Deep Black by Miles Cameron (book review).

“Deep Black” by Miles Cameron is the concluding novel in the Arcana Imperii duology, a space opera on the interstellar scale.

Marca Nbaro serves on the greatship Athens, a huge trading ship on a circuit of ‘insertions’ to various planets and outposts trading wares. The starfish manufactures xenoglas, a precious commodity, exclusively available at ‘Trade Point’, the location farthest from Earth.

Athens had reached Trade Point at the beginning of this novel, having endured numerous battles against both alien and human factions, including the human PTX empire, and was engaged in trading with the Starfish. Athens has already transformed into a ship of heroes, with Marca leading the charge in securing “stations from enemy borderers,” as she put it. She had also captured an alien in the process.

Horatio Dorcas, the specialist translator for Starfish, has engaged Marca, but there is still much to learn about the Starfish’s use of chemical pheromones. Unfortunately, Dorcas is now her commanding officer, which means there can be no relationship of the intimate kind between them.

The ship’s AI, Morosini, ordered the insertion of a neural lace into her when she was first unconscious on board the Athens. She discovered that it allows her to establish direct connections with the few other laced individuals, the ship’s computers, and Morosini herself. But she still has a lot to learn about how to manipulate it.

‘Deep Black’ is off to a promising start, tackling both personal and interstellar issues. Miles Cameron skillfully summarises Marca’s intricate circumstances by assigning her to handle the ‘paperwork’. However, as she acknowledges in the novel, she doesn’t understand the term ‘paperwork’, but it’s a part of their custom.

There is a lot of work to be done repairing the Athens after the latest battle and trading with the Starfish, who live in liquid ammonia. A breakthrough in understanding them comes with the realization that starfish communicate by sound through liquid ammonia, as well as with chemical signals. Trade between Athens and the Starfish becomes quicker and more profitable. One of the starfish, whom they have nicknamed Feather Dancer because its cerata was much more elaborate, almost feathery, suddenly becomes very agitated. It turns out that they have the ability to detect spaceships entering local space before they become visible. The new arrival, one of the PTX battle cruisers they had previously entangled with, must have followed them to Trade Point. However, it is going so fast, 0.7 times the speed of light, that there is no way they would have enough fuel to slow down. The ship is already dead.

Athens receives an order to run silent after Feather Dancer becomes agitated for the second time. A second PTX battle cruiser arrives. Despite inserting at a slower pace, the battle cruiser still encounters difficulties. The battle cruiser sends out an SOS and surrenders. This time, the Athens manages to assist the battle cruiser by timely dispatching additional fuel. For once, Marca is not part of the action team, but she gains the ability to monitor the mission’s progress through her lace.

Then, out of nowhere, the Starfish begin to evacuate the Trade Point system. Something sinister must be approaching them at a speed greater than light. Athens now finds itself in the fortunate position of possessing the final shipment of the valuable xenoglas. She must get back to Earth with it before the Earth’s economy suffers badly. The Athens crew, along with Marca and the captured PTX ship, must confront the incoming threat, whatever it may be.

This is only the start of the space opera in ‘Deep Black’. There is a lot more to come. There’s so much more ahead, and it’s also incredibly fulfilling in terms of adventure.

Consequently, ‘Deep Black’ is plot-intensive. While there are quite a few sections of heightened excitement, there are, in comparison, very few intense moments of other emotions. This gives ‘Deep Black’ a jaunty lightness and makes for easy, enjoyable reading.

This relaxed reading style leads to easily missing the deeper messages ‘Deep Black’ presents. In this case, it also left a few loose ends, which made the ending somewhat unsatisfying. For example, we never find what happened to Sarah, the girl who helped Marca escape the orphanage and become part of Athens’ crew at the cost of becoming a prostitute. Another unresolved issue is the mystery surrounding the death of Marca’s parents. Yes, there are glimpses of that, but the full story remains untold. I believe there are sufficient unresolved issues to warrant a third novel in this duology. It also makes me wonder whether the editing process for ‘Deep Black’ was as tight as it should have been.

In summary. As a light-hearted, adventurous space opera, ‘Deep Black’ is an excellent novel. If the reader wants something a bit deeper or with a bit more emotional intensity, it is best to look elsewhere.

Rosie Oliver

October 2024

(pub: Gollancz, 2024. 510 page hardback. Price: £25.00 (UK). ISBN: 978 1 399 61503 7)

check out website: https://www.gollancz.co.uk