# The Shoal Sequence by Gary Gibson



## Werthead

*Book 1: Stealing Light*



> The 26th Century. Humanity has gained access to the stars thanks to the Shoal, the only race in the Galaxy to have developed a transluminal drive. Humanity leases space on the great Shoal coreships as they make a circuit of inhabited systems in the Orion Spiral Arm. The Shoal guard the secrets of FTL jealously and even murderously, so when a human colony discovers an ancient alien derelict in the Nova Arctis system, apparently with a still-functional FTL drive, the colonists make the decision to secretly extract and replicate the drive for themselves.
> 
> However, the alien ship is guarded by ancient software protocols and defence systems that ordinary humans cannot overcome. To this end, Dakota Merrick (a 'machine-head' with illegal brain implants) and Lucas Corso (an expert in computer language) are drafted in to help with the retrieval operation. Needless to say, the operation does not go as planned, for both the Shoal and their enemies are one step ahead of the game...
> 
> Stealing Light is the opening novel in The Shoal Sequence, a space opera trilogy which is - hooray! - now complete (the later volumes are Nova War and Empire of Light). It is a fast-paced, fiendishly readable SF novel built on an intriguing premise (one alien race in the Galaxy controls FTL and rations it to its vassal species very grudgingly) which is then expanded and explored in a very logical fashion (the FTL drive has some intriguing side-effects which the Shoal don't want other races to find out about) and delivered through some effective action set-pieces and some solid character-building, with Dakota Merrick being a fine SF heroine, albeit a hugely flawed one. Dakota is haunted by events in her past, some of which she is using to excuse her dubious actions in the present through some questionable rationalisations, which makes her a sympathetic character only up to the point you realise she's avoiding taking full responsibility for her actions, at which point she becomes more interesting.
> 
> One thing that Stealing Light is not is original. In fact, the book is positively magpie-like in its picking of concepts and ideas from other works. The Shoal-vassal relationship recalls David Brin's Uplift books, whilst the recovery of an alien derelict harbouring major plot revelations has been done to death. The subversion of cybernetic technology via virulent computer viruses that can snatch away a person's violition has also been handled to some degree by Alastair Reynolds in his Revelation Space books, whilst the book's central doomsday macguffin is something that will be very familiar to Peter F. Hamilton fans. To those well-versed in space opera, this might be slightly irritating, but generally I found the book's pace, verve and page-turning energy (not to mention a fine line in dark humour) to more than make up for these originality shortcomings.
> 
> One area which could have been handled better is the depiction of the alien races. The Shoal (an aquatic species of sentient fish who float around is giant, suspended fields of water) are pretty human in thought and deed and rather unconvincing as alien beings, although the splendidly-named Trader-in-Faecal-Matter-of-Animals is a complex and intriguing antagonist. In terms of structure the book is also a little repetitive, with Dakota and Corso spending most of the book being captured, escaping, making desperate deals, being captured, escaping again and so on like a mid-1970s Doctor Who serial. Gibson just about manages to avoid it being a major issue, but the characters lacking the ability to affect the plot themselves and being at the mercy of various outside forces until the endgame of the book gets a little wearying after a while.
> 
> Stealing Light (****) is a well-paced, fun space opera novel and a solid opening to a promising trilogy. The novel is available now in the UK and on import in the USA.


