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Ardulum #1
First Don
Ardulum. The planet that vanishes. The planet that sleeps.
Neek makes a living piloting the dilapidated tramp transport, Mercy’s Pledge, and smuggling questionable goods across systems blessed with peace and prosperity. She gets by—but only just. In her dreams, she is still haunted by thoughts of Ardulum, the traveling planet that, long ago, visited her homeworld. The Ardulans brought with them agriculture, art, interstellar technology…and then disappeared without a trace, leaving Neek’s people to worship them as gods.
Neek does not believe—and has paid dearly for it with an exile from her home for her heretical views.
Yet, when the crew stumbles into an armed confrontation between the sheriffs of the Charted Systems and an unknown species, fate deals Neek an unexpected hand in the form of a slave girl—a child whose ability to telepathically manipulate cellulose is reminiscent of that of an Ardulan god. Forced to reconcile her beliefs, Neek chooses to protect her, but is the child the key to her salvation, or will she lead them all to their deaths?
Neek makes a living piloting the dilapidated tramp transport, Mercy’s Pledge, and smuggling questionable goods across systems blessed with peace and prosperity. She gets by—but only just. In her dreams, she is still haunted by thoughts of Ardulum, the traveling planet that, long ago, visited her homeworld. The Ardulans brought with them agriculture, art, interstellar technology…and then disappeared without a trace, leaving Neek’s people to worship them as gods.
Neek does not believe—and has paid dearly for it with an exile from her home for her heretical views.
Yet, when the crew stumbles into an armed confrontation between the sheriffs of the Charted Systems and an unknown species, fate deals Neek an unexpected hand in the form of a slave girl—a child whose ability to telepathically manipulate cellulose is reminiscent of that of an Ardulan god. Forced to reconcile her beliefs, Neek chooses to protect her, but is the child the key to her salvation, or will she lead them all to their deaths?
248 pages, ebook
First published February 22, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
November 30, 2017
I’m a sci-fi fan and this was just a really good sci-fi adventure. It had that real space opera feel. I thought the writing was excellent and found myself absolutely engrossed in the ships, planets and aliens. This is straight up sci-fi at its best.
I originally grabbed this because of the lesbian fiction tag. There is no romance or sex in this book; nothing that would give you a clue this is lesfic. But there are two women forming a really intense bond and I have hope for some romance in the next installment.
One of the better pure sci-fi books I have read in a while. I need to get my hands on book 2 fast!
I originally grabbed this because of the lesbian fiction tag. There is no romance or sex in this book; nothing that would give you a clue this is lesfic. But there are two women forming a really intense bond and I have hope for some romance in the next installment.
One of the better pure sci-fi books I have read in a while. I need to get my hands on book 2 fast!
September 25, 2019
[Edit September 25th]
I read this book a few months ago and absolutely loved it, from the world-building to the multi-layered characters and the complex storylines. I’m happy to say the audiobook is even better. I’m very impressed with the narrator’s ability to give life to so many different characters and so many species. I started listening to book 2 (Ardulum: Second Don) immediately after I finished this one.
[Edit: In hindsight, now that I've read the whole trilogy and the anthology [book:Tales from Ardulum|44657299], giving these books 4* wasn't fair so I went up to 5*. I'm happy now.]
I hadn’t heard of this series until recently and I’m very grateful I got to read the first book knowing three more await. I really enjoyed the world building, and there was just enough science for me to be fascinated but not feel lost. I’m looking forward to seeing what the characters I’ve come to appreciate go through next…
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I read this book a few months ago and absolutely loved it, from the world-building to the multi-layered characters and the complex storylines. I’m happy to say the audiobook is even better. I’m very impressed with the narrator’s ability to give life to so many different characters and so many species. I started listening to book 2 (Ardulum: Second Don) immediately after I finished this one.
[Edit: In hindsight, now that I've read the whole trilogy and the anthology [book:Tales from Ardulum|44657299], giving these books 4* wasn't fair so I went up to 5*. I'm happy now.]
I hadn’t heard of this series until recently and I’m very grateful I got to read the first book knowing three more await. I really enjoyed the world building, and there was just enough science for me to be fascinated but not feel lost. I’m looking forward to seeing what the characters I’ve come to appreciate go through next…
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
March 6, 2021
This book confounds me. Second time reading and part of me just wants to sit and ponder again. I should say listen because I want to credit the narrator who did an outstanding job breathing life and personality into every character in unforgettable, funny, and delightful fashion.
We follow a crew that includes Yorden, a crusty, foul mouthed space captain, Nicholas, a naive but lovable Journey Youth, and Neek, a short-tempered pilot who basically blames the world for everything. They run cargo, some illegal, for profit from one system to the next, their off time spent cavorting in seedy bars with same disreputable types. But life changes when they get caught in the crossfire of a confrontation, afterwards rewarded with a stasis chamber containing a young girl who has telepathic abilities just like Neek.
It’s a perfect mix of salty attitude and sweetness that gels between the young woman who is determined to growl her words and yet can’t help but be pulled in by the child’s vulnerability. Emn, the orphan, is determined to carve out her destiny amidst the tragedy of her losses. She just needs a little help to figure out the details. Neek fills that bill and possibly more. Already, it’s a very humorous and testy dynamic between the two strong willed characters.
The book has some fine world building that gives us beings of all sorts, very cool places, and most importantly, the Andal is introduced, sentient trees that are, in essence, broken down to make basically everything, a fact that is crucial to the entire series. Not to forget, the battles and chases, old fashioned scrums between aliens, and political maneuvering, all make this one of my favorite ever space romps, brainy and enjoyable.
We follow a crew that includes Yorden, a crusty, foul mouthed space captain, Nicholas, a naive but lovable Journey Youth, and Neek, a short-tempered pilot who basically blames the world for everything. They run cargo, some illegal, for profit from one system to the next, their off time spent cavorting in seedy bars with same disreputable types. But life changes when they get caught in the crossfire of a confrontation, afterwards rewarded with a stasis chamber containing a young girl who has telepathic abilities just like Neek.
