dragon Noah apprend l’existence d’un message émanant de la Terre. L’humanité est loin d’être aussi éteinte qu’on le croyait et cette nouvelle provoque une guerre de pouvoir sans pitié…
Noah a presque toujours vécu sur le vaisseau avec son père, seul ingénieur de maintenance autorisé à embarquer. Formée pour prendre sa relève, elle occupe ses journées à travailler et à écouter de la musique d’un monde passé avec BINS-42, son IA de compagnie.
Un jour, alors qu’elle assiste malgré elle à une réunion top-secrète avec les quatre têtes pensantes du Space Dragon Noah apprend l’existence d’un message émanant de la Terre. L’humanité est loin d’être aussi éteinte qu’on le croyait et cette nouvelle provoque une guerre de pouvoir sans pitié…
- GenresScience FictionFrance
192 pages, Paperback
First published March 13, 2026
81 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 25, 2026
un space opera très très cool
March 18, 2026
A part Noah et son père, le Space Dragon n'est peuplé que d'ultrariches qui ont fui la Terre pour coloniser Callisto, l'une des lunes de Jupiter. Quand une communication en provenance de la Terre demande aux administrateurs du vaisseau de rentrer sur terre, Noah se retrouve impliquée dans une affaire qui va vite la dépasser.
⠀
Avec ce titre, Guillaume Chamanadjian nous propose un roman de SF plutôt axé Space Opéra qui flirte avec l'anticipation. Si ça peut nous surprendre, habitués que nous sommes à sa fantasy, c'est surtout au niveau de sa plume que le changement est marquant. On oublie ici la poésie et les descriptions soignées au profit d'un style plus nerveux, plus contemporain, et surtout beaucoup plus familier. Ceci étant dit, il faut admettre qu'il y a quand même une certaine poésie dans le fait de comparer les ultrariches à des saladiers de chiasse.
⠀
En tout cas, vous l'aurez compris, le ton de ce court roman est bien plus léger et humoristique que ce qu'on pourrait attendre de l'auteur. Pour autant, ça fonctionne extrêmement bien. Moi qui peut vite me lasser de l'humour dans les romans, j'ai trouvé que c'était très bien dosé ici, d'autant plus que le roman ne s'arrête pas à ça. C'est avant tout une satire, une vraie critique sociale où on voit que l'auteur a des choses à dire.
⠀
A mesure qu'on avance dans le récit, l'humour s'efface un peu, et certaines situations qui pouvaient sembler un peu absurdes au départ deviennent très réelles, tellement proches de notre réalité qu'on a parfois du mal à garder le sourire. On retrouve tous les abus que se permettent les personnes en position de force, leur mépris pour le commun des mortels, et la facilité avec laquelle ils peuvent se sortir de n'importe quelle situation, de n'importe quel crime, sans jamais être inquiétés.
⠀
Alors bien sûr, ce sont des thématiques qu'on connaît et, en soi, l'auteur n'invente rien ici. Pour autant, j'ai pris un plaisir fou à lire cette histoire. J'ai été écoeuré par certains propos ou actions des milliardaires qu'on rencontre ici, j'ai eu beaucoup d'empathie pour Noah et son père, les seules personnes décentes sur ce vaisseau, et je me suis régalé à chaque fois que le karma rattrapait certains des personnages.
⠀
Ce que j'ai particulièrement apprécié, et là on s'éloigne déjà un peu plus des sentiers battus, c'est la manière dont l'auteur a traité l'IA qui accompagne Noah dans son quotidien. J'ai trouvé que ça fonctionnait vraiment bien dans ce récit, et qu'il était plaisant de sortir un peu des personnages IA un peu clichés auxquels on est habitué.
⠀
J’ai bien aimé aussi que l’auteur nous propose cette fois un roman qui se passe dans notre univers. C'était très sympa d'avoir cet ancrage dans notre réalité, notamment à travers les goûts musicaux de Noah. On retrouve aussi quelques clins d’œil un peu moins explicites à notre monde contemporain, notamment dans la caractérisation des personnages. Que l'on parle de l'ancien président ou de Jorgensen, les parallèles avec des personnes publiques actuelles sont assez évidents.
⠀
Vous l'aurez donc compris, j'ai encore une fois été séduit par ce que nous propose Guillaume Chamanadjian. Surtout, j'ai adoré être vraiment surpris de le trouver là où je ne l'attendais pas. J'ai hâte de voir quelle nouvelle pépite il nous proposera à l'avenir !
