Artifact Space

Its a personable and fast moving story with strong detail and structure, and a good story to boot.

I bought this because it kept getting advertised to me by Amazon, and I thought ho, hum; another poor-bullied-patrician-orphan-makes-good-big-ship-drama. And…yes, it is all that, but it is VERY well written, impeccably constructed, and eminently readable. The saga very realistically (as far as I am concerned) delves into just what sort of training our deadly urchin needs to be a starship officer - possibly in TOO much detail sometimes; I was losing track of all of the command locations and functions after a while - and leads one through a LOT of build-up to actual combat. A bit like playing Wing Commander, then! 😁🚀As for the deadly orphan bit: our hero really is pretty lethal, and well drawn as a person. The society, too - though WHY would a future star-travelling society that uses nanotech use ducats as a currency??Oh, and as an aside, this is the first book I’ve read in a while that actually uses an imaginative pronoun - and not they, or them - for people known as androgynes. I wish more did!

Artifact Space (Book 1 of 2 in the Arcana Imperii duology) is an engaging, accessible foray into “realistic” science fiction by Miles Cameron. My only other experience with Cameron’s work was The Red Knight which I found to be an exciting, yet exhausting, experience. In contrast, Artifact Space had me enthralled and energized to keep reading late into the night.The book tells the tale of Marca Nbaro, an orphan who finagles her way aboard a merchant greatship to escape her past and present. As the world grows more threatening through the byplay of conspiratorial factions, Marca must grow out of her negative self-perception and distrust of others in order to ensure the survival of her ship and new friends.Classic sci-fi tropes like alien races, relativistic space travel, and ships controlled by artificial intelligence are prominent. However, the exact proportions of each element are blended together into an amazing worldbuilding smoothie that offers a fresh taste of its many influences. This is an enjoyable mashup of Corey’s Expanse series, Card’s Ender’s Game series, and Whedon’s Firefly TV show. The economic undertones and merchant subplots sometimes felt like the cast of Critical Role playing a game of Jaipur.The author effectively captures the intensity, instability, and uncertainty of the setting while still grounding the plot in a warm bubble of friendship, human perseverance, and positive relationships. The protagonists are worth rooting for and often behave in ways that surprised me, as a reader more used to modern sci-fi books with dark or cynical themes. Some of the supporting characters are not as fleshed out, but “proper name overload” is not nearly as bad as in The Red Knight. The ending is dramatically self-contained enough to satisfy, but big questions remain unresolved that are clearly reserved for the final volume.This is a book that I would recommend to anyone with a passing interest in sci-fi, especially someone with toes in the water who wants to get into the more meaty stuff. While there may seem to be a lot of technobabble and unexplained terminology up front, the author reinforces the language through repetition and narrative clues that don’t interfere with the story’s momentum. I was in the right mind space to understand the world and its acronyms just a couple chapters in.

Athough I love to watch Sci-Fi shows & movies, I don't tend to read Sci-fi. Odd, I know, but fantasy books are just my favorite genre to read.But.....When one of my favorite fantasy authors writes a sci-fi book, my interest is just too high not to see how they tackle the genre.Miles is a master of storytelling, worldbuilding and develops characters as nuanced and rich as his multi-layerd stories always are. So I'm sure you can tell I loved his two fantasy series and I'm here to say I really loved this introductory sci-fi story.Artifact Space is an amazing book that somehow got me fascinated in trade as only Miles can do, when weaving politcs, everyday life and econimics into a story. The way he does worldbuild (or spaceshipbuilding?) really brings the ship to life. He does a wonderful job of introducing terms and processes in a way that isn't overwhelming. Somehow later in the story when he calls back to something he introduced, you find yourself knowing and understanding really well and applying to the story where the payoff is for that information.Marca is a great new character and she is fun to learn more about and watch her grow through each of her new expereinces. I can't wait to read the next book in this series! This is an amazing sci-fi book by an amazing fantasy author! I also like how he still worked in sword play as well. Both with the Greatship designs and as common weapons to use as well.

This was a pleasant surprise, with overtones of David Drake’s "Starliner" but taken in different and interesting directions. The protagonist is Marca Nbaro, orphaned child of nobility raised and abused, in the dystopian Orphanage. Her dream is to escape to space, and by hook or crook she makes it to the Greatship Athens, one of the unimaginably huge megaships which keep humanity’s vital long-distance space trade moving. But someone’s targeting the giant ships, and Nbaro isn’t safe either.This was fantastic. Cameron writes well, and the characters and situations are believable and lively. There’s a strong, well-constructed space opera element, but the book also has a nicely-crafted set of interlocking mysteries built in alongside the SF. Nbaro is a great main figure who suffers from a completely believable set of fears and flaws, and Cameron surrounds her with excellent supporting personalities, including the all-too-fallible AI who keeps the ship running. Even the weaker moments–Nbaro’s unlikely inclusion in the secret council of war and the transparent traitor within it–are still well-done. Worth the read.8.5/10 (4.25 stars, rounded up)

i liked the way it was written; the characters; the plot; the pacing.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Complicated, interesting characters, a scraped success story, some great dealing-with-trauma story, interesting sociopolitical, great aliens , trade, friendship, action, just about EVERYTHING, and written in an engaging style, with an excellent subtle literacy. Full marks!

Lettura piacevole, personaggi ben definiti. La prima parte è un po' lenta ma l'autore deve presentare la scena è lo confesso pensavo di trovarmi davanti un altro romanzo sui cadetti militari, un po' lo è ma l'azione e i protagonisti rendono valida la lettura, spero che ci sia un seguito.

The writing style is good,the main character is interesting,the tech is believable.But i am 1/3 into the book and already cringing to death .Please writers of the world,stop splattering wokey cliches on your artwork, it is pathethic.

Slightly torn between a 4 and 5 Star rating. There are slight shortcomings. Depending on taste there might be a bit too much detail on the side of military routine. Which probably reflects on the authors own military service. But thats ok.I bought it on a hunch without reading about it. The very first pages had me a little sceptical. But it turned out to be a very entertaining read. Building interest in the world and its characters and making you to want to know more about it.I sure hope the author continues the story and sticks around with SciFi ;)Certainly will buy the next Novel.