Publisher – Tor

Published – Out Now

Price – £21.99 hardback £10.99 Kindle eBook

Neon Yang's THE GENESIS OF MISERY gives a space opera twist to Joan of Arc's story, full of high-tech space battles and political machinations, starring a queer and diverse array of pilots, princesses, and prophetic heirs.

One of the attractions of the hero is their desire to do the right thing no matter what. We like certainty even in a more morally grey world we like to understand that for this character the right result is chosen. But the danger of certainty is the lack of doubt. A charismatic person can pull us along; cheering, flag waving and then we may realise too late the road we are on. In Neon Yang’s spectacular The Genesis of Misery we combine a mecha strewn space opera with a central character who is very certain that they know they’re doing what needs to be done and will do whatever it takes to get there.

Misery Nomaki is hiding from everyone that they may be carrying all the symptoms of voidmadness. A condition all those I the Empire fear – visions, strange thoughts and ultimately a massive transfiguration that usually kills the host. Misery though has managed to use her talents to steer people to the right decision to get her to the heart of the Empire where the Church and Emperor navigate war with their ancient rivals the Heretics. Misery can transfigure the most holy of elements into shapes that all suggest she may be a prophet that could lead them to victory. Eventually she is forced to be on the front line in space; armed with a massive Angel mecha of destruction and perhaps deep down finally able to seek her own revenge.

This is a novel that captures the feeling of a SF anime movie or TV series and uses that framework to explore the danger of a hero. Yang paints the immense space Empire with strange Priests, AI robots and giant mechas which pulsate with scale, colour and style. Its sumptuous and strange an offshoot of future humanity that we can see elements of our past in but also acts very much as its own creation. The Emperor that Misery meets is not wise, kind or helpful and that describes the whole Empire Misery discovers – simply one side in a conflict. Nor one we find ourselves cheering on but just getting their view of events.

This initially makes us take Misery the working class, poor yet smart and pugnacious lead appear sympathetic to us. We like the rebel who does what needs to be done. We do not want them to be undermined by the powers of privilege. We very much cheer Misery on even as their true powers we see can raise a devastating and messy body count. The first half of the book explores this universe, Misery’s shell game of pretending to be a prophet and manipulating people to get her closer and closer to those with influence. When things don’t go to plan, we care for Misery’s fate.

The second half of the tale is more wartime space opera with Misery and her ally – a rebellious Princess who may or may not care for Misery, both sent to a prison outpost to serve on the frontline. Here Misery becomes effectively a mecha pilot; her skills at data manipulation and her visions of a strange angel she nicknames Ruin all giving her tactical insights the rest of her team marvel at. We get lots of potential allies here – a gruff Doctor, a young genius and some war veterans who seek revenge against the Heretics too. On their own these traditional elements are delivered with style and panache we care about their fates and marvel at what Misery can achieve…and yet there is a niggle slowly building. What are we fighting for? Is Misery insane, revenge driven or being guided by an almighty AI god? As Misery plans a cunning final strike to end the war Yang takes the opportunity to deconstruct the myth. Wars are not one person but multiple factions and factors at play – some of which are very happy to move pieces to serve their own needs. What I loved about this story was the way Yang suddenly makes us pause; look at ourselves and think hold on – what are we doing; why are we doing it and is this really the right thing to do. A space opera that explores the murkier side of both war and heroes that may make us think twice the next charismatic rogue appears to offer us a big adventure to glory.

There are hints we could get to hear what happens to Misery next and I’d love to know that but on its own this story delivers a full story too that combines adrenaline filled adventure, intrigue and difficult questions about our bloodlust and love of heroes to deliver a powerful thought-provoking tale. Strongly recommended!