Michael Puttre

Take Me Out to the Black

Revisado: 09-10-24

I wrote a review for Miles Cameron’s 2021 space epic, Artifact Space, the precursor to Deep Black. Everything I wrote there still holds. Cameron is a master at delivering a hard(ish) science fiction world with incredible fidelity and believability. The reading of Nneka Okoye is perfection in her delivery for the POV character, Marca Nbaro, and character variations.

If you like Artifact Space, chances are you will like Deep Black. This is largely because the new novel essentially begins where the original leaves off. A conspiracy has been unmasked and aliens have been encountered. Damage from the finale of the first novel is being repaired. Actions must be undertaken. Nbaro is ready to undertake them. All of them.

Where Artifact Space was world building and character development, Deep Black is unleashing the characters upon the world. War is front and center in the reality of the new novel, with trading and commercial interests taking a back seat. Cameron is enough of a historian to not get tripped up in the seeming dichotomy of a great ship (the premier human starships) being a purveyor of cargo and a man- (woman-, gene-) of-war at the same time.

Yes, Cameron’s modern audience sensibilities continue to shine through. He even reworked Henry V to include “sisters and genes” into the king’s happy few, “band of brothers.” You will either clap or wince. I’ll leave it to you.

There are two alien races. The enigmatic Starfish we know about that the Directorate of Human Corporations trades with for prized xenoglass, a wonder material that human technology cannot duplicate and that has become vital to the economy and spacefaring technology. The new aliens are the so-called Bubbles, who call themselves the Hin. The less said about them the better: Cameron has gone to Niven-like lengths to create a unique alien culture and it would spoil the fun not just to read it for yourself. Again, Okoye brings a Hin captive to marvelous life. “Yes, and also yes!”

Deep Black is military sci-fi with romance and atmosphere. There is a surprising amount of romance, and all that that entails. Fortunately, Cameron is a “fade out” kind of guy. The battles are meticulously described and make excellent sense and, in my opinion, never drag. I have a high tolerance for Tom Clancy detail, and you are in good hands with Cameron, who is a navy veteran and, as I’ve noted, historian. Even if you are not so inclined, the action is always related from a personal perspective and will not leave you cold.

There are a few differences in tone that prevent the original book and its sequel from being a proper single entity. I’m not sure whether this is a case of Cameron retconning details or revealing previously hidden plot points as part of a plan. I’m sure Luke and Leia were always brother and sister.

It turns out, the POV character has a neural implant that reveals itself and gives her incredible mental powers and support from the ship’s artificial intelligence, which manifests as a sentient being. The AI is no longer just a decision support system but the actual eminence grise. A cabal of AIs are apparently running human affairs for our own benefit. While cold and calculating, AIs apparently are not afflicted by human vices.

Certainly, giving the main character, who had been criticized in some reviews as something of a Mary Sue, a brain implant and invitation by all-powerful AIs to the Singularity at least partially explains her amazing (and constantly remarked upon by everybody) excellence in all fields.

Plan or excuse, you decide.

Deep Black in an amazing accomplishment in military science fiction with intelligence and heart. Cameron has maybe teased us with what might come next for the Arcana Imperii universe with his Beyond the Fringe short story collection. I reviewed that, too. The collection establishes some plot points for Deep Black and opens the floor to a variety of characters and points of view. If Deep Black wraps up a little too neatly, there is certainly a lot of room and life left in artifact space.

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Gold, Xenoglass, and Fur

Revisado: 01-09-24

Cameron offers another deeply thoughtful round of speculative fiction, this in his Artifact Space universe, now called Arcana Imperii. This is a collection of short pieces that illuminate his far-future setting where high civilization exists in an interstellar trading culture where Earth is a distant memory that both informs society and provides an object lesson. Cameron is unique in that he provides military sci-fi understanding of how things work while deemphasizing conflict in favor of character and daily life.

