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Arcana Imperii #2
Deep Black
Marca Nbaro had always dreamed of serving aboard the Greatships, with their vast cargo holds and a crew that could fill a city.
They are the lifeblood of human-occupied space, transporting an unimaginable volume - and value - of goods from City, the greatest human orbital, all the way to Tradepoint at the other, to trade for xenoglas with an unknowable alien species.
And now, out in the darkness of space, something is targeting them.
Nbaro and her friends are close to locating their enemy, in this gripping sequel to the award-nominated Artifact Space, but they are running out of time - and their allies are running out of patience . . .
Written by one of the most exciting new voices in SF, this space thriller will keep readers on the edge of their seats.
They are the lifeblood of human-occupied space, transporting an unimaginable volume - and value - of goods from City, the greatest human orbital, all the way to Tradepoint at the other, to trade for xenoglas with an unknowable alien species.
And now, out in the darkness of space, something is targeting them.
Nbaro and her friends are close to locating their enemy, in this gripping sequel to the award-nominated Artifact Space, but they are running out of time - and their allies are running out of patience . . .
Written by one of the most exciting new voices in SF, this space thriller will keep readers on the edge of their seats.
510 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2024
201 people are currently reading
1228 people want to read
About the author
Miles Cameron
31 books2,714 followersMiles Cameron is an author, a re-enactor, an outdoors expert and a weapons specialist. He lives, works and writes in Toronto, where he lives with his family. This is his debut fantasy novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews
November 19, 2024
So this was fun. Just outright fun, except for the headache I was left with at the end, for reading six hours straight. Marca Nbaro is continuing to serve on the giant trading ship Athens. This goes beyond the original Mary Sue, find-my-destiny story into a flat out adventure. She grows into it, the disillusionment as one discovers their heroes are human (more or less), and has some flat out adventures. Not everyone welcomes the traders, and at the back of their minds is the mysterious disappearance of the last two greatships. There's no end to the external conflicts (it would probably be spoilery if I said more), so suffice it to say that it is not all space-battles, and there are challenges with the aliens that trade them the coveted space-glass (okay, Cameron calls it something else, but that's what it was in my mind).
"'We’re lucky we didn’t take losses, but I’m getting ready to get hammered in the next exchange. Life goes on.’ What he meant was, Death goes on."
Tempering that are a few moments of inner conflict, self-doubt, and self-effacement that are appropriate for that transition into leadership. I rather liked those moments, particularly Cameron's ability to recognize we might have conflicting emotional parts, mostly because they both humanize Marca and throw some emotional tension into those moments between external conflict.
As an aside (some days I feel like everything I say is an aside), I'll probably have to add Cameron to the shortlist of non-female authors who can convincingly write women as humans.
"Nbaro knew, without feeling around inside her head, that she wasn’t actually all right with it: that some part of her had expected this and saw it as rejection; that another part had never believed that he loved her; a third part – a deeply injured part – had never expected any other outcome."
The last book ended rather abruptly, and this picks up where it left off. I'll be honest--Cameron writes rather more battle details than I am able to pay attention to, so on the whole, I just continued applying the gloss of my usual experience and it went just fine. Others' mileage may vary. Also, while there were hints of a greater arc in the first book, this one does more than hint. Alas, that we might have to wait another year for the next chapter. This, I think, should appeal to sci-fi classic lovers (without the -isms, thankfully) as well as the next generation. Think Star Wars, that transcends generations and without the ridiculous pandering the marketers, despite the fact that we have a fleet of capitalist soldiers.
Four and a half Greatships.
"'We’re lucky we didn’t take losses, but I’m getting ready to get hammered in the next exchange. Life goes on.’ What he meant was, Death goes on."
Tempering that are a few moments of inner conflict, self-doubt, and self-effacement that are appropriate for that transition into leadership. I rather liked those moments, particularly Cameron's ability to recognize we might have conflicting emotional parts, mostly because they both humanize Marca and throw some emotional tension into those moments between external conflict.
As an aside (some days I feel like everything I say is an aside), I'll probably have to add Cameron to the shortlist of non-female authors who can convincingly write women as humans.
"Nbaro knew, without feeling around inside her head, that she wasn’t actually all right with it: that some part of her had expected this and saw it as rejection; that another part had never believed that he loved her; a third part – a deeply injured part – had never expected any other outcome."
The last book ended rather abruptly, and this picks up where it left off. I'll be honest--Cameron writes rather more battle details than I am able to pay attention to, so on the whole, I just continued applying the gloss of my usual experience and it went just fine. Others' mileage may vary. Also, while there were hints of a greater arc in the first book, this one does more than hint. Alas, that we might have to wait another year for the next chapter. This, I think, should appeal to sci-fi classic lovers (without the -isms, thankfully) as well as the next generation. Think Star Wars, that transcends generations and without the ridiculous pandering the marketers, despite the fact that we have a fleet of capitalist soldiers.
Four and a half Greatships.
July 8, 2024
If you've never read a Miles Cameron book, well that's truly a shame because he has been writing some of the best fantasy in the genre. Both The Traitor Son Cycle and Masters and Mages are must-read series in my opinion and two of my all-time favorites. When he turned to writing sci-fi a few years ago, I had no doubt that he would be just as amazing in that arena as well. And I wasn't wrong as I found his debut space opera Artifact Space to be a jaw-dropping sensation of a novel. You can check out my review of book one in the Arcana Imperii series if you'd like to find out more. So it was with much excitement that I was able to obtain an advance copy of the sequel DEEP BLACK, graciously provided by author Miles Cameron himself. Would it have the same impact on me as its predecessor? I simply couldn't wait to find out.
DEEP BLACK begins not too long after the thrilling events that concluded the first book. Without getting into too many details, as this is the second book in a series, Marca Nbaro is on the Greatship Athens with her fellow crewmates recovering from her previous ordeal and preparing for the greater battle that could very well be coming. To say that there are a number of threats in the particular star system where Marca is now stationed is a severe understatement. And that's part of the many reasons why this series is just firing on all cylinders and keeping the action to a fever pitch. There's no shortage of spacefaring enemies lurking and ready to strike with the least possible warning.
I found DEEP BLACK to be a very worthy sequel which expanded on the first book and delved even more deeply into Marca and her interpersonal relationships. One romantic relationship in particular with her senior officer is a somewhat complicated one. Most of the time she is all-in but there are also moments where she goes through feelings of insecurity and doubt, not really knowing whether or not this is actual love she is feeling. We've all had relationships like this I think. Having that romantic relationship set against the backdrop of potential interstellar war was kind of refreshing and elevates this series from just a "pew pew" sf thriller (not that there's anything wrong with that) to something with much more weight and personal stakes for the main character. Cameron is so great at doing this by the way, he makes you care incredibly for his characters because he writes them so vividly.
Coming on the heels of the brilliant Artifact Space, I wasn't sure how DEEP BLACK would measure up, but I have to say that I blew through this weighty tome in just short of a week, rarely putting it down. So I believe that speaks volumes with regard to its quality. This book pretty much had it all: suspense, romance, intrigue, military strategy, an enigmatic alien species, and of course the hallmark space battles that one would expect from an entertaining space opera adventure. In the end I was more than captivated by this book and that is really no surprise given what a fan I am already of Miles Cameron's work. I knew it was going to be great but I didn't expect the wonderful surprises that he would throw in there to intensify my enjoyment that much more. if you are into authors like James S.A. Corey, Peter F. Hamilton, and Adrian Tchaikovsky, you should definitely pick up this series. It's a must-read that should appeal to the vast majority of science-fiction lovers.
DEEP BLACK begins not too long after the thrilling events that concluded the first book. Without getting into too many details, as this is the second book in a series, Marca Nbaro is on the Greatship Athens with her fellow crewmates recovering from her previous ordeal and preparing for the greater battle that could very well be coming. To say that there are a number of threats in the particular star system where Marca is now stationed is a severe understatement. And that's part of the many reasons why this series is just firing on all cylinders and keeping the action to a fever pitch. There's no shortage of spacefaring enemies lurking and ready to strike with the least possible warning.
I found DEEP BLACK to be a very worthy sequel which expanded on the first book and delved even more deeply into Marca and her interpersonal relationships. One romantic relationship in particular with her senior officer is a somewhat complicated one. Most of the time she is all-in but there are also moments where she goes through feelings of insecurity and doubt, not really knowing whether or not this is actual love she is feeling. We've all had relationships like this I think. Having that romantic relationship set against the backdrop of potential interstellar war was kind of refreshing and elevates this series from just a "pew pew" sf thriller (not that there's anything wrong with that) to something with much more weight and personal stakes for the main character. Cameron is so great at doing this by the way, he makes you care incredibly for his characters because he writes them so vividly.
Coming on the heels of the brilliant Artifact Space, I wasn't sure how DEEP BLACK would measure up, but I have to say that I blew through this weighty tome in just short of a week, rarely putting it down. So I believe that speaks volumes with regard to its quality. This book pretty much had it all: suspense, romance, intrigue, military strategy, an enigmatic alien species, and of course the hallmark space battles that one would expect from an entertaining space opera adventure. In the end I was more than captivated by this book and that is really no surprise given what a fan I am already of Miles Cameron's work. I knew it was going to be great but I didn't expect the wonderful surprises that he would throw in there to intensify my enjoyment that much more. if you are into authors like James S.A. Corey, Peter F. Hamilton, and Adrian Tchaikovsky, you should definitely pick up this series. It's a must-read that should appeal to the vast majority of science-fiction lovers.
September 28, 2024
My review of Deep Black is published at Grimdark Magazine.
Miles Cameron ratchets up the space opera adventure in Deep Black, the sequel to his highly acclaimed sci-fi debut, Artifact Space, and the second volume in his Arcana Imperii series.