It’s a perfect mix of salty attitude and sweetness that gels between the young woman who is determined to growl her words and yet can’t help but be pulled in by the child’s vulnerability. Emn, the orphan, is determined to carve out her destiny amidst the tragedy of her losses. She just needs a little help to figure out the details. Neek fills that bill and possibly more. Already, it’s a very humorous and testy dynamic between the two strong willed characters.
The book has some fine world building that gives us beings of all sorts, very cool places, and most importantly, the Andal is introduced, sentient trees that are, in essence, broken down to make basically everything, a fact that is crucial to the entire series. Not to forget, the battles and chases, old fashioned scrums between aliens, and political maneuvering, all make this one of my favorite ever space romps, brainy and enjoyable.
July 16, 2019
This book is May's Sapphic Book Club read hosted by @sapphicliterature.
I'm a few days late but still here.
Space opera is not something I read often so I don’t have much comparison and this is why I’ll keep it short.
I had a hard start with this one. I’ve been reading just one chapter at a time at first - partially because of my book slump and partially because I needed some time to get used to all those species, their history, relations, ect. Once I got through that though, it was hard to put this book down.
I loved the Mercy’s Pledge’s crew and their chosen family dynamics. I loved the rich worldbuilding. Neek and her relationship with the Ardulans. The additional articles, broadcasts and other stuff before every chapter. I loved different representation of gender systems within different species. The battles. I hated one whole species but they deserve it… I think it was interesting to see different mentalities of different species and different (also bad) takes on morality.
I admit I’ve done some skimming. It wasn’t that the writing was bad or there were so many unnecessary things included but I was more interested in the action itself than on dwelling on every sentence. This is probably because I’ve ventured out of my comfort zone a bit. I think my tired brain had a hard time visualising all those details (as it was a busy month for me :c) so I skipped those partially so if you're not a usual reader of space operas as well make sure to read it during some easy time just in case.
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May 15, 2021
Review of The Ardulum series by JS Fields, Audiobooks narrated by Lynn Norris
I've had this series in my TBR list for ages but as I'm not a Sci-fi fan, it was kept in that ever-growing pile of books for the not nearest future. My friend Jude kept insisting that I should read it but the "so many books, so little time" excuse was always at hand. However, by a twist of fate, I had just listened to Lynn Norris's narration of When Sparks Fly by Kristen Zimmer and her performance was enough to boost this series to the top of the list. I'm happy that I did.
Ardulum... A travelling planet? A land of gods? A myth? Neek believes it's the latter but her heretical views brought her a life of exile from her own home planet whose population venerate Ardulans as gods. Now piloting a dilapidated cargo space ship, she comes across a girl slave who has the ability to telepathically manipulate cellulose, a talent known only to Ardulan gods. As she tries to reconcile her beliefs with reality, she decides to protect the girl but at high risk of her own life.
'm leaving the plot summary intentionally vague to avoid the risk of spoiling anything. This series should be read in order without skipping any installments. There are lots to unpack in the four books: Ardulum: First Don, Ardulum: Second Don, Ardulum: Third Don, and Tales of Ardulum, (the latter are short stories based on the different characters of the series). To start with, there is a huge universe, set out somewhere in the future, with a good number of different planets, species and genders, that the author presents at the beginning of the series and continues to unveil in the rest of the books, which is testament to their incredible imagination. Even though it took me some time to get used to that strange universe, the descriptions never felt like info dump. They were all gradually introduced as the story developed.
There is a lot going on in this series but what surprised me most was the diversity of species, genders, family units, bodies, sexualities, beliefs and abilities. A great metaphor of how to coexist with the other, the different, the alien. In this universe, everyone's ability to survive depends on this peaceful cooperation and mutual respect, another great life lesson. Beyond that, many of the telltales of a space opera are present: the epic space battles, the bravery, the sense of adventure, the risk-taking, and even a little romance.
The story is told from multiple points of view to make sense of the complex web of interconnected stories, plots and subplots. The main character, however, is Neek, the exile from the planet with the same name, yet another metaphor of how we deal with someone who dares to voice their dissent. The author puts Neek through the wringer in the whole series and the reader is witness to her struggle to make sense of her own past while trying to build her future. A group of endearing friends accompanies her in that epic journey full of action, intrigue, adventure and a little dose of romance.
The four books in this series have been narrated by Lynn Norris. I am still in awe of Ms. Norris's ability to create distinct voices for a variety of characters of different genders, ages and even species. Her interpretation of Captain Yorden Kuebrich was one of my favourites along with the robotic voices of a strange species or the crying sounds of trees on fire. This book in the hands of a subpar narrator would have been a recipe for disaster but Ms. Norris performance was the equivalent to having the filmed version in front of my eyes.
Excellent series even if you aren't a Sci-fi fan. 5 stars.
Book 1 Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
Book 2 Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
Book 3 Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
Tales of Ardulum Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
I've had this series in my TBR list for ages but as I'm not a Sci-fi fan, it was kept in that ever-growing pile of books for the not nearest future. My friend Jude kept insisting that I should read it but the "so many books, so little time" excuse was always at hand. However, by a twist of fate, I had just listened to Lynn Norris's narration of When Sparks Fly by Kristen Zimmer and her performance was enough to boost this series to the top of the list. I'm happy that I did.
Ardulum... A travelling planet? A land of gods? A myth? Neek believes it's the latter but her heretical views brought her a life of exile from her own home planet whose population venerate Ardulans as gods. Now piloting a dilapidated cargo space ship, she comes across a girl slave who has the ability to telepathically manipulate cellulose, a talent known only to Ardulan gods. As she tries to reconcile her beliefs with reality, she decides to protect the girl but at high risk of her own life.
