Out Past the Stars is book three in The Farian War trilogy. Please note, what follows may contain minor spoilers if you’ve not read books one and two… Who am I kidding, of course it will contain spoilers. How could it not? The book blurb is a spoiler for goodness sake.
When Hail finally confronts the Farian gods, the last thing she expects to discover is that they’re part of the Hiervet, an alien race who once spread war throughout the galaxy long before humanity’s ancestors crawled out of the sludge of Earth’s oceans.
The discovery carries with it dire news: the Hiervet are coming, eager to take revenge on those who escaped and they don’t care who gets caught in the crossfire.
The fate of the galaxy is on the line and Hail will have to make one final gamble to leverage chaos into peace.
Here we are at the grand finale of Hail Bristol’s story. After many twists and turns the final book in The Farian War trilogy, Out Past the Stars, has arrived. The good news is that Hail’s swansong is exactly what I had hoped it would be. She leaves us on a high, doing what she does best, protecting the innocent and dishing out justice.
For me, the end of any trilogy is always tinged with a certain amount of sadness. I’m hopelessly invested in the characters and caught up in the plot by that point. I wouldn’t have got to book three if I wasn’t*. The thing I’ve enjoyed most about The Farian War, and the trilogy that proceeded it, is K B Wager’s skilled exploration of their protagonist. Hail’s evolution from cocky gunrunner to self-assured galactic leader is riveting. Turns out that spending time working with the criminal underbelly of the galaxy stands you in good stead for living as a royal personage. We’ve had the opportunity to see the good and the bad in Hail’s life, all the highs and the lows. Wager’s doesn’t pull any punches; this is warts and all storytelling and I love it. The physical and psychological toll of a life lived in the service of one’s subjects has left its mark. Watching Hail overcome trauma, conquer seemingly insurmountable obstacles and keep moving forward is a sight to behold. The steel in her veins that drives her to protect all those around has always felt palpable.
The other characters not only complement the novel’s charismatic lead, they also help to flesh out her journey. Every time I’ve picked up the next book I’ve felt like I am reconnecting with old friends. The narrative would be a far sadder place without the likes of Emmory, Zin, Hao, Aiz, Mia and everyone else besides**. Each and every one of these characters gets an opportunity to shine and they have evolved into far more than the sum of their parts. I’ve thought about this long and hard and I think, at its heart, this is a story about family. I’m sure I mentioned this in my review of Down Among the Dead and it is still true here. The idea that the people you choose to let into your life are the ones who become the most important to you. The bonds you have with them are far more significant than something as arbitrary as biology. These people become your life and they become your home.
I waffle about reading a lot, you’ve probably noticed. Over the last decade, I’ve made a point of sharing my thoughts about the hundreds of books that I’ve read and enjoyed. K B Wager’s Hail Bristol novels have deservedly earned a spot towards the top end of that vast list. I love genre fiction but, if I’m honest, I’ve always struggled a bit with science fiction. It’s mostly the science part. I’m worried that I’ll drown in technobabble. These novels got me passed that. Wager’s flawless character-driven writing is so damned accessible and insightful it has reinvigorated my love of space operas.
For entirely selfish reasons, mostly that I didn’t want to let the characters go, I was hoping for a long meandering conclusion to the novel. Sadly, it was all over way too soon. The Farian War has been a great trilogy and Out Past the Stars is a perfect conclusion. I think I need to go and have a bit of a lie-down. What can I say? It’s been emotional. I’ll be honest I don’t know what I’m going to do for my next sci-fi fix now that I don’t have the next Hail Bristol novel to look forward to ☹
Out Past the Stars is published by Orbit and is available now. Highly recommended.
For the musically minded amongst you, my recommendation to accompany our last foray into the void is the soundtrack to Disintegration by Jon Everist. There is something suitably epic about it that fits nicely with Out Past the Stars.
*Remember the golden rule people – life is way too short to read fiction you don’t connect with. No such worries in this case obviously.
**I shall live in hope of a spin-off series featuring Johar travelling the galaxy, kickin’ ass and stealing stuff just because they can.
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