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A review by zare_i
We Only Find Them When They're Dead, Book One: The Seeker by Al Ewing
4.0
This was unexpectedly strange and great read.
It is far future and humankind has reached the maximum of the expansion and resources are running few. Until they come across huge entities they name Gods, enormous bodies spread across universe, huge and ready to be cannibalized. For some reason these entities are only encountered when dead, nobody knows who they are and where do they come from. What is known is that they are all epicly beautiful and their garments and flesh are source of exquisite resources to harvest.
While this concept is honestly very weird, I look at it from following point - it is time where few people can afford their living, and these space carcasses are source of wealth. Strict regime and conditions related to harvesting point to the rather tyrannical government in the background taking all the profit and leaving many to squabble over bread crumbs remaining. Also there are indices that these carcasses were treated differently before, but then they just became equivalents of whales in 19th century.
And so enters captain Malik and his crew on board one of the so called coroner ships - harvesters taking resources from the enormous beings. But Malik has a goal set before him - he will try to find the alive God and figure out where do they come from and thus gain wealth for himself and his crew. But on his way he will find reluctant crew (because straying in coroner ships can result in immediate termination) and remainder of his past, security officer running escort to harvester [to prevent any feuding between ships] that holds a grudge against Malik, grudge that might push her towards ending the Malik's (and his crew's) career in the fireball.
Very interesting story, ends on a high note, cliffhanger that makes you find the volume 2 ASAP.
Art is excellent, very cinematic in its composition and you are never left guessing what is going on. Space is presented as a dangerous place it is, pulsing with life and other-worldliness, strangest of which are these entities called Gods by humanity.
Highly recommended read for fans of space opera.
It is far future and humankind has reached the maximum of the expansion and resources are running few. Until they come across huge entities they name Gods, enormous bodies spread across universe, huge and ready to be cannibalized. For some reason these entities are only encountered when dead, nobody knows who they are and where do they come from. What is known is that they are all epicly beautiful and their garments and flesh are source of exquisite resources to harvest.
While this concept is honestly very weird, I look at it from following point - it is time where few people can afford their living, and these space carcasses are source of wealth. Strict regime and conditions related to harvesting point to the rather tyrannical government in the background taking all the profit and leaving many to squabble over bread crumbs remaining. Also there are indices that these carcasses were treated differently before, but then they just became equivalents of whales in 19th century.
And so enters captain Malik and his crew on board one of the so called coroner ships - harvesters taking resources from the enormous beings. But Malik has a goal set before him - he will try to find the alive God and figure out where do they come from and thus gain wealth for himself and his crew. But on his way he will find reluctant crew (because straying in coroner ships can result in immediate termination) and remainder of his past, security officer running escort to harvester [to prevent any feuding between ships] that holds a grudge against Malik, grudge that might push her towards ending the Malik's (and his crew's) career in the fireball.
Very interesting story, ends on a high note, cliffhanger that makes you find the volume 2 ASAP.
Art is excellent, very cinematic in its composition and you are never left guessing what is going on. Space is presented as a dangerous place it is, pulsing with life and other-worldliness, strangest of which are these entities called Gods by humanity.
Highly recommended read for fans of space opera.