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Continuance #2
Descendant Machine
From the award-winning author comes a gripping, fast-paced and fascinating science fiction adventure. Vividly imagined and sharply written, fans of Ann Leckie and Becky Chambers will be engrossed.
When Nicola Mafalda’s scout ship comes under attack, she’s left deeply traumatised by the drastic action it takes to keep her alive. Months later, when an old flame comes to her for help, she realises she has to find a way to forgive both the ship and her former lover. Reckless elements are attempting to reactivate a giant machine that has lain dormant for thousands of years. To stop them, Nicola and her crew will have to put aside their differences, sneak aboard a vast alien megaship, and try to stay alive long enough to prevent galactic devastation.
When Nicola Mafalda’s scout ship comes under attack, she’s left deeply traumatised by the drastic action it takes to keep her alive. Months later, when an old flame comes to her for help, she realises she has to find a way to forgive both the ship and her former lover. Reckless elements are attempting to reactivate a giant machine that has lain dormant for thousands of years. To stop them, Nicola and her crew will have to put aside their differences, sneak aboard a vast alien megaship, and try to stay alive long enough to prevent galactic devastation.
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 11, 2023
108 people are currently reading
787 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
December 29, 2023
3.0 Stars
Video Review: https://youtu.be/Kri0TLzmctk
This is a companion novel to Stars and Bones, a space opera I previously read. This could be read as a standalone if you aren't interested in reading that one first.
This was a fun, rompy space adventure. The tone felt lighter so I never worried for the characters wellbeing. For the same reason, I found myself not caring as deeply for the characters. It was an easy story but I never got fully invested.
As a piece of space opera, this one hit the major tropes. In that way it was a comforting easy read. For a science fiction novel to wow me, I really need it to do something fresh or different. Instead this one played it safe.
This would be a good book to recommend to a sci fi beginner but as someone who already immersed in the science fiction genre, this one doesn't offer anything new.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
Video Review: https://youtu.be/Kri0TLzmctk
This is a companion novel to Stars and Bones, a space opera I previously read. This could be read as a standalone if you aren't interested in reading that one first.
This was a fun, rompy space adventure. The tone felt lighter so I never worried for the characters wellbeing. For the same reason, I found myself not caring as deeply for the characters. It was an easy story but I never got fully invested.
As a piece of space opera, this one hit the major tropes. In that way it was a comforting easy read. For a science fiction novel to wow me, I really need it to do something fresh or different. Instead this one played it safe.
This would be a good book to recommend to a sci fi beginner but as someone who already immersed in the science fiction genre, this one doesn't offer anything new.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
October 23, 2023
Very compelling, fast paced big dumb object meets time travel space opera with an epic, galaxy and eon spanning scope. There wasn't any one single thing that felt totally novel and groundbreaking, but the story is very well balanced, with Powell seamlessly mixing in a number of fascinating alien races, mind bending hard sci-fi and tech, and several compelling human, alien and artificial characters including a thorny rival/adversary to consistently produce a sense of wonder and cosmic awe. As much fascinating hard and pseudo science Powell throws at the reader, the story never gets bogged down in it, thanks to the plucky, foul mouthed protagonist, navigator Nicola Mafalda, and her small crew, including the sentient ship she's irrevocably linked with. This may be the second book of Powell's Continuance series, but not having read the first I found it worked quite well as a standalone.
April 14, 2023
The nitty-gritty: Gareth L. Powell raises the stakes—and then raises them again—in this stellar stand-alone sequel to Stars and Bones.
Descendant Machine is the most fun I’ve had all year! Gareth L. Powell has not only written a sequel that’s better than the first book, but he completely changed the vibe as well. Stars & Bones was very dark, but Descendant Machine is funny, upbeat and even heartwarming at times. For a story about a dangerous, high stakes space mission, that’s quite the feat. If you haven’t read Stars & Bones, don’t worry. This stand-alone sequel is the perfect place to start reading.
The story is framed as an incident report, written and narrated by a scout ship called Frontier Chic. Yes, you read that right. A ship is telling the story (we’re already having fun, right?) Nicola Mafalda is a navigator, a human with the ability to traverse the substrate. Nicola and her bonded ship the Frontier Chic have been given an important assignment. They are being sent to the planet of Jzat in order to find someone called the Abelisk, a holy man of sorts who guards the secrets of the Grand Mechanism, a vast, ring-shaped artifact that surrounds a mysterious black sphere.
But Nicola and her crew aren’t the only ones looking for the Abelisk. There’s a faction of Jzat calling themselves the Openers, who want to harness the power of the Grand Mechanism for their own purposes. In alternating chapters, we meet Orlando Walden, a young physicist who has come to the site of the Grand Mechanism to study it, but soon finds out he’s been brought there for another reason. As these groups converge, it becomes a race to stop the mechanism from opening, because if it does, it could mean the destruction of everything.
Before the story even gets started, Powell includes a prologue where a main character is decapitated, so right away you know you’re in for a wild ride. Descendant Machine is intricately plotted, and my quick story recap barely scratches the surface, but just know that there is political intrigue, betrayal, sex with an alien species, megaships, sentient ships, revenge, prolific use of the word “fuck,” and a trip to the future.
Powell seamlessly brings new readers up to speed with the world building, and even though I was familiar with this world, I didn’t mind the refresher course at all. To recap (because it’s such a cool idea and I’m trying to entice you to read this!), in the future, humanity was about to destroy each other with nuclear bombs, when an ancient alien species stepped in and saved them. These Angels of Benevolence, as they are called, relocated every person on Earth to a thousand floating arks, and because humans clearly can’t be relied upon to care for their planet, these arks were programmed to circle forever and never touch down on another planet. But here’s the cool part: imagine all the different countries and cultures and terrains of Earth, each given their own ark. Then imagine each ark has the freedom to become whatever it wanted. Then imagine there is a way to jump from ark to ark in an instant through something called a flick portal. It’s like having the world at your fingertips. Admittedly, most of this story takes place on the Frontier Chic and Jzat, not the arks, but it doesn't hurt to know about them while you're reading.
The characters and their relationships with each other are fantastic. Nicola is a tough woman who’s been through a lot, swears up a storm, but has a soft spot for a Jzat named Kona. (Jzat are humanoid creatures with four arms and golden fur all over their bodies.) But as much as I loved Nicola, my favorite character turned out to be the Frontier Chic’s envoy. Envoys are blue-skinned avatars that represent their ships in human form. They can walk around independent of the ship and communicate with their navigators. The envoy and Nicola have a very strong bond, since they rely on each other to move through the substrate. There is a moment in the story where they get separated, and it was so stressful! There are lots of other characters I don’t have time to talk about, but trust me, they are all wonderfully drawn, and many are hysterically funny without even trying. And I have to mention another favorite side character, an alien named Allergic-to-Seafood (!!) Best name ever, right?
I even liked Orlando’s chapters, which didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the story at first. Orlando is writing home to his girlfriend Ramona, giving her a play-by-play of his adventures on Jzat, and in this way the reader comes to understand the science and physics behind the Grand Mechanism. Powell writes the kind of hard SF I enjoy: he’s clearly done his homework, but he presents it in an accessible and interesting way.
Powell’s universe is huge. Descendant Machine is the very definition of “space opera.” Not only are the Thousand Arks of the Continuance mind boggling, but the author also throws in megaships, huge sentient ships that have been around for thousands of years but are rarely seen by humans. I mention this because despite his immense world, Powell still manages to make his story feel intimate.
