The Vault

Heaven's Vault #2

by Jon Ingold

When a researcher from the University of Iox goes missing and the only clue is a brooch carved in Ancient, translator Aliya Elasra and her robot Six are sent out into the Nebula to bring him back, only to stumble upon a deeper secret concerning the fall of a once-great Empire.

But history in the Nebula is a Loop, and all that has happened before will happen again. And what is buried can always be brought back into the light...

What will be found? What will be lost? Is the Loop real? And what lies in Heaven's Vault?

Genres: Science Fiction, Adventure, Video Games, Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery

300 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2021

Reviews

[Susanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually read tie-in novels, but these two books really manage to capture the atmosphere of the game. I already loved the mythos and characters, and the books expand on both without retracting from the experience of playing the game.

[Quinton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book more compelling than the previous, in the sense that the plot pulled me in more and I found it more difficult to stop reading. The changes to the original story grow even more significant in this one but in a very good way. The new character Talliin is definitely better than the replaced character Tapi.

I wonder if there may be parts that would have been too confusing for a reader who did not already know the story, but I can't say, since I am not that reader. I completely understand why the deciphering of the Ancient and the climb to the tomb were interspersed how they were. But I think the switching between current and future/past incarnations of Elasra/Mazwai could have been confusing. Although probably I am wrong and the reader would have figured out the Loop by that point.

I think I know whom I want to lend these books to first: those people who would not be interested in trying the game. Because it took me several playthroughs to get to the point where I knew the whole story, and I think reading the book first could make one playthrough seem bare and further ones seem unnecessary. It's just a hypothesis.

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book here is a really good sequel to the first book and a pretty good addition to the game. There are quite a few changes here, with the game and the book converging again at the very end. I also like the fact that we get to find out what Aliya is doing now beyond the end, and also more about Mazwai. I really liked that, so a clear recommendation for all fans of the game.

Das Buch hier ist eine richtig gute Fortsetzung des ersten Buchs und eine ziemlich gute Ergänzung zum Spiel. Es wird hier ziemlich viel abgeändert, wobei ganz zum Schluss das Spiel und das Buch wieder zusammenlaufen. Außerdem gefällt es mir, dass wir über das Ende hinaus noch erfahren, was Aliya nun macht und auch mehr über Mazwai. Das hat mir wirklich gut gefallen, also eine klare Empfehlung für alle Fans des Spiels.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you liked the game, you will love this. It expands well on the world the game created.

However, even if you haven't played the game, if you enjoy well-written fictional worlds, in-depth lore, and an intriguing story that unravels ancient mysteries, this book is also for you!

Those who have played the games can certainly get more out of them, but the books stand on their own as solid novels worth a read.

[Lilifane · Rating 5 out of 5]

And the book did it, too! It made me cry.
This is such a beautiful story. In every format and version. Coming back to it always feels like coming home and it‘s always a new experience at the same time.
There were quite drastic changes from the game and I was worried where they might lead. Still the atmosphere and essence stayed the same and in the end everything came together masterfully and my heart was full.

[Sofija Kryž · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful.

All the things I enjoyed while reading part 1 are also present here. That is:

- simply but beautifully written text on quite complex ideas
- strong, interesting, independent female characters
- sensitive and delicate treatment of characters, their beliefs, world views and their perspectives
- exploration of themes such as religion, history, collective memory, narratives, formation of myths and group beliefs
- exploration of familial relationships
- exploration of friendship
- exploration of ethical dilemmas, of "greater good"
- beautiful space fantasy

I like that Ingold went beyond some of the elements explored in the game and diverged his story enough to make it different but maintain the major conclusion, ideas and characters similar.

Beautifully written work :)

[Aisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second in the Heaven's vault duology; my comments are similar to those of the first. Since the game it is based on is a choose-your-own-adventure story, I felt the most divergence from my personal playthroughs in the middle 50% of this book, and then everything narrowed back down to the ending. I enjoyed this feeling of parallel universes to the story that I'd already known, which give me a wider view of the world. The end state also has multiple possibilities, and the nice thing is that this book gives you glimpses of different endings before settling on one (or did they all happen...?).

There is a tantalizing poetry in the ideas in Heaven's Vault, but even after reading the books there are things that are unclear to me. Maybe they are intentionally fuzzy-- such as the exact manner of docking on moons without a hopper, that are better left unsaid because an explanation would inevitably be unsatisfactory. But it could be that a little more attention to detail and better description would have really improved the books. I still can't recommend this to people who haven't played the game (but you should play the game!)

In sum, Heaven's Vault feels like a worldbuilder's barely-coherent fever dream, with unexplored pockets of depth and the occasional philosophical flash. The books only somewhat helped to explain the world, but the main focus was on better developing the characters and showing an alternative plot. No regrets.

[Winnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.7/5.0

This second instalment lands with the confidence of a story that knows its own archive. I had an absolute blast. The novel takes the puzzle-box pleasures of the world and leans into them, not with empty lore-dumps but with legible, tactile clues. My favourite themes are back: historiography, linguistics, the power of stories, information and communication. The whole thing reads like an adventure written in marginalia, part travelogue, part scholarly argument, entirely alive.

As someone who has played the game, I expected to feel a step ahead. Instead, the resolution to the set-up from the first book surprised me in the best way. The game famously has no fixed ending, so I worried a novel might flatten that openness. It does not. The plot moves toward a conclusion that feels both inevitable and unforeseen, a neat piece of narratological engineering that honours indeterminacy while still providing shape. It is gratifying without being pat.

Characters were my sticking point in the first volume. I did not love everyone then. Here I do. Some remain functional in the sense that they carry themes or unlock routes, yet they are drawn with enough voice and purpose that the functionality feels like design rather than deficiency. The central pairing holds the book together, their conversations doubling as miniature seminars on translation and epistemology, but also as warm, sometimes needling companionship.

On the technical side, the prose is clean and nimble, never fussy, with a keen ear for register shifts when inscriptions, fragments and myths enter the diegesis. The pacing alternates discovery and consequence in a way that keeps pages turning. Worldbuilding continues to be a triumph of implication. The setting works like a palimpsest, each site a layered text that invites hermeneutic play without ever becoming homework.

Originality rests not just on the invented language but on how the novel stages reading itself as action. The result is a story that treats interpretation as adventure, and adventure as a form of philology. That combination, for me, is catnip.

This isn’t just a favourite; it’s one I want to press into friends’ hands and gush about over coffee. I love how it trusts the reader, how it lets scholarship and play sit side by side, how every discovery feels earned and generous. The series has my whole heart now. I’m already clearing space on the shelf for the third volume, convinced it will build beyond the game and the earlier novel in ways I can’t predict. If the next entry keeps this blend of intellect and warmth, I’ll follow these characters anywhere.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with my mind constantly a bit ahead of the text because moreso than the previous one this is where the multitude of things you can do in the game over multiple loops have to be distilled down into a single narrative, and I really enjoyed the way this was done. There are some pretty big deviations here for people who have played the game but I think most of them serve the story's themes well (though honestly the ultimate fate of an important character from the first book is a little silly after all that) and I loved the ending.

[Elyse T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This conclusion to the Heaven's Vault saga was excellent. As a big fan of the game, I actually preferred the unfolding of the story through the book version. The added characters, the background elements given to Aliya, and the much more cathartic final journey made the story feel more whole and holistically tied to the themes and messages brought forward by both the game and the novels. The Loop sustains us all!

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this makes me want to play the game again. I really enjoyed this book and feel it is a great companion to the game, especially after at least 2 play throughs. I still haven’t gotten the entire story yet, but this makes me want to explore the game world more on another play through. Even if some hadn’t played the game, I would still recommend both volumes to anyone that enjoys archaeology, adventure, sci-fi, or space opera.

[AJ Kerrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful companion to the game

I've played a lot of story-centric games, but never read a tie-in novel before. This was a great read though - it fleshed out the world/characters/history without taking anything away from the game experience.

I _think_ the story is strong enough to stand on its own without playing the game, but I treated it more like a cross-media "new game+". That worked perfectly.

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

“To last forever a person must become more than which they were. Where they were flesh they must be stone. Where they were blood they must be wire. They must cast aside all that which shatters. They must put down the arrogance of old age. The right to die is not the Emperor’s right. That which withers must wither, and that which is left must be eternal.”

A family can be a lesbian two robots and an ancient logographic orthography <3

[Dustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great novelization of a fantastic game. The author beautifully captured the settings wonder and mystery as well as the game's feel of discovery.

There's enough here that's different from the game and expands on the world that I'd recommend it to any fan of scifi, fantasy, archeology, or adventure.

[Aidan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A faithful continuation and expansion of the story of the video game that was begun by the first book, but some readers may find the pacing inconsistent - there's a lot of information packed into the pages of this book, and it can sometimes feel inorganic. However, it remains well written and engaging throughout, and is absolutely worth a read.

[Conrado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heaven's Vault was for me surprisingly the best fiction book of 2023 (so far).

It was simply a very good, captivating story, in an extraordinary setting, with curious characters, good pacing, and an exceptional feeling of exploration and discovery. Unearthing deep secrets that lay undisturbed for ages. When I think about it, it comes close to a detective genre.

And while I usually am appreciative of detailed lore and I like to have all the workings in the portrayed world explained, here in the world of Heaven's Vault it didn't bother me a bit. I appreciated that things are left unsaid, unexplained, and ephemeral like the whole concept of Nebulas and rivers that flow through them.

Can't end without mentioning the whole alphabet and language inserted into the book. There is more to it than it is explained through text. An inquisitive reader will find extra satisfaction in deciphering everything before it is explained, and playing the game with the same name can enhance the experience.