The Arcana Imperii Universe teems with trade, and the most precious commodity is xenoglas, a seemingly supernatural material that originates from an alien race known as the Starfish. Of course, the desire for xenoglas brings out the worst among some people. Technology advances but human nature remains the same, even after colonizing the greater cosmos.
Miles Cameron again shines with his expertly drawn characters, who spring to life led by the spirited Marca Nbaro, an orphan who forges paperwork to become a midshipman on the Greatship Athens. I love Marca’s character growth over the course of both novels, and I especially enjoyed how the relationships with her friends develop and mature in Deep Black. There is also a romantic subplot, which I didn’t particularly appreciate in Artifact Space but found both more believable and enjoyable in Deep Black.
The worldbuilding all feels very natural in Deep Black, without any awkward info dumps. My favorite part of the Arcana Imperii Universe are the Greatships themselves, enormous sword-shaped spacecraft that are large enough to house the population of an entire city.
Deep Black delves deeper into the alien races of the Arcana Imperii Universe and the behind-the-scenes politics driving their conflicts and alliances. With its focus on both interpersonal relationships and deepening knowledge of alien races, Deep Black has strong Star Trek: The Next Generation vibes, except faster paced and a lot more fun.
My only minor quibble with Deep Black is the mystery surrounding the nature of xenoglas. Even today, all of the materials characterization tools exist to determine the composition, structure, and properties of any unknown material. It therefore seems odd that these tools weren’t applied to xenoglas, leading some characters to believe that it has almost magical properties. Anyway, this is just a slight criticism in a novel that was otherwise thoroughly enjoyable.
Overall, Deep Black delivers a highly satisfying conclusion to the current story arc while also leaving the door open for new adventures.
Miles Cameron ratchets up the space opera adventure in Deep Black, the sequel to his highly acclaimed sci-fi debut, Artifact Space, and the second volume in his Arcana Imperii series.
The Arcana Imperii Universe teems with trade, and the most precious commodity is xenoglas, a seemingly supernatural material that originates from an alien race known as the Starfish. Of course, the desire for xenoglas brings out the worst among some people. Technology advances but human nature remains the same, even after colonizing the greater cosmos.
Miles Cameron again shines with his expertly drawn characters, who spring to life led by the spirited Marca Nbaro, an orphan who forges paperwork to become a midshipman on the Greatship Athens. I love Marca’s character growth over the course of both novels, and I especially enjoyed how the relationships with her friends develop and mature in Deep Black. There is also a romantic subplot, which I didn’t particularly appreciate in Artifact Space but found both more believable and enjoyable in Deep Black.
The worldbuilding all feels very natural in Deep Black, without any awkward info dumps. My favorite part of the Arcana Imperii Universe are the Greatships themselves, enormous sword-shaped spacecraft that are large enough to house the population of an entire city.
Deep Black delves deeper into the alien races of the Arcana Imperii Universe and the behind-the-scenes politics driving their conflicts and alliances. With its focus on both interpersonal relationships and deepening knowledge of alien races, Deep Black has strong Star Trek: The Next Generation vibes, except faster paced and a lot more fun.
My only minor quibble with Deep Black is the mystery surrounding the nature of xenoglas. Even today, all of the materials characterization tools exist to determine the composition, structure, and properties of any unknown material. It therefore seems odd that these tools weren’t applied to xenoglas, leading some characters to believe that it has almost magical properties. Anyway, this is just a slight criticism in a novel that was otherwise thoroughly enjoyable.
Overall, Deep Black delivers a highly satisfying conclusion to the current story arc while also leaving the door open for new adventures.
August 11, 2024
Well, this was the disappointment of the year, so far.
I really liked 'Artifact Space', and I enjoyed 'Beyond The Fringe', too, so my expectations were high for this one. However, halfway in I found that I was actually a bit bored, actually even thinking about DNF.
The reason for this is that the book is shock-full of dead ends and page fillers:
There are repetitious descriptions of space battles that for me were totally devoid of any suspense and drama.
There were a lot of pages about rebuilding the interiors of the 'Athens', in anticipation of a possible boarding, and the accompanying defence practices - but they never come to any use. (Don't hang a pistol on the wall if it never will be used, to reference Tjechov.)
The Starfish quickly disappear from the story, except for one quite pointless encounter in the end.
The Starfish are expected to have exterminated previous cultures - but ooops, maybe they didn't, or at least no alone, who knows? And we definitely don't get any explanation of why that extermination in that case took place.
It is suggested that the Starfish know how to - somehow - make the xenoglas deteriorate, which would be crippling - it never comes to anything more than a suggestion.
One Starfish defects, and we have a number of pages describing efforts to communicate with it. Nothing interesting comes out of it.
The new race, the Hin, are enemies but becomes the best of buddies after a rescue operation.
Nbaro oversees the return of the rescued Hins, "when all went to hell" (actual quote) - which turns out to be nothing else than some rambunctious Hin children. *sigh*
Nbaro got a neural lace - which is described as extremely expensive - into her brain early on, on orders from Morosini; she hereself wonders why. Do we ever get any explanation? No.
Nbaros parents apparently died heros, protecting vital AIs. We are a number of times promised more details about this, but we never get them.
Morosini is said to have planned used Nbaro in his planning from her earliest years - we never get any reason for this, nor do we get any explanation about why she then had to be brought up in a horrible orphanage. Also, since she almost got killed trying to get on board 'Athens' in the beginning of book one, it is quite a weird planning of such a powerful AI not to have someone discreetly protecting her on the way to the ship. It all stinks of the author belatedly thinking "oooh, wouldn't it be a cool plot twist if she was the chosen one from the beginning?"
Character development? Well, yes, if you count things like Nbaro thinking "remember to smile". No, if you consider the about a hundred times she thinks "I'm an idiot". Which becomes really annoying, by the way.
Thea Drake is virtually nonexistent, and there is no evoluytion of the friendship. The same holds true for almoste every other character, we get to know them by name and nothing else.
We never get to know who the instigators of the whole crisis/war are - sometimes they are referred to as greedy autocrats, sometimes Nbaro wonders if there are rogue AIs involved. Who knows? Definitely not the reader.
But the instigators get their punishment, right? Well, no, not obviously...
But at least Nbaro saves her dear orphanage friend, who was said to have been sold off to some unimaginable dark fate in book one? Well, no...
In the end we are told that "As the two greatships, loaded to the gills with fresh [xeno]glas, the prices went up and up". Well, that's good news for Nbaro and Thea, but that's not how an economy works when the supply increases.
Unfortunately, there are so many, many more dead ends and questions left unanswered that it feels like I could go on forever. It almost feels like an achievement, in a weird way, that the author had so many opportunities to make things interesting and missed them all.
I really liked 'Artifact Space', and I enjoyed 'Beyond The Fringe', too, so my expectations were high for this one. However, halfway in I found that I was actually a bit bored, actually even thinking about DNF.
The reason for this is that the book is shock-full of dead ends and page fillers:
There are repetitious descriptions of space battles that for me were totally devoid of any suspense and drama.
There were a lot of pages about rebuilding the interiors of the 'Athens', in anticipation of a possible boarding, and the accompanying defence practices - but they never come to any use. (Don't hang a pistol on the wall if it never will be used, to reference Tjechov.)
The Starfish quickly disappear from the story, except for one quite pointless encounter in the end.
The Starfish are expected to have exterminated previous cultures - but ooops, maybe they didn't, or at least no alone, who knows? And we definitely don't get any explanation of why that extermination in that case took place.
It is suggested that the Starfish know how to - somehow - make the xenoglas deteriorate, which would be crippling - it never comes to anything more than a suggestion.
One Starfish defects, and we have a number of pages describing efforts to communicate with it. Nothing interesting comes out of it.
The new race, the Hin, are enemies but becomes the best of buddies after a rescue operation.
Nbaro oversees the return of the rescued Hins, "when all went to hell" (actual quote) - which turns out to be nothing else than some rambunctious Hin children. *sigh*
Nbaro got a neural lace - which is described as extremely expensive - into her brain early on, on orders from Morosini; she hereself wonders why. Do we ever get any explanation? No.
Nbaros parents apparently died heros, protecting vital AIs. We are a number of times promised more details about this, but we never get them.
Morosini is said to have planned used Nbaro in his planning from her earliest years - we never get any reason for this, nor do we get any explanation about why she then had to be brought up in a horrible orphanage. Also, since she almost got killed trying to get on board 'Athens' in the beginning of book one, it is quite a weird planning of such a powerful AI not to have someone discreetly protecting her on the way to the ship. It all stinks of the author belatedly thinking "oooh, wouldn't it be a cool plot twist if she was the chosen one from the beginning?"
Character development? Well, yes, if you count things like Nbaro thinking "remember to smile". No, if you consider the about a hundred times she thinks "I'm an idiot". Which becomes really annoying, by the way.
Thea Drake is virtually nonexistent, and there is no evoluytion of the friendship. The same holds true for almoste every other character, we get to know them by name and nothing else.
We never get to know who the instigators of the whole crisis/war are - sometimes they are referred to as greedy autocrats, sometimes Nbaro wonders if there are rogue AIs involved. Who knows? Definitely not the reader.
But the instigators get their punishment, right? Well, no, not obviously...
But at least Nbaro saves her dear orphanage friend, who was said to have been sold off to some unimaginable dark fate in book one? Well, no...
In the end we are told that "As the two greatships, loaded to the gills with fresh [xeno]glas, the prices went up and up". Well, that's good news for Nbaro and Thea, but that's not how an economy works when the supply increases.
Unfortunately, there are so many, many more dead ends and questions left unanswered that it feels like I could go on forever. It almost feels like an achievement, in a weird way, that the author had so many opportunities to make things interesting and missed them all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2025
Enthusiastic GR friend review, that led me to read the book:
https://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2024/...
I own a Kindle copy.