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## Werthead

*Book 2: Nova War*



> Dakota Merrick and Lucas Corso have recovered an alien spacecraft  belonging to the enigmatic and long-extinct Magi. Possessing a  functional FTL drive, the ship holds the key to freeing humanity from  its dependency on the Shoal, hitherto believed to be the only race to  possess the secret of superluminal travel. Unfortunately, Dakota and  Luca are now 'guests' of the Bandati, another Shoal vassal species  equally anxious to gain the secrets of the drive. As different factions  of Bandati battle one another for access to the alien ship and the two  humans who can pilot it, it becomes clear that the Shoal have been lying  to their vassals for centuries about their abilities, for another race  whose power rivals that of the Shoal are making their own play for the  Magi vessel...
> 
> In the second volume of *The Shoal Sequence*,  the ante is upped as various alien races and factions within those  races (and within the human Consortium) attempt to seize control of the  Magi ship, whilst Merrick and Corso, aware of the ship's ability to  unleash devastation on a vast scale, struggle to stop it falling into  the wrong hands. The result is a complex, many-sided struggle with our  heroes caught in the middle, unsure of which faction to ally with.
> 
> _Nova War_ is very much in the same vein as _Stealing Light_,  with impressive action sequences bridging scenes featuring complex  ethical dilemmas and some nicely-judged character-building moments, most  notably as Dakota considers whether her unmatched ability to pilot the  alien vessel could turn her into some kind of tyrant. The messy  relationship between Dakota and Corso, who are on the same side but  distrust one another's motives, is nicely developed and the story moves  at a cracking pace, but some weaknesses remain. The new alien races, the  airborne Bandati and the Emissaries of God (a race of psychotic  space-elephants), are again not really that alien, whilst recurring bad  guy Hugh Moss is starting to get a little annoying (although we finally  learn why he is apparently indestructible). Dakota and Lucas again spend  most of the book imprisoned in one form or another, which is  frustrating, but made up for by the impressive (if rather rushed)  climax.
> 
> _Nova War _(****) continues the *Shoal Sequence* trilogy in a readable and entertaining manner. It is available now in the UK and on import in the USA.


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## iansales

And my thoughts on book 3, *Empire of Light*, are here.


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## Werthead

*Book 3: Empire of Light*



> The Shoal Hegemony and the Emissaries of God are locked in a  devastating nova war between the Perseus and Orion arms of the Galaxy.  Hundreds of star systems have been destroyed, billions slain. The war is  starting to move in the direction of human space, but the Consortium is  riven by in-fighting as the Consortium's rulers vie with the  Peacekeeper Corps established by Dakota Merrick and Lucas Corso for  control of the FTL-equipped ancient alien spacecraft. Merrick has  uncovered a possible way of stopping the war for good, but it means  forging an alliance with her greatest enemy and embarking on a lengthy  trip into the very heart of the warzone.
> 
> Empire of Light brings the three-volume Shoal Sequence to a conclusion,  although further books in the same setting are promised. Merrick and  Lucas achieve their destinies, new characters are introduced and others  are finally killed off as events reach a head. As a conclusion, the book  works, but is not altogether satisfying.
> 
> It is an odd, unexpectedly quiet book, however. Given the vast, epic  events set in motion by the previous volumes, it is surprising that most  of the book is taken up with a single journey on a single, human-built  spacecraft across the Galaxy, contending with internal factionalism and  murder mysteries rather than the vast space battles and politicking of  the previous books. As a result the book feels mechanical and  anti-climatic: our heroes have to deliver a plot device to a certain  location and it pretty much takes care of everything for them, at least  until the epilogue (set centuries later, almost always a bad idea)  informs us that lots more stuff is still to come and a bunch of  interesting-sounding events have been skipped over (shades of Alastair  Reynolds' troubled ending to Absolution Gap). As a result, although the  immediate threat is addressed, many of the other narrative and character  arcs are given short shrift.
> 
> Gibson's prose remains readable and entertaining and the book still has a  page-turning quality to it, but there is definitely the feeling that  this book didn't quite live up to expectations. Particularly notable is  the fact that the cast is suddenly widened in this last book away from  the tight focus on Dakota and Lucas in previous volumes, with the  newcomers (particularly Ty Whitecloud) being intriguing and well-drawn  characters, but given the limitations of space they are not as developed  as much as one might hope. In addition, the oft-mentioned temptations  to the dark side that Dakota's immense power has opened up for her don't  particularly lead anywhere interesting, which feels like a wasted  opportunity.
> 
> Empire of Light (***) is an entertaining book, but doesn't fulfil the  ambitions laid out earlier in the series. Gibson has immense potential,  however, and I look forward to his next project with interest. The book  is available now in the UK and on import in the USA.


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