'm leaving the plot summary intentionally vague to avoid the risk of spoiling anything. This series should be read in order without skipping any installments. There are lots to unpack in the four books: Ardulum: First Don, Ardulum: Second Don, Ardulum: Third Don, and Tales of Ardulum, (the latter are short stories based on the different characters of the series). To start with, there is a huge universe, set out somewhere in the future, with a good number of different planets, species and genders, that the author presents at the beginning of the series and continues to unveil in the rest of the books, which is testament to their incredible imagination. Even though it took me some time to get used to that strange universe, the descriptions never felt like info dump. They were all gradually introduced as the story developed.
There is a lot going on in this series but what surprised me most was the diversity of species, genders, family units, bodies, sexualities, beliefs and abilities. A great metaphor of how to coexist with the other, the different, the alien. In this universe, everyone's ability to survive depends on this peaceful cooperation and mutual respect, another great life lesson. Beyond that, many of the telltales of a space opera are present: the epic space battles, the bravery, the sense of adventure, the risk-taking, and even a little romance.
The story is told from multiple points of view to make sense of the complex web of interconnected stories, plots and subplots. The main character, however, is Neek, the exile from the planet with the same name, yet another metaphor of how we deal with someone who dares to voice their dissent. The author puts Neek through the wringer in the whole series and the reader is witness to her struggle to make sense of her own past while trying to build her future. A group of endearing friends accompanies her in that epic journey full of action, intrigue, adventure and a little dose of romance.
The four books in this series have been narrated by Lynn Norris. I am still in awe of Ms. Norris's ability to create distinct voices for a variety of characters of different genders, ages and even species. Her interpretation of Captain Yorden Kuebrich was one of my favourites along with the robotic voices of a strange species or the crying sounds of trees on fire. This book in the hands of a subpar narrator would have been a recipe for disaster but Ms. Norris performance was the equivalent to having the filmed version in front of my eyes.
Excellent series even if you aren't a Sci-fi fan. 5 stars.
Book 1 Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
Book 2 Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
Book 3 Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
Tales of Ardulum Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
July 16, 2023
This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Ardulum First Don
To some the traveling plant of Ardulum is a legend, to others, it has become a focal point for worship. For Neek, it is a point of rebellion. The planetary government refuses to change its ways, blindly following the teachings left behind by the Ardulans. Neek makes a stand to speak out against the teachings and is rewarded with exile. Cast out into the galaxy, she finds her way aboard Mercy’s Pledge, a transport ship that doesn’t hesitate to smuggle an item or two. But when their newest cargo consists of a young Ardulan, Neek’s entire worldview is thrown off course.
Ardulum First Don will take readers on a journey across the galaxy as the main characters embark on a quest to find answers and try to keep those they care about safe. A wide array of cultures will be introduced, and readers will find themselves immersed in a multicultural world filled with various cultures, beliefs, and representations.
My favorite character was Emm. When readers first meet Emm she is a child, naïve to the politics she is fully immersed in. As an Ardulan, there are those among the various planets who wish to exploit her for their own gains. Emm undergoes a journey of self-discovery as she is thrown into conflicts beyond her control, and ends up aboard the Mercy’s Pledge. While the crew is unsure how to handle a young Ardulan, they do their best to keep her safe. But the threat grows ever larger as keeping her hidden becomes increasingly difficult. Emm’s journey was the highlight of Ardulum First Don.
But Emm isn’t the only character with challenges to overcome. Neek was indoctrinated to believe in the worship of Ardulans. However, as she grew, she began to question the beliefs of her people and whether Ardulans existed. When she is exiled from her planet, cast adrift with nowhere to call home, Yorden offers her a place aboard Mercy’s Pledge. And when Neek comes face to face with what appears to be a true Ardulan, she begins to question everything. Readers will become engaged in Neek’s emotional battle as she struggles to understand what is truth and what is a lie.
Ardulum First Don is a space adventure filled with interplanetary politics, space battles, and an underlying theme of found family. While it may have taken my mind a while to understand the biological terms used to explain the technology, the overarching story was captivating. Not to mention J. S. Fields built her characters in a way that left plenty of room for growth. Sci-fi is a hard sell for me, however, this is one series I hope to continue reading.
To some the traveling plant of Ardulum is a legend, to others, it has become a focal point for worship. For Neek, it is a point of rebellion. The planetary government refuses to change its ways, blindly following the teachings left behind by the Ardulans. Neek makes a stand to speak out against the teachings and is rewarded with exile. Cast out into the galaxy, she finds her way aboard Mercy’s Pledge, a transport ship that doesn’t hesitate to smuggle an item or two. But when their newest cargo consists of a young Ardulan, Neek’s entire worldview is thrown off course.
Ardulum First Don will take readers on a journey across the galaxy as the main characters embark on a quest to find answers and try to keep those they care about safe. A wide array of cultures will be introduced, and readers will find themselves immersed in a multicultural world filled with various cultures, beliefs, and representations.
My favorite character was Emm. When readers first meet Emm she is a child, naïve to the politics she is fully immersed in. As an Ardulan, there are those among the various planets who wish to exploit her for their own gains. Emm undergoes a journey of self-discovery as she is thrown into conflicts beyond her control, and ends up aboard the Mercy’s Pledge. While the crew is unsure how to handle a young Ardulan, they do their best to keep her safe. But the threat grows ever larger as keeping her hidden becomes increasingly difficult. Emm’s journey was the highlight of Ardulum First Don.
But Emm isn’t the only character with challenges to overcome. Neek was indoctrinated to believe in the worship of Ardulans. However, as she grew, she began to question the beliefs of her people and whether Ardulans existed. When she is exiled from her planet, cast adrift with nowhere to call home, Yorden offers her a place aboard Mercy’s Pledge. And when Neek comes face to face with what appears to be a true Ardulan, she begins to question everything. Readers will become engaged in Neek’s emotional battle as she struggles to understand what is truth and what is a lie.
Ardulum First Don is a space adventure filled with interplanetary politics, space battles, and an underlying theme of found family. While it may have taken my mind a while to understand the biological terms used to explain the technology, the overarching story was captivating. Not to mention J. S. Fields built her characters in a way that left plenty of room for growth. Sci-fi is a hard sell for me, however, this is one series I hope to continue reading.