Sadly this is a book that I should have written up earlier. At this remove, it sits in fading memory as a decent but unremarkable mil-SF procedural, with interesting aliens. 3.5 stars, rounded down for the vaguely unsatisfied memories that are left. Oh, well. Maybe I'll do a skim-reread sometime and update this. Grump, grump.
https://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2024/...
I own a Kindle copy.
Sadly this is a book that I should have written up earlier. At this remove, it sits in fading memory as a decent but unremarkable mil-SF procedural, with interesting aliens. 3.5 stars, rounded down for the vaguely unsatisfied memories that are left. Oh, well. Maybe I'll do a skim-reread sometime and update this. Grump, grump.
July 22, 2024
Review originally appearing on FanFiAddict.com
Hello again dear reader or listener, I’m once again at a loss as to where to begin with a review for this series and, unfortunately, several lines worth of AAAH is still not a viable option for a helpful review.
If you haven’t yet read book one you can find my review of it here and fear not, I won’t spoil anything major from it. If there are any spoilers, they’ll be extremely tiny.
So, let’s start with the formalities: a big thank you to Christian/Miles Cameron for sending me an eArc of his book, I was dying to read it. My thoughts remain honest.
Now then.
I would sacrifice big things for the continual happiness of Athens’ crew. Firstborns are definitely on the table. Cameron has written a diverse and multicultural mix of characters that live rent free in my heart and we all deserve them in our lives. The banter, the camaraderie, the feels, not to mention the romance. I am unwell, dear reader. And so will you be, once you fall into this action-packed sequel, rife with space action, small moments (that nonetheless feel big) between protagonists you live for, and the ongoing unravelling of a galaxy wide conspiracy.
With the story picking up roughly a week after the events of Artifact Space, Cameron wastes no time to grab the reader and throw them head first into high stakes action but also thought-provoking discourse, throughout the whole book. If in fact with book one we came along with Marca Nbaro to discover the world of the Greatships and what their trade/commerce-based culture and society could look like, book two is now showing the cracks and tensions that arise when merchants are forced to become warriors, when social contracts are broken, webs of secrets threaten to overwhelm, and different realities clash.
There are so many levels of nuance to this series that it would take me several essays to break it all down, so let me ramble on instead about what makes this sequel a worthy successor to its first incredible entry in a space opera saga that deserves all the accolades. And we’re only on book two! (Plus, a novella).
First and foremost, the plot and pacing of the story remain as complex yet speedy as in book one, riveting to say the least, holding you emotionally hostage to say the most. The intricacies and routines of life aboard the Athens, paired with the uncertainties of what is to come for our protagonists, only truly show their complexity if you try to sit down and recount them to someone else. Cameron’s world building and exposition are seamless and, for the most part, weightless (more on that in a sec). We readers experience everything along with Marca in ways that both make us hold our breath and then sigh in relief along with her. Every. Single. Time. Rich details are where this author excels at, be they for setting, action, or character moments and quirks. And oh the mental health and consent undercurrents that make the protag so real she’s practically breathing next to you.
If you’ve read anything by Cameron before, this won’t surprise you, and if you haven’t yet, you’ll most likely be in awe at the ways everything interlocks.
That said, a personal qualm came in the form of heavy battle/space flight mechanics and science. I’m not necessarily saying it was badly done. Far from it, Cameron takes great care to give a thorough and clear play-by-play of everything happening. In a way, this augmented information level is the natural progression for Nbaro given the events of book one which I won’t spoil. So, strictly plot wise, it makes perfect sense. For me personally however, (someone who barely passed high school physics and math to the point where her professors almost wept in relief at me managing the bare minimum to do so), keeping track of everything and understanding it all meant I had to slow down considerably and maybe go back through a passage a couple of times. The only chink in the armor as it were, of a fully immersive and high-octane experience for me. But I also know people who are not only going to love it all, they’ll thrive and rave about it for days. Also, the sheer tactics etc. are so on point, they’re just brilliant, and if the end of the world happens, I need to find myself on this author’s side cause that’s the only way I’m surviving. Just saying.
As for the character work, it remains immaculate, it gives me life, and it waters my crops. Any interaction, be it platonic or romantic, is not only healthy but it’s an ongoing learning experience for Marca. Her growth is continuous and it’s truly moving to see the woman and respected/beloved officer she’s become aboard the Athens, compared to the scared and more than a little wired young woman she boarded as. You feel genuine pride. Also, her internal monologue remains the best source of comedic relief and relatability, as well. Truly, I don’t think I’ve seen myself more in a character that I have with Nbaro, in recent years. If only for the amount of times she calls herself an idiot, and all of what being in your twenties entails.
“There. Sometimes I’m a good officer. Now I’ll just take care of the anxiety over here, by myself.”
And that’s not even mentioning in detail the wider cast of incredible side characters all around Marca that enrich everything and shred your feels in the process. The way in which Marca needs to compartmentalize her feelings and emotions, in the face of losses, is not only rendered superbly but Cameron’s relentless pace throughout the last 20% of the book forces the reader to really feel and act the same way as her. No time for grief in the moment, you need to keep your head clear and keep at it to get out alive. Simply and purely brilliant.
“Honestly, I’m tired. I’m twenty years old, and I’m not sure I can handle this decision on my own. Why the hell don’t you two just give me an order?”
Dare I say, a massive mood.
Seriously, I could go on for days, instead I’ll say this last thing.
You don’t normally expect a romance at the heart of a relatively heavy-duty space opera. At the very least, not a healthy and well communicating one. As I said in my review of book one, the romantic subplot well and truly snuck up on me. My new expectations in that regard then, I thought, were going to be met. But Cameron blew past them with such class and humor and heart. In Deep Black, the author gives this side of the plot all the space (pun not intended but fitting) to breathe and grow, and I just love them, your honor. The Athens isn’t the only sailing ship out there and we are fed so well. I’m not even a romantic and I think my sternum aches from the amount of times I slammed my hand on it for the feels these two idiots gave me. I’m fine…
Ultimately this was a lot of words to say, if you loved Artifact Space you’re gonna love Deep Black! You’re going to be breathless from all the action, only to catch it long enough to be either cocooned by the warm found family feels or devastated by the emotions and romance. You will be amused, bemused, worried, entertained, stressed, and impressed. And you’re going to love every second of it.
And if you haven’t started the Arcana Imperii series yet, what are you waiting for?!
Deep Black comes out August 1st and if any of what I mentioned sounds like the kind of thing you enjoy, dear reader, you have such a treat ahead of you with this sequel that does not disappoint.
Until next time,
Eleni A.E.
PS: my eternally growing fondness for the AI Morosini is only comparable to my readiness to ride at dawn if anything happens to him and his holographic little cat in any future books.
Hello again dear reader or listener, I’m once again at a loss as to where to begin with a review for this series and, unfortunately, several lines worth of AAAH is still not a viable option for a helpful review.
If you haven’t yet read book one you can find my review of it here and fear not, I won’t spoil anything major from it. If there are any spoilers, they’ll be extremely tiny.
So, let’s start with the formalities: a big thank you to Christian/Miles Cameron for sending me an eArc of his book, I was dying to read it. My thoughts remain honest.
Now then.
I would sacrifice big things for the continual happiness of Athens’ crew. Firstborns are definitely on the table. Cameron has written a diverse and multicultural mix of characters that live rent free in my heart and we all deserve them in our lives. The banter, the camaraderie, the feels, not to mention the romance. I am unwell, dear reader. And so will you be, once you fall into this action-packed sequel, rife with space action, small moments (that nonetheless feel big) between protagonists you live for, and the ongoing unravelling of a galaxy wide conspiracy.
With the story picking up roughly a week after the events of Artifact Space, Cameron wastes no time to grab the reader and throw them head first into high stakes action but also thought-provoking discourse, throughout the whole book. If in fact with book one we came along with Marca Nbaro to discover the world of the Greatships and what their trade/commerce-based culture and society could look like, book two is now showing the cracks and tensions that arise when merchants are forced to become warriors, when social contracts are broken, webs of secrets threaten to overwhelm, and different realities clash.
There are so many levels of nuance to this series that it would take me several essays to break it all down, so let me ramble on instead about what makes this sequel a worthy successor to its first incredible entry in a space opera saga that deserves all the accolades. And we’re only on book two! (Plus, a novella).
First and foremost, the plot and pacing of the story remain as complex yet speedy as in book one, riveting to say the least, holding you emotionally hostage to say the most. The intricacies and routines of life aboard the Athens, paired with the uncertainties of what is to come for our protagonists, only truly show their complexity if you try to sit down and recount them to someone else. Cameron’s world building and exposition are seamless and, for the most part, weightless (more on that in a sec). We readers experience everything along with Marca in ways that both make us hold our breath and then sigh in relief along with her. Every. Single. Time. Rich details are where this author excels at, be they for setting, action, or character moments and quirks. And oh the mental health and consent undercurrents that make the protag so real she’s practically breathing next to you.
If you’ve read anything by Cameron before, this won’t surprise you, and if you haven’t yet, you’ll most likely be in awe at the ways everything interlocks.
That said, a personal qualm came in the form of heavy battle/space flight mechanics and science. I’m not necessarily saying it was badly done. Far from it, Cameron takes great care to give a thorough and clear play-by-play of everything happening. In a way, this augmented information level is the natural progression for Nbaro given the events of book one which I won’t spoil. So, strictly plot wise, it makes perfect sense. For me personally however, (someone who barely passed high school physics and math to the point where her professors almost wept in relief at me managing the bare minimum to do so), keeping track of everything and understanding it all meant I had to slow down considerably and maybe go back through a passage a couple of times. The only chink in the armor as it were, of a fully immersive and high-octane experience for me. But I also know people who are not only going to love it all, they’ll thrive and rave about it for days. Also, the sheer tactics etc. are so on point, they’re just brilliant, and if the end of the world happens, I need to find myself on this author’s side cause that’s the only way I’m surviving. Just saying.
