Escaping Exodus: A Novel

Nicky Drayden

Oct 2019 · HarperCollins

About this ebook

"Don't be alarmed - that dizzy pleasurable sensation you're experiencing is just your brain slowly exploding from all the wild magnificent worldbuilding in Nicky Drayden's Escaping Exodus. I loved these characters and this story, and so will you."

 - Sam J. Miller, Nebula-Award-winning author of The Art of Starving and Blackfish City

The Compton Crook award–winning author of The Prey of Gods and Temper returns with a dazzling stand-alone novel, set in deep space, in which the fate of humanity rests on the slender shoulders of an idealistic and untested young woman—a blend of science fiction, dark humor, and magical realism that will appeal to fans of Charlie Jane Anders, Jeff VanderMeer, and Nnedi Okorafor.

Earth is a distant memory. Habitable extrasolar planets are still out of reach. For generations, humanity has been clinging to survival by establishing colonies within enormous vacuum-breathing space beasts and mining their resources to the point of depletion.

Rash, dreamy, and unconventional, Seske Kaleigh should be preparing for her future role as clan leader, but her people have just culled their latest beast, and she’s eager to find the cause of the violent tremors plaguing their new home. Defying social barriers, Seske teams up with her best friend, a beast worker, and ventures into restricted areas for answers to end the mounting fear and rumors. Instead, they discover grim truths about the price of life in the void.

Then, Seske is unexpectedly thrust into the role of clan matriarch, responsible for thousands of lives in a harsh universe where a single mistake can be fatal. Her claim to the throne is challenged by a rival determined to overthrow her and take control—her intelligent, cunning, and confident sister.

Seske may not be a born leader like her sister, yet her unorthodox outlook and incorruptible idealism may be what the clan needs to save themselves and their world.

Ratings and reviews

I saw this book on sale, thought it sounded interesting, and read it right away. It was a fantastic space opera sci-fi! I pre-ordered the next book, even though it sounds like the focus will shift onto a different character. This book switches between two points of view, but the characters are distinct, so it didn't bother me at all. Some readers don't like that kind of thing though. The main characters are Seske and Adalla. Seske is in the ruling class and is, in fact, heir to the throne, while Adalla is sort of a middle-class skilled tradeswoman. They have been close during their childhoods despite their class differences, but Seske has hit puberty and is expected to discard her childhood friend and choose a spouse from among the upper class. Seske is in despair, as she would not only be losing her best friend, but also the person she may be in love with. Meanwhile, we are discovering more about the society these two young women inhabit. Humans left earth generations ago after pollution and climate change made it uninhabitable. The planet they had chosen as a possible new home was uninhabitable. The generation ships needed resources, so they began harvesting moon-sized space beasts. Eventually, they began altering the internal anatomy and ecosystems of the beasts and living inside of them. This novel begins with the colonization of a new beast. Seske and Adalla each discover uncomfortable secrets about this process and about their society. This novel touches on themes of class structure, slavery, drug and alcohol abuse, corporal punishment, poverty, inequality, poor working conditions, traditional sex roles, lesbian and bisexuality, duty, obligation, sustainability, ecological destruction, and more. This is a matriarchal society where the traditional sex roles of men and women are reversed. In addition, to control the population size, family units here are composed of six women, three men, and one child. I found the following a little difficult to figure out: Two women and one man form the "head" parents. Another set form the "heart" parents. And the third are the "will" parents. There are also grandmothers called "Amas". Great characters and world building!

I have samples but each one is interesting to read.

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About the author

Nicky Drayden’s short fiction has appeared in publications such as Shimmer and Space and Time. She is a systems analyst and resides in Austin, Texas, where being weird is highly encouraged, if not required. Her debut novel, The Prey of Gods, was a best of the year pick by Book Riot, Vulture, and RT Book Reviews.