Of Escaping Exodus: A Nicky Drayden Review

Escaping Exodus is Nicky Drayden’s third book and this time, its not just a standalone novel but the first book of the Escaping Exodus series.

I had never heard the genre of a space opera, or cyber punk before I ran into a review of this book by Nicky Drayden.

First, give a small moment while I fan boy Nicky because, I am in awe of her imagination, creativity and world building, having binge read three of her books in a row, Prey Of The Gods, Temper, and now Escaping Exodus.

Escaping Exodus

Escaping Exodus published October 2019 is set in space, in a space craft and not just any space craft but one carved out inside a very large spacefaring beast… killing it slowly and then when it dies, a cycle which can take 7-10 years, there’s a mass exodus to a new beast…

Given that the book setting happens inside a large beast its not surprising it has been referred to as bio-punk horror by some reviewers, walking in arteries and learning the heartbeat of the beast; every 3 minutes and 47 and a half seconds *BEAT* that could be the difference between life and death.

The society in Escaping Exodus is Matriarchal and roles are flipped and men are not trusted to have important positions and the family unit is a poly-amorous union with very strange dynamics. Although all the characters are black there’s still classism, you have the priviledged class living sheltered lives and there’s beast workers on whose bones and blood the city is built, literally and figuratively.

The story unfolds through two viewpoints; one is the heir to the matriline throne and the other is her bestfriend from the beast worker class and naturally their friendship is forbidden but through them we get to understand their different societies; even if they dont understand themselves.

~B

Escaping Exodus Symbiosis, Book 2 of Escaping Exodus series is coming out 5 January 2021 pre-order on Amazon