As for the character work, it remains immaculate, it gives me life, and it waters my crops. Any interaction, be it platonic or romantic, is not only healthy but it’s an ongoing learning experience for Marca. Her growth is continuous and it’s truly moving to see the woman and respected/beloved officer she’s become aboard the Athens, compared to the scared and more than a little wired young woman she boarded as. You feel genuine pride. Also, her internal monologue remains the best source of comedic relief and relatability, as well. Truly, I don’t think I’ve seen myself more in a character that I have with Nbaro, in recent years. If only for the amount of times she calls herself an idiot, and all of what being in your twenties entails.
“There. Sometimes I’m a good officer. Now I’ll just take care of the anxiety over here, by myself.”
And that’s not even mentioning in detail the wider cast of incredible side characters all around Marca that enrich everything and shred your feels in the process. The way in which Marca needs to compartmentalize her feelings and emotions, in the face of losses, is not only rendered superbly but Cameron’s relentless pace throughout the last 20% of the book forces the reader to really feel and act the same way as her. No time for grief in the moment, you need to keep your head clear and keep at it to get out alive. Simply and purely brilliant.
“Honestly, I’m tired. I’m twenty years old, and I’m not sure I can handle this decision on my own. Why the hell don’t you two just give me an order?”
Dare I say, a massive mood.
Seriously, I could go on for days, instead I’ll say this last thing.
You don’t normally expect a romance at the heart of a relatively heavy-duty space opera. At the very least, not a healthy and well communicating one. As I said in my review of book one, the romantic subplot well and truly snuck up on me. My new expectations in that regard then, I thought, were going to be met. But Cameron blew past them with such class and humor and heart. In Deep Black, the author gives this side of the plot all the space (pun not intended but fitting) to breathe and grow, and I just love them, your honor. The Athens isn’t the only sailing ship out there and we are fed so well. I’m not even a romantic and I think my sternum aches from the amount of times I slammed my hand on it for the feels these two idiots gave me. I’m fine…
Ultimately this was a lot of words to say, if you loved Artifact Space you’re gonna love Deep Black! You’re going to be breathless from all the action, only to catch it long enough to be either cocooned by the warm found family feels or devastated by the emotions and romance. You will be amused, bemused, worried, entertained, stressed, and impressed. And you’re going to love every second of it.
And if you haven’t started the Arcana Imperii series yet, what are you waiting for?!
Deep Black comes out August 1st and if any of what I mentioned sounds like the kind of thing you enjoy, dear reader, you have such a treat ahead of you with this sequel that does not disappoint.
Until next time,
Eleni A.E.
PS: my eternally growing fondness for the AI Morosini is only comparable to my readiness to ride at dawn if anything happens to him and his holographic little cat in any future books.
August 8, 2024
I've been waiting on Deep Black for a while. Ever since I finished Artifact Space, honestly, at which point I shook my fist and demanded a sequel, ideally immediately. Well, immediately it wasn't, but the sequel is here, wrapping up the story that the first book began: Marca Nbaro is having her first eventful cruise aboard the Greatship Athens, trading with mysterious aliens for technology and materials we barely pretend to understand. Nbaro grew by leaps and bounds in the first story, rising from her beginnings in an orphanage to something like a talisman, getting to live to her full potential in service to the Service. Of course to do that she had to deal with an espionage ring and the aforesaid mysterious aliens.
This second book opens where the first left off. With the Athens meeting some weird and wonderful starfish-aliens, and trading them all sorts of knickknacks for their own goods. And I'll say this for Deep Black. It's not afraid to start looking at the aliens that underpin the economy of interstellar human civilisation. We've heard a little bit about the Starfish, but this is seeing them up close, as Nbaro and the rest of the crew try to work out how to extract as much alien tech as possible for as little outlay as possible. This is, after all, a merchant voyage. But it's also a voyage that shows us a crew trying to understand the alien. Trying to see where they come from, and what it is that they want all our stuff for, and find a way to communicate. Those efforts are slow, and stumbling, but you can feel the small victories, and the potential for shattering consequences that they evoke. And the Starfish remain impressively opaque, with drives and responses that seem to sit at an odd angle to our own. They're fun to read. This is a universe populated by the strange. Speaking of which, there are rumblings of other aliens making an appearance as well (as seen in the interstitial short story collection Beyond the Fringe), and their agenda and world view is likely to change everything again.
The book manages to make all of this work by taking the high concept stuff - the galaxy-spanning humanity, the distinctly odd alien cultures, and grounding it in what feels suspiciously like 16th century Venice, but with faster-than-light travel. The Athens is a massive, brutally elegant tool, staffed by tens of thousands of people, all of whom are, after months or years in the middle of nowhere, busy politicking or screwing or feuding just trying to find a decent cup of coffee. They're our grounding influence, in their messy humanity, in their enmities and in their friendships and in their love perhaps most of all. They're good people. And, you know, also, they learn to fight hand-to hand, they fly space-fighters, and they do, sometimes, blow shit up real good. Because this is a world that fights slow, real wars in space, where getting everyone in the same place at the same time is hard, but throwing a bunch of kilometers-long railgun slugs at them once you do is reasonably easy. Deep Black has more of a focus on the xeno-culture than its predecessor, but worry not. It's still full of tense space-navy warfare, and harsh, kinetic and bloodily immediate combat, on the "ground" and in the air - all described with compulsive prose that leaves a taste of iron and gunpowder in your mouth.
Nbaro is as much of a joy to read as ever, incidentally. If you're here for competence-as-a-service, she can hook you up. There's a sense that she's grown more as a person than at the start of the first book. Here she's thrown into the deep end of trying to be a grown-up officer in what's definitely not a space navy (it absolutely is).Buried beneath watch reports and Science! and trying to fly a space-fighter and maybe also learn to be an engineer and and and. But underneath that is a vulnerability and a humanity that show us she's not just a hyper-competent plot-magnet. She's someone trying to understand what's going on, what she wants, and where her friends and her career fit in a world slowly tilting out of the known, and into something different, whether or not it's better. I've always liked her for being intelligent and brave, but seeing her run into the edges of her own personality, and need to think things through, was a delight - working on her own need to be at the front, to be seen and a hero, and yet also somehow not end up dead. And she's surrounded by some delightful supporting characters. Including the mostly-not-that-bad shipmind AI, and also her long term crush who may reciprocate her feelings, and her roommate, who has her own problems. The book wants to spend more time with some than others, but I liked the way it dealt with the issues it did have time to explore - love, loss, and dealing with the sometimes permanent consequences of a life spent at hazard. I would've liked to give them all a little more room to breathe - sometimes there's a cavalcade of names and faces and they don't get as much flavour as I'd prefer, in between the world-building and the world-exploding. But that said, the book's already big enough, and honestly I was always going to want more anyway.
The story? Well. If I can paraphrase Blackadder, it twists and turns like a...twisty turny thing. I will say that you naval warfare fans and you ground-pounders, there's plenty for you. But there's romance in here too, little sparks of joy in the dark. There's tense negotiation and catharsis and blood on the decks. There's epic space battles, and sometimes there's just training and coffee and trying to make it to the next thing before you fall over. There's being the one who shows up, the one who cares. This is high concept space opera, with a gritty feel to it, a feel of flight decks stained with oil and blood, but with some smart ideas hiding behind the explosions. This is, in short, a fine sequel, and a fine conclusion to the series.
P.S. I will say that there was some nice extra context made available in Beyond the Fringe reviewed last time, which I encourage everyone to give a read. It's not necessary but it certainnly adds some interesting facets to an already complex tale.
This second book opens where the first left off. With the Athens meeting some weird and wonderful starfish-aliens, and trading them all sorts of knickknacks for their own goods. And I'll say this for Deep Black. It's not afraid to start looking at the aliens that underpin the economy of interstellar human civilisation. We've heard a little bit about the Starfish, but this is seeing them up close, as Nbaro and the rest of the crew try to work out how to extract as much alien tech as possible for as little outlay as possible. This is, after all, a merchant voyage. But it's also a voyage that shows us a crew trying to understand the alien. Trying to see where they come from, and what it is that they want all our stuff for, and find a way to communicate. Those efforts are slow, and stumbling, but you can feel the small victories, and the potential for shattering consequences that they evoke. And the Starfish remain impressively opaque, with drives and responses that seem to sit at an odd angle to our own. They're fun to read. This is a universe populated by the strange. Speaking of which, there are rumblings of other aliens making an appearance as well (as seen in the interstitial short story collection Beyond the Fringe), and their agenda and world view is likely to change everything again.
The book manages to make all of this work by taking the high concept stuff - the galaxy-spanning humanity, the distinctly odd alien cultures, and grounding it in what feels suspiciously like 16th century Venice, but with faster-than-light travel. The Athens is a massive, brutally elegant tool, staffed by tens of thousands of people, all of whom are, after months or years in the middle of nowhere, busy politicking or screwing or feuding just trying to find a decent cup of coffee. They're our grounding influence, in their messy humanity, in their enmities and in their friendships and in their love perhaps most of all. They're good people. And, you know, also, they learn to fight hand-to hand, they fly space-fighters, and they do, sometimes, blow shit up real good. Because this is a world that fights slow, real wars in space, where getting everyone in the same place at the same time is hard, but throwing a bunch of kilometers-long railgun slugs at them once you do is reasonably easy. Deep Black has more of a focus on the xeno-culture than its predecessor, but worry not. It's still full of tense space-navy warfare, and harsh, kinetic and bloodily immediate combat, on the "ground" and in the air - all described with compulsive prose that leaves a taste of iron and gunpowder in your mouth.
