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A review by megparsec
Annihilation by Catherynne M. Valente
4.0
When I read Catherynne Valente's Space Opera last year, one of my favorite things about it was how memorably it brought to life a whole galaxy full of unique alien races, coloring in each species' eccentricities with equal parts heart and humor. I remember having the same thought almost every chapter at the time: "I'd LOVE to see what this author could do in the Mass Effect universe."
Well, now I know, and I'm happy to report that it's every bit as delightful as I expected. The story of Annihilation focuses on the quarian ark, somewhere deep in intergalactic space on its way to Andromeda and populated by all of the Milky Way's more obscure alien species: the quarians, the drell, the hanar, the elcor and the volus. All of those species were my favorites in the original Mass Effect trilogy (and I sorely missed their presence playing Andromeda), and Valente brings them to life magnificently here.
The core ensemble cast features one representative of each species, and they're all unique and memorable personalities, from a secretive drell detective to a fashion designer volus to a fabulously cantankerous quarian matriarch to a beleaguered elcor who just wants everyone to appreciate his Shakespeare references. Their characterizations draw heavily on Mass Effect lore (there are a lot of satisfying deep-cut references), but at the same time, it feels refreshingly original to have a science fiction novel written almost entirely from alien perspectives, with no obligatory humans sticking around to be the audience stand-in.
The story that unfolds here basically follows the architecture of a disaster movie, with a plague taking hold on the Ark and threatening its entire cryo-frozen population, and the protagonists racing against time to figure out a cure. The plot lends a great sense of claustrophobic urgency to the novel, and leads to a surprisingly poignant finale (one that made me choke up in the same way the best moments of the original Mass Effect games did). You may never look at Hamlet the same way again.
All told, if you miss the colorful alien personalities that populated the Mass Effect franchise's Milky Way, and want to join them for one more adventure, this is definitely the book for you.
Well, now I know, and I'm happy to report that it's every bit as delightful as I expected. The story of Annihilation focuses on the quarian ark, somewhere deep in intergalactic space on its way to Andromeda and populated by all of the Milky Way's more obscure alien species: the quarians, the drell, the hanar, the elcor and the volus. All of those species were my favorites in the original Mass Effect trilogy (and I sorely missed their presence playing Andromeda), and Valente brings them to life magnificently here.
The core ensemble cast features one representative of each species, and they're all unique and memorable personalities, from a secretive drell detective to a fashion designer volus to a fabulously cantankerous quarian matriarch to a beleaguered elcor who just wants everyone to appreciate his Shakespeare references. Their characterizations draw heavily on Mass Effect lore (there are a lot of satisfying deep-cut references), but at the same time, it feels refreshingly original to have a science fiction novel written almost entirely from alien perspectives, with no obligatory humans sticking around to be the audience stand-in.
The story that unfolds here basically follows the architecture of a disaster movie, with a plague taking hold on the Ark and threatening its entire cryo-frozen population, and the protagonists racing against time to figure out a cure. The plot lends a great sense of claustrophobic urgency to the novel, and leads to a surprisingly poignant finale (one that made me choke up in the same way the best moments of the original Mass Effect games did). You may never look at Hamlet the same way again.
All told, if you miss the colorful alien personalities that populated the Mass Effect franchise's Milky Way, and want to join them for one more adventure, this is definitely the book for you.