Nethereal (Soul Cycle Book 1)

A wild, crazy, eclectic rideBuckle up, because this space opera has an absolute TON of plot. From the opening chapters, the breakneck pace does not relent. Don't take too long to read, or you'll lose your place in the story.Sometimes the book feels like a slog because the plucky space pirates' end goal is continuously muddled by the wild and crazy plot. Where is this going? was a thought that often popped into my mind, as this story has everything: evil gods, baals, the undead, necromancers, monsters, magic, resurrections, exorcisms, portals to other dimensions, the nine circles of Hell, and a showdown with the devil himself. The first quarter of the book or so struck the right balance IMO. After that I stopped trying to make sense of things and tried to enjoy the ride.Regardless of my reservations about the plot, the author has a lot of writing talent. His prose is hard-hitting, and his characters pop off the page with their snappy dialogue and bold actions.The fictional world is fully realized without lingering too much on detail. There's some really cool geographies, both terrestrial and space-bound. There's magic and gunfights galore, all thrillingly described.In all, an eclectic, pulpy page turner.

Nethereal by Brian Niemeier is a different kind of book. I'm not the most well-read in science fiction, but then, this isn't totally a science fiction book. It's not really fantasy, either. But then, it's also not horror. It's a mixture of all those genres as if they are the same thing. Genre boundaries are sort of an annoyance to me as it is, so reading a book that just does what it wants to do was a real treat.Imagine if Abraham Merritt read Galactic Patrol and said "Pshaw! I can do that!" then while writing his space opera he read Dune and watched some classic anime and decided to throw those in too. Of course, he couldn't do any of that being that he died so long ago, but that's not my point. That's the closest I can come to describing what reading Nethereal is like.Imagine a universe where space pirates descend into space hell accompanied by a strange band of rogues and misfits that might not all be what they seem. This hell is split into levels, each as strange as the last as our main characters begin to learn more and more that maybe this job was not only a bad idea, but a horrifying mistake. Oh, and they have to deal with horrifying monstrosities from the depths at every turn. Can't forget about those, can we?The story follows a core group of four pirates: Jaren Peregrine, the captain of the pirates who has tunnel vision on whatever task he sets his mind to, and his second-in-command, Nakvin, a woman with a lot more to her than there may be, are the main characters. There is also Teg Cross, a hired mercenary who has as quick a sword arm as he does a mouth, and Deim, their apprentice steersman, a young man with ore passion than sense, who fill out the main cast quite well. There are other characters, but getting into them would probably spoil the story. Needless to say, you are always wondering just what each character is really playing at even when they're playing it straight.Probably the most interesting, in my opinion, is a character named Vaun Mordecai, a necromancer wearing a mask and missing his soul who has a vague motivation to join our crew that is only really revealed later on. He is evil, but he plays by his own rules and has no problem eating his own should it suit his agenda. It makes him a fascinating character to follow along with even though there is no ambiguity in who he is.Now, for the negative points, of which there aren't many. The plot bogged down a bit in the middle and became a bit convoluted before finally straightening out for the last part of the book. I'm a bit of a slow reader, but I almost lost myself in the middle a few times. Some characters also sort of vanish then reappear, leaving you to wrack your brain to remember what they were doing when you last saw them hundreds of pages ago. The climax is also short considering it took almost 600 pages to get to it, as well.Where the author most succeeded, however, was the sense of dread and unease about the entire journey. Hell, of course, is not a pleasant place anyone would want to visit, but space hell is not even a place you want to think about. Demons and Baals at every turn, mysterious and horrifying landscapes, even death isn't an escape from the torture, and those who revel in their basic instincts come to regret them soon enough. Though this is a space opera, it manages a bit of thought on basic morality along the way giving it a nice touch you wouldn't expect from such a story.Of course, as I said, this is a space opera through and through. You have dramatic reveals, over the top fights and encounters, a story that twists as it goes, and an ending where everything (more or less) falls into place. Just don't go into it expecting unblessed ray guns and in-depth politics, but Workings and damnation instead and you're on the right track.As a classic anime fan, I couldn't help but picture this as a 26 episode series by Studio Deen made way back in 1992 or so. This is not a criticism. That is not a feel anime can even get down anymore, but a point for the book in matching a feel and spirit that isn't really done today. I'm not sure if non-anime fans would get as much out of the Nethereal's style as I did, but that does help to make it totally unique and wrapped in with the world-building that Brian Niemeier sets out to accomplish. By the end, you just want a second season right away. Unlike that season 2 of Outlaw Star I've been waiting around fifteen years for, the Soul Cycle series already has a second book out, Soul Dancer, which I hope to get to eventually.Now, despite my issues, Nethereal is a unique treat in the current world of genre fiction. The industry revels in sluggish books that hide the genre from their covers (this fools no one, by the way) in order to make a bid for respectability from an "elite" group of people who write books that the general populace couldn't care less about. Nethereal makes no apologizes for what it is, doesn't bog down in navel-gazing, or forget that the first rule of entertainment is to entertain. In that aspect, Nethereal succeeds admirably where so many modern genre books fail.Looking for a fun space opera with horror and fantasy elements and a distinct old school anime vibe? Then Nethereal is for you! Give it a read today.