Nbaro is as much of a joy to read as ever, incidentally. If you're here for competence-as-a-service, she can hook you up. There's a sense that she's grown more as a person than at the start of the first book. Here she's thrown into the deep end of trying to be a grown-up officer in what's definitely not a space navy (it absolutely is).Buried beneath watch reports and Science! and trying to fly a space-fighter and maybe also learn to be an engineer and and and. But underneath that is a vulnerability and a humanity that show us she's not just a hyper-competent plot-magnet. She's someone trying to understand what's going on, what she wants, and where her friends and her career fit in a world slowly tilting out of the known, and into something different, whether or not it's better. I've always liked her for being intelligent and brave, but seeing her run into the edges of her own personality, and need to think things through, was a delight - working on her own need to be at the front, to be seen and a hero, and yet also somehow not end up dead. And she's surrounded by some delightful supporting characters. Including the mostly-not-that-bad shipmind AI, and also her long term crush who may reciprocate her feelings, and her roommate, who has her own problems. The book wants to spend more time with some than others, but I liked the way it dealt with the issues it did have time to explore - love, loss, and dealing with the sometimes permanent consequences of a life spent at hazard. I would've liked to give them all a little more room to breathe - sometimes there's a cavalcade of names and faces and they don't get as much flavour as I'd prefer, in between the world-building and the world-exploding. But that said, the book's already big enough, and honestly I was always going to want more anyway.
The story? Well. If I can paraphrase Blackadder, it twists and turns like a...twisty turny thing. I will say that you naval warfare fans and you ground-pounders, there's plenty for you. But there's romance in here too, little sparks of joy in the dark. There's tense negotiation and catharsis and blood on the decks. There's epic space battles, and sometimes there's just training and coffee and trying to make it to the next thing before you fall over. There's being the one who shows up, the one who cares. This is high concept space opera, with a gritty feel to it, a feel of flight decks stained with oil and blood, but with some smart ideas hiding behind the explosions. This is, in short, a fine sequel, and a fine conclusion to the series.
P.S. I will say that there was some nice extra context made available in Beyond the Fringe reviewed last time, which I encourage everyone to give a read. It's not necessary but it certainnly adds some interesting facets to an already complex tale.
September 27, 2025
I find it hard to say why I like this series so much, it’s full of imperfections, repetitions, ideas that don’t really hang together. It doesn’t matter, because it takes me back to the turn of the century when Peter F Hamilton and Alastair Reynolds were writing mind-blowing space-opera, the Arcana Imperii series has the same excitement, it’s probably not as well written as those, but it has the humor of Tales of the Ketty Jay. It’s a nice mix and fun to read. It’s also space-opera without being too military, it can’t be with these main characters, two teen-age girls who enjoy getting drunk and being snarky, they’re gorgeous. The aliens keep getting better too.
This series is better than the bee’s knee’s it’s the cat’s pyjamas!
/Neil
P.S. Don’t read a short story called The Allday gift, till you’ve read Deep black, it’s a spoiler.
This series is better than the bee’s knee’s it’s the cat’s pyjamas!
/Neil
P.S. Don’t read a short story called The Allday gift, till you’ve read Deep black, it’s a spoiler.
December 7, 2024
4.5 🌟 stars... space opera done for enjoyment... a roller coaster ride with a tight finish. But I definitely want more!...
October 21, 2024
Lotsa fun from a favourite author. 5⭐️
August 6, 2024
[There are no explicit plot spoilers in this review.]
Deep Black is the conclusion of the Arcana Imperii duology by Miles Cameron. The book finds a perfect endpoint for the story of Marca Nbaro with a good balance of resolved threads and open-ended future scenarios that are fun to fill in with your own imagination.
The book's identity is very much the second half of a continuing story rather than an independent sequel with its own dramatic arc -- like A Drowned Kingdom and Last of the Atalanteans in P.L. Stuart's excellent Drowned Kingdom series, or Ships of Merior and Warhost of Vastmark in Janny Wurts' finally completed 11-book Wars of Light and Shadow series, this duology should be treated as a single, continuous story across physical bindings.
The plot picks up immediately after the conclusion of Artifact Space and barrels ahead with minimal attempts at recapping. I reread the first book just last year yet still had to tab back to refresh my memory about the endless roster of supporting characters. The massive merchant ship, Athens, travels farther away from human civilization against an uneasy blend of menacing human conspiracies and novel alien interactions. (Try to put some space between this book and Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky because you might keep trying to force assumptions between the two stories' concepts that don't actually exist). Marco Nbaro and her friends continue to thrive in their positive bubble of human friendship. All of this continues to be set against the chaotic backdrop of mundane ship life, from repair duty, to space battle drills, to filing personnel reports.
A lot of these elements, such as Marco's ongoing mantra ("I'm an idiot"), her relationship banter, and the sea of characters that have minimal depth beyond their name and rank, feel too similar to what we read in Book One. This sameness is not helped by the introduction of a neural link which makes many conversations span physical, electronic, and virtual transmissions to the point where it's often hard to tell when someone is speaking, telepathing, typing, or just thinking to themselves.
However, the overarching plot methodically takes shape out of this chaotic soup as Marca's doubts trickle in about the efficacy and trustworthiness of the artificial intelligence that controls every aspect of life aboard the ship. Anytime I felt like I was about to be stuck in a story rut, the characters would have a realization that propelled the story in unexpected directions. By the climax, all of the chaff has burned away and the conclusion is absolutely worth the journey.
Deep Black fills in all of the blanks left behind in the "temporary pause point" that concluded Book One. If you enjoyed the beginning, you will be pleased with how Cameron wraps it all up.
(I also read the short story collection, Beyond the Fringe, between Books One and Two -- while I liked the additional perspectives added to the universe through those stories, I don't think they're necessarily mandatory reading to enjoy the main duology).
Deep Black is the conclusion of the Arcana Imperii duology by Miles Cameron. The book finds a perfect endpoint for the story of Marca Nbaro with a good balance of resolved threads and open-ended future scenarios that are fun to fill in with your own imagination.
The book's identity is very much the second half of a continuing story rather than an independent sequel with its own dramatic arc -- like A Drowned Kingdom and Last of the Atalanteans in P.L. Stuart's excellent Drowned Kingdom series, or Ships of Merior and Warhost of Vastmark in Janny Wurts' finally completed 11-book Wars of Light and Shadow series, this duology should be treated as a single, continuous story across physical bindings.
The plot picks up immediately after the conclusion of Artifact Space and barrels ahead with minimal attempts at recapping. I reread the first book just last year yet still had to tab back to refresh my memory about the endless roster of supporting characters. The massive merchant ship, Athens, travels farther away from human civilization against an uneasy blend of menacing human conspiracies and novel alien interactions. (Try to put some space between this book and Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky because you might keep trying to force assumptions between the two stories' concepts that don't actually exist). Marco Nbaro and her friends continue to thrive in their positive bubble of human friendship. All of this continues to be set against the chaotic backdrop of mundane ship life, from repair duty, to space battle drills, to filing personnel reports.
A lot of these elements, such as Marco's ongoing mantra ("I'm an idiot"), her relationship banter, and the sea of characters that have minimal depth beyond their name and rank, feel too similar to what we read in Book One. This sameness is not helped by the introduction of a neural link which makes many conversations span physical, electronic, and virtual transmissions to the point where it's often hard to tell when someone is speaking, telepathing, typing, or just thinking to themselves.
However, the overarching plot methodically takes shape out of this chaotic soup as Marca's doubts trickle in about the efficacy and trustworthiness of the artificial intelligence that controls every aspect of life aboard the ship. Anytime I felt like I was about to be stuck in a story rut, the characters would have a realization that propelled the story in unexpected directions. By the climax, all of the chaff has burned away and the conclusion is absolutely worth the journey.
Deep Black fills in all of the blanks left behind in the "temporary pause point" that concluded Book One. If you enjoyed the beginning, you will be pleased with how Cameron wraps it all up.
(I also read the short story collection, Beyond the Fringe, between Books One and Two -- while I liked the additional perspectives added to the universe through those stories, I don't think they're necessarily mandatory reading to enjoy the main duology).
August 23, 2024
As a huge fan of Artifact Space, which I've read at least a dozen times, I have to say: Deep Black was a letdown. What began as an exciting space adventure full of intrigue quickly turned into a repetitive, boring slog of a book that squandered its potential.
The entire story could be condensed into a half dozen key points, which are recycled chapter after chapter in what ultimately becomes a very long and tedious read. Major plot threads are either abandoned in favor of new ones or given excessive attention with no satisfying resolution.
If you're looking for great space sci-fi, I recommend revisiting the original. But if you enjoy repetition, minimal character development, and the same plot beats over and over, then by all means, give this one a try.
For me, it was nearly a DNF, and there's no chance I’d reread this or pick up a third book in the series if there was one. I'm deeply disappointed.
The entire story could be condensed into a half dozen key points, which are recycled chapter after chapter in what ultimately becomes a very long and tedious read. Major plot threads are either abandoned in favor of new ones or given excessive attention with no satisfying resolution.
If you're looking for great space sci-fi, I recommend revisiting the original. But if you enjoy repetition, minimal character development, and the same plot beats over and over, then by all means, give this one a try.
For me, it was nearly a DNF, and there's no chance I’d reread this or pick up a third book in the series if there was one. I'm deeply disappointed.
August 22, 2024
EVERYTHING that I wanted from the sequel to Artifact Space!
Rtc!
*I received this book for free from the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*
Highlights
~the aliens will surprise you
~being a hero is very odd, actually
~neural lace = superpowered brain
~do we trust the AIs?
~everything you think you know is about to go bye-bye
:this review contains spoilers for Artifact Space!:
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Listen. LISTEN. I reread Cameron’s books every year, at this point. At the time of writing, I just finished rereading his Masters & Mages trilogy for the fourth time. The first book in this series, Artifact Space, made my Best of 2021 list and was the only book I read twice that year. I’ve finished reading it twice more since, and read bits of it many more times than that, when I felt the need to reread particular scenes or chapters without reading the whole book.
