Review: Voidstalker by John Graham

Envisioning the spread of mankind throughout the stars has been a rather recent development, but these dreams of expansion have sparked countless books, movies, television shows and even space program initiatives. John Graham taps into this common passion to deliver a powerful and frightening vision of humanity’s future in Voidstalker, which more than delivers with its dark, prophetic undertones.

Now that human beings have expanded into new corners of the galaxy, new threats appear, but the old failings of greed and deception still linger, given humans’ darker impulses. Gabriel Thorn is one of the elite operatives who is trained to protect secrets, but when he uncovers a massive conspiracy, he begins to question whether he is truly doing what is best for the success of his interstellar species.

The beauty of this novel doesn’t lie in the plot – complex and twisted as it may be – but in the world that Graham has created. The novel employs a rich cast of characters, a thorough history, and seemingly endless potential for expansion. Every detail has been considered, from the minutiae of alien cultures to centuries of fictional human history, and this meticulous nature sets the stage for an engrossing read.

Leaping from zealots and money-hungry space capitalists to secret alien experiments that could threaten everything humans have built, there is no lack of ambition in the scope of this novel. The convergence point of man and machine is another theme that the author toys with, both physically and philosophically. Given our present-day fascination with artificial intelligence, this element of the book makes it particularly timely and intriguing. Like all great science fiction, Graham manages to wrap the fears and conversations occurring in the real world into the far-flung fiction he so artfully weaves.

Despite this novel being rife with action, it also takes the time to ask the deeper moral questions about the evolution of our species and the inherent dangers of blindly reaching too far into technology’s alluring void. What initially appears to be sci-fi entertainment also functions as a prophecy, and Gabriel Thorn becomes symbolic of the “everyman” who must eventually face the choice between what’s right and what’s easy.

The level of prose is just as strong as the plot construction. Graham has a dark, threatening way with words and he often wields them like a weapon, instantaneously creating tension and shifting the mood at will. The descriptive passages are memorable and visceral, creating a believable landscape in which the plot can unfold organically. The novel is also edited to a high standard, with few errors and tight prose from start to finish. The only real problem is the cover, which could be stronger.

With gripping dialogue and powerfully developed relationships, Voidstalker sings with sincerity, but also smacks of higher wisdom. The novel is far from escapist fiction, but it is the type of science fiction epic that will stick with readers, and the questions it poses in the face of human progress will be hard to forget.