QUICK TAKE: I loved Soule's previous books and graphic novels, and really enjoyed this book. It definitely read like two individual books in one, but i thought the overarching themes and ending were well-executed.

Felt a lot like "Bird box" but the virus not as contagious, with a secret group that has advanced technology who try to save humanity.
I really enjoyed it, although it did have a few plot holes and I wasn't sold on the ending. I think were it longer and took the time to explain more it would be 5 stars from me.
That last twist was smart.

I've tried to read this book a few times and it doesn't seem to stick with me. I definitely believe this is a case of the reader and not the book.

Lily Barnes is a materials engineer in Hong Kong, working on carbon scrubber technology. Her work gives her a sense of purpose that allows her to resist "The Grey," a global plague that causes those effected to become depressed, suicidal, or in some cases, a misery that manifests in the form of mania. Lily lost her father years ago, disconnected from her mother, and rejected her boyfriend, leaving her with her work. One day, her boss shows her a new carbon scrubber with technology that should not exist. Lily decides to investigate the machine's origins, following a path that breaks her out of her current life and into wonderous new spaces.

The Endless Vessel is a great piece of speculative fiction, mixed in with some historical science fiction elements. Soule does an excellent job of building out his world effected by The Grey and how a world would slowly collapse in the wake of mass depression. I do not want to spoil the second and third acts of the book (one more historical, one more futuristic), but they are very big swings that differ significantly from first act, and while they were initially jarring, once I got back into them I enjoyed them just as much. This is the second extraordinary work from Charles Soule I've read this year, with Eight Billion Genies wrapping up at Image. The Endless Vessel did a lot of the same great things as Eight Billion Genies, which is why I love them both: creating a global calamity based on a fantastical premise, keeping the focus of the story narrow to characters experiencing those changes, and emphasizing the power of hope and connection. I could not put The Endless Vessel down and Soule did a great job maintaining the tension and centrality of Lily's story while also telling a beautiful story about the importance of human connections.

Thank you to Harper Perennial and NetGalley for a copy of The Endless Vessel in exchange for an honest review.

The techno-thriller, The Endless Vessel, was disappointing for me. I really enjoyed the first third or so of the book. But as the story developed, more and more sci-fi tropes were added, making it too cumbersome to keep track of and enjoy. The ideas of "the Grey" and Lily working to help solve the mystery of where the scrubber came from were fantastic, but soon, the plot diverted from this storyline in a myriad of ways and so it fell flat for me.

Well written and fun characters that definitely took a zag in a direction I wasn't expecting. Introduced a lot of new ideas midway through the novel that I was extremely curious to know more about. The ending felt like it came on quick with a little deus ex machina that could have stood some more exposition. Overall one that I'll think about for a bit.

In the not so distant future the world is suffering from a crippling affliction known as “The Grey”. Once a person is affected, its outcome is as grim as the sickness itself, confounding medical experts everywhere.

Interestingly, the disease can manifest in different forms. Its most severe cases result in complete withdrawal and often suicidal thoughts. But at the other end of the spectrum, there is the Joy Joy-a dangerous segment of the population that sees the world is ending, and chooses to embrace it fully, no matter the cost.

The story opens by introducing us to Lily Barnes, a young scientist working in Hong Kong. When Lily is suddenly let go from a job that brings her actual joy, she understandably panics, afraid this could cause her to succumb to The Grey herself. But upon closer inspection of the catalyst of her termination, Lily is thrust into an exploration beyond her wildest dreams.

While Lily is the heroine of this story, the book itself is divided into segments- each one explaining the origins of principal players and places that lead the readers to the present day world. A true testament to a wonderful imagination, author Charles Soule manages to create a world that both bemuses and distresses- in part because of the undercurrent of truth needed to foster such an inventive story.

At its core, The Endless Vessel is a character study of human nature and its need to find joy in our daily existence. I believe this would make an excellent series, bringing both terror and timeliness to its audience.

