Annihilation Aria

Annihilation Aria follows the crew of the Kettle, a small, scrappy band of adventurers hunting artifacts. A job takes them to an ancient tomb, where they score several artifacts. While trying to make their escape, however, they're intercepted by a Vsenk patrol ship and lose all but one of the artifacts. Hunted by the Vsenk, an alien species that rules a fascist empire and that evidently wants that artifact very much, the band strives to stay one step ahead and identify what they've got and what to do with it.

This book is kind of like Indiana Jones meets Star Wars, and I love it. It has the same joyful energy of those classic movies, set in a universe of colorfully-imagined aliens. To describe a couple, Lahra is a warrior of a nearly extinct species that basically has magical abilities powered by singing their people's epic historical sagas, and Wheel is a cyborg pilot who can interface with her ship.

Speaking of Lahra, I loved her relationship with her husband, Max (a human archaeologist who accidentally got himself teleported to Lahra's galaxy while investigating an ancient alien artifact on Earth). It was refreshing to read a book in which two of the protagonists have a healthy marriage in which they respect each other's abilities and support each other unconditionally. Fans of Becky Chambers's Wayfarers series for its warmth and strong found family relationships will find a lot to enjoy here, as Max, Lahra, and Wheel work hard to build strong relationships with others on the outskirts of society like them.

This book was a lot of fun and I'm eager to see where Underwood takes this series next. If you want a joyful space opera (literally, given Lahra's abilities) with warm relationships and high stakes drama, look no further.

Annihilation Aria by Michael R. Underwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When it comes to space operas, one generally doesn't think of things like actual SINGING, but I have to admit this is a welcome addition to the corpus of this subgenre.

Add to it some fairly oddball settings/characters, a massive space-nod to Indiana Jones, and transform the first half of the novel into an outright quest to save the universe from the empire, including space battles, more singing, and the optimism inherent in fighting fascism, and you've got yourself a fun book.

So why aren't I giving this an enthusiastic 5-star rating? Because for all its internal enthusiasm and SF-blockbuster movie ethos, it has, unfortunately, all been done before. All that's left is a tale that must do the old thing BETTER than all the ones before it and this one -- while definitely fun -- isn't the beat-all of the genre. There is a LOT of space operas out there.

Still, if you're looking for something new in the subgenre, I definitely think you ought to check this out. :) Expect adventure. :)

I could not put the book down. There are several main characters, well developed and easy to relate to. I enjoyed the plot and found the story fascinating. I am looking forward to Underwood's sequel.