The action scenes are off the charts, with our beloved characters in constant danger. Powell adds lots of thrilling chase scenes and close calls, and just when you think the author couldn’t possibly come up with anything else, he throws in more surprises at the end. I’m not sure how he achieved a feel good ending after putting his characters through the wringer, but he did. Descendant Machine is one of my favorite SF releases of the year so far, and I recommend it whole heartedly. Don't miss it!
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Descendant Machine is the most fun I’ve had all year! Gareth L. Powell has not only written a sequel that’s better than the first book, but he completely changed the vibe as well. Stars & Bones was very dark, but Descendant Machine is funny, upbeat and even heartwarming at times. For a story about a dangerous, high stakes space mission, that’s quite the feat. If you haven’t read Stars & Bones, don’t worry. This stand-alone sequel is the perfect place to start reading.
The story is framed as an incident report, written and narrated by a scout ship called Frontier Chic. Yes, you read that right. A ship is telling the story (we’re already having fun, right?) Nicola Mafalda is a navigator, a human with the ability to traverse the substrate. Nicola and her bonded ship the Frontier Chic have been given an important assignment. They are being sent to the planet of Jzat in order to find someone called the Abelisk, a holy man of sorts who guards the secrets of the Grand Mechanism, a vast, ring-shaped artifact that surrounds a mysterious black sphere.
But Nicola and her crew aren’t the only ones looking for the Abelisk. There’s a faction of Jzat calling themselves the Openers, who want to harness the power of the Grand Mechanism for their own purposes. In alternating chapters, we meet Orlando Walden, a young physicist who has come to the site of the Grand Mechanism to study it, but soon finds out he’s been brought there for another reason. As these groups converge, it becomes a race to stop the mechanism from opening, because if it does, it could mean the destruction of everything.
Before the story even gets started, Powell includes a prologue where a main character is decapitated, so right away you know you’re in for a wild ride. Descendant Machine is intricately plotted, and my quick story recap barely scratches the surface, but just know that there is political intrigue, betrayal, sex with an alien species, megaships, sentient ships, revenge, prolific use of the word “fuck,” and a trip to the future.
Powell seamlessly brings new readers up to speed with the world building, and even though I was familiar with this world, I didn’t mind the refresher course at all. To recap (because it’s such a cool idea and I’m trying to entice you to read this!), in the future, humanity was about to destroy each other with nuclear bombs, when an ancient alien species stepped in and saved them. These Angels of Benevolence, as they are called, relocated every person on Earth to a thousand floating arks, and because humans clearly can’t be relied upon to care for their planet, these arks were programmed to circle forever and never touch down on another planet. But here’s the cool part: imagine all the different countries and cultures and terrains of Earth, each given their own ark. Then imagine each ark has the freedom to become whatever it wanted. Then imagine there is a way to jump from ark to ark in an instant through something called a flick portal. It’s like having the world at your fingertips. Admittedly, most of this story takes place on the Frontier Chic and Jzat, not the arks, but it doesn't hurt to know about them while you're reading.
The characters and their relationships with each other are fantastic. Nicola is a tough woman who’s been through a lot, swears up a storm, but has a soft spot for a Jzat named Kona. (Jzat are humanoid creatures with four arms and golden fur all over their bodies.) But as much as I loved Nicola, my favorite character turned out to be the Frontier Chic’s envoy. Envoys are blue-skinned avatars that represent their ships in human form. They can walk around independent of the ship and communicate with their navigators. The envoy and Nicola have a very strong bond, since they rely on each other to move through the substrate. There is a moment in the story where they get separated, and it was so stressful! There are lots of other characters I don’t have time to talk about, but trust me, they are all wonderfully drawn, and many are hysterically funny without even trying. And I have to mention another favorite side character, an alien named Allergic-to-Seafood (!!) Best name ever, right?
I even liked Orlando’s chapters, which didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the story at first. Orlando is writing home to his girlfriend Ramona, giving her a play-by-play of his adventures on Jzat, and in this way the reader comes to understand the science and physics behind the Grand Mechanism. Powell writes the kind of hard SF I enjoy: he’s clearly done his homework, but he presents it in an accessible and interesting way.
Powell’s universe is huge. Descendant Machine is the very definition of “space opera.” Not only are the Thousand Arks of the Continuance mind boggling, but the author also throws in megaships, huge sentient ships that have been around for thousands of years but are rarely seen by humans. I mention this because despite his immense world, Powell still manages to make his story feel intimate.
The action scenes are off the charts, with our beloved characters in constant danger. Powell adds lots of thrilling chase scenes and close calls, and just when you think the author couldn’t possibly come up with anything else, he throws in more surprises at the end. I’m not sure how he achieved a feel good ending after putting his characters through the wringer, but he did. Descendant Machine is one of my favorite SF releases of the year so far, and I recommend it whole heartedly. Don't miss it!
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
March 3, 2023
Descendant Machine happens in the same universe as the author’s previous novel Stars And Bones, but is significantly more upbeat and optimistic than that book (even if it does concern an existential threat to the entire universe). There’s also no need to worry abut continuity, as it’s a standalone story. Over his most recent novels, Powell has carved out a distinct area to operate in, a kind of rip-roaring space opera that captures the sense of wonder feel of old school SF, but also maintains a modern sensibility that isn’t afraid of a bit of political satire (the digs at nationalists and separatists here will resonate with anyone who has paid the tiniest bit of attention to recent British political history). Essentially it’s an update on the classic 2000AD formula, which is high praise. This one centres on one of my favourite SF ideas, the Big Dumb Object (the name of which I’m pretty sure is an in-joke on the foreign title of one of his previous novels). There’s intrigue, action, and cosmic awe aplenty, and it’s a fast easy read that has enough propulsion to keep you turning the pages without stopping to think “hang on a minute, what about…”. I suspect Powell had a lot of fun writing it (apart from the horror story described in an afterword), and I certainly had a lot of fun reading it.
April 8, 2023
Descendant Machine is uproarious fun. A true delight of a book that feels unabashedly indulgent. It’s playtime for the imagination, and I loved it.
Do you remember when you were a kid and the thought of travelling into space got you excited? Can you recall the giddiness of how cool it all was? How the conversations you had about spaceships and aliens didn’t turn into an ethics debate, but were just a really awesome way to spend an afternoon? That’s how I felt reading Descendant Machine — like a kid who was discovering the fun in space-opera all over again.
Gareth L. Powell has built up quite the catalogue of spacefaring sci-fi with his Embers Of War series, his novella co-written with Peter F. Hamilton (Light Chaser), and his BSFA Best Novel Nominated Stars And Bones. But in Descendant Machine, he’s let the brakes off, and the ride he takes us on is wilder, weirder, and more wondrous than ever. He’s described it as his “most Gareth L. Powell book yet,” and he’s not wrong.
To give you an idea of just how zanily brilliant this book is, let me tell you about the prologue. Well, the second prologue — the first one is an introduction letting you know that the book has been written by a spaceship. But the second, official prologue includes nuclear space-attacks, dilemmas over teleporting, and decapitation. And that’s all before you hit chapter one, where things REALLY get going!
See — I told you it was wild!
In terms of content, any sci-fi enthusiast is going to lap up the tale that’s woven across this universe. But in terms of style, the book comes into its own in the way it throws everything at the page. It’s written in such a character-centric way as the book toggles between multiple points of view. The risk a writer runs in taking this approach is that the characters can sometimes sound too alike. But not so here. This book is a masterclass in writing using a variety of voices.