I appreciate the Cloud Atlas vibes of the book, the feel of a story that spans space and time. While I don’t want to compare this book too much to that one, there was a certain lack the sense of magic that I found in Cloud Atlas. I think the characters is what kept me from falling in love with this story. I didn’t feel a real connection with any of them. The concept was great, and there’s some really beautiful prose throughout. While Endless Vessel didn’t quite live up to my expectations, I would definitely be open to reading other works by Soule in the future.

Charles Soule has an interesting mind. This one kept me wondering the whole time. It is a bit of a heavy handed commentary on the greediness and misery of humanity, but I loved the unique package it is delivered in. We get two distinct timelines. A slightly future Hong Kong where Lily lives and works as a materials scientist. The world is in decline with most of humanity suffering from a disease called The Grey where all hope is lost. Lily is surprised by when a revolutionary device is demo-ed for her. It will change the world. She is immediately intrigued both by the technology and by a hidden message meant just for her. As she begins to investigate, she learns about a secret advanced society which throws our story back to post-revolutionary America. I'll stop there because anything more would be a spoiler, although there is a fun cameo from Benjamin Franklin!

I was so intrigued by both halves of the story. Lily's backstory is really interesting but I was even more enthralled by Molly's story in the 1700's. It has just enough science to be a wow but not enough where the average reader will be turned off.

I’ve read two previous Charles Soule books - one I loved, one I liked - so I fully expected to enjoy this book. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me. It started very slow and I was struggling to stay interested. Then it switched POVs and went to the past, and at that point I just didn’t care anymore.

This book introduces us to a world affected by this new affliction/plague called Grey and there is no cure at this point. Lily Barnes is an English scientist who has so far managed to stay away from Grey and is continuing to work on her research in material sciences in Hongkong when she comes across a material that leads her to a whole another world in another dimension bringing her past back in her present life. Getting to know how this world of Lazerene on a fancy hifi ship was created was an interesting story and how they are thriving is even astounding. It includes many visionaries and their interesting curious minds that bring about some amazing philosophies and also help the world survive different catastrophic circumstances every few years. Then there is also a villain group called Team Joy hell-bent on causing more harm to the world and this tug of war between two groups on opposite ends with opposite causes keeps it interesting and two different time periods also make it more complex making it an intriguing read!

"Endless Vessel" is one of my first novel reads from author Charles Soule. I've been a fan of his comic work since 2011 but have never dived into his fiction novels. This was a very enjoyable read as the book is split into 3 separate books. The first book sets up the world of Lily Barnes, the main character, as she lives into a world that reflects a lot of our current world. Book 2 sets up the history of a mystery society who want to evolve the human species, Book 3 wraps up the whole story with a satisfying conclusion.

As a whole, I enjoyed the book. The section of book 2 slowed down the pacing of the book for me but once we got back into the meat of the story with Lily, I was 100% engaged again. This was a lovely sci fi novel that is remnant of what could happen to our world in a not so distant future.

Charles Soule has a knack for character development as all the characters are relatable and their motives are believable.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone who loves dystopian types of science fiction.

Okay I don't understand how this book is being compared to / like a combination of any of the books listed except maybe Cloud Atlas - and of course of all of those listed, that is the one I liked the least. Perhaps that is why I struggled so much with this one...

I just could not get into it. I could not have loved The Oracle Year more - the story was magical to me, Ireland compelling, and the writing drew me in from the very first pages. It felt like this book was written by a different author - or at least an author in a very different headspace... The magic of the writing, in the sense of Soule being absolutely spot-on in his creation of the mood of disaffection of the greys, is definitely present - and maybe he's a victim of his own success there, because I found myself so beaten down and worn out while reading this that I couldn't keep going. It was physically difficult to keep turning pages.

We've had a series of unfortunate events in our family lately, involving health and death, and that may be why this one affected me as strongly as it did, but I simply couldn't keep reading it. Dystopian Futures are not my favorite type of stories ever, but they are especially difficult in a time when the world seems darker than usual. Maybe this was just the wrong book at the wrong time, but this one didn't work for me...

I was introduced to Soule when The Oracle Year was a book of the month pick 5 years ago and I had really enjoyed his approachable take on sci-fi. The Endless Vessel is an ambitious speculative fiction exploring a dystopian near future with a mental health focused pandemic, with a side of a secret society involving incredible scientific advancements.

I really enjoy speculative fiction, and Soule had a lot of cool what-ifs here. I especially liked the mental health pandemic, it really seemed feasible in a dystopian future where how connected we are impacts our well-being. The book started with a great pace and it was definitely action packed. But the historical background information part felt like it had switched genres and was slower.

Soule had great distinct ideas and I liked the clever way he managed to connect them. I would have liked to spend a lot more time in each of the ideas he had though, I feel like there could have been multiple books based on these worlds.

Thank you so much to Harper Perennial for the ARC of this one.

This book is an interesting blend of genres, almost two different but connected sci-fi stories with a historical fiction component. In the not too distant future, Lily Barnes is a scientist working on a solution for climate change. The world is also being consumed by a depression pandemic called “the gray” accelerated by an internet “virus” which is the work of a woman known as Aunt Jane and her group Team Joy Joy. Following a discovery that Lily recognizes as her deceased father’s handiwork, she joins forces with Peter Match, a popular rock star to find the source of her father’s technology that will contribute to solving climate change problem.
A large portion of the book is dedicated to the historical fiction component around the development of a team of researchers over two centuries who are basically working towards the same goals of saving humankind.
Just writing the above synopsis makes me realize how weird and unique this story sounds. But it was definitely intriguing. I’m not a huge sci-fi fan but love trying out books written by creative authors. I’m amazed at how this author put these genre-bending (but mostly sci-fi) ideas together. I did get a little confused at times by some of the shifting back and forth between Lily’s story and the Team Joy Joy chapters and I wondered why Aunt Jane and her crew were even necessary so that gives me something to chew on. But overall, I would definitely recommend this book for sci-fi fans or anyone who likes really different and creative stories.
#NetGalley #HarperPeriennial

I really enjoyed Anyone and The Oracle Year, so I was super excited to read The Endless Vessel and it did not disappoint. The story was original, relatable, and well paced. Soule does an excellent job of suspending disbelief. I would recommend this to sci fi fans, as well as general book clubs. Excellent writing!

Book Review: The Endless Vessel by Charles Soule
Posted on June 13, 2023 by Kevin Holtsberry / 0 Comment
I read The Endless Vessel by Charles Soule back in April thanks to NetGalley and marked it as four stars on Goodreads. It seemed like the kind of fiction that I find fascinating. A creative hook and imaginative story line that wrestles with ideas:

A few years from now, in a world similar to ours, there exists a sort of “depression plague” that people refer to simply as “The Grey.” No one can predict whom it will afflict, or how, but once infected, there’s no coming back.

A young Hong Kong based scientist, Lily Barnes, is trying to maintain her inner light in an increasingly dark world. The human race is dwindling, and people fighting to push forward are increasingly rare. One day, Lily comes across something that seems to be addressing her directly, calling to her, asking her to follow a path to whatever lies at its end. Is this the Endless Vessel to happiness? She leaves her life behind and sets out through time and space to find out.

From its opening heart-stopping scene in the present day at the Louvre in Paris, through the earthly meetings between Lily and her loved ones past and present, to a shocking and satisfying conclusion in a truly enchanted forest, Charles Soule has channeled history, science and drama to create a story for the ages—a story of hope and love and possibility.

But when on pub day I thought about writing a review I realized I didn’t have a clear idea in my mind what to say. So I decided to re-read so things were fresh in my mind.

Despite knowing the ending, I really enjoyed reading it again. It is a great summer read. With elements of science fiction, history, family dynamics, psychology, sociology, and more. It has thought provoking ideas about culture and society, technology development and the future but also suspense, action and strong characters. All these threads are woven into a compelling story.

One of the things I like about it was that it wasn’t simplistic or moralizing even though there is an underlying message that grows out of the story. The bad guys, Team Joy Joy, are sort of ironic, semi-nihilistic, terrorists who believe that humans have had their time and that the only way to live is in the moment until the end comes. Possessed of a mental virus of sorts, called The Grey, they seek to remove anything that serves to distract humanity from this ultimate fate (art and beauty, history and memory, technology and development).

