Passengers and Perils

Passengers & Perils: A Novel of the Archonate by Matthew Hughes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Matthew Hughes has written a number of works in his Archonate universe. This is I believe the second novel set in that world, and was originally going to be released in episodes. That experiment didn't work out for him and when he went to send out the whole thing I bought it. I'm glad I did.

Hughes' prose, at least in this universe, is very old-fashioned, almost Edwardian. Also, as befits a work that was going to be released in parts, the novel feels very episodic. Feels is doing a lot of work here - when you get to the end you will see that all of the episodes really fit together quite nicely.

The work is told from the point of view of Conn Labro, a manufactured human, first introduced in a 2008 novel. You don't need to have read that earlier work, as it's quickly explained that Conn has acquired a spaceship, a friend and a girlfriend. He's in the passenger and specialty cargo business, which leads to a number of seemingly-unrelated problems.

Conn is an entertaining character, largely because his prior socialization makes him think he's not as human as in fact he is. Several characters from Hughes' other works in this universe make an appearance; however again knowing of those characters is not required to enjoy this book. I found Passengers and Perils a very satisfying novel.



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