The star of the show is Nicola Mafalda, a navigator with more snark than you can shake a stick at, whose brought back from retirement to save her furry four-armed alien boyfriend. She’s hilarious. An absolute joy to read, with layers of insecurity she masks in acerbic one-liners, a penchant for swearing, and bar-room brawls.
But Nicola’s snark doesn’t carry over to the other characters. Contrast Nicola with Orlando Walden — he’s a scientist who is tasked to unlock a massive machine that’s the size of a moon which some aliens believe will be the key to their rise to power. But Orlando is a stuttering wreck of nerves, and his chapters are told in the form of communications back to his beloved Ramona, for whose beauty the stars twinkle and the suns shine. His adoration is sickly with young love, but it provides an excellent juxtaposition to the other characters, who are all just as unique from one another as you can get. And that’s the joy of Descendant Machine — just how much it packs in to every page, even when it comes to something as nuanced as the diversity of the character’s voices.
Underneath the bravado, hijinks, and humour, the concepts and themes which drive the story are surprisingly provoking. There’s speculation over how a being without end can reconcile the terrifying finality of death, the chaos that sprouts from nationalistic propaganda, the folly of hubris, the impact of trauma, the symbiosis between ancestors and descendants, and how every individual (regardless of whether you’re a parent or not) shares responsibility for the next generation of humanity. Escaping death is a complicated business, and there’s no shortcut to a happy ending. But the way these heady concepts are snuck in without you even realising it highlights just how encompassing sci-fi can be — it can be serious and fun at the same time, and it totally works. While the tongue of this story may be very firmly in its cheek, there’s nothing flippant or unsubstantial about it.
In terms of scale, you’d be hard-pressed to find stakes that go much bigger than this. How does the end of the universe sound? Instead of measuring things in thousands of miles, the characters measure them in billions. And why not? Space is big. This story’s big. And everything in this story’s big! But just because the stakes are high, doesn’t mean they’re not personal. It’s heartfelt. It’s touching. And the whole thing just feels so… human.
Gareth L. Powell delivers, yet again. This is the second book in the Continuance universe (a standalone sequel to Stars And Bones which really does stand alone) but it also marks a continuance in itself. It continues this author’s reach into the impossible universe, to the places that lie beyond our imagination, and is sure to thrill longtime fans of his. But it also makes the perfect jumping in point. If you’ve never picked up a Gareth L. Powell book before, this will do the job nicely.
If you’re a fan of talking spaceships, impossible odds, and space-travelling antics, then Descendant Machine is the book you’ve been looking for. It’s fun dialled up to the max. It’ll put a smile on your face, a glow in your heart, and butterflies in your stomach. An absolute blast of a novel.
Do you remember when you were a kid and the thought of travelling into space got you excited? Can you recall the giddiness of how cool it all was? How the conversations you had about spaceships and aliens didn’t turn into an ethics debate, but were just a really awesome way to spend an afternoon? That’s how I felt reading Descendant Machine — like a kid who was discovering the fun in space-opera all over again.
Gareth L. Powell has built up quite the catalogue of spacefaring sci-fi with his Embers Of War series, his novella co-written with Peter F. Hamilton (Light Chaser), and his BSFA Best Novel Nominated Stars And Bones. But in Descendant Machine, he’s let the brakes off, and the ride he takes us on is wilder, weirder, and more wondrous than ever. He’s described it as his “most Gareth L. Powell book yet,” and he’s not wrong.
To give you an idea of just how zanily brilliant this book is, let me tell you about the prologue. Well, the second prologue — the first one is an introduction letting you know that the book has been written by a spaceship. But the second, official prologue includes nuclear space-attacks, dilemmas over teleporting, and decapitation. And that’s all before you hit chapter one, where things REALLY get going!
See — I told you it was wild!
In terms of content, any sci-fi enthusiast is going to lap up the tale that’s woven across this universe. But in terms of style, the book comes into its own in the way it throws everything at the page. It’s written in such a character-centric way as the book toggles between multiple points of view. The risk a writer runs in taking this approach is that the characters can sometimes sound too alike. But not so here. This book is a masterclass in writing using a variety of voices.
The star of the show is Nicola Mafalda, a navigator with more snark than you can shake a stick at, whose brought back from retirement to save her furry four-armed alien boyfriend. She’s hilarious. An absolute joy to read, with layers of insecurity she masks in acerbic one-liners, a penchant for swearing, and bar-room brawls.
But Nicola’s snark doesn’t carry over to the other characters. Contrast Nicola with Orlando Walden — he’s a scientist who is tasked to unlock a massive machine that’s the size of a moon which some aliens believe will be the key to their rise to power. But Orlando is a stuttering wreck of nerves, and his chapters are told in the form of communications back to his beloved Ramona, for whose beauty the stars twinkle and the suns shine. His adoration is sickly with young love, but it provides an excellent juxtaposition to the other characters, who are all just as unique from one another as you can get. And that’s the joy of Descendant Machine — just how much it packs in to every page, even when it comes to something as nuanced as the diversity of the character’s voices.
Underneath the bravado, hijinks, and humour, the concepts and themes which drive the story are surprisingly provoking. There’s speculation over how a being without end can reconcile the terrifying finality of death, the chaos that sprouts from nationalistic propaganda, the folly of hubris, the impact of trauma, the symbiosis between ancestors and descendants, and how every individual (regardless of whether you’re a parent or not) shares responsibility for the next generation of humanity. Escaping death is a complicated business, and there’s no shortcut to a happy ending. But the way these heady concepts are snuck in without you even realising it highlights just how encompassing sci-fi can be — it can be serious and fun at the same time, and it totally works. While the tongue of this story may be very firmly in its cheek, there’s nothing flippant or unsubstantial about it.
In terms of scale, you’d be hard-pressed to find stakes that go much bigger than this. How does the end of the universe sound? Instead of measuring things in thousands of miles, the characters measure them in billions. And why not? Space is big. This story’s big. And everything in this story’s big! But just because the stakes are high, doesn’t mean they’re not personal. It’s heartfelt. It’s touching. And the whole thing just feels so… human.
Gareth L. Powell delivers, yet again. This is the second book in the Continuance universe (a standalone sequel to Stars And Bones which really does stand alone) but it also marks a continuance in itself. It continues this author’s reach into the impossible universe, to the places that lie beyond our imagination, and is sure to thrill longtime fans of his. But it also makes the perfect jumping in point. If you’ve never picked up a Gareth L. Powell book before, this will do the job nicely.
If you’re a fan of talking spaceships, impossible odds, and space-travelling antics, then Descendant Machine is the book you’ve been looking for. It’s fun dialled up to the max. It’ll put a smile on your face, a glow in your heart, and butterflies in your stomach. An absolute blast of a novel.
October 23, 2023
Book 2 of the Continuance series - WOW!! Book 1 was great but book two is even better. Set in the same universe but further into the Continuing journey and everything has evolved beautifully. Just like book 1 I read this in two sittings. A gripping and exciting space opera that had me hooked from the first page.
Well done Gareth for an excellent book in a fantastic series.
I again wholeheartedly recommend this book.
Bring on book 3 - Hurry up Gareth, bring it on!
Well done Gareth for an excellent book in a fantastic series.
I again wholeheartedly recommend this book.
Bring on book 3 - Hurry up Gareth, bring it on!
February 27, 2023
The problem with this one for me is that it fell short in continuity, consistency, and credibility (not to mention creativity).