There are starships, but these are not your father's starships. There are space pirates, but not the space pirates you were looking for. There is Hell, but it's not...quite...Dante's Hell. Magical firearms, trapped souls, epic space battles, startling images, touches of Persian dualism, wise-ass demigods, necromancers, a zombie chicken, and a marvelous swipe at the bloodthirsty 14th Century Bishop Henry Despenser of Norwich.And this is the author's first novel. I'm hardly an expert, but I was extremely impressed.What's key here is the richness of the author's creation. This isn't just an imagined future. Earth is nowhere to be seen, past or present. Brian has created an entire cosmos with its own rules, exotic physics, and even more exotic metaphysics. Half-sentient FTL starships are guided by telepathic pilots who are more partner than master--and can be eaten by the mysterious Wheel if they break the complex rules of steersmanship. The gulf between life and death that we experience here is paper-thin in this ancient cosmos long abandoned by its own gods. Half of your crew might actually be dead men--and you have to look close to tell which is which.The plot is difficult to discuss without giving too much away. There are constant twists and turns, which sometimes expand to a Byzantine complexity that may be the book's primary (though not critical) flaw. One of the few remaining members of an immortal race searches this strange cosmos for clues about his father's fate and the titanic starship his father designed, on a mysterious mission that eventually takes Jaren Peregrine and his peculiar crew to the center of Hell itself. Strap in and enjoy the ride. I've never seen anything quite like it in my 50-odd years of reading SFF.

I liked the pacing of the book and I found the setting / characters to be interesting and unique. Overall, I think it works as a holiday / commute read but falls a bit short of hitting hugo award levels. I've taken off a few stars for 2 main reasons:1) A number of times the author referenced 21st century items which didn't fit at all with the setting (set hundreds of years in the future with no mention of earth). Why would there be cars or soft drinks? For such an otherwordly space opera, I found these references took me out of the world Brian was building.2) Because of the fast pacing, things felt confusing at times and some things about the world building didn't make sense. It would have been nice if the author spent a bit more time with elaborating on the universe as well as all the theology and especially on how the 9 circles of hell worked. It just seemed the internal logic seemed to be bounce back and forth.. not to mention the fact that the book went back and forth between normal space adventure and supernatural horror story.

Loved this book. Really enjoyed getting to know the characters and can't wait to read more from this author. Recommend to sci fi fans

This book is like the first time I listened to dubstep; at first the rhythms and conventions seemed strange and alien, then I started getting comfortable with and enjoying them, but then new surprises and twists kept coming. If you want another analogy, imagine Star Wars mixed with Repo: The Genetic Opera. Nethereal is thrilling, at times highly unsettling, occasionally confusing, and beautiful in a grim way. Give it a shot!

It's an interesting concept and very twisted in concept and execution. Only reason I have rated it as "Meh" is because it's not my personal cup of tea. The characters were fascinating and the world building was intriguing. Just that it had too much of a sense of horror for my personal liking.

Space pirates in hell. Demons, space battles and plenty of well paced action. This book defies categorization, a mashup of sf and mythology with a dash of necromancy for flavour and it works, for me anyway. I liked the characters, they had depth. I'll be reading the next one to find out what happens next.