Halcyon Days
The Colossus
A determined space crew fights to preserve their people’s independence in the gripping science fiction novel Halcyon Days.
In A. C. Bishkey’s epic science fiction novel Halcyon Days, privateers aboard an advanced skyship are the only hope to destroy an empire’s doomsday weapon.
Kal is the captain of the Days, an advanced skyship with big guns, a cloaking device, and a reputation for piracy. While he projects a devil-may-care, jester attitude, Kal has a deep love of freedom. He challenges the intimidating Aurelian Empire to preserve his autonomy and that of everyone in the Iverian League, which won its independence long ago. Then wicked Prince Lucan revives a long-dead super weapon, the Colossus, that has the firepower to reclaim his nation’s lost territory.
Also aboard the Days are Locke and Kenzie, two privateers who are new to the ship. They are similar in many ways: Both have fled painful pasts, have a lifetime’s worth of secrets, and feel disdain for the Aurelian Empire. With time running out to destroy the Colossus and save the Iverian League, Kal, Locke, Kenzie, and the crew of the Days are called upon to set their piracy aside and become their people’s champions.
The universe is fleshed out via sparing technological references to skyships and crystal-based technology; its culture is suggested via references to religion and historical strife. Indeed, worldbuilding details are meted out at a progressive rate; the steady, unobtrusive disclosure of relevant information helps to keep the plot moving. But the characterizations are the book’s true star, with the most focus devoted to the crew of the Days. Their backstories and personality quirks are revealed in small bits throughout, and their individual growth is gradual and convincing. Those beyond the ship’s crew are also developed in a revealing manner.
The book’s pace is brisk, shifting between different points of view with each chapter. However, several perspectives of single events are also included, resulting in some spectacle. More efficient are the chapter-beginning trackers of the progress of the Colossus, counting down how many days are left until it reaches its next target. Such details ground the narrative with a clear sense of time and scale. Still, the book’s movement takes time; the awareness of the ticking clock generates tension as the story moves toward its consequential closing chapters.
In the character-focused science fiction epic Halcyon Days, heroic misfits are called upon to forestall the use of a foreboding weapon.
Reviewed by
Ian Dailey
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