Architects of Memory

May 4, 2020
Osborne’s promising but uneven debut is a twisty, political space opera about corporate espionage and alien contact. Ashlan “Ash” Jackson, a scrappy and traumatized salvage pilot determined to buy citizenship into the corporation-state of Aurora, does her best to hide both her degenerative neural disease and her on-again-off-again relationship with her captain, Kate Keller. When Ash and Kate’s crew is sent to an old battlefield, Ash salvages a mysterious piece of alien technology, sparking an arms race, as various factions fight to gain control of the technology. Osborne’s worldbuilding shines: the rival corporations are seductive, manipulative, and inescapable, and the constraints on Ash’s life as an “uncitizen” are palpable. Unfortunately, most of the characters never quite come to life, and the endless betrayals and reveals leave readers little time to get their bearings. In this overstuffed plot, Ash’s strange connection to the alien technology—which leads her to have borderline-psychedelic experiences—packs the biggest punch. Despite the flaws, Osborne sticks the landing, delivering a bleak, believable ending that balances horror and hope. Space opera enthusiasts will enjoy this fast-paced tale and look forward to more from Osborne. Agent: Dorian Maffei, Kimberley Cameron & Assoc.

July 1, 2020
Ash, Alison Ramsay, and Dr. Reva Sharma crew on the salvage vessel commanded by Captain Kate Keller. Owned by Aurora Company, the ship is salvaging the wreckage of the spaceship London, left over from the Vai War; on it they find a Vai weapon. In the ruins of a colony on the planet Tribulation, Ash and her crew members find an underground bunker and a living Vai, with whom Ash can communicate. She discovers that it was humanity that started the war and that, years before, Dr. Sharma performed hybrid human-Vai blood experiments with Vai weapons. There is corporate skulduggery when Ramsay seizes the salvage vessel for Baywell to obtain the Vai weapon. Believing she can make peace, Ash tries to flee to Vai space with Keller. Instead, they land back on Tribulation, where they start to destroy the stockpile of Vai weapons. With its swiftly paced narrative, exciting battle scenes, an economic-class-based society run by corporations, an alien race straight out of Burroughs' John Carter of Mars, and human-alien hybrid experimentation reminiscent of The X-Files, Osborne's excellent debut will be enjoyed by science fiction adventure fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)