⠀
Avec ce titre, Guillaume Chamanadjian nous propose un roman de SF plutôt axé Space Opéra qui flirte avec l'anticipation. Si ça peut nous surprendre, habitués que nous sommes à sa fantasy, c'est surtout au niveau de sa plume que le changement est marquant. On oublie ici la poésie et les descriptions soignées au profit d'un style plus nerveux, plus contemporain, et surtout beaucoup plus familier. Ceci étant dit, il faut admettre qu'il y a quand même une certaine poésie dans le fait de comparer les ultrariches à des saladiers de chiasse.
⠀
En tout cas, vous l'aurez compris, le ton de ce court roman est bien plus léger et humoristique que ce qu'on pourrait attendre de l'auteur. Pour autant, ça fonctionne extrêmement bien. Moi qui peut vite me lasser de l'humour dans les romans, j'ai trouvé que c'était très bien dosé ici, d'autant plus que le roman ne s'arrête pas à ça. C'est avant tout une satire, une vraie critique sociale où on voit que l'auteur a des choses à dire.
⠀
A mesure qu'on avance dans le récit, l'humour s'efface un peu, et certaines situations qui pouvaient sembler un peu absurdes au départ deviennent très réelles, tellement proches de notre réalité qu'on a parfois du mal à garder le sourire. On retrouve tous les abus que se permettent les personnes en position de force, leur mépris pour le commun des mortels, et la facilité avec laquelle ils peuvent se sortir de n'importe quelle situation, de n'importe quel crime, sans jamais être inquiétés.
⠀
Alors bien sûr, ce sont des thématiques qu'on connaît et, en soi, l'auteur n'invente rien ici. Pour autant, j'ai pris un plaisir fou à lire cette histoire. J'ai été écoeuré par certains propos ou actions des milliardaires qu'on rencontre ici, j'ai eu beaucoup d'empathie pour Noah et son père, les seules personnes décentes sur ce vaisseau, et je me suis régalé à chaque fois que le karma rattrapait certains des personnages.
⠀
Ce que j'ai particulièrement apprécié, et là on s'éloigne déjà un peu plus des sentiers battus, c'est la manière dont l'auteur a traité l'IA qui accompagne Noah dans son quotidien. J'ai trouvé que ça fonctionnait vraiment bien dans ce récit, et qu'il était plaisant de sortir un peu des personnages IA un peu clichés auxquels on est habitué.
⠀
J’ai bien aimé aussi que l’auteur nous propose cette fois un roman qui se passe dans notre univers. C'était très sympa d'avoir cet ancrage dans notre réalité, notamment à travers les goûts musicaux de Noah. On retrouve aussi quelques clins d’œil un peu moins explicites à notre monde contemporain, notamment dans la caractérisation des personnages. Que l'on parle de l'ancien président ou de Jorgensen, les parallèles avec des personnes publiques actuelles sont assez évidents.
⠀
Vous l'aurez donc compris, j'ai encore une fois été séduit par ce que nous propose Guillaume Chamanadjian. Surtout, j'ai adoré être vraiment surpris de le trouver là où je ne l'attendais pas. J'ai hâte de voir quelle nouvelle pépite il nous proposera à l'avenir !
March 22, 2026
J’ai beaucoup aimé ce petit roman qui dénonce tout ce qui ne va pas avec les ultra-riches. Il m’a rappelé ma lecture récente de Saigneurs de Lou Lubie dans le sens où il n’y a aucune subtilité, toutefois vu les personnes réelles qui nous entourent qui se comportent comme les méchants clichés de vieux films, ce n’est donc que trop réaliste !
Avertissement de contenu : agression sexuelle, usage du n-word, racisme, grave maladie,
Avertissement de contenu : agression sexuelle, usage du n-word, racisme, grave maladie,
April 27, 2026
Lecture géniale et cathartique.
March 24, 2026
moi qui m'attendais à un "H2G2" un peu drôle et léger je tombe de haut, le livre est bien mais malheureusement trop réel par rapport à notre monde et cela fait peur
April 21, 2026
Je suis un peu passée à côté de ce livre, pas tant de la faute de l'auteur qui se débrouille très bien, mais je ne suis simplement pas du tout adepte de ce genre d'humour absurde.
Read
March 31, 2026Un space opéra plutôt décalé qui nous propose un récit avec de gros enjeux mais avec un ton très satirique. J'ai passé un très bon moment de lecture.
April 26, 2026
Guillaume Chamanadjian is first and foremost known for his excellent trilogy "Capitale du Sud", one of the two trilogies that make up the "Cycle de la Tour de Garde", co-written with Claire Duvivier ("Capitale du Nord"). In 2024, the man wrote "Une Valse pour les grotesques", which I'm currently reading. But as if that wasn't enough, and as long as the well of inspiration continues to provide, he recently finished a satiric little story titled "Heureux comme jamais". For once, it's not (historic) fantasy, but science fiction.