October 19, 2019
Ardulum definitely deserves its rave reviews. The writing is very good. While I liked this first book, I suspect I will enjoy the next books in the series more as answers to the many questions I have are revealed. There is a strong thematic element of religion, which I seldom relate to, but I am finding the story as a whole engaging and unique.
April 3, 2021
3.5 Stars (audible version) Looking forward to the next book
OK, I need to admit that it took awhile to get into this book. You are dropped into the story with no idea wtf is going on and so I was lost a lot of the time. In scifi there can be a lot of terms for all the different species and items and listening to it as opposed to reading can be a challenge I think. For example, I thought the Marken was a race of people but it was just a leadership title.
I liked that the story was a lot deeper and thought provoking then was expecting. Your opinions about the different governments/species are doing will change back and forth as more and more information and motivations are revealed. There is not a clear cut good guys vs bad guys.
I was definitely hooked at the end and am very much looking forward to the next book and finding out what happens next. Also, hats off to the narrator. She did a FANTASTIC job keeping all the voices unique and was a good voice actor as well.
OK, I need to admit that it took awhile to get into this book. You are dropped into the story with no idea wtf is going on and so I was lost a lot of the time. In scifi there can be a lot of terms for all the different species and items and listening to it as opposed to reading can be a challenge I think. For example, I thought the Marken was a race of people but it was just a leadership title.
I liked that the story was a lot deeper and thought provoking then was expecting. Your opinions about the different governments/species are doing will change back and forth as more and more information and motivations are revealed. There is not a clear cut good guys vs bad guys.
I was definitely hooked at the end and am very much looking forward to the next book and finding out what happens next. Also, hats off to the narrator. She did a FANTASTIC job keeping all the voices unique and was a good voice actor as well.
June 2, 2018
This book was provided for free as the May 2018's Sapphic Book Club read hosted by sapphicbookclub.
This was a solid sci fi story.
I think the worldbuilding is definitely on the strong side for this one. The creation of the Neek and Ardulum alone is just really cool.
I don't have any major critique points, but I still didn't fully connect to the story tbh.
What was really weird for me was the very beginning, Emn's past.
I understand what was happening there NOW of course and why it was written like that, but it put me off at first and i don't like when I start a book and don't know what it going on for a whole chapter or more.
Same with the chapters from the perspectives of the 'enemies' and the beginning parts of every chapter. I understand why they're there and why they are needed to have a full story - it was just not interesting to me, so I skipped big parts of it.
And Neek and Emn are great, but I can't help but be conflicted about them.
Anyways, this is a book for people who love sci fi books that really concentrate on exactly what the genre promises - space ship battles, intergalactic politics, different kinds of species interacting and scientific stuff no one really understands, but goes along with.
This was a solid sci fi story.
I think the worldbuilding is definitely on the strong side for this one. The creation of the Neek and Ardulum alone is just really cool.
I don't have any major critique points, but I still didn't fully connect to the story tbh.
What was really weird for me was the very beginning, Emn's past.
I understand what was happening there NOW of course and why it was written like that, but it put me off at first and i don't like when I start a book and don't know what it going on for a whole chapter or more.
Same with the chapters from the perspectives of the 'enemies' and the beginning parts of every chapter. I understand why they're there and why they are needed to have a full story - it was just not interesting to me, so I skipped big parts of it.
And Neek and Emn are great, but I can't help but be conflicted about them.
Anyways, this is a book for people who love sci fi books that really concentrate on exactly what the genre promises - space ship battles, intergalactic politics, different kinds of species interacting and scientific stuff no one really understands, but goes along with.
March 23, 2017
3.5 Stars ~ Ardulum: First Don does great things for diversity in this sweeping space opera. Firstly, we have our protagonist, a neek called Neek. If her name sounds unoriginal, it’s because it’s supposed to be degrading. Neek has been exiled from her homeworld, a planet with deep religious views, because of her faithlessness (and also probably her violent tendencies, but that’s just my opinion). One of the species the neek worship as gods are the ardulans, long thought to have vanished with their traveling planet (that’s no planet…!).
It is then with great irony that the outcast Neek, and the ship she works on, run into an alien trafficking operation and rescue a girl they believe to be ardulan, the only ardulan that anyone has seen in many, many years. With further irony, this particular ardulan can only communicate with Neek because of some sort of neek/ardulan telepathy stuff, and maybe an extra special component I’m just going to hint at.
As Neek and her crew figure out what to do with the child ardulan, they find themselves in the middle of an intergalactic political battle. The entire galaxy seems to be hell-bent on erasing the existence of the ardulans, for whatever reason, and the child, something Neek isn’t too keen on.
There were many things I liked about this novel. I liked the worldbuilding—it was clear we are only seeing a tip of the iceberg when it comes to how dense this world is with information. We encounter species with three genders, species with no gender, and species who are basically tiny round cyborgs… the gods only know of their gender inclinations. It was all incredibly fascinating. I would love to sit with the author over tea and listen to her explain the Arudulum world to me, and I don’t say that lightly.
I also liked Neek as a protagonist. Sure, she’s a bit rough around the edges for her species, but I found her feisty attitude and point of view refreshing.
My favorite thing about the novel was the revolutionary gender and sexuality in the universe, including using a female protagonist, the gender-bending species inhabiting the universe, and the use of neutral pronouns. To be completely honest, I didn’t have a strong grasp of using gender neutral pronouns (besides ‘they’) before reading this, so not only was it fascinating as it related to the author’s world, but it was also informative. There is more than one set of gender neutral pronouns used in this work, which makes this world incredibly original and precious. For fun, I tried to figure out the thought processes behind using the different gender neutral pronouns, and it seems as if one set of species had a third gender, so they used one kind of gender neutral pronouns, and the other species was all the same gender, but neither male nor female, so they use another set of pronouns. Pretty snazzy.