The background is that humans in our not-too-distant future messed up Earth pretty badly and then accidentally started a nuclear war, but fortunately (the first of a number of fortunate coincidences), just as the bombs started launching a physicist discovered how to access subspace, and this caused the extremely powerful being(s) lurking on Saturn to intervene, shut down the nukes, and exile the entire population of Earth to a fleet of enormous space arks, forbidding them to settle any planets because they can't be trusted with a biosphere. (This feels, for me, very like Becky Chambers, and not just because the whole of humanity is now in space arks; it's theoretically optimistic SF, in that the individual characters are well-intentioned, but it's deeply pessimistic about humanity as a whole. That isn't the worst way in which humans screw up in this book, either.)
The problem with consistency comes partly because sometimes the exiles are very familiar with things that Earth people are familiar with, and sometimes they're not. Depending which scene you're in, for example, the protagonist might mention that her gods included the elephant-headed Ganesh (described as such), or she might say, apparently sincerely, "What's an elephant?" (Her gods are referred to exactly once, and then never mentioned again.)
The humans have a new calendar, starting from the date of their exile, but when it's necessary to refer to the 'Oumuamua object, the date is given as 2017, not X years before the New Common Era. A lot is explained (it's all in first person) that only needs to be explained to the 21st-century reader, not the supposed audience of the fictional account.
In terms of continuity, a quantity of antimatter is variously described as "a hundred square kilometers," "a hundred cubic kilometers," and "a hundred tonnes". Those are three very different amounts. In conversation, a person would say something, and then a couple of pages later accuse the person they were talking to of having said it.
To talk about credibility I have to use a spoiler tag for the most egregious example. But there are also a good few fortunate coincidences, cavalry rescues, dei ex machina, and other such creaking plot devices.
In terms of creativity, it's on the tropey end of space opera. You won't find much that's new here. It also deploys the current Easiest Villain: a right-wing populist. Yes, right-wing populists are bad. Yes, we currently have a big problem with them. But making one your villain can easily become a short cut when you don't want to devote much thought to it, and I felt that this was what had happened here.
As far as storytelling goes, it's OK. The emotional arc, the trajectory of tension, the main character's inner journey, all of that is... fine. It's competent. It's adequate. The copy editing is, apart from a few obvious glitches, decent, in the pre-publication copy I got via Netgalley for review, and the remaining issues may yet be ironed out before publication (or they may not). But I didn't feel that the setting was fully thought through or consistently depicted, and the continuity and credibility problems, of which I've only given the most glaring examples out of many, kept tripping me up throughout. This lost it the fourth star.
If you're looking for popcorn space opera and are prepared to not think about it too deeply, you'll probably enjoy this. But for me, it was underdone.
The background is that humans in our not-too-distant future messed up Earth pretty badly and then accidentally started a nuclear war, but fortunately (the first of a number of fortunate coincidences), just as the bombs started launching a physicist discovered how to access subspace, and this caused the extremely powerful being(s) lurking on Saturn to intervene, shut down the nukes, and exile the entire population of Earth to a fleet of enormous space arks, forbidding them to settle any planets because they can't be trusted with a biosphere. (This feels, for me, very like Becky Chambers, and not just because the whole of humanity is now in space arks; it's theoretically optimistic SF, in that the individual characters are well-intentioned, but it's deeply pessimistic about humanity as a whole. That isn't the worst way in which humans screw up in this book, either.)
The problem with consistency comes partly because sometimes the exiles are very familiar with things that Earth people are familiar with, and sometimes they're not. Depending which scene you're in, for example, the protagonist might mention that her gods included the elephant-headed Ganesh (described as such), or she might say, apparently sincerely, "What's an elephant?" (Her gods are referred to exactly once, and then never mentioned again.)
The humans have a new calendar, starting from the date of their exile, but when it's necessary to refer to the 'Oumuamua object, the date is given as 2017, not X years before the New Common Era. A lot is explained (it's all in first person) that only needs to be explained to the 21st-century reader, not the supposed audience of the fictional account.
In terms of continuity, a quantity of antimatter is variously described as "a hundred square kilometers," "a hundred cubic kilometers," and "a hundred tonnes". Those are three very different amounts. In conversation, a person would say something, and then a couple of pages later accuse the person they were talking to of having said it.
To talk about credibility I have to use a spoiler tag for the most egregious example. But there are also a good few fortunate coincidences, cavalry rescues, dei ex machina, and other such creaking plot devices.
In terms of creativity, it's on the tropey end of space opera. You won't find much that's new here. It also deploys the current Easiest Villain: a right-wing populist. Yes, right-wing populists are bad. Yes, we currently have a big problem with them. But making one your villain can easily become a short cut when you don't want to devote much thought to it, and I felt that this was what had happened here.
As far as storytelling goes, it's OK. The emotional arc, the trajectory of tension, the main character's inner journey, all of that is... fine. It's competent. It's adequate. The copy editing is, apart from a few obvious glitches, decent, in the pre-publication copy I got via Netgalley for review, and the remaining issues may yet be ironed out before publication (or they may not). But I didn't feel that the setting was fully thought through or consistently depicted, and the continuity and credibility problems, of which I've only given the most glaring examples out of many, kept tripping me up throughout. This lost it the fourth star.
If you're looking for popcorn space opera and are prepared to not think about it too deeply, you'll probably enjoy this. But for me, it was underdone.
April 23, 2023
I really liked this author's previous trilogy, the
Embers
of
War
series. His second series, Continuance, is not as good. The setting here is a hundred and twenty-five years (seventy-five years for the first book,
Stars and Bones
) after a nuclear war stopped by the godlike energy beings Angels of the Benevolence. Humanity is punished for its treatment of the planet by being banished to the Arks of the Continuance, a traveling fleet of megaships that will ramble the galaxy into the forseeable future, as humans will not be allowed to infect a biosphere again.
I didn't care for this backstory too much, and thankfully none of it comes up in this book. This is an entirely new story with new characters, and almost no references to the Angels of the Benevolence. We are dealing with a Big Dumb Object that gets reactivated when it really really shouldn't and a story that spans several billion years, from the end of the universe back to the beginning. Yes, there is time travel, utilizing the FTL method in this universe (the "substrate," which is basically another dimension underlying our own that spawns wormholes and can only be navigated by an organic brain), and universe-shattering stakes.
The new characters include Nicola Mafalda, a navigator who suffers a rather horrifying injury in the prologue; her scout ship, the Frontier Chic, who presents this story in the form of a "report" to the Council of Ships; Kona, Nicola's on-and-off-again alien lover, who requests her help to deal with a rogue faction of his people, the Jzat, who want to activate the Big Dumb Object, the Grand Mechanism; and Orlando Walden, a very young, immature and egotistical Big Dumb Object and substrate expert called in by said Jzat rogue faction to study it.
The author has always been fond of alternating first-person viewpoints and that trend continues here, although Nicola narrates the majority of the chapters. This is a good thing, as she was a nice character to spend one's time with. (Orlando, not so much. He undergoes a sudden character evolution that was pretty unrealistic, and his chapters really should have been rewritten.) This particular book is pretty plot-heavy, and as a result the pacing is ramped up to accommodate. There's not as much of an emphasis on character as the previous trilogy, but what's here is adequate. This series, so far, isn't living up to the standards set by the Ember of War books, but it's a pleasant enough space opera to lose oneself in for a few days (or hours, I suppose, depending on how fast you read).