So, what's it about? Nothing ground-breaking - or is it? - and not hard SF either, as the focus lies on the characters, on the philosophical aspect of the story. We're in space, the timeline is the second half of the 21st century. Earth has been destroyed ecologically and a bunch of billionaires decided to flee with a spaceship called the Space Dragon and terraform a faraway planet, Callisto - aren't most other planets simply... far away? -, to continue life there, far from the trouble on Earth. Trouble also caused (in)directly by them, but that's just a detail, at least in their views.
However, as those billionaires don't have any engineering skills, there are two "poorer" people on board to help with the mechanics of the ship: Noah, who grew up on the ship, and her father. But he can't always help out on things, as he's fallen seriously ill. Therefore, it's up to Noah to keep a check on things. The rest of the tasks are fulfilled by AI and androids. Each AI also has a particular name, like BINS-HAL9000 (a reference to Arthur C. Clarke and his "Space Odyssey" series) or BINS-42 (see Douglas Adams and "A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", which I read several years ago; maybe I should re-read it someday).
Not all AI's will be as bright or intelligent as the other, as the contrast between Noah's AI (BINS-42) and that of the ship's originator will prove. One will have full conscience whereas the other will act only as programmed. This is most clear when it comes to news about the terraforming of Callisto or news about the ship or its passengers. BINS-42 will also help Noah whenever possible, even provide music, films, ... Noah is a girl who needs structure, support, music, films, ... but especially music to get through the day. Music and white noise, as she's using headphones all the time. In that respect, could we say she's autistic? Hats off then to Mr Chamanadjian for not taking the obvious kind of character and show that autistic people also have their place in society, perhaps more than that extra billionaire.
Next to the AI's, there are various androids that help out with catering, repairs, maintenance, cleaning, ... but they too are controlled via AI and subjected to the whims and desires of the ship's originator, who's the supreme leader of the voyage towards Callisto. When a mechanic has to show up to report, he better not be late. Or unwanted. This was the case for Noah, who had to replace her father during an important meeting with the leading committee of the ship.
There had been a message from Earth, stating that the situation had been restored to that of 2016 or many decades ago. The vessel could turn back and return to Earth. Bonus: The billionaires would be absolved from any charges or payment or imprisonment. Main question: Was this message authentic or a trap? Noah would also be asked about it and would learn that one states what the leader wants to hear, not what one had learnt or knows. Noah would also have a hard time being that obedient, especially with her personal AI, BINS-42, suddenly taking up a more than human role. An AI is also just supposed to support its owner, not question anything or even act as a personal guard. But BINS-42 wouldn't be just an AI, rather more like an entity acting under the cover of AI.
Noah's intervention would in action a chain of events and bring out the best (or worst) in some billionaires, who had their own view on things and their own agenda. It is not because many billionaires fled Earth to safeguard their lives, their fortunes (which in space are non-existent), that they fled Earth for the same reasons. One wrong word, gesture, ... could completely jeopardise the voyage and project, especially after some footage showing the real progress made so far on Callisto.
Now, Noah wouldn't be the only teenager on board, no. There was also the daughter of a French entrepreneur who, through manipulation of Noah, would gain access or knowledge about the ship's computer systems. She would manipulate the ship's computational resources for other means, be them financial: bitcoins or one of the many variants, and so become the wealthiest passenger. Her intervention would, alas, cause a lot more damage than just using the ship's resources. Music, films, ... would be lost. Noah didn't care about the project or the billionaires wishes, she did care deeply about music. And it would be an eclectic selection. Each song would pass the revue, with a few lines of lyrics presented as Noah went through her daily tasks, each song's lyric inline with whatever was happening.
Louis Prima - Buena Sera (1956)
Yoko Kanno - Myung Theme (1994)
Erik Satie - Gymnopédie (1888)
Rage Against the Machine - Bullet in the Head (1991)
Green Day - American Idiot (2004)
Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M. (1993)
Fugees - Ready or Not (1996)
Kansas - Dust in the Wind (1977)
The Kills - Happier than Ever (2024)
Harry Dacre - Daisy Bell (1892)
Bertolt Brecht & Kurt Weill - Seeräuber Jenny, by Lotte Lenya (1931)
Political games, financial sabotage, manipulation, the ship's androids out of control because one man sought to regain full power, her father still suffering from a severe illness, ... Noah would be in the midst of it all. Fortunately for her, BINS-42 would guard over her. Don't panic, in other words?
