book cover of The Mercy of Gods
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The Mercy of Gods

(2024)
(The first book in the Captive's War series)
A novel by

 
 
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Expanse comes a spectacular new space opera that sees humanity fighting for its survival in a war as old as the universe itself.

★ 
“Masterful . . . . This is space opera at its best.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The start of something truly epic." 
 ― Fonda Lee, author of Jade City

How humanity came to the planet called Anjiin is lost in the fog of history, but that history is about to end.

The Carryx – part empire, part hive – have waged wars of conquest for centuries, destroying or enslaving species across the galaxy. ��Now, they are facing a great and deathless enemy. The key to their survival may rest with the humans of Anjiin.  

Caught up in academic intrigue and affairs of the heart, Dafyd Alkhor is pleased just to be an assistant to a brilliant scientist and his celebrated research team.  Then the Carryx ships descend, decimating the human population and taking the best and brightest of Anjiin society away to serve on the Carryx homeworld, and Dafyd is swept along with them.

They are dropped in the middle of a struggle they barely understand, set in a competition against the other captive species with extinction as the price of failure.  Only Dafyd and a handful of his companions see past the Darwinian contest to the deeper game that they must play to survive: learning to understand – and manipulate – the Carryx themselves.

With a noble but suicidal human rebellion on one hand and strange and murderous enemies on the other, the team pays a terrible price to become the trusted servants of their new rulers.

Dafyd Alkhor is a simple man swept up in events that are beyond his control and more vast than his imagination.  He will become the champion of humanity and its betrayer, the most hated man in history and the guardian of his people.

This is where his story begins.

"Corey is always one of the most engaging voices in the genre."  ― Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time

"A bang up read. I want more."  ― Paolo Bacigalupi, author of The Water Knife

"A powerful, provocative masterpiece that I will be thinking about for a very long time."
  ― Ryka Aoki, author of���Light from Uncommon Stars

Genre: Science Fiction

Praise for this book

"James S.A. Corey'sThe Mercy of Gods is a thrilling, furious adventure, but beneath its quicksilver plot and epic space battles lies a brilliant, unflinching exploration of how alien alien life might be. Like Starship Troopers by way of The Metamorphosis, yet with a vision all its own, The Mercy of Gods is a powerful, provocative masterpiece that I will be thinking about for a very long time." - Ryka Aoki

"All the things you want in an alien invasion novel: overwhelming aliens, end-of-world terror, and plucky humans who never stop fighting. If that was all there was, The Mercy of Gods would be great, but amid the mayhem James S. A. Corey also manages to weave in a closely observed study of the small things that make us human: our loves and jealousies, our foibles and weaknesses, our empathy and our resilience. A bang-up read. I want more." - Paolo Bacigalupi

"Like The Expanse, The Mercy of Gods balances cosmic stakes with an astonishingly powerful human drama. Pitch-perfect storytelling." - M R Carey

"ver wonder what happens after the alien invasion? The Mercy of Gods radiates the dread and revelation of first contact, shaping new worlds and cultures that had me riveted. Characters to root for and disdain, Corey's novel delves into the human condition as that condition irrevocably changes. These guys are on their game, and I can't wait until the next book in the series!" - Bethany Jacobs

"James S. A. Corey serves up terrifying alien overlords and a vast intergalactic war with humankind on the brink of annihilation - all while never losing focus on its cast of vulnerable, courageous characters. The Mercy of the Gods is the start of something truly epic." - Fonda Lee

"First contact, domestication experiments, and the knife-edge between appeasement and intel-gathering. Corey spins a gripping story where the twinned stakes are humanity's survival and the humanity of characters pushed to the brink by brutal intergalactic conquerors." - Yoon Ha Lee

"No one builds a universe like James S. A. Corey. THE MERCY OF GODS is wilder and weirder than you can imagine, and when it ends, all you'll want is . . . more." - John Scalzi

"A fast-paced, intelligent book. Corey is always one of the most engaging voices in the genre." - Adrian Tchaikovsky

"The Mercy of Gods is a wonderful mix of alien worldbuilding on a grand scale and deeply human characters, a portrait of reactions to adversity and disaster and the morality of collaboration." - Django Wexler


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