I didn't care for this backstory too much, and thankfully none of it comes up in this book. This is an entirely new story with new characters, and almost no references to the Angels of the Benevolence. We are dealing with a Big Dumb Object that gets reactivated when it really really shouldn't and a story that spans several billion years, from the end of the universe back to the beginning. Yes, there is time travel, utilizing the FTL method in this universe (the "substrate," which is basically another dimension underlying our own that spawns wormholes and can only be navigated by an organic brain), and universe-shattering stakes.
The new characters include Nicola Mafalda, a navigator who suffers a rather horrifying injury in the prologue; her scout ship, the Frontier Chic, who presents this story in the form of a "report" to the Council of Ships; Kona, Nicola's on-and-off-again alien lover, who requests her help to deal with a rogue faction of his people, the Jzat, who want to activate the Big Dumb Object, the Grand Mechanism; and Orlando Walden, a very young, immature and egotistical Big Dumb Object and substrate expert called in by said Jzat rogue faction to study it.
The author has always been fond of alternating first-person viewpoints and that trend continues here, although Nicola narrates the majority of the chapters. This is a good thing, as she was a nice character to spend one's time with. (Orlando, not so much. He undergoes a sudden character evolution that was pretty unrealistic, and his chapters really should have been rewritten.) This particular book is pretty plot-heavy, and as a result the pacing is ramped up to accommodate. There's not as much of an emphasis on character as the previous trilogy, but what's here is adequate. This series, so far, isn't living up to the standards set by the Ember of War books, but it's a pleasant enough space opera to lose oneself in for a few days (or hours, I suppose, depending on how fast you read).
February 13, 2023
Descendant Machine is a space opera science fiction novel that can best be described as Star Trek combined with the whiplash twists and fate-of-the-universe stakes of a Marvel film.
Our protagonist is Nicola Mafalda, a navigator in the Continuance’s vanguard scout fleet. The story arc is a morality play that is brought to a conclusion after a series of twists that allow Nicola to never give into pragmatism or compromise her personal morals. While the plot is easy enough to follow and the story is filled with humorous moments, the repeated twists were a little much at times.
This novel works as a standalone and can be read without first reading Stars and Bones. If you enjoy Star Trek or Marvel films then I can recommend reading Descendant Machine.
Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for an advanced reading copy.
Our protagonist is Nicola Mafalda, a navigator in the Continuance’s vanguard scout fleet. The story arc is a morality play that is brought to a conclusion after a series of twists that allow Nicola to never give into pragmatism or compromise her personal morals. While the plot is easy enough to follow and the story is filled with humorous moments, the repeated twists were a little much at times.
This novel works as a standalone and can be read without first reading Stars and Bones. If you enjoy Star Trek or Marvel films then I can recommend reading Descendant Machine.
Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for an advanced reading copy.
April 10, 2023
Great fast paced, fun and intelligent space opera mixing classic big dumb objects with 21st century emotionally intelligent characters
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
April 10, 2023
Descendant Machine is a fun, a true delight of a book that is exciting, innovative and crazy at all places. It’s playtime for the imagination, and I loved it.
The action starts with a nuclear missile exploding and rarely slows down from there. Human Navigators, Ships with personalities, and four armed aliens all feature. Taking place around 50 years after Stars and Bones this book is funny at times and all around a fun read.
The action starts with a nuclear missile exploding and rarely slows down from there. Human Navigators, Ships with personalities, and four armed aliens all feature. Taking place around 50 years after Stars and Bones this book is funny at times and all around a fun read.
April 13, 2023
Descendant Machine by Gareth L. Powell is a smart science fiction adventure filled with witty dialogue. Descendant Machine is the second book in the Continuance book series. It is a very loose sequel to Stars and Bones the first book in the series, where no characters return and the events in the book are light years away and not mentioned. The only thing tying the books together is the set up for how humans currently live and what happened to Earth. You do not have to read the first book, Stars and Bones, to read Descendant Machine. The genre for this book is science fiction but I think of it as a deep dive into science fiction. This book explores subjects like AI, blackholes, and quantum physics. I do not have a brain for science at all but was able to understand these high levels of science that the book laid out. The opening scene was confusing me but I don't know if it will be for new readers. I was trying to find out the connection between this book and to the last book, Stars and Bones. It took me a while to realize there was no connection. The book opens with chaos as the AI ship and their captain is getting fired upon during a sanctioned mission with some double crossing. The scene ends with a dire decision that will be the catalyst to the novel's direction. The story is told through 4 perspectives which works well and keeps it fresh; 3 are with the main action while the other perspective keeps the tension of the ticking clock scenario. The pace of the novel is pretty fast. There are twists all throughout. There's double and triple crossing from characters. The standout of the novel is the witty sharp dialogue that makes every scene enjoyable. The humor is across the novel that really helps with the pace. I was asked to join the Book Tour for Descendant Machine by Titans books who provided me with a free copy via Netgalley. Descendant Machine by Gareth L. Powell is published on April 11 2023.
Plot Summary: 75 Years in the future the Earth will be at war and on the verge of armageddon, but as the missiles flew, the entity was watching and stepped in. A scientist just hours before had found the substrate, a way of which to travel from place to place over distance. Years after this event all earthlings are placed on giant arks called the Continuance, traveling through the substrate searching light years in the future for a new home. Nicola Mafalda works in transport, moving both people and things. She has just picked up a passenger that a Jzat, a four armed humanoid, does not want her to join the Continuance or seek out Ran'nah Abelisk, a Jzat that has knowledge of the Grand Mechanism, a device as big as a planet that is believed to block a worm hole. The Grand Mechanism has been up for centuries and the debate on how to get it open and what is behind it is the reason for war. Nicola is caught in the middle and her only tie is her former boyfriend, who is a Jzat. There's a secret that some one doesn't want out after Nicola is almost killed to keep it a secret. She takes it upon herself to seek out Ran'nah Abelisk and find out what he knows. She takes her ex-boyfriend, her AI ship "the Frontier Chic", and ex military buddy with a grudge.
What I Liked: The humor in this novel is very funny and a theme throughout. The plot is complex, but once I figured everything out, it made sense and I thought it was really smart. The frog in the milk jug dialogue is such good writing and it is a hilarious observation. The second part of the book is so great, really good pace and high stakes adventure. I liked the way the Jzat were described and how their four arms worked. There's another interesting bug-like creature that is named based on what their greatest weakness one is called Allergic to Seafood . I would love to see this species get explored more in future books. The twists and reveals added a lot to the story, there are some pretty great ones. The dialogue is very witty and fun, one of my common critiques in science fiction novels is bad dialogue, which makes this book stand out even more for its cleverness.
What I Disliked: The confusion at the beginning was a callout from the the first book Stars and Bones, when you write into chaos in your first line it makes it interesting, but you lose some connection to why we should care about these characters. Powell makes it up later but it was a little too much right at the beginning. The description setting up the scene was sometimes lacking, I would get confused which ships were in the vicinity of the others. There's a battle where characters escape in a hatch, that took me a while to figure out which ship they got on to.
Recommendation: Descendent Machine by Gareth L. Powell is solid science fiction that is both smart and fun. When I described Stars and Bones I said it was like 3-4 really good concepts of Star Trek episodes combined and the same goes with Descendant Machine. Stars and Bones took its self a little more serious than Descendent Machine. I rated Descendant Machine by. Gareth L. Powell 4 out of 5 stars.