In the end, as the billionaires turned upon themselves out of greed and power, all of which started with a positive message from Earth calling for the ship to turn back (and Noah wondering if her mother still lived, as she had not joined her husband and her daughter onto the Space Dragon), the Space Dragon had become a modern... Noah's Ark.
"Heureux comme jamais", were those billionaires ever happy with fleeing from Earth? Who was the happiest of the pack? At the start and in the end? While it's supposed to be an entertaining read, the philosophical aspect of the story puts forth a lot of questions, next to BINS-42's contemplations about mankind.
* Do we really need billionaires?
* What's the added value of billionaires?
* If trouble arises, who will be saved first?
* If trouble arises, who will have to do the cleaning?
* If money does not exist in space (or only digitally and even without use), what does that say about the situation on Earth?
* If there are no engineers and alike to accompany them, how do those billionaires think they'll survive?
* Changing one bit (in computer terms) can dramatically change one's financial, social, ... situation or that of many. AI in the wrong hands can also wreak a lot of havoc. How does happiness fit in there?
* Why do we need skills if there are androids and AI can provide an answer to just about everything? (not mentioning that not every answer is correct or right, but without critical thinking, you won't know)
* Why do we let billionaires run the Earth?
...
....
"Heureux comme jamais" is a short novel, very fluently written and quite a page-turner. That's one of the Mr Chamanadjian's skills: a fluent style, very comprehensible and addressing themes about humanity and more precisely, how the common man has to deal with the political/socio-economic/... situations set out by the noble, the elite. Guillaume Chamanadjian strikes again, this time in the field of science fiction.
On a side note: While they are/were very different authors, I (other may have other references to choose from) do see some similarities with, for example, the late Pierre Bordage. "Heureux comme jamais" is, like "Le Dixième vaisseau" (review), set in space. The crew and passengers have to live together for many light years, but there are external forces at work to set people up against each other. Rich vs poor, dark vs light, good vs evil. They're not the same story at all, but both have a positive outcome.
So, what's it about? Nothing ground-breaking - or is it? - and not hard SF either, as the focus lies on the characters, on the philosophical aspect of the story. We're in space, the timeline is the second half of the 21st century. Earth has been destroyed ecologically and a bunch of billionaires decided to flee with a spaceship called the Space Dragon and terraform a faraway planet, Callisto - aren't most other planets simply... far away? -, to continue life there, far from the trouble on Earth. Trouble also caused (in)directly by them, but that's just a detail, at least in their views.
However, as those billionaires don't have any engineering skills, there are two "poorer" people on board to help with the mechanics of the ship: Noah, who grew up on the ship, and her father. But he can't always help out on things, as he's fallen seriously ill. Therefore, it's up to Noah to keep a check on things. The rest of the tasks are fulfilled by AI and androids. Each AI also has a particular name, like BINS-HAL9000 (a reference to Arthur C. Clarke and his "Space Odyssey" series) or BINS-42 (see Douglas Adams and "A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", which I read several years ago; maybe I should re-read it someday).
Not all AI's will be as bright or intelligent as the other, as the contrast between Noah's AI (BINS-42) and that of the ship's originator will prove. One will have full conscience whereas the other will act only as programmed. This is most clear when it comes to news about the terraforming of Callisto or news about the ship or its passengers. BINS-42 will also help Noah whenever possible, even provide music, films, ... Noah is a girl who needs structure, support, music, films, ... but especially music to get through the day. Music and white noise, as she's using headphones all the time. In that respect, could we say she's autistic? Hats off then to Mr Chamanadjian for not taking the obvious kind of character and show that autistic people also have their place in society, perhaps more than that extra billionaire.
Next to the AI's, there are various androids that help out with catering, repairs, maintenance, cleaning, ... but they too are controlled via AI and subjected to the whims and desires of the ship's originator, who's the supreme leader of the voyage towards Callisto. When a mechanic has to show up to report, he better not be late. Or unwanted. This was the case for Noah, who had to replace her father during an important meeting with the leading committee of the ship.
There had been a message from Earth, stating that the situation had been restored to that of 2016 or many decades ago. The vessel could turn back and return to Earth. Bonus: The billionaires would be absolved from any charges or payment or imprisonment. Main question: Was this message authentic or a trap? Noah would also be asked about it and would learn that one states what the leader wants to hear, not what one had learnt or knows. Noah would also have a hard time being that obedient, especially with her personal AI, BINS-42, suddenly taking up a more than human role. An AI is also just supposed to support its owner, not question anything or even act as a personal guard. But BINS-42 wouldn't be just an AI, rather more like an entity acting under the cover of AI.