One of the more difficult parts in this story for me to accept was how I didn’t really click with the plot or characters until about twenty percent into the novel, which, if I hadn’t been doing a review, I may have stopped reading before then. On the whole, I felt as if the work could have been tighter.
The other aspect of this work that was hard for me to swallow was the use of the protagonist’s clumsy and violent nature as a sort of haphazard plot device. In at least two parts I noted Neek’s flailing actions as her ‘accidentally’ stumbling onto a plot driver and progressing the story. That was one happy accident too many for me, I’m afraid.
All and all I enjoyed this work. I definitely recommend it for science fiction lovers who appreciate great worldbuilding and some fun gender-bending aliens—gender bending for us, that is. Their genders are perfectly normal to them.
Reviewed by Ben for The Novel Approach Reviews
It is then with great irony that the outcast Neek, and the ship she works on, run into an alien trafficking operation and rescue a girl they believe to be ardulan, the only ardulan that anyone has seen in many, many years. With further irony, this particular ardulan can only communicate with Neek because of some sort of neek/ardulan telepathy stuff, and maybe an extra special component I’m just going to hint at.
As Neek and her crew figure out what to do with the child ardulan, they find themselves in the middle of an intergalactic political battle. The entire galaxy seems to be hell-bent on erasing the existence of the ardulans, for whatever reason, and the child, something Neek isn’t too keen on.
There were many things I liked about this novel. I liked the worldbuilding—it was clear we are only seeing a tip of the iceberg when it comes to how dense this world is with information. We encounter species with three genders, species with no gender, and species who are basically tiny round cyborgs… the gods only know of their gender inclinations. It was all incredibly fascinating. I would love to sit with the author over tea and listen to her explain the Arudulum world to me, and I don’t say that lightly.
I also liked Neek as a protagonist. Sure, she’s a bit rough around the edges for her species, but I found her feisty attitude and point of view refreshing.
My favorite thing about the novel was the revolutionary gender and sexuality in the universe, including using a female protagonist, the gender-bending species inhabiting the universe, and the use of neutral pronouns. To be completely honest, I didn’t have a strong grasp of using gender neutral pronouns (besides ‘they’) before reading this, so not only was it fascinating as it related to the author’s world, but it was also informative. There is more than one set of gender neutral pronouns used in this work, which makes this world incredibly original and precious. For fun, I tried to figure out the thought processes behind using the different gender neutral pronouns, and it seems as if one set of species had a third gender, so they used one kind of gender neutral pronouns, and the other species was all the same gender, but neither male nor female, so they use another set of pronouns. Pretty snazzy.
One of the more difficult parts in this story for me to accept was how I didn’t really click with the plot or characters until about twenty percent into the novel, which, if I hadn’t been doing a review, I may have stopped reading before then. On the whole, I felt as if the work could have been tighter.
The other aspect of this work that was hard for me to swallow was the use of the protagonist’s clumsy and violent nature as a sort of haphazard plot device. In at least two parts I noted Neek’s flailing actions as her ‘accidentally’ stumbling onto a plot driver and progressing the story. That was one happy accident too many for me, I’m afraid.
All and all I enjoyed this work. I definitely recommend it for science fiction lovers who appreciate great worldbuilding and some fun gender-bending aliens—gender bending for us, that is. Their genders are perfectly normal to them.
Reviewed by Ben for The Novel Approach Reviews
January 6, 2023
I’m in love with this series.
May 28, 2018
This book was read for Sapphic Book Club, hosted by sapphicliterature.
This was definitely a sci-fi book, and I genuinely liked it. I haven't actually read too much sci-fi that has lots of space stuff, aliens and all that kinda fun, so this wasn't my usual genre. In general it was a good story, it was written really well and I loved all the effort the author had put in with worldbuilding. Sometimes there was too much information at once, but otherwise the work was done well. The plot was interesting, and I'm looking forward to reading the second book at some point.
Aliens and different species were pretty okay. Of course, the aliens weren't completely different from humans, there were still a lot of human-like traits, but I enjoyed it all with the different beliefs, genders and physiology.
This was a wonderful adventure. However, I was disappointed in not exactly seeing much LGBTQ+ stuff. Despite diversity in genders, this book didn't exactly have romantic relationships, and I was looking forward to that. I believe the relationship stuff is coming later during the trilogy, but right now it was only hinted lightly. So yeah, I guess that was my biggest disappointment considering how this has been put under lesbian genre.
Oh! Last, I have to mention that the cover is so so beautiful.
This was definitely a sci-fi book, and I genuinely liked it. I haven't actually read too much sci-fi that has lots of space stuff, aliens and all that kinda fun, so this wasn't my usual genre. In general it was a good story, it was written really well and I loved all the effort the author had put in with worldbuilding. Sometimes there was too much information at once, but otherwise the work was done well. The plot was interesting, and I'm looking forward to reading the second book at some point.
Aliens and different species were pretty okay. Of course, the aliens weren't completely different from humans, there were still a lot of human-like traits, but I enjoyed it all with the different beliefs, genders and physiology.
This was a wonderful adventure. However, I was disappointed in not exactly seeing much LGBTQ+ stuff. Despite diversity in genders, this book didn't exactly have romantic relationships, and I was looking forward to that. I believe the relationship stuff is coming later during the trilogy, but right now it was only hinted lightly. So yeah, I guess that was my biggest disappointment considering how this has been put under lesbian genre.
Oh! Last, I have to mention that the cover is so so beautiful.
May 16, 2022
3.8
To be honest, this took a while to get into. My brain was ??? trying to visualise what the words meant. It can be overwhelming at times, but it never felt like an exposition after another. Once you're in it, you're in it. I just take them as they go. We follow Neek, an exiled Neek (humanoid who leaks stuk, empathy mucus, has eight fingers on each hand. Species known for being isolationist, deeply religious, xenophobic) We get points of views from different sides, but of course, we are the most connected to Neek. I appreciate that this wasn't written to be as black and white or written in a way that it was painfully obvious that it was trying to not be one but failing. There are no outright clear cut antagonists. We get differing views and let on their justifications. The author's vision for the whole universe is in-depth.
