Review: K3+ by Erasmo Acosta with Gala Stevenson

K3+ by Erasmo Acosta with Gala Stevenson is a stunning piece of futurist sci-fi – a visionary story that proposes the shape of mankind’s destiny in the universe.

A wildly creative futuristic vision, this novel tracks the origins of the fictional Space Initiative and its first nascent steps among the stars, led by its unlikely and uncompromising leader, Federico. As an added twist, readers are also given a glimpse far into the future – a billion years – to the intergalactic evolution of the human race, with its population in the nonillions and energy-capturing megastructures placed around billions of stars.

Federico is a captivating figure at the heart of this story, a pioneer born in the 1960s, a man determined to make the most of his life, and ensure that humanity’s destiny doesn’t end on planet Earth. Readers watch him rise to every challenge over the course of many centuries, yet also deal with the trials of leadership, separation struggles from the place he once called home, and the weight of apparent immortality on his relationships and reality.

The timeline and scope of the novel is staggering, and hard to fully grasp, as are many of the technological predictions, but the limitless imagination on display makes for a riveting read, particularly for sci-fi and astro-engineering fans. With the “present” timeline set only a few years and decades in the future, the incredible technological leaps that are described feel almost within our grasp, giving the book an occasionally aspirational tone.

Aside from the sci-fi details, this eon-spanning novel also explores abstract ideas of power and self-determination, the deification of wealth, the need for egalitarianism, and the fundamental flaws of human nature. To say the novel’s breadth is ambitious is an understatement, and while some of the explanations seem overly convenient, this vision of the future isn’t outlandish or ridiculous. Extrapolating our real-world innovations thousands and millions of years forward gives the authors plenty of room to play, without losing readers’ interest.

The problem with such tech-heavy, detail-laden writing is that the narrative lines can get lost. Between looking up galaxy clusters and checking the definition of anti-matter drives, the sheer pleasure of a traditional sci-fi story is somewhat diluted. Subjects like Dyson swarms and spheres, faster-than-light travel, rotating habitats and Fermi’s Paradox are all fascinating rabbit holes to descend, but the exposition dumps can be overwhelming. The eagerness for scientific accuracy – or at least the desire to base a billion-year prophecy on existing theories – cannot outweigh the ease of reading, or a reader’s willingness to engage in a good story.

At times, the novel feels like a history lesson, or little more than a clever vehicle to express the author’s personal belief system about the direction of science. That isn’t inherently problematic, but it makes much of the dialogue feel purposeful, rather than organic. The inclusion of technical minutiae, much of which isn’t important for the plot or a reader’s overall understanding, can be distracting and slow the pace. Mostly, this attention to detail isn’t mirrored in the narrative writing, where idiomatic language and surface-level character development are the norm.

As a whole, K3+ is an incredibly creative and thought-provoking novel, and while the execution isn’t perfect, the book is a mind-boggling ride through the cosmos that will make you think differently about the future.