It’s rare that I get excited about a series originally planned as a trilogy being expanded, but here we are. Apostles of Mercy, Lindsay Ellis’ third book in a planned series of five books, paves the way for a deeper and richer experience that does not want to tidy loose ends. It’s a science fiction treat that gazes into the abyss with longing. And while I am hesitant to continue to review the individual books, this one hit me harder than I expected, especially after how momentous events were in Truth of the Divine. As a warning, there are spoilers for the previous book in the synopsis, but I will try to avoid spoilers through the review itself.
Kaveh Mazandarani has helped the world see the amygdalines as more than mere animals. They have been granted personhood after his personal story with Nikola was posthumously released. Cora and Ampersand have been spirited away to Japan while she also studies journalism at Columbia. But all is not well. The threat of the amygdaline superorganism looms high as the world prepares for interstellar war. Reports of previous alien contact are circling the globe as Ampersand realizes a different foe may have already made landfall on Earth. Meanwhile, Cora reels from an intimate moment with Ampersand that reveals his true nature, running into the path and arms of another journalist, Paris.
It’s weird to put it this way, but there is a comfort in stepping back into Ellis’ alternative history of the war on terror. The atmosphere is still palpable with the United States, and now the rest of the world, is consistently on its toes ready to leap into a war footing. Reports surfacing involving previous contact with alien entities disturb even those already accustomed to the new status quo. Times are dark, and Cora and Ampersand are ready to take their chances by leaping into the void of space and running from impending doom. Oh did I forget that climate change is rearing its ugly head?
Apostles of Mercy is not for the faint of heart— just the way I like it. Ellis hasn’t shied away from depicting the harsh reality of the American State, nor its relations with alien organisms before, but it just feels even heavier here. Ampersand’s relationship with Cora is restrained while she recovers from her losses. Not to mention their one attempt at increasing their closeness, she reels in horror at what she sees within Ampersand. She is still in a dark place, reaching out for hope in anyone who can help. This time it’s Kaveh’s one time mentee Paris, another journalist who takes an interest in Cora. She is spiraling out of control while growing distant from the things that ground her humanity. She takes no interest in the world, barely cares about studying at university, and spends a lot of time hiding from Ampersand. Cora feels broken and unable to solve any of her problems without looking for an excuse to run away. It feels right considering the life she’s had until this point.
The other characters however, feel a little less even. Paris gets her own perspective which spends time with Nikola, and learning about the other alien entities. I didn’t get off to a great start with her because of her immediate interest in Cora of a romantic nature, but she smooths out over time. I particularly enjoyed her interactions with Nikola as it gave the reader some time with the Amygdalines that Ampersand was not there for. The other main perspective readers get is CIA man Sol. Now, Sol has always been a thorn in Cora’s side for being a competent asshole. Getting his perspective was jarring for different reasons than Paris. He is the rotten apple of the bunch, purposefully so. He is an agency man to the T, and has the dirty bag of tricks to prove it. But where Ellis goes with his character is interesting in a few places, and counters some of the messier tropes we see with his character type.
Where Apostles of Mercy shines though is how fucking ambiguous and cynical it is about the world it exists in and the characters actions within it. It’s dark without being needlessly so, and leaves room for the reader to ask their own questions about it’s characters. Everyone is flawed. There are no good guys, only people who sometimes do the right thing, but only after doing so many things wrong. I find it immensely satisfying that we get to see how the world sees these characters, while we as readers get to see their mind and their actions behind the scenes. Heroes don’t exist, despite or because of the immense amount of doom that lays just beyond. Even the romantic elements are messy and don’t serve as a beacon of hope. Relationships aren’t sanctuaries for characters to heal in, though that’s what the characters hope for. They are a place that people run to because they have nowhere else to hide. In some ways, they feel almost like junkyards for the broken to wallow and rust in.
This lack of real connection is highlighted through the many conversations tied to how the amygdalines form their own social bonds and groups. There is a sort of translation error that both Cora and Paris experience, and find themselves unable to fully grasp when it comes to their bonds with Ampersand and Nikola. Yes there is devotion and need, but is there mutual respect for individual sovereignty? What does it mean to truly love a monster? What the fuck is even love? Ellis plays with these ideas, opening the series up to weirder questions than I expected from a story that builds on so many science fiction blockbuster ideas smashed together with monster romance. And it’s not just that Ellis raises the questions, she spends time in the story exploring them, making them core themes, not passing ideas. And all of the bullshit that this gets wrapped up into ends in a way that is both heartrending and extremely foreboding.
Apostles of Mercy is a weird book. If you liked the previous books, definitely pick this one up, and let it soak in. It builds on aspects of the previous book I liked, while opening the world for even stranger interactions. Where Ellis goes is anyone’s guess, but I am dreading (in the good way) the next installment.
Rating: Apostles of Mercy – A blessing wrapped in a steel gauntlet
-Alex