As an annex to his first novel in this universe, Artifact Space, and the prelude to his next one due out in 2024, Beyond the Fringe answers a number of questions from the last and teases the next. It creates a fuller universe of mercantilist traders and operatives with hearts of gold beset by less altruistic human and now possibly alien civilizations. Progressive readers will be delighted with Cameron’s 21st century social democratic sensibilities emphasizing diversity, equity, pronouns and Oh, Canada levels of free health care. Conservatives may grumble at his greedy capitalist, drawling, corrupt, gun-toting space Texan villains. It’s his world. I managed.

At the same time, nobody understands how ships, organizations and space physics work better than Cameron. You absolutely want to be crew on one of his Directorate of Human Corporations protagonist merchant ships or battlecruisers. The stories are clear and detailed without technical gobbledygook and enough actual military detail to amuse me, which might be wearing on non-enthusiasts.

The good news is that all of Cameron’s characters are real people with back stories and believable reactions and dialogue. No cringe here. They seem like real people you would like to get to know. You would like to live in this universe.

My only real complaint is that, with the exception of the absolutely delightful “Gifts of the Magi,” the individual stories in Beyond the Fringe are not really short stories in that they don’t live as stories on their own. Most are vignettes that seem like early chapters in a new novel, painting a picture and setting up plot points and actions to be resolved later. This is perhaps a contrast with other short story collections set in a universe, such as Larry Niven’s Neutron Star collection set in his Known Space universe.

That said, all of the stories in this collection are bright – even when they are dark – and engaging and worth returning to. I enjoy Cameron’s characters and his sensibilities of how his worlds work. I would like to see more actual short stories in this universe on par with “Gifts of the Magi.” And, whatever Cameron’s intent, I am looking forward to his next novel. He wins.

The narrators are universally excellent. Nneka Okoye is a welcome old friend from Artifact Space. Daniel York Loh and Peter Noble perform with engaging variety. I feel like I recognize Miles Cameron, who provides introductions and codas.

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Exactly What You are Looking For

Revisado: 07-12-21

It’s a little difficult for me to review Miles Cameron’s books because I know the author and consider him a friend. So, spoiler free: Artifact Space is excellent far-future space science fiction. He has absolute command over the workings of a starship in a way that you will not read elsewhere. And it is empowering, like the way Patrick O’Brien writes about fighting ships in the age of sail. He doesn’t hold your hand, but you know you are in the hands of an author who has complete knowledge of how these things work.

A few notes:
1. Detail flows and is relevant. You learn how something works so you don’t have to deal with it later. Plus, Cameron has a navy background yet doesn’t feel he needs to inject jargon to prove his space navy chops. The chops are there. Plus, the tech he takes on in his universe have rules and these rules persist. That’s key.
2. Cameron has an interesting and original take on how interstellar economies work. When you have an author who actually appreciates mercantilism, capitalism, socialism, fair trade and applies them to a detailed and well-crafted universe you jump up and down that somebody has even addressed economics in science fiction. (Although he is wrong about capitalism.)
3. As a read, it is beautiful. It hits my spots for reasonableness and elegance of description and language. Cameron is a pro.
4. (for the Audible version) Nneka Okoye is my new favorite reader. I adore her accent and she just subtly alters her voice to define different characters. She nails the sci-fi elements. Perfection.
5. My one issue is with the main character point of view in this complicated story. In the course of a year our heroine becomes: an orphan, an escaped urchin, a streetwise operator, a murderer, the most junior officer on a starship with 5,000 people, a fighter pilot, an intelligence officer, an aide to the ship’s master, a commander of that ship in an emergency, a space marine, an expert swordsman (swordsperson), and the key component of every action that happens in the story. Oh, and she’s also a hidden princess. Which is what happens when you have one POV character. She has to be everywhere.

Fortunately, we like her. You will be rewarded by your read (or listen to, don’t miss the joy of Okoye’s voice) of Artifact Space. Cameron knows what he is doing.

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