Review: Exodus: The Archimedes Engine
Peter F. Hamilton introduces a new universe in his latest book, Exodus: The Archimedes Engine.
Rather than starting another trilogy, this novel is a prequel to a new sci-fi action-adventure RPG
from Archetype Entertainment.
This novel takes place 40,000 years after humans left Earth and spread across the galaxy. Some
of the humans arrived in a cluster called the Centauri. After they settled there, they evolved into
beings called the Celestials They became the rulers of the Centauri Cluster, spread their empire
across the galaxy and now rule the rest of humanity.
We follow multiple characters. Finn, a young man yearning for adventure, joins a crew of rebels
to explore the universe and then becomes part of the rebellion against the Celestials. Terence,
the detective who starts off investigating gang activity, joins the rebellion and investigates the
corruption in the Celestial Empire. Then there is Thyra. A Celestial princess competing for the
throne against her sisters. We jump back and forth between their separate adventures until the
final climax.
This novel has great world-building and archetypes. You have the young guy who is yearning for
adventure. The detective in a dystopian, futuristic world, trying to stop the big bad. Then you
have the young royal trying to prove themselves to their elders. Out of all the characters of the
novel, Thyra’s story felt more focused when she was in the spotlight. We see her interact with
her sisters as she competes against them to win her place as next in line for the throne. As I was
listening to her go through her trials, I thought that this would be perfect for an RPG tabletop
game.
I listened to the audiobook version of this book, and even in audio form, it was a little hard to
follow. Also, I don’t know if it was an audible mistake, but if you listen to the audiobook, there
are duplicate chapter numbers. For example, there are two chapters called Chapter 2 without
any real reason. It felt like there was a lot of setup and world-building, but it didn’t seem to
have much of a plot or theme. If you enjoy Game of Thrones, you would enjoy this. We bounce
around multiple different characters so you don’t get bored with any one character. As a fan of
tabletop games, I think it’s great when someone takes the time to write a book about the world
of the game. I just wish it felt a little more focused on one character and their journey. This
novel was a little hard to follow as a book, but I would be interested to see if it’s easier to follow
as a tabletop game. There are 30 Chapters, and each chapter is about an hour long, so think of it
as a Netflix series. When game systems and games are overpriced, and streaming services’
prices rise, how about listening to this audiobook to give your eyes a rest? You will get your
money’s worth. Exodus: The Archimedes Engine is available now on Amazon