Plot Summary: 75 Years in the future the Earth will be at war and on the verge of armageddon, but as the missiles flew, the entity was watching and stepped in. A scientist just hours before had found the substrate, a way of which to travel from place to place over distance. Years after this event all earthlings are placed on giant arks called the Continuance, traveling through the substrate searching light years in the future for a new home. Nicola Mafalda works in transport, moving both people and things. She has just picked up a passenger that a Jzat, a four armed humanoid, does not want her to join the Continuance or seek out Ran'nah Abelisk, a Jzat that has knowledge of the Grand Mechanism, a device as big as a planet that is believed to block a worm hole. The Grand Mechanism has been up for centuries and the debate on how to get it open and what is behind it is the reason for war. Nicola is caught in the middle and her only tie is her former boyfriend, who is a Jzat. There's a secret that some one doesn't want out after Nicola is almost killed to keep it a secret. She takes it upon herself to seek out Ran'nah Abelisk and find out what he knows. She takes her ex-boyfriend, her AI ship "the Frontier Chic", and ex military buddy with a grudge.
What I Liked: The humor in this novel is very funny and a theme throughout. The plot is complex, but once I figured everything out, it made sense and I thought it was really smart. The frog in the milk jug dialogue is such good writing and it is a hilarious observation. The second part of the book is so great, really good pace and high stakes adventure. I liked the way the Jzat were described and how their four arms worked. There's another interesting bug-like creature that is named based on what their greatest weakness one is called Allergic to Seafood . I would love to see this species get explored more in future books. The twists and reveals added a lot to the story, there are some pretty great ones. The dialogue is very witty and fun, one of my common critiques in science fiction novels is bad dialogue, which makes this book stand out even more for its cleverness.
What I Disliked: The confusion at the beginning was a callout from the the first book Stars and Bones, when you write into chaos in your first line it makes it interesting, but you lose some connection to why we should care about these characters. Powell makes it up later but it was a little too much right at the beginning. The description setting up the scene was sometimes lacking, I would get confused which ships were in the vicinity of the others. There's a battle where characters escape in a hatch, that took me a while to figure out which ship they got on to.
Recommendation: Descendent Machine by Gareth L. Powell is solid science fiction that is both smart and fun. When I described Stars and Bones I said it was like 3-4 really good concepts of Star Trek episodes combined and the same goes with Descendant Machine. Stars and Bones took its self a little more serious than Descendent Machine. I rated Descendant Machine by. Gareth L. Powell 4 out of 5 stars.
April 15, 2023
The length of a book is a weird variable, particularly when it comes to a genre like Space Opera. Descendent Machine is set in Gareth L. Powell's Continuance universe (Earth nearly destroyed, benevolent aliens evacuate the whole Earth and force them to live in Space Arks), but stand-alone, and follows a lot of the recent fashion in the genre. Namely, there are giant superstructures in space, no-one knows what they are, they shouldn't be meddled with, they are meddled with. But its rather straightforward with how it gets there. We have a prologue but of character building and trauma set-up. The gang is pulled together, we have a little side quest and then we are at the gigantic object fighting for control.
I appreciated its direct approach, whilst wondering if these characters perhaps needed a little bit more space to breathe (no pun intended). The book flits in and out of three main protagonists' heads, and we get a sense of their motivations but there isn't really a sense of the bigger universe. that may well be because Powell has done that in other books in this universe, but it just meant it felt a bit thin for the genre. Or alternatively, I have got used to space opera bloat - and its quite possible that is the answer considering that for all these quibbles I enjoyed Descendant Machine a lot. Whilst it is using lots of tropes of its genre, it does it in an interesting way and the big bad is a little bit more interesting than the unknowing mind from the dawn of time that seems to crop up. Most importantly it pulls a bit of a Doctor Who when it comes to the eventual conflict resolution, which I will always appreciate.
I appreciated its direct approach, whilst wondering if these characters perhaps needed a little bit more space to breathe (no pun intended). The book flits in and out of three main protagonists' heads, and we get a sense of their motivations but there isn't really a sense of the bigger universe. that may well be because Powell has done that in other books in this universe, but it just meant it felt a bit thin for the genre. Or alternatively, I have got used to space opera bloat - and its quite possible that is the answer considering that for all these quibbles I enjoyed Descendant Machine a lot. Whilst it is using lots of tropes of its genre, it does it in an interesting way and the big bad is a little bit more interesting than the unknowing mind from the dawn of time that seems to crop up. Most importantly it pulls a bit of a Doctor Who when it comes to the eventual conflict resolution, which I will always appreciate.
May 9, 2024
3.5 stars.
Nicola Mafalda and her scout ship Frontier Chic have a strained relationship. Or rather, she feels uncomfortable and is still recovering from the trauma of the last time they were together, while Frontier doesn't quite understand Nicola's anger with it. They had been under attack, and in a frantic bid to save her life, Frontier Chic took a drastic action. Her life was saved, but she found herself unable to forgive the ship, and is still having some trouble processing her experience.
Months later, a former schoolmate/lover asks her for help. Nicola realizes that the situation he tells her of is extremely serious, and she'll need to forgive both the man and the ship if they are to all work together to travel to the planet Jzat to find a sort of holy man, Abelisk, who knows details about a massive, ring-shaped construction called the Grand Mechanism, which surrounds a black hole.
Of course this is not a simple job. There are others also searching for Abelisk, including those who want to use the Grand Mechanism for their own nefarious purposes. One of these is young physicist and prodigy Orlando Watson who has not been told why he is there to study the Grand Mechanism.
So, Nicola, after sorting out some of her feelings about her last assignment and the way Frontier Chic resolved it, takes off and pretty soon the journey becomes a race to get to the Mechanism to stop it from opening, which, Nicola and company find out to their horror, could mean destruction of everything, including all the arcs housing humanity (see book one of the "Continuance" to learn more about these arcs). There are chases, fighting, shocking reveals, delightful characters (Kona, a Jzat, was a favourite), neat science, and a pace that never lets up.
I loved how the whole story was framed as testimony delivered by Frontier Chic, who, though not Trouble Dog (of the author's "Embers of War" series), was still an interesting presence and viewpoint on all the action and danger.
Interestingly, though the stakes are extremely high in this second entry in the "Continuance" series, the overall feel of this novel is a little lighter, despite the numerous times Nicola and Frontier Chic are in danger. I enjoyed this fast-moving, high danger novel, and definitely recommend it and these series as a whole.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Titan Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.
Nicola Mafalda and her scout ship Frontier Chic have a strained relationship. Or rather, she feels uncomfortable and is still recovering from the trauma of the last time they were together, while Frontier doesn't quite understand Nicola's anger with it. They had been under attack, and in a frantic bid to save her life, Frontier Chic took a drastic action. Her life was saved, but she found herself unable to forgive the ship, and is still having some trouble processing her experience.
Months later, a former schoolmate/lover asks her for help. Nicola realizes that the situation he tells her of is extremely serious, and she'll need to forgive both the man and the ship if they are to all work together to travel to the planet Jzat to find a sort of holy man, Abelisk, who knows details about a massive, ring-shaped construction called the Grand Mechanism, which surrounds a black hole.
Of course this is not a simple job. There are others also searching for Abelisk, including those who want to use the Grand Mechanism for their own nefarious purposes. One of these is young physicist and prodigy Orlando Watson who has not been told why he is there to study the Grand Mechanism.
So, Nicola, after sorting out some of her feelings about her last assignment and the way Frontier Chic resolved it, takes off and pretty soon the journey becomes a race to get to the Mechanism to stop it from opening, which, Nicola and company find out to their horror, could mean destruction of everything, including all the arcs housing humanity (see book one of the "Continuance" to learn more about these arcs). There are chases, fighting, shocking reveals, delightful characters (Kona, a Jzat, was a favourite), neat science, and a pace that never lets up.