Noah's intervention would in action a chain of events and bring out the best (or worst) in some billionaires, who had their own view on things and their own agenda. It is not because many billionaires fled Earth to safeguard their lives, their fortunes (which in space are non-existent), that they fled Earth for the same reasons. One wrong word, gesture, ... could completely jeopardise the voyage and project, especially after some footage showing the real progress made so far on Callisto.
Now, Noah wouldn't be the only teenager on board, no. There was also the daughter of a French entrepreneur who, through manipulation of Noah, would gain access or knowledge about the ship's computer systems. She would manipulate the ship's computational resources for other means, be them financial: bitcoins or one of the many variants, and so become the wealthiest passenger. Her intervention would, alas, cause a lot more damage than just using the ship's resources. Music, films, ... would be lost. Noah didn't care about the project or the billionaires wishes, she did care deeply about music. And it would be an eclectic selection. Each song would pass the revue, with a few lines of lyrics presented as Noah went through her daily tasks, each song's lyric inline with whatever was happening.
Louis Prima - Buena Sera (1956)
Yoko Kanno - Myung Theme (1994)
Erik Satie - Gymnopédie (1888)
Rage Against the Machine - Bullet in the Head (1991)
Green Day - American Idiot (2004)
Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M. (1993)
Fugees - Ready or Not (1996)
Kansas - Dust in the Wind (1977)
The Kills - Happier than Ever (2024)
Harry Dacre - Daisy Bell (1892)
Bertolt Brecht & Kurt Weill - Seeräuber Jenny, by Lotte Lenya (1931)
Political games, financial sabotage, manipulation, the ship's androids out of control because one man sought to regain full power, her father still suffering from a severe illness, ... Noah would be in the midst of it all. Fortunately for her, BINS-42 would guard over her. Don't panic, in other words?
In the end, as the billionaires turned upon themselves out of greed and power, all of which started with a positive message from Earth calling for the ship to turn back (and Noah wondering if her mother still lived, as she had not joined her husband and her daughter onto the Space Dragon), the Space Dragon had become a modern... Noah's Ark.
"Heureux comme jamais", were those billionaires ever happy with fleeing from Earth? Who was the happiest of the pack? At the start and in the end? While it's supposed to be an entertaining read, the philosophical aspect of the story puts forth a lot of questions, next to BINS-42's contemplations about mankind.
* Do we really need billionaires?
* What's the added value of billionaires?
* If trouble arises, who will be saved first?
* If trouble arises, who will have to do the cleaning?
* If money does not exist in space (or only digitally and even without use), what does that say about the situation on Earth?
* If there are no engineers and alike to accompany them, how do those billionaires think they'll survive?
* Changing one bit (in computer terms) can dramatically change one's financial, social, ... situation or that of many. AI in the wrong hands can also wreak a lot of havoc. How does happiness fit in there?
* Why do we need skills if there are androids and AI can provide an answer to just about everything? (not mentioning that not every answer is correct or right, but without critical thinking, you won't know)
* Why do we let billionaires run the Earth?
...
....
"Heureux comme jamais" is a short novel, very fluently written and quite a page-turner. That's one of the Mr Chamanadjian's skills: a fluent style, very comprehensible and addressing themes about humanity and more precisely, how the common man has to deal with the political/socio-economic/... situations set out by the noble, the elite. Guillaume Chamanadjian strikes again, this time in the field of science fiction.
On a side note: While they are/were very different authors, I (other may have other references to choose from) do see some similarities with, for example, the late Pierre Bordage. "Heureux comme jamais" is, like "Le Dixième vaisseau" (review), set in space. The crew and passengers have to live together for many light years, but there are external forces at work to set people up against each other. Rich vs poor, dark vs light, good vs evil. They're not the same story at all, but both have a positive outcome.
March 6, 2026
Heureux comme jamais est un roman palpitant, rythmé et piquant qui vient grandement écorcher les ultra-riches au pouvoir en pointant du doigt, tant leur ridicule que leur inhumanité. Le tout sous une bande-son aussi entraînante que la plume.
Critique complète sur yuyine.be!
Critique complète sur yuyine.be!
March 27, 2026
Un petite pépite de space opera à l'humour acide et aux persos acerbes.
Mention spéciale pour le choix des playlists à bord d'un vaisseau sur lequel j'aurais jamais pu monter avec mon SMIC <3
Mention spéciale pour le choix des playlists à bord d'un vaisseau sur lequel j'aurais jamais pu monter avec mon SMIC <3
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