Oliver
Langmead's 2015
Dark Star was a breath of glittering cyberpunk
air. Story was edgy and visual, its elements flowing nicely in and
out of one another toward a dramatic, personal climax. But the fact
the book was written in epic verse is what truly set it apart.
Langmead has gone on to write several other novels—all in prose,
however. That is, until 2024. With Calypso, Langmead returns
to the epic verse of Dark Star, but puts aside cyberpunk in
favor of colonizing the stars for substance.
Calypso
is both the name of the book and the name of the generation
starship at its heart. When the ship arrives at its destination
planet, a woman named Rochelle awakes from cryostasis to take on her
role as leader once again. But everything is not as it was when the
ship departed. In her absence, a war was fought onboard the ship
between two factions: the engineers and the botanists (Sterling's
Shapers and Mechanists?). It becomes Rochelle's job to choose sides
and settle the dispute.