I loved how the whole story was framed as testimony delivered by Frontier Chic, who, though not Trouble Dog (of the author's "Embers of War" series), was still an interesting presence and viewpoint on all the action and danger.
Interestingly, though the stakes are extremely high in this second entry in the "Continuance" series, the overall feel of this novel is a little lighter, despite the numerous times Nicola and Frontier Chic are in danger. I enjoyed this fast-moving, high danger novel, and definitely recommend it and these series as a whole.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Titan Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.
May 12, 2024
Thank goodness that’s over! I battled my way to the end purely because this was this month’s book for book club. Otherwise I really wouldn’t have bothered. And I don’t leave books unfinished very often.
I spent most of the time not understanding what was going on. I’m not sure if that was the writing, or the fact that I don’t read much sci-fi, but I was really floundering. Add that to the fact that I really didn’t care about any of the characters. Not a single one. I won’t be reading more by this author.
I spent most of the time not understanding what was going on. I’m not sure if that was the writing, or the fact that I don’t read much sci-fi, but I was really floundering. Add that to the fact that I really didn’t care about any of the characters. Not a single one. I won’t be reading more by this author.
March 30, 2023
This was a great science fiction book. I was a bit concerned because it is second in a series but it read like a standalone. I never felt like I was missing something.
People of Earth had to relocate due to the climate. I usually avoid books with this premise as it’s so overdone lately. This wasn’t overly preachy but I docked a star because I’m SO tired of reading about climate change!
I liked the main character a lot. I loved the ship. The writing flowed really well and the story was entertaining and easy to follow. There was some enjoyable humor but also some sciency sci fi so it was just the recipe I like.
I’m so excited to have found a new (to me) sci fi author & can’t wait to check out more of his books.
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley.
People of Earth had to relocate due to the climate. I usually avoid books with this premise as it’s so overdone lately. This wasn’t overly preachy but I docked a star because I’m SO tired of reading about climate change!
I liked the main character a lot. I loved the ship. The writing flowed really well and the story was entertaining and easy to follow. There was some enjoyable humor but also some sciency sci fi so it was just the recipe I like.
I’m so excited to have found a new (to me) sci fi author & can’t wait to check out more of his books.
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley.
February 26, 2025
I have to say that was a lot more fun than I expected. An extremely fast paced slice of space opera that works entirely as a stand-alone as well as a continuation of his latest setting. A setting which I enjoyed learning about as we see humanity evicted to the stars in varied communal arks by an alien species due to our tendencies to destroy the world around us thanks to nationalism, selfishness and the excesses of capitalism (oh how on the nose this all is..). The author also appears to pay homage to the likes of Banks, Stross, Asimov and other giants of SF with plenty of inspiration drawn from their works, even if it does feel a trifle tropey.
There’s also lots of cool, colossal sized concepts in the story - a vast and mysterious structure which houses something of galactic importance, the ancient, almost Kaiju-like megaships drifting through the galaxy and a whole ton of mental stuff at the end. Coupled with lots of action, some reasonably pulpish attempts at science, one of the craziest over-the-top final sequences and you get a fun, action adventure that doesn’t take itself too seriously. There are some minor plot holes and contradictions which don’t detract enough to worry about, but they are a bit odd given how disciplined the rest of it is given the pace it all runs at.
The main downsides otherwise are mostly in the characters. There’s not a lot to differentiate most of them in style, their interlinking chemistry is rather flat and it leans too heavily into stereotypes and generic templates for my liking. There’s also a lot of weak and often cheesy dialogue which made me cringe a lot, exasperated by an over-reliance on (the same) repeated profanities to replace clever banter. I don’t mind swearing, but used right it provides character flavour. Here it just grates and I much prefer quality dialogue over cheap vulgarity which almost never works. I will say though it was interesting to see humans as the technologically advanced race. Often they’re typecast as the primitives catching up to a superior alien species and this flipped that.
Those are small issues though and overall it’s a recommended couple of days reading that packs a lot into a short novel. It’s not going to change the face of science fiction and far better space opera exists out there, but it does ensure a fun time as long as you don’t stop to think too hard about it.
There’s also lots of cool, colossal sized concepts in the story - a vast and mysterious structure which houses something of galactic importance, the ancient, almost Kaiju-like megaships drifting through the galaxy and a whole ton of mental stuff at the end. Coupled with lots of action, some reasonably pulpish attempts at science, one of the craziest over-the-top final sequences and you get a fun, action adventure that doesn’t take itself too seriously. There are some minor plot holes and contradictions which don’t detract enough to worry about, but they are a bit odd given how disciplined the rest of it is given the pace it all runs at.
The main downsides otherwise are mostly in the characters. There’s not a lot to differentiate most of them in style, their interlinking chemistry is rather flat and it leans too heavily into stereotypes and generic templates for my liking. There’s also a lot of weak and often cheesy dialogue which made me cringe a lot, exasperated by an over-reliance on (the same) repeated profanities to replace clever banter. I don’t mind swearing, but used right it provides character flavour. Here it just grates and I much prefer quality dialogue over cheap vulgarity which almost never works. I will say though it was interesting to see humans as the technologically advanced race. Often they’re typecast as the primitives catching up to a superior alien species and this flipped that.
Those are small issues though and overall it’s a recommended couple of days reading that packs a lot into a short novel. It’s not going to change the face of science fiction and far better space opera exists out there, but it does ensure a fun time as long as you don’t stop to think too hard about it.
April 23, 2023
This was a great science fiction book. I was a bit concerned because it is second in a series but it read like a standalone. I never felt like I was missing something.
People of Earth had to relocate due to the climate. I usually avoid books with this premise as it’s so overdone lately. This wasn’t overly preachy but I docked a star because I’m SO tired of reading about climate change!
I liked the main character a lot. I loved the ship. The writing flowed really well and the story was entertaining and easy to follow. There was some enjoyable humor but also some sciency sci fi so it was just the recipe I like.
I’m so excited to have found a new (to me) sci fi author & can’t wait to check out more of his books.
People of Earth had to relocate due to the climate. I usually avoid books with this premise as it’s so overdone lately. This wasn’t overly preachy but I docked a star because I’m SO tired of reading about climate change!
I liked the main character a lot. I loved the ship. The writing flowed really well and the story was entertaining and easy to follow. There was some enjoyable humor but also some sciency sci fi so it was just the recipe I like.
I’m so excited to have found a new (to me) sci fi author & can’t wait to check out more of his books.
June 5, 2023
Descendant Machine is another great sci-fi adventure from Gareth Powell, and a great expansion of the Continuance universe. It drops you right in the action from the get-go and maintains that pace with Nicola Mafalda, the MC, after a botched mission, undergoing drastic measures and attendant trauma to save her life, which leads her to reunite with her estranged ship, be reinstated, and sent on an even more perilous mission. I also liked the alternate PoVs, which I often do in Gareth's books, which created a good deal of suspense in many parts of the narrative. This book has everything you could want out of space opera, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I really hope to see more from this universe.
April 9, 2025
So this is going to be a bit repetitive because I fear that I just have a general "problem" with Powell's writing, which is that it is simply not enough.
