Trapped between war and redemption.Six months ago Jephora Cochrane was Commander of an ice prospecting mission, now he’s governor of the newest colony in the solar system. A colony that’s become the front line in a war for the future of the Human Union.Struggling to understand the technology left behind by the ancient Shan Takhu, Cochrane and the residents of Gateway Colony must first defeat the … must first defeat the warships of a merciless cybernetic entity known as Odysseus. It will stop at nothing to control the power of the alien structure they’ve discovered, including destroying it.
With no choices left, they have to keep Odysseus from burying the key to the future of humanity back into the ice from which it came.
When all of civilization hangs in the balance, only a handful have the strength to protect it.
Grab Redemption of Sisyphus, and learn what happens when we discover that we are not alone in the universe.
Book Three of the Shan Takhu Legacy.
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Redemption of Sisyphus is the third book of the Shan Takhu Legacy, a hard science fiction series by Eric Michael Craig. My previous reviews of Legacy of Pandora (book one) and Fulcrum of Odysseus (book two) dove into Craig’s writing style and storytelling skills. But now that the series has reached its epic finale, I think it’s time to speak solely as a fan.
But first, a brief setup. We return to the Jakob Waltz, the ice harvester vessel at the center of a mounting conflict over the Tacra Un discovery. Odysseus is in full control of opposition forces through its Derek Tomlinson meat puppet and has begun to employ its strategy to “protect” humanity (the quotes in this case being a very deliberate choice). Unfortunately, that’s about all I can say about the plot without revealing some major spoilers. However, that should be enough of a foundation to ground my thoughts on the story.
When I finished this book, the first thing that popped into my mind was Thanos. Yes, the mad Titan himself. I remember that odd feeling after watching Avengers: Infinity War where I knew that Thanos was the “bad” guy, but I found myself sympathizing with his plight. He wasn’t a mustache-twirling evil doer. He was a sympathetic character, despite the swaths of heroes trying to stop him. This is the exact emotional resonance that Redemption of Sisyphus brings to the table. There are so many layers of character motivations to unpack and your empathy gets tugged in strange directions along the way.
Specifically, let’s talk about AI. (Or AA in this case, i.e. Artificial Awareness). All too often in science-fiction, AI is presented as an all-powerful assistant. This is also true in the Shan Takhu Legacy, but Craig takes a much deeper approach, giving the systems full character arcs of their own. Much like Asimov’s robots, you find yourself investing emotional currency into something that’s essentially computer code. The scenes with Dutch in particular carry the same weighted gut punches as with any flesh-and-blood protagonist.
Speaking of tension, I must point out that Craig has a certain talent for twisting your stomach into knots. I would love to speak more on this, but my spoiler-free hands are tied. Let’s just say that the race to unlock the mystery in order to employ the mystery while also protecting the mystery kept me in a perpetual state of nausea. (In a good way.)
In the end, the Shan Takhu Legacy coalesces in a very satisfying and jaw-dropping conclusion. I can think of no better way to cap off this book review than with a quote from Arthur C. Clarke: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” And if you’ve read the book, I imagine you just smiled and nodded.
The third and final book in the Shan Takhu Legacy series, Redemption of Sisyphus, picks up immediately after the events in the first two books. Eric Michael Craig sets a fast pace as the looming war between Derek Tomlinson, the human face of the artificial awareness program known as Odysseus, and FleetCom, the cartel leading the resistance, finally crashes down with a vengeance. Edison Wentworth is coming to terms about his exile on Mars with Tana Drake and Saffia when an unexpected visitor miraculously walks out of the Martian desert. Meanwhile, ex-chancellor Katryna Roja and Governor Jeph Cochrane must overcome their own stubbornness and distrust of each other to try to understand the alien artifact Tacra Un. The multiple threads and story arcs from the first two books all come together in a final, explosive ending.
After I have gushed about the previous two books in the series (you can read my previous reviews for Legacy of Pandora and Fulcrum of Odysseus here on BookBub – I’ll wait) I am going to continue to gush about Redemption of Sisyphus. While Eric strays a lot more from his hard science fiction roots in this final novel, the story and characters are so well-developed that you don’t care. The new “magical” technology that Eric brings to the story fits in perfectly and adds a nice twist, one that I have been anticipating since the first book. While the new technology allows for a couple of Deus Ex Machina moments, I can overlook them because Eric has done a good job of setting up the potential for these events. At the same time, the characters continue to be compelling. Between Katryna Roja and Jeph Cochrane butting heads as they explore Tacra Un, to the prison of his mind that Derek Tomlinson finds himself in, the characters continue to be compelling. As with Eric’s previous Atlas in the Winds books nobody is “evil” or “bad”. They are people, trying to do what they think is right and best for themselves and the people around them. Even the AA program Odysseus’ actions are governed by its own perceptions and interpretations of its protocols to do what it thinks is right to save humanity from itself, even if it may cost lives to do it.
Redemption of Sisyphus is a glorious ending for a fantastic trilogy. Eric brings all of the story arcs together in a masterful conclusion and possibly sets the stage for further adventures in this universe he has created. The entire series is a powerful mix of the best elements from Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, The Expanse, and 2001 A Space Odyssey. My hat’s off to Eric and I look forward to his next adventures.
I received an advance readers copy of the book.