They drive the action of the story and there is a certain cold power and ruthlessness that make them, if not sympathetic, attractive in some ways. There are clearly echoes of the extreme elements of the environmental movement here.

On the flip side, the group that seems poised to be the “good guys” – The Lazerene – are not without their faults. Isolated and rather arrogant, they have leveraged the power of freedom, science, and ideas to literally change the world and open up doors to other worlds. But when it comes time to save humanity they are tragically ambivalent.

The main character, Lily Barnes, gets caught up in these events and seems poised to be destroyed and abandoned like the rest of humanity (the story of her life in some ways). But despite her traumatic childhood and seeming weakness, she makes a connection-understands the power of connection-that could change the future of humanity. But can she survive and convince The Lazerene to take a risk and give humanity a chance at a future?

The Endless Vessel is inventive, suspenseful, and thought provoking. It is the kind of book where you want to block out chunks of time to read, to just enjoy the story. But aspects of it also stick with you as you think about big ideas like despair, risk, relationships, and what really matters. It may be a cliché but human connection really does lie at the heart of a meaningful life and a thriving community.

Such a unique sci-fi book! What happens when the world begins to lose its joy? Endless Vessel takes a look at the grey. When humanity loses its joy and the grey comes in, people are just mindlessly moving through life and they begin to slack on keeping the world running. Essentially the world is in peril.

Lily Barnes is a materials scientist and comes across a device that is life changing for the world. The device is able to remove obscene quantities of CO2 from the air, and for a minimal cost. If only Lilly can figure out who made the device so she can learn how to make more...

This book was a rollercoaster. It felt a bit of a mix of Frankenstein mixed with Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. The Endless Vessel had some sharp turns in the novel that took the story into completely different directions that I was expecting. It was kind of a book within a book that joined together towards the end for a fulfilling conclusion. This was my first book by Charles Soule, but I really enjoyed this Sci-fi story and will look forward to reading more of his works.

Endless Vessel by Charles Soule exists in the near future.

"Humanity has been stricken with a depression plague, known as the Grey. Once you have it, there's no going back.
A young materials engineer, Lily Barnes, is working in Hong Kong, trying to find some way to bleed the excess carbon from the atmosphere. When her boss shows her a device, Lily is ecstatic that it appears to work. But when she looks inside she makes an odd discovery - and heads out looking for answers.

What she finds is beyond her wildest dreams."

Soule has dreamed up a world that sounds like it could be true. The Grey does not sound that improbable. And Lily's discoveries are amazing.. So many great characters - Molly and Apollo, Aunt Jane, Peter the Rock Star and best of all - the Garbage Man.

This story reminds me of a Neal Stephenson book. There's technology with some history behind it - and a Ben Franklin appearance.. Soule also comments on some societal issues without being preachy. And the ending is certainly apt.

If you like a little character-driven sci-fi or liked his previous books, you should enjoy this book. Great new fiction from Soule.

Charles Soule has an interesting mind. This one kept me wondering the whole time. It is a bit of a heavy handed commentary on the greediness and misery of humanity, but I loved the unique package it is delivered in. We get two distinct timelines. A slightly future Hong Kong where Lily lives and works as a materials scientist. The world is in decline with most of humanity suffering from a disease called The Grey where all hope is lost. Lily is surprised by when a revolutionary device is demo-ed for her. It will change the world. She is immediately intrigued both by the technology and by a hidden message meant just for her. As she begins to investigate, she learns about a secret advanced society which throws our story back to post-revolutionary America. I'll stop there because anything more would be a spoiler, although there is a fun cameo from Benjamin Franklin!

I was so intrigued by both halves of the story. Lily's backstory is really interesting but I was even more enthralled by Molly's story in the 1700's. It has just enough science to be a wow but not enough where the average reader will be turned off. 

Check this one out if you enjoy Blake Crouch or Andy Weir.

Thanks to Harper Perennial for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.