Movie or show scenario ? Sure, it's fine, whatever, feels actiuon-y and emotion-y enough, but please for the love of scifi give me some crumbs of context that is not plain tell don't show. It feels so dull sometimes because everything is just right there but I feel nothing. The writing feels clinical, made to advance the plot, but all characters are the same witty bantery not like the other girls (even the guys are not like the other girls), all the ships are the same, all the aliens, and the few things that are interesting are a caricature - hello the young scientist who was bullie for being smart and has a STUTTER ?
As I said - it's fine on its own. But it's also very empty somehow, and I always end up missing something that makes me care about it all.
Movie or show scenario ? Sure, it's fine, whatever, feels actiuon-y and emotion-y enough, but please for the love of scifi give me some crumbs of context that is not plain tell don't show. It feels so dull sometimes because everything is just right there but I feel nothing. The writing feels clinical, made to advance the plot, but all characters are the same witty bantery not like the other girls (even the guys are not like the other girls), all the ships are the same, all the aliens, and the few things that are interesting are a caricature - hello the young scientist who was bullie for being smart and has a STUTTER ?
As I said - it's fine on its own. But it's also very empty somehow, and I always end up missing something that makes me care about it all.
September 6, 2023
Adventurous, challenging, dark, informative, inspiring, mysterious, reflective, sad, and tense.
Fast-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25 ⭐
This is the second book in The Continuance series, but is actually a prequel. I'll need to reread Stars and Bones...to get the full effect.
I really liked Nicola Mafalda. Each time reading her name...I kept thinking of Harry Potter...for some reason. Hmmm?
The expanse of thought within this story was really interesting. What a great ride.
I'm putting this forward, for now, but I will probably add more...as I let is stew within my head.
Gareth L. Powell is becoming a favourite.
Fast-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25 ⭐
This is the second book in The Continuance series, but is actually a prequel. I'll need to reread Stars and Bones...to get the full effect.
I really liked Nicola Mafalda. Each time reading her name...I kept thinking of Harry Potter...for some reason. Hmmm?
The expanse of thought within this story was really interesting. What a great ride.
I'm putting this forward, for now, but I will probably add more...as I let is stew within my head.
Gareth L. Powell is becoming a favourite.
December 28, 2024
My experience with the last couple of novels that Powell has kicked out was a certain sense of diminishing returns, as while those books weren't bad, I also didn't find them that invigorating. This then is a return to form, besides feeling like something of an upgrade in regards to Powell's take on space opera. I still wonder what a direct follow-up to "Stars and Bones" might look like, but I'm looking forward to it more than I was.
October 14, 2023
Excellent sf
The characterisation is superb and the plot not bad at all. The end felt a bit rushed and I missed Sam the cat, whom I was hoping might make a slight return from the first book, but this is a 'stand alone' novel and a good one. Recommended to lovers of high energy sci fi who don't take life too seriously.
The characterisation is superb and the plot not bad at all. The end felt a bit rushed and I missed Sam the cat, whom I was hoping might make a slight return from the first book, but this is a 'stand alone' novel and a good one. Recommended to lovers of high energy sci fi who don't take life too seriously.
October 30, 2023
This is the second of the Continuance novels, although can be read as a standalone book (but perhaps ideally not). It's a really good read. Fast paced. Witty. Fun at times, with big space-time concepts, based in a space opera novel. Highly recommended.
May 25, 2025
More delightful hard space opera with nothing less than the universe on the line.
May 27, 2024
Four 🌟 stars...enjoyed this space opera...it was better than the first of this series. Note, it isn't necessary to read the first book to enjoy this one...
January 6, 2024
I had a tough time getting into this one, despite the rather abrupt beginning (the POV character's head is cut off!). It may also have been because this was a book 2, not a book 1, and there were multiple instances where I felt I was supposed to "know" something as a reader, but I didn't (which, upon learning it was a book 2, made sense). But once I did get into it, it went really fast and I found I did care what was behind the machine and what happened to the sentient ships and all the people they were trying to protect. I'm getting book 1 through my library and after reading that one, may come back to re-read this in order and that may change my review / opinion of the opening and pacing quite a bit. Enjoy!
August 17, 2023
Not-exactly-a-sequel to Stars and Bones, which I read in May this year, this second book in the series is set in the same universe, but with a different ship-pilot combination having a different adventure. The background is more sketched in rather than filled out, but there's still enough detail that you will be clear as to why humanity is exiled to vast ark ships and unable to colonise planets and who the blue people are.
The maguffin here is that a small crew are sent to look for a kind of hermit character who is a religious leader to a race of aliens with whom the humans have diplomatic relations. The hermit is the keeper of secret knowledge about a BDO that a political faction is trying to activate. But he has taken himself far, far away and is rumoured to be living on a derelict generation ship.
An enjoyable read with a plot that motors along nicely.
The maguffin here is that a small crew are sent to look for a kind of hermit character who is a religious leader to a race of aliens with whom the humans have diplomatic relations. The hermit is the keeper of secret knowledge about a BDO that a political faction is trying to activate. But he has taken himself far, far away and is rumoured to be living on a derelict generation ship.
An enjoyable read with a plot that motors along nicely.
June 24, 2025
"Space is so big. And who even knows what might be occurring in the other galaxies?There are a hundred billion of them after all, and each encompasses a hundred billion stars. I would love to be able to see them."
March 26, 2023
Thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for the arc of Descendant Machine by Gareth L. Powell in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Mr Powell has done it again! Delivered a space opera sci Fi novel that delivers Serenity/Star Trek/Blake 7 mashed up with full on Marvel action, as our plucky and fabulously snarky heroine and gang face a threat of the destruction of the entire universe!
The key protagonists in this full on space opera are Nicola Mafalda, a sassy, nearly and truly juman navigator in the Continuance’s vanguard scout fleet, her ship Frontier Chic, plus Kona, an alien who is more than just Nicola’s special friend, and Orlando Walden, a gifted young quantum scientist, who definitely gave me Leonard Hofstadter vibes.
Theres a lot to like about this book, whilst being part of the Continuance series, it equally expands on the world building of Stars and Bones but, can also be read as a stand alone.
The plot can be described as a morality trope but, find me a story that isn’t in one way or another. What Powell does us wrap this up into a plot that climbs and climbs, arcing through more twists and turns than a rollercoaster, balancing the shocks and turns with some fabulous and feisty moments that are truly brilliant and funny!
I could mention so much more but, if you love space operas, great characters and are looking for that wormhole, most definitely pick up Descendant Machine. It’s one hell of a ride!
Mr Powell has done it again! Delivered a space opera sci Fi novel that delivers Serenity/Star Trek/Blake 7 mashed up with full on Marvel action, as our plucky and fabulously snarky heroine and gang face a threat of the destruction of the entire universe!
The key protagonists in this full on space opera are Nicola Mafalda, a sassy, nearly and truly juman navigator in the Continuance’s vanguard scout fleet, her ship Frontier Chic, plus Kona, an alien who is more than just Nicola’s special friend, and Orlando Walden, a gifted young quantum scientist, who definitely gave me Leonard Hofstadter vibes.
Theres a lot to like about this book, whilst being part of the Continuance series, it equally expands on the world building of Stars and Bones but, can also be read as a stand alone.
The plot can be described as a morality trope but, find me a story that isn’t in one way or another. What Powell does us wrap this up into a plot that climbs and climbs, arcing through more twists and turns than a rollercoaster, balancing the shocks and turns with some fabulous and feisty moments that are truly brilliant and funny!
I could mention so much more but, if you love space operas, great characters and are looking for that wormhole, most definitely pick up Descendant Machine. It’s one hell of a ride!
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