The book has all the recipes I like in a sci-fi story. Myths, revered deities turning out to be just another conquering species, a moving planet, freeing self of life long religious indoctrination, constructed powerful species joining a crew, a found family, gray actions, a queer lead, and a hint of possible romance for the future.
To be honest, this took a while to get into. My brain was ??? trying to visualise what the words meant. It can be overwhelming at times, but it never felt like an exposition after another. Once you're in it, you're in it. I just take them as they go. We follow Neek, an exiled Neek (humanoid who leaks stuk, empathy mucus, has eight fingers on each hand. Species known for being isolationist, deeply religious, xenophobic) We get points of views from different sides, but of course, we are the most connected to Neek. I appreciate that this wasn't written to be as black and white or written in a way that it was painfully obvious that it was trying to not be one but failing. There are no outright clear cut antagonists. We get differing views and let on their justifications. The author's vision for the whole universe is in-depth.
The book has all the recipes I like in a sci-fi story. Myths, revered deities turning out to be just another conquering species, a moving planet, freeing self of life long religious indoctrination, constructed powerful species joining a crew, a found family, gray actions, a queer lead, and a hint of possible romance for the future.
May 11, 2018
This book was this month's read for Sapphic Book Club.
I tend to be very picky about my scifi, preferring things to be just right - I shy away from "hard" science fiction, while "soft" scifi doesn't offer me enough science. Ardulum: First Don strikes that middle point perfectly; it presents a technology that doesn't exist in our world as the foundation for the miraculous things that can be done, but that technology exists according to rules that, even if we don't know all of them, clearly exist in the book's world. That allows me to just read and accept that this world has its own logic without wondering "How can they do this?"
Additionally, I enjoyed the aliens very much, although the one thing that stuck was the fact that the species we're introduced are mostly humanoid, and of the two humanoid species we spend time with, the Neek have a more or less human concept of gender. Additionally, the Ardulans seem to be simply humans with superpowers, and humans with binary gender at that, despite their association with Risalians, who seem to be agender or have an alien gender.
Finally, onto the book itself. This book is very solid throughout, with good pacing and strong characters. Neek, in particular, is amazing. I'm glad that we spend most of the book with her, because she's definitely one of my favorite characters. Her relationship with Emn grows naturally, and I love the two of them together. Emn is another bright spot: The instances where we get to be in her head were some of my favorite parts of the book. Overall, it's a very good book, and one I'm glad I read.
I tend to be very picky about my scifi, preferring things to be just right - I shy away from "hard" science fiction, while "soft" scifi doesn't offer me enough science. Ardulum: First Don strikes that middle point perfectly; it presents a technology that doesn't exist in our world as the foundation for the miraculous things that can be done, but that technology exists according to rules that, even if we don't know all of them, clearly exist in the book's world. That allows me to just read and accept that this world has its own logic without wondering "How can they do this?"
Additionally, I enjoyed the aliens very much, although the one thing that stuck was the fact that the species we're introduced are mostly humanoid, and of the two humanoid species we spend time with, the Neek have a more or less human concept of gender. Additionally, the Ardulans seem to be simply humans with superpowers, and humans with binary gender at that, despite their association with Risalians, who seem to be agender or have an alien gender.
Finally, onto the book itself. This book is very solid throughout, with good pacing and strong characters. Neek, in particular, is amazing. I'm glad that we spend most of the book with her, because she's definitely one of my favorite characters. Her relationship with Emn grows naturally, and I love the two of them together. Emn is another bright spot: The instances where we get to be in her head were some of my favorite parts of the book. Overall, it's a very good book, and one I'm glad I read.
June 2, 2017
I LOVED IT! Launches to my all-time sci-fi faves. I read this book two months ago and I still think about it almost every single day. I can't wait for the next. Is August here yet??? Full review to come.
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What do I love most about this book? People, it's so hard to choose! Maybe it's the gorgeous writing? Stunning settings? (I still can't get the planet Neek and the golden light filtering through the trees out of my mind ). The characters that grab you and won't let you go? Or maybe it's the mind-blowing universe-building and the cellulosic-based spacecraft?
I mean, cellulosic spacecraft, people! ( !!!! )
*swoon*
Okay, does that qualify me as a nerd? Possibly/probably yes, and I don't care!
In case you can't tell, I loved this book. It evoked a lot of thought-provoking questions about the intersections of faith and science and genetic engineering and the ethics therein. Also? It's written with a non-binary species, and an MC of a species with three genders. Which is just the intergalactic-icing on the cake of this starry gem of a book.
I can't wait to read this again in anticipation of the sequel!
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What do I love most about this book? People, it's so hard to choose! Maybe it's the gorgeous writing? Stunning settings? (I still can't get the planet Neek and the golden light filtering through the trees out of my mind ). The characters that grab you and won't let you go? Or maybe it's the mind-blowing universe-building and the cellulosic-based spacecraft?
I mean, cellulosic spacecraft, people! ( !!!! )
*swoon*
Okay, does that qualify me as a nerd? Possibly/probably yes, and I don't care!
In case you can't tell, I loved this book. It evoked a lot of thought-provoking questions about the intersections of faith and science and genetic engineering and the ethics therein. Also? It's written with a non-binary species, and an MC of a species with three genders. Which is just the intergalactic-icing on the cake of this starry gem of a book.
I can't wait to read this again in anticipation of the sequel!
June 24, 2018
I really enjoyed this. The FF is very light, and no romance at all. Good so far. The world building is excellent, the races created for this story are complex and interesting, each has its own agenda. The Neek, driven by a quasi-religious agenda. Neek, herself driven, in part to dispute that religious agenda. The Risalians, who are both good guys and bad guys, the Mmnuggls are fascinating.
At times I felt that details were not explained enough, so when the necessary information came I had to flip back and apply the new information. A minor issue, but one that exists nonetheless.
