Beyond the Fringe

An Arcana Imperii Collection

By: Miles Cameron

Narrated by: Daniel York Loh, Miles Cameron, Nneka Okoye, Peter Noble

Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

From the world of ARTIFACT SPACE comes a collection of novellas, spanning from the core of the Galaxy far out beyond the fringe...

Return to the Universe of the ARCANA IMPERII with a collection of novellas from Miles Cameron.

Following the events of ARTIFACT SPACE, the galaxy continues to change and expand. Frontiers are challenged and what was once a safe space becomes contested, hostile, and unpredictable.

From normal people caught up in the unstoppable machinations of politics and war, to spies faced with making the ultimate sacrifice for their nations, these stories follow the DHC as it faces a challenge to everything it holds dear - human rights, fairness and equality. When a rogue system questions their values and power, how can they stay true to their beliefs and protect their citizens?

And what are these rumours about new aliens lurking beyond the edges of known space?

©2023 Miles Cameron (P)2023 Orion Publishing Group Limited

I recant my previous review

I was annoyed that this wasn’t a follow up to Artifact Space… But after listening to it, it’s quite good. Excellent actually.

Fun space espionage

Really enjoyed getting snapshots of different agents reacting to the same events. I love the calm goodheartedness of the protagonists

Great collection of short stories

This was a Great collection of short stories Each and everyone of them was fantastic in their own way.

Gold, Xenoglass, and Fur

Cameron offers another deeply thoughtful round of speculative fiction, this in his Artifact Space universe, now called Arcana Imperii. This is a collection of short pieces that illuminate his far-future setting where high civilization exists in an interstellar trading culture where Earth is a distant memory that both informs society and provides an object lesson. Cameron is unique in that he provides military sci-fi understanding of how things work while deemphasizing conflict in favor of character and daily life.

As an annex to his first novel in this universe, Artifact Space, and the prelude to his next one due out in 2024, Beyond the Fringe answers a number of questions from the last and teases the next. It creates a fuller universe of mercantilist traders and operatives with hearts of gold beset by less altruistic human and now possibly alien civilizations. Progressive readers will be delighted with Cameron’s 21st century social democratic sensibilities emphasizing diversity, equity, pronouns and Oh, Canada levels of free health care. Conservatives may grumble at his greedy capitalist, drawling, corrupt, gun-toting space Texan villains. It’s his world. I managed.

At the same time, nobody understands how ships, organizations and space physics work better than Cameron. You absolutely want to be crew on one of his Directorate of Human Corporations protagonist merchant ships or battlecruisers. The stories are clear and detailed without technical gobbledygook and enough actual military detail to amuse me, which might be wearing on non-enthusiasts.

The good news is that all of Cameron’s characters are real people with back stories and believable reactions and dialogue. No cringe here. They seem like real people you would like to get to know. You would like to live in this universe.

My only real complaint is that, with the exception of the absolutely delightful “Gifts of the Magi,” the individual stories in Beyond the Fringe are not really short stories in that they don’t live as stories on their own. Most are vignettes that seem like early chapters in a new novel, painting a picture and setting up plot points and actions to be resolved later. This is perhaps a contrast with other short story collections set in a universe, such as Larry Niven’s Neutron Star collection set in his Known Space universe.

That said, all of the stories in this collection are bright – even when they are dark – and engaging and worth returning to. I enjoy Cameron’s characters and his sensibilities of how his worlds work. I would like to see more actual short stories in this universe on par with “Gifts of the Magi.” And, whatever Cameron’s intent, I am looking forward to his next novel. He wins.

The narrators are universally excellent. Nneka Okoye is a welcome old friend from Artifact Space. Daniel York Loh and Peter Noble perform with engaging variety. I feel like I recognize Miles Cameron, who provides introductions and codas.

An excellent widening of the aperture

Each of these short stories broadens Cameron's great Sci Fi setting far past the decks of the Athens and leave you wanting more! Longtime readers may notice some fun nods to stuff as well ( Space Knights of St John? :)