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A review by azrah786
The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey
4.25
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, injury, body horror, gore, death, murder, death of parent (off page), genocide, colonialism, war, confinement, depression, grief, panic attacks, suicidal ideation, drug use, vomit
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As a big fan of The Expanse I was of course really excited about a new series from Daniel and Ty and while this first instalment didn’t blow me away in the same way that Leviathan Wakes did, The Mercy of Gods has still set up a super engaging and intriguing new space opera, this time with actual aliens as prominent characters.
The story follows a highly acclaimed biological research group made up of a variety of personalities on a planet called Anjiin that humanity came to long ago, whose time in the limelight is seized when an alien race known as the Carryx invade. The Carryx ship away those who are deemed the best in society and put them to the test against other species on how useful they can be to their new overlords.
The synopsis highlights the character of Dafyd as the MC much in the same way that The Expanse does with Holden however, again this series follows multiple perspectives of key characters both of the human research team and that of the aliens. The latter perspectives are what fold this story that initially starts off as a first contact, post-apocalyptic survival narrative into a wider space opera. Additionally little epitaphs that separate each part of the book denote that we are in fact watching the story of the fall of the Carryx unfold.
If you’ve read anything by Daniel and Ty before then you’ll recognise their compelling narrative style that immediately folds you into the story and packs in the emotion with all the character arcs. This first book of the series definitely seems to be focused on predominantly laying the foundations for the characters, their personal journeys and the part that they will be playing as the series goes on. In this sense Dafyd’s character who I was a little indifferent to at the beginning does really shine through by the end. The other characters that really stood out to me were Jessyn and Campar.
The plot is full of moments of action that are written as well as you’d expect from this duo and whilst the story itself is one about humanity facing colonialism on an extra-terrestrial scale the commentary is still very relevant to the real world.
Whilst the scope of the universe that the story is set in is vast with a wide variety of worlds and different alien cultures, besides physical descriptions of settings that are otherworldly it all mostly keeps to a very familiar and human scale at this stage. However, I am looking forward to seeing more of this universe in the books to come and am super intrigued to see where the story goes next!
Final Rating 4.25/5 Stars
**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, injury, body horror, gore, death, murder, death of parent (off page), genocide, colonialism, war, confinement, depression, grief, panic attacks, suicidal ideation, drug use, vomit
--
As a big fan of The Expanse I was of course really excited about a new series from Daniel and Ty and while this first instalment didn’t blow me away in the same way that Leviathan Wakes did, The Mercy of Gods has still set up a super engaging and intriguing new space opera, this time with actual aliens as prominent characters.
The story follows a highly acclaimed biological research group made up of a variety of personalities on a planet called Anjiin that humanity came to long ago, whose time in the limelight is seized when an alien race known as the Carryx invade. The Carryx ship away those who are deemed the best in society and put them to the test against other species on how useful they can be to their new overlords.
The synopsis highlights the character of Dafyd as the MC much in the same way that The Expanse does with Holden however, again this series follows multiple perspectives of key characters both of the human research team and that of the aliens. The latter perspectives are what fold this story that initially starts off as a first contact, post-apocalyptic survival narrative into a wider space opera. Additionally little epitaphs that separate each part of the book denote that we are in fact watching the story of the fall of the Carryx unfold.
If you’ve read anything by Daniel and Ty before then you’ll recognise their compelling narrative style that immediately folds you into the story and packs in the emotion with all the character arcs. This first book of the series definitely seems to be focused on predominantly laying the foundations for the characters, their personal journeys and the part that they will be playing as the series goes on. In this sense Dafyd’s character who I was a little indifferent to at the beginning does really shine through by the end. The other characters that really stood out to me were Jessyn and Campar.
The plot is full of moments of action that are written as well as you’d expect from this duo and whilst the story itself is one about humanity facing colonialism on an extra-terrestrial scale the commentary is still very relevant to the real world.
Whilst the scope of the universe that the story is set in is vast with a wide variety of worlds and different alien cultures, besides physical descriptions of settings that are otherworldly it all mostly keeps to a very familiar and human scale at this stage. However, I am looking forward to seeing more of this universe in the books to come and am super intrigued to see where the story goes next!
Final Rating 4.25/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent