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Calypso

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Calypso

By: Oliver K. Langmead
Narrated by: Peter Wicks, Harrie Dobby, Sofia Engstrand
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About this listen

A ground-breaking, mind-bending and wildly imaginative epic verse revolution in SF.

A saga of colony ships, shattering moons and cataclysmic war in a new Eden.
Rochelle wakes from cryostasis to take up her role as engineer on the colony ark, Calypso. But she finds the ship has transformed into a forest, populated by the original crew's descendants, who revere her like a saint.
She travels the ship with the Calypso's creator, the enigmatic Sigmund, and Catherine, a bioengineered marvel who can commune with the plants, uncovering a new history of humanity forged while she slept. She discovers a legacy of war between botanists and engineers. A war fought for the right to build a new Earth—a technological paradise, or a new Eden in bloom, untouched by mankind's past.
And Rochelle, the last to wake, holds the balance of power in her hands.

Truly unforgettable and richly lyrical eco-fiction, for fans of Kim Stanley Robinson, Adrian Tchaikovsky, and Jeff VanderMeer.

©2024 Oliver K. Langmead (P)2024 W. F. Howes Ltd Science Fiction Space Exploration Space Opera War

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Critic reviews

”Thoughtful, elegant, exciting—I loved it." - Sarah Waters
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Calypso is filled with vivid dreamlike imagery. A ship on a long voyage which comes to an end with the release of a person from hibernation. For sci-fi buffs, this is immediately a recognisable trope and motif and although aspects of calypso are classic sci-fi, there is something about the way in which the author colours in the experience of Rochelle as she awakes to find herself alone the calypso at cathedral like. Calypso does extremely well explore and mythology. There's a universal story here. Echoing stories of genesis, chaos and the fall of man. The story itself is not overly complex and there is but a small cast of characters. But it's in the drift from pros to poetry at this story really captures something special and in particular through the voice of Catherine, who's pure energy gives hope and optimism even in dark times. This book is a descriptive feast for the senses, at times overwhelming but deliberately so. It feels however, so finely balanced with beautiful symmetry.

A mythical and poetic sci-fi dream

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Let's start with the main assumption, this is not a sci-fi novel. I read somewhere it's hard sci-fi... it's not. It's a take on the bible genesis story that has a new world via a space exploration context.
Thete are a lot of errors and inconsistencies if you look at it from the sci-fi perspective, but it's just a background to the story rather than the motivation of the plot.
If you step back from thinking it's a sci-fi novel and consider it as a philosophical work then it's has merit. The style is something like adrian tchaikovsky would write mixed with the old testament. Not something you'd expect!
There are issues around plot... one of the main characters simply wouldn't have made the choices she was supposed to of made. It's so out of character it's hard to understand why she is there at all, plus a missing background to why such a choice was made makes it harder to understand.

BUT it's a thought provoking listen and worth giving it a go. A talented writer but I'm not sure this is the right genre for their expression

genesis story

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