To say I’m obsessed is putting it mildly.
I had no idea what was going to happen in Deep Black, but I was pretty sure it was going to be fantastic – AND I WAS CORRECT!
We left Nbaro and co having run off the ‘bad’ aliens and made contact with the Starfish at last. Deep Black opens what feels like minutes later, with the Greatship Athens still at Tradespoint – which is now in the process of being rebuilt, since the Bubbles (our bad aliens) did, you know, blow it up. Cue an exhilarating frenzy of construction, with the Athens making Tradespoint 2.0 much more sophisticated (and comfortable) than it was before. Cameron is especially good at this kind of thing; what would be extremely boring in the hands of another author is somehow (I genuinely can’t figure out how) escapist and delightful and soothing, even when it’s paragraphs of Nbaro welding things together. It doesn’t hurt that Nbaro is one of the very privileged few now allowed to trade with the Starfish directly, and worldbuilding fanatics like myself will swoon at all that we learn about Starfish physiology and…can you call it linguistics when no words are used??? Well, Starfish communication, anyway. Dorcas is doing his best to infer as much as he can about Starfish culture, with sometimes hilarious, often insightful interjections from everyone else, and it’s so freaking fascinating. I am constantly being hit with non-humans in SFF who are just humans in fancy dress, but Cameron’s aliens feel alien, my friends! How they’re built, how they think, how they structure their society… C’EST MAGNIFIQUE! *chef’s kiss*
Readers less interested in worldbuilding don’t have to be alarmed: you will not be drowning in info-dumps, I promise. I genuinely think that the worldbuilding is spread out enough throughout the book – instead of coming all in one or two reveals – that it won’t be overwhelming for anyone. And it’s all so freaking COOL!
Ahem.
So Tradespoint goes fairly well. It’s when the Athens is on the way home that things get…complicated. Again!
I loved Artifact Space, and I still do, but I am in awe of Deep Black. The grasp of tactics and strategy that is Cameron’s signature in his fantasy books is on full display here, but arguably even more impressive because now we’re in space. We saw some of this in Artifact, and it was extremely epic then, but it feels like Cameron’s playing on a whole nother level here. Which is partly because, yes, there are more space battles in this book! And the way that the fighting feels so believable, and so unfamiliar – because of course, you can’t fight a space battle the way you would on land or even water – the way Cameron makes it all make sense, and never, ever forgets that his characters are fighting in three dimensions and specifically, three dimensions in space, where refuelling is a huge concern and astronomical bodies shape the ‘terrain’ and the enemy don’t have to be close to take out your ship – all of it is just so freaking excellent.
The story, also, feels like it’s been levelled up. If Artifact Space was a story zoomed in on the little picture, intimate and almost homey at times, then Deep Space is Cameron zooming out to show us the big picture – and holy gods, it is not what you think it is! The twists and reveals keep coming, but beautifully, elegantly, each building on the last – and the sheer scope of it all! Bit by bit, we’re guided to an understanding of the full picture, not just with regards the conspiracy that’s been taking out Greatships, but also the different factions and philosophies within human space, and humanity’s place in the wider universe; one by one, all our expectations and assumptions are subverted, and it’s done so gracefully, with such brilliant precision. And as for what is revealed? When we learned who are pulling most of the strings, my jaw DROPPED. And yet, it made so much sense, and was just objectively brilliant both in terms of worldbuilding and wow factor!
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
Rtc!
*I received this book for free from the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*
Highlights
~the aliens will surprise you
~being a hero is very odd, actually
~neural lace = superpowered brain
~do we trust the AIs?
~everything you think you know is about to go bye-bye
:this review contains spoilers for Artifact Space!:
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Listen. LISTEN. I reread Cameron’s books every year, at this point. At the time of writing, I just finished rereading his Masters & Mages trilogy for the fourth time. The first book in this series, Artifact Space, made my Best of 2021 list and was the only book I read twice that year. I’ve finished reading it twice more since, and read bits of it many more times than that, when I felt the need to reread particular scenes or chapters without reading the whole book.
To say I’m obsessed is putting it mildly.
I had no idea what was going to happen in Deep Black, but I was pretty sure it was going to be fantastic – AND I WAS CORRECT!
We left Nbaro and co having run off the ‘bad’ aliens and made contact with the Starfish at last. Deep Black opens what feels like minutes later, with the Greatship Athens still at Tradespoint – which is now in the process of being rebuilt, since the Bubbles (our bad aliens) did, you know, blow it up. Cue an exhilarating frenzy of construction, with the Athens making Tradespoint 2.0 much more sophisticated (and comfortable) than it was before. Cameron is especially good at this kind of thing; what would be extremely boring in the hands of another author is somehow (I genuinely can’t figure out how) escapist and delightful and soothing, even when it’s paragraphs of Nbaro welding things together. It doesn’t hurt that Nbaro is one of the very privileged few now allowed to trade with the Starfish directly, and worldbuilding fanatics like myself will swoon at all that we learn about Starfish physiology and…can you call it linguistics when no words are used??? Well, Starfish communication, anyway. Dorcas is doing his best to infer as much as he can about Starfish culture, with sometimes hilarious, often insightful interjections from everyone else, and it’s so freaking fascinating. I am constantly being hit with non-humans in SFF who are just humans in fancy dress, but Cameron’s aliens feel alien, my friends! How they’re built, how they think, how they structure their society… C’EST MAGNIFIQUE! *chef’s kiss*
Readers less interested in worldbuilding don’t have to be alarmed: you will not be drowning in info-dumps, I promise. I genuinely think that the worldbuilding is spread out enough throughout the book – instead of coming all in one or two reveals – that it won’t be overwhelming for anyone. And it’s all so freaking COOL!
Ahem.
So Tradespoint goes fairly well. It’s when the Athens is on the way home that things get…complicated. Again!
I loved Artifact Space, and I still do, but I am in awe of Deep Black. The grasp of tactics and strategy that is Cameron’s signature in his fantasy books is on full display here, but arguably even more impressive because now we’re in space. We saw some of this in Artifact, and it was extremely epic then, but it feels like Cameron’s playing on a whole nother level here. Which is partly because, yes, there are more space battles in this book! And the way that the fighting feels so believable, and so unfamiliar – because of course, you can’t fight a space battle the way you would on land or even water – the way Cameron makes it all make sense, and never, ever forgets that his characters are fighting in three dimensions and specifically, three dimensions in space, where refuelling is a huge concern and astronomical bodies shape the ‘terrain’ and the enemy don’t have to be close to take out your ship – all of it is just so freaking excellent.
The story, also, feels like it’s been levelled up. If Artifact Space was a story zoomed in on the little picture, intimate and almost homey at times, then Deep Space is Cameron zooming out to show us the big picture – and holy gods, it is not what you think it is! The twists and reveals keep coming, but beautifully, elegantly, each building on the last – and the sheer scope of it all! Bit by bit, we’re guided to an understanding of the full picture, not just with regards the conspiracy that’s been taking out Greatships, but also the different factions and philosophies within human space, and humanity’s place in the wider universe; one by one, all our expectations and assumptions are subverted, and it’s done so gracefully, with such brilliant precision. And as for what is revealed? When we learned who are pulling most of the strings, my jaw DROPPED. And yet, it made so much sense, and was just objectively brilliant both in terms of worldbuilding and wow factor!
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
September 7, 2024
I really enjoyed this as a worthy sequel. More emphasis on relationships than the first, but loads of good ideas and future tech weaved into an accepted believable normality. Convincing and satisfying in equal measure.
January 5, 2025
4.5: This was so much fun
July 27, 2024
Amazing sequel! If you are here after reading the first book wondering if you should read the second then the answer is a unequivocal yes.
September 22, 2024
Overall, Deep Black is a pleasant read. When it comes to being a worthy successor of Artifact Space, I felt it was a bit of a letdown.
While in book 1, Nbaro is an interesting character due to her inner conflicts and trauma, book 2 has her being mainly a hormone-charged, happy-go-lucky teenager with some uncertainties under the hood ("I'm an idiot").
A lot of time is spent on Nbaro's love story with Dorcas, which I found pretty flat. It would have been great if the book could have used this time to dive more into the plot, i.e., interactions with the bubbles, the star fish, and developing some of the supporting characters more.
Finally, the book suffers from the hero trope: nothing bad can happen to Nbaro. The book could be much more exciting if there were greater consequences. I also find it strange that if characters in the book die, it's only briefly mentioned but then the story just continues without sense of loss.
While in book 1, Nbaro is an interesting character due to her inner conflicts and trauma, book 2 has her being mainly a hormone-charged, happy-go-lucky teenager with some uncertainties under the hood ("I'm an idiot").
A lot of time is spent on Nbaro's love story with Dorcas, which I found pretty flat. It would have been great if the book could have used this time to dive more into the plot, i.e., interactions with the bubbles, the star fish, and developing some of the supporting characters more.
Finally, the book suffers from the hero trope: nothing bad can happen to Nbaro. The book could be much more exciting if there were greater consequences. I also find it strange that if characters in the book die, it's only briefly mentioned but then the story just continues without sense of loss.
November 16, 2024
Miles Cameron’s Deep Black is a tour de force of military science fiction, blending pulse-pounding action with profound psychological and philosophical inquiry. As the second installment of the Arcana Imperii series, this novel catapults readers back into the vividly imagined cosmos of the Greatship Athens, where high-stakes battles meet the existential quandaries of human—and alien—existence.
At the heart of the narrative is Marca Nbaro, a young officer whose journey from an outsider to a seasoned, respected leader is rendered with astonishing depth and credibility. Cameron eschews the tired tropes of invincible heroes, instead offering a protagonist whose competence is balanced by vulnerability. It’s a masterstroke of characterization, proving that even amidst the vastness of space, humanity’s inner landscapes remain a rich and vital terrain to explore. Her relationships—romantic and professional—anchor the story, imbuing it with an emotional resonance often missing in the genre.
