Traitors, Thieves and Liars is the first book in a trilogy set in artist Rick Griffin’s Hayven Celestia universe. The genre is SF space opera, with most of the action taking place on a large generational ship crewed by geroo, furry mammals that look like a cross between a kangaroo and a bear (think kangaroo body, head and tail, and bear legs). Besides the geroo, there are also ringel (ring-tailed lemurs), geordians (cats), dog-like anups, and enormous dragon-like Krakun, who are the literal heavies in the story.
While it’s not absolutely necessary to be familiar with the Hayven Celestia universe to enjoy this book, it does help. I would particularly recommend reading Greg Luterman’s Skeleton Crew first, which takes place on same ship some years ago, and gives an excellent introduction to the life of the geroo on the White Flower II. While the geroo are theoretically employees of their Krakun overlords, they’re actually slaves, living on their ship for generations, searching for new worlds for the Krakun to terraform. The Krakun are not benevolent employers, routinely terrorizing, maiming and killing the geroo at the slightest real or perceived infraction. Everyone on the ship is promptly ‘recycled’ at age 60, and births are allowed only to replace recycled workers.
The main hold the Krakun have over the geroo is control of ‘the trinity’ on their ship—the engine, the recycler and the gate that leads from the ship back to the Krakun homeworld. All three need to be on for the ship to function, and despite their best efforts to figure it out, the technology to subvert that safeguard has been beyond the geroo’s reach.
The current captain of the White Flower II, the geroo Ateri, is nearing sixty. For years he and some of the ship’s other officers have been working on a way to subvert the trinity and escape the Krakun’s control. But after seeing the horrible punishment inflicted on another geroo ship for the same plot, the captain reluctantly decides to abandon the plan, much to the dismay of his fellows, particularly Gert, who is in line to take over as captain.
But after the White Flower II discovers a new planet, they’re contacted by a mixed-species group of space pirates who make them an offer they can’t refuse: freedom from the Krakun in exchange for a Krakun terraforming device. But if the plot fails, the Krakun will probably kill everyone on the ship in retaliation. Should the captain risk everyone’s life without their consent, on the word of pirates who are probably not trustworthy?
Despite the hard SF premise, the book itself concentrates on the characters and their relationships, including romantic relationships. Gert in particular gets to see a lot of action, in and out of the bedroom. It’s not explicit stuff, but it is there. Despite all the characters being furry aliens, they generally act in human ways, so don’t expect bizarre, truly alien creatures. That also applies to the Krakun, which I had a bit of a problem with. For immortal beings with extraordinary technology, they’re surprising petty, vindictive and cruel, behaving like school yard bullies.
Any quibbles aside, this is a fun read, enhanced by the author’s excellent artwork (no questions about what the characters look like!) Strap in and enjoy the ride.
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Top reviews from other countries
Anonymous
A fully characterized sci-fi adventure
Reviewed in Canada on August 2, 2021
Valerio Pastore
If you love the BEST sci-fi, you can't miss this work!
Reviewed in Italy on February 25, 2019