Exodus

When the blurb for Peter F. Hamilton's newest space opera doorstopper was released, I was immediately hooked. But when it was announced that the book was set in the universe of an upcoming science fiction action-adventure RPG, I was a bit concerned that it might not be everything I wanted it to be.

Now that I've read it, I can tell you that my fears were unfounded. Indeed, the book isn't a novelization of the videogame and it takes place thousands of years before. Hence, other than sharing that far-reaching universe, one can fully enjoy the book without playing the game and vice versa. Moreover, I'm pleased to report that Exodus delivers on all fronts and that it's Hamilton's best novel in years! For my money, it's the best SFF work of 2024 thus far!

Here's the blurb:

Explore EXODUS, a new sci-fi action-adventure RPG coming soon from Archetype Entertainment featured in this epic novel from legendary author Peter F. Hamilton.

Forty thousand years ago, humanity fled a dying Earth. Traveling in massive arkships, these brave pioneers spread out across the galaxy to find a new home. After traveling thousands of light-years, one fleet of arkships arrived at Centauri, a dense cluster of stars with a vast array of potentially habitable planets. The survivors of Earth signaled to the remaining arkships that humanity had finally found its new home among the stars.

Thousands of years later, the Centauri Cluster has flourished. The original settlers have evolved into advanced beings known as Celestials and divided themselves into powerful Dominions. One of the most influential is that of the Crown Celestials, an alliance of five great houses that controls vast areas of Centauri. As arkships continue to arrive, the remaining humans and their descendants must fight for survival against overwhelming odds or be forced into serving the Crown Dominion.

Among those yearning for a better life is Finn, for whom Earth is not a memory but merely a footnote from humanity’s ancient history. Born on one of the Crown Dominion worlds, Finn has known nothing but the repressive rule of the Celestials, though he dreams of the possibility of boundless space beyond his home.

When another arkship from Earth, previously thought lost, unexpectedly arrives, Finn sees his chance to embrace a greater destiny and become a Traveler—one of a group of brave heroes dedicated to ensuring humanity’s future by journeying into the vast unknown of distant space.

Like all previous series/novels by Peter F. Hamilton, the Archimedes Engine duology is vast in scope and vision. Covering more than 40,000 years, from the time the first arkships left Earth to the present day political intrigue within and withour the Centauri Cluster, the worldbuilding is extensive to say the least. Alas, some of the information the reader requires must needs be conveyed via info-dumps. Having said that, the author managed to avoid that particular pitfall for the most part and the majority of the details/revelations are shared in a more streamlined fashion. Such info-dumps, few and far between as they are, act like a necessary evil and can't truly be avoided entirely. Given its size, there is a lot to take in from the disparate storyines of Exodus. Especially at the beginning, and it does take about 200-250 pages for the players to be introduced and the plotlines to be set into motion. To say that this novel features a multilayered plot would be the understatement of the year. Thankfully, there is a timeline and a Dramatis Personae at the start of the book. I rarely say this, but this is a work that would have benefited from having a substantial glossary at the end. Still, overall Hamilton does a good job of keeping his readers apprised of what they need to know throughout.

As mentioned, there are several storylines and it does take a while for a somewhat cohesive whole to take form. The heart of the tale that is Exodus seems to revolve around the Crown Dominion, comprised of six adjacent star systems ruled by a different House. Centuries before, one of the Queens launched a subversive campaign to evolve the Imperial Celestials in a fashion that was anathema to the others, forcing her counterparts to united their forces and destroy her and her entire House. Since then, the five remaining Queens signed the Imperial Accord and each of them in turn will rule as Empress for sixty years. But cracks have appeared in this alliance and external factors have come into play to destabilize the entire Crown Dominion. Since the Remnant Era, which saw the violent rise and fall of interstellar civilizations through atrocious wars that saw countless worlds laid waste, armed conflicts have become extremely rare. Every Dominion has its Archons and their agents and this Cold War is waged through their proxies. This unwritten rule has defined intra- and extra-Dominion antagonism for millennia, yet someone appears to be fomenting chaos that could start a new war and various Archons are now trying to discover which Dominion could be the culprit. Finally, the relationship between humans and the various transhuman species that have evolved to become the Celestials is the third main story arc of Exodus. Some Celestials see them as little more than chattel, while others have given them lands and liberties. But for some, it's not enough. When the arkship Diligent arrives in the Kelowan system after a 40,000-year sojourn through space, Josias Aponi, a man who has walked on Old Earth, will not settle for a life of servitude under the woke of an oppressive regime. And Finn, who dreams of seeing the stars and living the exciting life of a Traveler, sees the arrival of the arkship as his ticket out of his boring existence. And behind all these contrasting and seemingly unconnected storylines, someone or something is manipulating events. To what end? This remains a mystery. . .

Given the number of plotlines, there are a multitude of perspectives that witness events throughout the novel. Some POVs are better and more interesting than others, yet I would say that all are probably important for the author to convey everything that needs to be shared. There is a lot going on all across the Centauri Cluster, so various eyes and ears are necessary to follow the action and make sure that it all makes sense in the end. I found Finn to be an annoying, entitled brat at the beginning. But he does grow on you as time goes by, especially after Ellie knocks a bit of sense into him. Which was Hamilton's plan all along, I'm sure. I found everything that has to do with the Queens of the Crown Dominion to be a bit irritating, to be honest. Though the Hunger Games-esque trials of the Congregant daughters were compelling, if a little overdone. Personally, it's the Archons and their espionage that I found the most captivating. Hence, my favorite character was probably officer Terence Wilson-Fletcher, a human detective who becomes an Archon's agent. The sections featuring him are more police procedural than space opera, but it's through his actions and discoveries that the plot becomes clearer and clearer. I'm still not sure how/why the fight for human rights angle was necessary. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

One would expect a 900+ pages doorstopper to suffer from certain pacing issues, yet you'd be wrong in this case. As mentioned above, it does take quite some time for the overall plot to take shape, and Hamilton needed more than 200 pages to lay the groundwork for everything that comes after, but I wouldn't say that the rhythm is ever an issue. True, some chapters move at a faster clip than others, but I never found the pace to be a problem. If anything, Exodus might be one of the fastest novels of its size that I've ever read. The author had me hook, bait, and sinker from the get-go, so I always wanted to learn more and more.

I won't lie, the cliffhanger ending was frustrating. And yet, Peter F. Hamilton came up with a thrilling endgame and a rousing finale that closed the show with panache. Seriously, the last 200 pages or so made for compulsive reading. After such a page-turning experience, I just wish I didn't have to wait till next year for the conclusion!

Exodus is space opera at its best!

The final verdict: 9/10

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