What makes Deep Black truly shine is Cameron’s ability to make the alien feel truly alien. His portrayal of the enigmatic "Starfish" is nothing short of revelatory. These creatures are not merely humans with tentacles, but a genuinely otherworldly presence that challenges the crew—and readers—to grapple with the limits of human understanding. It’s rare to encounter a work of science fiction that captures the ineffable strangeness of extraterrestrial life so convincingly.
Equally impressive are the space battles, which Cameron choreographs with the precision of a general and the flair of a virtuoso. These sequences are as thrilling as they are plausible, firmly rooted in the physical realities of three-dimensional combat and the tactical exigencies of war. One cannot help but admire the sheer craftsmanship with which he brings these battles to life, transforming them into set pieces of cinematic grandeur.
The Greatship Athens itself emerges as a character in its own right—a labyrinthine microcosm of humanity’s best and worst tendencies. Its AI, a pervasive and unsettling presence, casts a shadow over the story, raising urgent questions about the ethics of technological autonomy. Is this AI a benevolent guide or a potential adversary? Cameron wisely leaves such questions unanswered, inviting readers to wrestle with the ambiguities of our own technological future.
Deep Black is not content to merely entertain—though it does so with aplomb—it seeks to provoke, to question, and to illuminate. Themes of humanity’s place in the cosmos, the ethics of technological dependence, and the enigma of the "other" are interwoven into a narrative that is as thought-provoking as it is exhilarating.
In sum, Deep Black is not merely a sequel—it is an evolution, a sophisticated continuation of a saga that transcends the confines of its genre. With this book, Miles Cameron cements his status as one of the premier voices in contemporary science fiction. Deep Black is a masterpiece: intelligent, electrifying, and profoundly human. A triumph.
At the heart of the narrative is Marca Nbaro, a young officer whose journey from an outsider to a seasoned, respected leader is rendered with astonishing depth and credibility. Cameron eschews the tired tropes of invincible heroes, instead offering a protagonist whose competence is balanced by vulnerability. It’s a masterstroke of characterization, proving that even amidst the vastness of space, humanity’s inner landscapes remain a rich and vital terrain to explore. Her relationships—romantic and professional—anchor the story, imbuing it with an emotional resonance often missing in the genre.
What makes Deep Black truly shine is Cameron’s ability to make the alien feel truly alien. His portrayal of the enigmatic "Starfish" is nothing short of revelatory. These creatures are not merely humans with tentacles, but a genuinely otherworldly presence that challenges the crew—and readers—to grapple with the limits of human understanding. It’s rare to encounter a work of science fiction that captures the ineffable strangeness of extraterrestrial life so convincingly.
Equally impressive are the space battles, which Cameron choreographs with the precision of a general and the flair of a virtuoso. These sequences are as thrilling as they are plausible, firmly rooted in the physical realities of three-dimensional combat and the tactical exigencies of war. One cannot help but admire the sheer craftsmanship with which he brings these battles to life, transforming them into set pieces of cinematic grandeur.
The Greatship Athens itself emerges as a character in its own right—a labyrinthine microcosm of humanity’s best and worst tendencies. Its AI, a pervasive and unsettling presence, casts a shadow over the story, raising urgent questions about the ethics of technological autonomy. Is this AI a benevolent guide or a potential adversary? Cameron wisely leaves such questions unanswered, inviting readers to wrestle with the ambiguities of our own technological future.
Deep Black is not content to merely entertain—though it does so with aplomb—it seeks to provoke, to question, and to illuminate. Themes of humanity’s place in the cosmos, the ethics of technological dependence, and the enigma of the "other" are interwoven into a narrative that is as thought-provoking as it is exhilarating.
In sum, Deep Black is not merely a sequel—it is an evolution, a sophisticated continuation of a saga that transcends the confines of its genre. With this book, Miles Cameron cements his status as one of the premier voices in contemporary science fiction. Deep Black is a masterpiece: intelligent, electrifying, and profoundly human. A triumph.
August 2, 2024
This series is blowing my mind. It's military sci-fi based around the idea of great trading ships (rather than specifically military craft). It fits in well with the great writers of the past but with new and fresh perspectives.
The books have aliens, they have spaceships, they have fighting and friendship, they have mysteries great and small, they have politics without being politically-opinionated, and they have swords in space.
I love sci-fi, but it's rare that a series by a new (to sci-fi) author really grabs me and makes me want more. This does that, in spades.
Deep Black is the second book in the series. Book three is already almost finished and there are also collections of short stories and intermezzos from this universe as well - so don't worry about picking up an unfinished series here. Cameron is publishing like a machine and I cannot praise this book highly enough.
Seriously: if you like good sci-fi with a gripping plot and lots of realism without requiring a physics degree to follow along, drop whatever you're doing and GET THESE BOOKS.
You're welcome
The books have aliens, they have spaceships, they have fighting and friendship, they have mysteries great and small, they have politics without being politically-opinionated, and they have swords in space.
I love sci-fi, but it's rare that a series by a new (to sci-fi) author really grabs me and makes me want more. This does that, in spades.
Deep Black is the second book in the series. Book three is already almost finished and there are also collections of short stories and intermezzos from this universe as well - so don't worry about picking up an unfinished series here. Cameron is publishing like a machine and I cannot praise this book highly enough.
Seriously: if you like good sci-fi with a gripping plot and lots of realism without requiring a physics degree to follow along, drop whatever you're doing and GET THESE BOOKS.
You're welcome
November 24, 2024
Loved it!! If the first one (Artifact Space) was 6.5/5 stars, this one was 5/5. Wasn’t *quite* as riveting as Artifact Space but still very engaging and enjoyable. Highly recommend.
My one complaint is that neither one has a character glossary, which was badly needed at times. Maybe I’ll reread these and make one at some point. (That said, it DID have a star map in the front. Love a book with a map in it.)
Note: both of them were fairly poorly edited from a grammatical sense—found a handful of spelling and punctuation errors in each.
My one complaint is that neither one has a character glossary, which was badly needed at times. Maybe I’ll reread these and make one at some point. (That said, it DID have a star map in the front. Love a book with a map in it.)
Note: both of them were fairly poorly edited from a grammatical sense—found a handful of spelling and punctuation errors in each.
February 7, 2025
Satisfying sequel. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is there were some unanswered questions at the end which annoyed me and a few other nitpicky annoyances.
Otherwise, it was fun. Lots of battle scenes and some good twists. The characters were wonderful (just like in the first book), and I appreciated that most of the storylines were wrapped up at the end.
Spoiler
Otherwise, it was fun. Lots of battle scenes and some good twists. The characters were wonderful (just like in the first book), and I appreciated that most of the storylines were wrapped up at the end.
Spoiler
August 2, 2024
Brilliant sequel
Lots of tense space battles and manoeuvring for tactical advantage. Wheels within wheels, plots and sub plots, political and military, all forming a tense cohesive whole. Great writing and story. I read it in a single day.
Buy it, you will not be disappointed.
Lots of tense space battles and manoeuvring for tactical advantage. Wheels within wheels, plots and sub plots, political and military, all forming a tense cohesive whole. Great writing and story. I read it in a single day.
Buy it, you will not be disappointed.
December 27, 2024
Complex and exciting series about great ships plying trade among the stars. A conspiracy must be exposed and defeated.
Strong characterization, twisty plot, fascinating aliens and a magnificent AI.
Strong characterization, twisty plot, fascinating aliens and a magnificent AI.
August 17, 2025
Space Opera at its best!
February 21, 2025
Started this right around a paper deadline cause I did not want to work on it -- definitely not the smartest choice, but the book was very much worth it. Part 2 of a series on military/trade scifi, just very fast-written, lots of action, and some fun characters. Probably not a masterpiece, but certainly quite enjoyable.
August 7, 2024
Wonderful book, wonderful series. I hope he writes more in this universe.
October 18, 2024
Chaotic on micro and macro scale. One sentence about one topic is followed by sentence on another. It does it constantly, makes it extremely hard to follow. This should've been cleaned up by sorting all topics into their own paragraphs. It is a very bad writing, students in high school are penalized for this kind of inconsistency. Same with paragraphs, which ends up in very slow pacing, this time. Whenever it picks up near the end, at some point - and someone decides that's enough to qualify it as a good novel - I'm not waiting for.
DNF at 64%.
DNF at 64%.
December 4, 2024
Deep Black is a sequel to Miles Cameron’s Artifact Space. In this second installment, Marca Mbaro is a crew member on the Greatship Athens. The business is mercantile trade, but the plot is no-holds-barred space battles and steamy fraternization. Cameron has channeled David Weber and created a version of Honor Harrington without the treecat but with lots of other aliens. I especially like the starfish, which communicate with pheromones. The crew is a lively bunch, and the pacing is zippy.
There are a few anachronisms. Would anyone in this distant future still say, “Let’s run it up the flagpole”?
Many of the spaceships are named after terrestrial cities. One is oddly named Sorbonne, and one is the Wilful Elephant. After Iain M. Banks, anything goes with ship names.
Here is a sentence that provides a taste of the Weber-inspired action: “The Wilful Elephant was pounding the Athens from a thousand kilometres out, her iron or depleted uranium rounds slamming into the underside of the mighty greatship.”
There are a few anachronisms. Would anyone in this distant future still say, “Let’s run it up the flagpole”?
Many of the spaceships are named after terrestrial cities. One is oddly named Sorbonne, and one is the Wilful Elephant. After Iain M. Banks, anything goes with ship names.
Here is a sentence that provides a taste of the Weber-inspired action: “The Wilful Elephant was pounding the Athens from a thousand kilometres out, her iron or depleted uranium rounds slamming into the underside of the mighty greatship.”
