Review by Booklist Review
No one remembers how humanity came to live on the planet Anjiin. Then the alien Carryx arrive to enslave mankind. Caught up in an age-old conflict they had no idea was even happening, and thrust into a far wider galactic community of aliens, the survivors from Anjiin must figure out how to navigate their subjugation and maybe even find a path back to freedom. Writing duo Corey (Memory's Legion, 2022) once again does a masterful job of populating their settings with deeply drawn, unique characters. The settings are immersive and interesting, and the history of the Carryx provides compelling depth to the grand conflict of the story. The Carryx are an insectoid villain race, but Corey explores their worldview, mindset, and culture more deeply than is typical, making them more believable and interesting than the usual genre stereotype. They're the most well-developed insectoid baddies since Orson Scott Card's original Ender Trilogy. Mercy of the Gods starts in an unspecified part of the galaxy, assumed to be far from Earth, at an unspecified, far-future time, giving it a more speculative, fantastical feel compared to Corey's Expanse series. This is old-fashioned space opera on a grand scale and a promising start for an epic new series.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Writing as Corey, bestsellers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (The Expanse) create a dazzling new world in their masterful Captive's War series launch. In the distant future, humanity has settled on the planet Anjiin, but the history of how they arrived there has been lost to time. Tonner Freis, a brilliant research scientist, has achieved a historic breakthrough in humanity's ability to translate the language of Anjiin's native, silicon-based, life-forms. But before he and his colleagues can learn more, Anjiin is invaded by the Carryx, which resemble "unthinkably vast cockroaches that bent up at a right angle in the middle." Having conquered countless worlds, the Carryx operate from the conviction that "what can be subjugated, must be." The authors create suspense through a prologue that foreshadows the conquest of Anjiin to be a Pyrrhic victory--in the process, the Carryx unwittingly bring the enemy who will defeat them into their midst. With that Damoclean sword dangling over the plot, the focus shifts to Freis and his team as they struggle to survive the invasion and their subsequent captivity. In Corey's hands, world-shaking events don't preclude nuanced and moving portraits of the people caught up in them. This is space opera at its best. (Aug.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
The creative duo behind the renowned "The Expanse" series return with an equally impressive space opera, featuring an intergalactic war with overwhelming stakes. Dafyd Alkhor is a research assistant to a biology team full of the brightest minds. His team believes that the worst they have to face is colloquy politics and research drama, but then they are invaded by the Carryx--terrifying, impassive alien overlords that enslave all species they deem lesser than themselves. Petty social intrigue escalates into a desperate fight for survival as the novel follows the survivors of the invasion, who will only last for as long as they are useful. This is an intelligent and innovative sci-fi epic with infinite scope that somehow never overshadows the small moments of human vulnerability and courage as the characters endure ruthless subjugation. They are challenged by impossible choices, and their struggle demonstrates how people are at both their best and their worst when all seems hopeless. The novel's distinctive portrayal of alien species also provides a unique perspective that is downright chilling. VERDICT Nail-biting suspense makes for an engaging and compulsively readable intro to yet another ambitious series from this writing team.--Andrea Dyba
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The first installment in the pseudonymous Corey's Captive's War series begins an epic narrative about a subjugated humankind and its tenuous survival in the midst of an ancient war. When the godlike Carryx--who have "ruled the stars for epochs"--and their minion races arrive around the planet Anjiin, the humans who live there are conquered seemingly without effort. After one-eighth of the population is quickly killed, those worthy of saving are separated and taken off-planet, back to one of the Carryx's world-palaces. Once there, the remaining humans realize they've finally had some important scientific questions answered: "Alien life exists, and they are assholes." The humans' predicament is simple: If they're not beneficial to the Carryx in some way, their entire race will be eliminated. Trapped in a massive prison world with hundreds of other enslaved races, elite researchers like Dafyd Alkhor and Tonner Freis must stay alive long enough to prepare some kind of retribution against their alien overlords. While the character development is exceptional, the pacing breakneck, the emotional intensity off the charts, and the worldbuilding simply extraordinary, it's the sheer scope of the narrative--the Carryx's backstory, their "long" war, the countless sentient races they've conquered and/or destroyed, etc.--that will have science fiction fans befittingly blown away. The sense of wonder associated with the story's magnitude is simply breathtaking. Here is just an example of one of the Carryx's world-palaces: "The huge arcs of alien structure, one part building and two parts the bones of strange gods, glittered with a million other windows like theirs. The ziggurats that marched along the curve of the planet, poking their sullen bronze heads up above the clouds, were a cityscape twisted by nightmare, starkly beautiful but vast enough to induce vertigo." The beginning of what could be Corey's most epic--and entertaining--series yet. Simply mind-blowing. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