Another issue is the pronouns issue. Without explanation or guidance, it was hard to know whether these words meant something else or not. That could have been made clearer to start. So the first time we encounter Xe and hir, it would be nice to know, rather than guess and hope the meaning is right.
The Ardulum Emn could be veering to an overpowering character. Anything that can destroy so much and achieve so much could well overbalance the story. A whole planet of them is going to be interesting.
As a note. Settees made me giggle, for there are many homes in the UK that call a sofa a settee. And I couldn't help put see these sofas flying across the cloudy heavens of the Neek home world.
Otherwise, can’t wait to get stuck into book two.
At times I felt that details were not explained enough, so when the necessary information came I had to flip back and apply the new information. A minor issue, but one that exists nonetheless.
Another issue is the pronouns issue. Without explanation or guidance, it was hard to know whether these words meant something else or not. That could have been made clearer to start. So the first time we encounter Xe and hir, it would be nice to know, rather than guess and hope the meaning is right.
The Ardulum Emn could be veering to an overpowering character. Anything that can destroy so much and achieve so much could well overbalance the story. A whole planet of them is going to be interesting.
As a note. Settees made me giggle, for there are many homes in the UK that call a sofa a settee. And I couldn't help put see these sofas flying across the cloudy heavens of the Neek home world.
Otherwise, can’t wait to get stuck into book two.
January 9, 2018
https://koeur.wordpress.com/2018/01/0...
Publisher: Ninestar Press
Publishing Date: February 2017
ISBN: 9781945952647
Genre: SciFi
Rating: 2.8/5
Publishers Description: Neek makes a living piloting the dilapidated tramp transport, Mercy’s Pledge, and smuggling questionable goods across systems blessed with peace and prosperity. She gets by—but only just. In her dreams, she is still haunted by thoughts of Ardulum, the traveling planet that, long ago, visited her homeworld. The Ardulans brought with them agriculture, art, interstellar technology…and then disappeared without a trace, leaving Neek’s people to worship them as gods.
Review: I am glad I did not pass this up based on the LGBQTAMNOPQRSTUV designation that prostrates itself before the holy secularized schism and anyone who happens to be paying attention between bites of ground and seasoned tofu masquerading as meatable products.
Gender-less pronouns are funny in that they prescribe an affinity to nothing while masquerading as deeply entrenched identity. In this case it works, as the aliens become more viable as a believable instance and not some parody of humanity. The problem with Ardulum is the aliens are never carried to that next “instance” of alien-ess and interact with established humanistic idiomatic traits. There is some attempt at stilted alien dialogue and base physicality to make the aliens seem more alien, but is never adequately pulled off to render the depth needed for visceral SciFi.
I still enjoyed the story line and the characters as they traipsed across the vacuum in light space operatic fashion.
Publisher: Ninestar Press
Publishing Date: February 2017
ISBN: 9781945952647
Genre: SciFi
Rating: 2.8/5
Publishers Description: Neek makes a living piloting the dilapidated tramp transport, Mercy’s Pledge, and smuggling questionable goods across systems blessed with peace and prosperity. She gets by—but only just. In her dreams, she is still haunted by thoughts of Ardulum, the traveling planet that, long ago, visited her homeworld. The Ardulans brought with them agriculture, art, interstellar technology…and then disappeared without a trace, leaving Neek’s people to worship them as gods.
Review: I am glad I did not pass this up based on the LGBQTAMNOPQRSTUV designation that prostrates itself before the holy secularized schism and anyone who happens to be paying attention between bites of ground and seasoned tofu masquerading as meatable products.
Gender-less pronouns are funny in that they prescribe an affinity to nothing while masquerading as deeply entrenched identity. In this case it works, as the aliens become more viable as a believable instance and not some parody of humanity. The problem with Ardulum is the aliens are never carried to that next “instance” of alien-ess and interact with established humanistic idiomatic traits. There is some attempt at stilted alien dialogue and base physicality to make the aliens seem more alien, but is never adequately pulled off to render the depth needed for visceral SciFi.
I still enjoyed the story line and the characters as they traipsed across the vacuum in light space operatic fashion.
June 7, 2018
This was the May Sapphic book of the month for the Sapphic book club.
This was a fantastic sci-fi adventure romp, with engaging characters and fascinating diverse worldbuilding and species creation that makes me want a whole encyclopedia for it. I highly recommend it, with the only caveat/criticism being despite its upbeat plucky heros tone, things do not necessarily end well for everyone. I remember one moment specifically where a fairly central character essentially died off page, and there was so little focus on it I kept expecting them to show up (no one mentions seeing the body) and they just... don't, and it felt quite incongruous with the overall mood of the book (to be fair, maybe I wasn't supposed to get as attached to that character as I did). That aside, it's still well worth a read for anyone who likes diverse sci fi, genuinely explored physiological differences between alien species, or books where you get to see into the mind of the antagonists along the way.
January 5, 2018
Holy wow -- I knew I needed space lesbians and casually nonbinary folks, but I didn't know I needed them quite this badly.
If you want bio-nerd scifi and fully developed characters with palpable chemistry and deep relationships and unlikely but powerful friendships, this is for you!
That said, heads up (and the book does give a trigger warning in the beginning pages!) for graphic violence, particularly of a speciesist type that bears horrific resemblance to this-world racist and ableist and speciesist (!!) violence. But if you can do it, *do it*.
What a creative lesbian space adventure!!!!
If you want bio-nerd scifi and fully developed characters with palpable chemistry and deep relationships and unlikely but powerful friendships, this is for you!
That said, heads up (and the book does give a trigger warning in the beginning pages!) for graphic violence, particularly of a speciesist type that bears horrific resemblance to this-world racist and ableist and speciesist (!!) violence. But if you can do it, *do it*.
What a creative lesbian space adventure!!!!
May 30, 2020
Do you love scifi, but yearn for something truly strange and wonderful? The Ardulum series has everything you might want, starting here with book 1.