October 13, 2024
I didn't like this book as much as the first book in the series, Artifact Space.
I did like the growing relationship between NBaro and her main squeeze: I would have liked to see more of that. The great ship's AI was great, too. But, this book had even more strategizing/politicking/talking than the first book did and I was bored at points. The end also seemed a bit rushed & even anti-climatic.
Note about the audiobook: the audio version was terrible.
The narrator was fine, but the volume of the book would fade to about half the normal volume at points and there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason why it was happening. That made hearing some of the book nearly impossible if it faded out while driving: those quiet parts were impossible to hear over traffic & road noise.
If there is a third book in this series, I probably won't read or listen to it.
I did like the growing relationship between NBaro and her main squeeze: I would have liked to see more of that. The great ship's AI was great, too. But, this book had even more strategizing/politicking/talking than the first book did and I was bored at points. The end also seemed a bit rushed & even anti-climatic.
Note about the audiobook: the audio version was terrible.
The narrator was fine, but the volume of the book would fade to about half the normal volume at points and there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason why it was happening. That made hearing some of the book nearly impossible if it faded out while driving: those quiet parts were impossible to hear over traffic & road noise.
If there is a third book in this series, I probably won't read or listen to it.
August 10, 2024
Deep Black is the much-anticipated sequel to one of my favourite SF books in recent years, Artifact Space (review HERE.)
I had high hopes for this one. In my review of Artifact Space, I said that “Artifact Space made my inner Spacer beam. It starts fast but held my attention throughout, bringing new ideas to traditional SF. This is a paean to all the old SFnal tropes of old but with a brand spanking new upgrade. I couldn’t put it down. Simply brilliant and easily one of my books of the year.”.
The general plot up to here is fairly simple. Marca Nbaro has managed to illegally work her way onto the Athens, one of the city-sized Greatships from the Directorate of Human Corporations (DHC) that travel along a trade route from City to Trade Point.
In Artifact Space when the Greatship New York is destroyed, the DHC comes under threat, by the PTX, a group of renegades determined to stop their monopoly of trade and destroy the DHC. There is a battle between the Athens and the PTX who are determined to hijack the Athens, but it is repelled by Marca and the rest of the Athens crew.
Marca also finds herself meeting the Hin, a starfish-like, nitrogen breathing alien species that is happy to trade xenoglas with humans. It is the first human-Starfish direct contact in over 200 years.
Deep Black picks up immediately where Artifact Space finishes. (And yes, even with my brief summary you would be best reading that book first before this one.) SPOILER WARNING: As a result, there are spoilers about the first book in this review of the second.
In Deep Black the Athens finds herself becoming more militaristic as the Greatship manoeuvres into less known space – the Deep Black of the title. This is to find and destroy the renegades who attacked the DHC before, but also to follow the Hin.
Now a hero of the Battle of Trade Point, Marca Nbaro now continues to juggle all the elements of her life – new technical innovations, aliens and hostile humans, manage to cope with management status, develop a relationship with a boyfriend and cope with her own feelings of inadequacy and incompetency. She's also coming to terms with the use of a neural lace, which as her skills develop allow a better link to Morosini, the ship’s AI and gives her an advantage in combat.
But in-between the battles there are also long stretches of time, often involving manoeuvring along the trade route. There’s less planet-hopping and more time simply in an enclosed environment on the ship this time. Much of the plot then becomes about what to do when in-between engagements in this restricted environment. Frankly, there’s not a lot of variety in what you can do here, although Miles does well to keep Marca busy – perhaps too much so.
Others have mentioned it with Artifact Space, but Nbaro’s ability to be everywhere, doing everything is even more noticeable in this book. I must admit that Marca going in a seemingly-constant cycle, from fighting to training to directing the spaceship’s flight to practice and then to strategic meetings AND have visits to the boyfriend (and repeat in varying combinations) bordered on the edge of Marca being superhuman – it is understandable that Marca complaining all the time of being tired.
Whilst I accept that such times call for desperate measures, there were moments when I wondered what the rest of the crew do, and whether someone should step in and reduce Marca’s duties for the sake of her own mental health. I guess that this is a sign of having characters you care about.
Of course, the book is not just about Marca. I thought that the development of communication between the humans and the Hin was well done and unsurprisingly becomes an integral part of the plot.
Similarly, whilst it is not simple, the mechanics of combat in ultrahigh speeds has clearly had some thought. Miles seems to be following the science here and uses it well, even when my non-scientific brain found following the detailed mathematical processes and strategies a little perplexing! As an updating of the Captain Hornblower-type sea battles it works very well, so much so that I felt that there was even a David Weber/Honor Harrington kind of vibe, which some readers will appreciate.
I also thought that it was interesting to see how much of the action is controlled by computer, although it is understandable. Miles drops in an element of uncertainty in the plot by having Nbaro ponder over the trustworthiness of AI – is it genuinely working for the benefit of Mankind, or does it have a deeper, more sinister aim?
Taking the thought further, Nbaro at one point wonders whether the intense and complex fighting she and the Athens is involved in is actually nothing more than rival AI’s competing each other. Humans serving AI’s whims? Interesting.
But the main hook of the book is seeing the growth of Nbaro as a person aboard a near militaristic Greatship and watching her deal with every challenge she is given. Of course that is what she does, and I think why this book keeps you reading.
In summary, Deep Black is a worthy conclusion to what has come before. I must admit I didn't find it quite as engaging as last time, being mainly set in an enclosed space and with some quite technical strategic explanation, but the relationships between humans and aliens, not to mention the combat scenes kept me reading. Despite my grumbles, it is still one of the best military SF books out there, and I think will certainly be one of my books of the year.
I had high hopes for this one. In my review of Artifact Space, I said that “Artifact Space made my inner Spacer beam. It starts fast but held my attention throughout, bringing new ideas to traditional SF. This is a paean to all the old SFnal tropes of old but with a brand spanking new upgrade. I couldn’t put it down. Simply brilliant and easily one of my books of the year.”.
The general plot up to here is fairly simple. Marca Nbaro has managed to illegally work her way onto the Athens, one of the city-sized Greatships from the Directorate of Human Corporations (DHC) that travel along a trade route from City to Trade Point.
In Artifact Space when the Greatship New York is destroyed, the DHC comes under threat, by the PTX, a group of renegades determined to stop their monopoly of trade and destroy the DHC. There is a battle between the Athens and the PTX who are determined to hijack the Athens, but it is repelled by Marca and the rest of the Athens crew.
Marca also finds herself meeting the Hin, a starfish-like, nitrogen breathing alien species that is happy to trade xenoglas with humans. It is the first human-Starfish direct contact in over 200 years.
Deep Black picks up immediately where Artifact Space finishes. (And yes, even with my brief summary you would be best reading that book first before this one.) SPOILER WARNING: As a result, there are spoilers about the first book in this review of the second.
In Deep Black the Athens finds herself becoming more militaristic as the Greatship manoeuvres into less known space – the Deep Black of the title. This is to find and destroy the renegades who attacked the DHC before, but also to follow the Hin.
Now a hero of the Battle of Trade Point, Marca Nbaro now continues to juggle all the elements of her life – new technical innovations, aliens and hostile humans, manage to cope with management status, develop a relationship with a boyfriend and cope with her own feelings of inadequacy and incompetency. She's also coming to terms with the use of a neural lace, which as her skills develop allow a better link to Morosini, the ship’s AI and gives her an advantage in combat.
But in-between the battles there are also long stretches of time, often involving manoeuvring along the trade route. There’s less planet-hopping and more time simply in an enclosed environment on the ship this time. Much of the plot then becomes about what to do when in-between engagements in this restricted environment. Frankly, there’s not a lot of variety in what you can do here, although Miles does well to keep Marca busy – perhaps too much so.
Others have mentioned it with Artifact Space, but Nbaro’s ability to be everywhere, doing everything is even more noticeable in this book. I must admit that Marca going in a seemingly-constant cycle, from fighting to training to directing the spaceship’s flight to practice and then to strategic meetings AND have visits to the boyfriend (and repeat in varying combinations) bordered on the edge of Marca being superhuman – it is understandable that Marca complaining all the time of being tired.
Whilst I accept that such times call for desperate measures, there were moments when I wondered what the rest of the crew do, and whether someone should step in and reduce Marca’s duties for the sake of her own mental health. I guess that this is a sign of having characters you care about.
Of course, the book is not just about Marca. I thought that the development of communication between the humans and the Hin was well done and unsurprisingly becomes an integral part of the plot.
Similarly, whilst it is not simple, the mechanics of combat in ultrahigh speeds has clearly had some thought. Miles seems to be following the science here and uses it well, even when my non-scientific brain found following the detailed mathematical processes and strategies a little perplexing! As an updating of the Captain Hornblower-type sea battles it works very well, so much so that I felt that there was even a David Weber/Honor Harrington kind of vibe, which some readers will appreciate.
I also thought that it was interesting to see how much of the action is controlled by computer, although it is understandable. Miles drops in an element of uncertainty in the plot by having Nbaro ponder over the trustworthiness of AI – is it genuinely working for the benefit of Mankind, or does it have a deeper, more sinister aim?
Taking the thought further, Nbaro at one point wonders whether the intense and complex fighting she and the Athens is involved in is actually nothing more than rival AI’s competing each other. Humans serving AI’s whims? Interesting.
But the main hook of the book is seeing the growth of Nbaro as a person aboard a near militaristic Greatship and watching her deal with every challenge she is given. Of course that is what she does, and I think why this book keeps you reading.
In summary, Deep Black is a worthy conclusion to what has come before. I must admit I didn't find it quite as engaging as last time, being mainly set in an enclosed space and with some quite technical strategic explanation, but the relationships between humans and aliens, not to mention the combat scenes kept me reading. Despite my grumbles, it is still one of the best military SF books out there, and I think will certainly be one of my books of the year.
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