A ragtag but lovable crew in a battered ship who accidentally end up with a dangerous living weapon that could plunge their galaxy into chaos? Check. Bizarre aliens with unique cultures? Check. Strange powers and biologies inspired by fungi and wood science? Check! You'll also find space fights, treason, disappearing planets, alternate gender structures, and more in this scifi romp you don't want to miss.
A ragtag but lovable crew in a battered ship who accidentally end up with a dangerous living weapon that could plunge their galaxy into chaos? Check. Bizarre aliens with unique cultures? Check. Strange powers and biologies inspired by fungi and wood science? Check! You'll also find space fights, treason, disappearing planets, alternate gender structures, and more in this scifi romp you don't want to miss.
June 15, 2019
*thank you to Netgalley and NineStar Press, LLC for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
2 stars.
This should have been a perfect match for me. Ya, Space, Aliens. But unfortunately I had such a hard time getting into it. It had parts that I enjoyed but they were short and few. I can see why others really enjoyed this, but either I was in the wrong frame of mind for it or it just wasn't for me. It was written really well, so its not that that isnthe issue. If I give this another chance at some stage, I'll update my review. But for now, it's just an OK read.
2 stars.
This should have been a perfect match for me. Ya, Space, Aliens. But unfortunately I had such a hard time getting into it. It had parts that I enjoyed but they were short and few. I can see why others really enjoyed this, but either I was in the wrong frame of mind for it or it just wasn't for me. It was written really well, so its not that that isnthe issue. If I give this another chance at some stage, I'll update my review. But for now, it's just an OK read.
April 19, 2018
Ok so I loved the concept but the follow through failed me a bit. Some parts were really well written and made me want to stay up reading it but others just fell flat. What frustrated me the most probably was that I bought the book at a booth for books with LGBTQ+ characters and the author did no more than hint at it. It was a good book but definitely not a great book.
February 9, 2022
What a fabulous sci-fi adventure. The world building, the characters, and the descriptions were wonderful. I struggled a little with some of the multitude of characters and how they all intersected.
I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series.
I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series.
February 26, 2019
That was a fun read. Great pacing and characters. Surprised in a few places. It's the first of a series.
September 10, 2019
This was my choice for diverse read for Space Opera September. The author is nonbinary and several of the alien races have a third gender or are nonbinary. I also have a feeling books 2 and 3 will feature a F/F pairing (I apologize if I'm wrong).
January 4, 2022
3.5 Stars
This was way more enjoyable than I thought it’d be.
This was way more enjoyable than I thought it’d be.
June 10, 2018
I'm always looking for good sci fi or fantasy books. This fits the bill for sci fi. Lots of action, good characterization, interesting plot, aliens and their worlds, and a decrepit spaceship. Interestingly, Fields doesn't really describe what is different about Neek until the next book. I was curious how she differed from humans other than the stuk. Other than that. it's a fascinating read.
December 1, 2020
Nice sf. Needed a bit of time to adjust to worlds, terminology, weird looking aliens.... hhmm... not really sure that my mind pictured was related to what the writer described, but it ended up working for me so... raincheck.
Story is completey absurd but in a funny, sarcastic way in its plot and twists and end up being quite entertaining.
The unassuming main characters are unknowingly weirdly heroic and their dynamics are quite charming.
Will probably reread and more later on. .
Story is completey absurd but in a funny, sarcastic way in its plot and twists and end up being quite entertaining.
The unassuming main characters are unknowingly weirdly heroic and their dynamics are quite charming.
Will probably reread and more later on. .
October 10, 2017
I read it in one night - it kept my interest and truly hit that space-opera loving side of me!
Neek is a cool character, the only one of her species to be currently exiled from her planet, so EVERYBODY in the universe knows that she screwed up, much to her chagrin. Her crime: questioning the quasi-scientific religion followed by everyone on Neek (the name of her planet, and and also every adult being on the planet so no one gets uppity and thinks they're better than anyone else). Neek is a pilot in her very blood, was stripped of her flight commission and rank for daring to voice an unpopular opinion. She now works on a battered old transport piloted by a human captain and their teenaged Terran Explorer Scout, who's getting more of an education than he bargained for. I loved the relationships between these three and how they evolved.
When they receive a dubious "gift" of a stasis pod from some aliens in thanks for intervening in a space battle, Neek's lack of belief is dealt a huge blow, because who is inside sure as hell looks like one of the gods her planet worships.
There's a lot of galactic politics that I will need to revisit before I read the next book, which I plan to! It may have been my blurry thought process, but I found myself skipping over a lot of these sections to get back to Neek and the good stuff.
It's a load of fun.
Neek is a cool character, the only one of her species to be currently exiled from her planet, so EVERYBODY in the universe knows that she screwed up, much to her chagrin. Her crime: questioning the quasi-scientific religion followed by everyone on Neek (the name of her planet, and and also every adult being on the planet so no one gets uppity and thinks they're better than anyone else). Neek is a pilot in her very blood, was stripped of her flight commission and rank for daring to voice an unpopular opinion. She now works on a battered old transport piloted by a human captain and their teenaged Terran Explorer Scout, who's getting more of an education than he bargained for. I loved the relationships between these three and how they evolved.
When they receive a dubious "gift" of a stasis pod from some aliens in thanks for intervening in a space battle, Neek's lack of belief is dealt a huge blow, because who is inside sure as hell looks like one of the gods her planet worships.
There's a lot of galactic politics that I will need to revisit before I read the next book, which I plan to! It may have been my blurry thought process, but I found myself skipping over a lot of these sections to get back to Neek and the good stuff.
It's a load of fun.
April 3, 2017
I'm very excited for this book, and for the eventual series! This is a fun space opera, where Earth is a small (and backward) part of the Chartered Systems. There are humans to draw us into the story, but the main character is an exiled alien, who must come to terms with discovering the gods of the religion she refused to believe. The species in this story are not only unique and strange, but believable, as is the technology. There are not only different genders, but different ways of growth, learning, and maturation. Nice to see a book with such original representations of what may be out there.
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