“Stories don’t have tidy beginnings, the past is always present.”
With this, Heaven's Vault the videogame had truly sunk its claws into me. I had played through to the end and loved the experience.
Often I've seen historical based games reduced to simply killing the next bad guy and trashing the ancient ruins, which is fine in a power fantasy I suppose, but as an armchair anthropologist (with a degree in the subject) who has a love of archeology, linguistics and ethnography, a game where you felt like a real archaeologist had me excited. Luckily, Heaven’s Vault did not disappoint; the deep dive into archeology with a vast open-world to explore, underscored with excellent narrative beats held me captive for the 20 or so hours until completion.
When I heard that there were two novels based off the videogame by Inkle's narrative director Jon Ingold, I bought both and consumed them voraciously over the course of a couple of weeks.
For the uninitiated, Heaven's Vault has the protagonist Aliya Elasra, a space archaeologist, tasked with finding the missing University faculty roboticist, Janniqi Renba. Along the way, Aliya and her robot companion Six, discover clues to the ancient past of the Nebula that may impact the current political situation where the Protectorate of Iox may not be as benevolent as it presents itself. Throw in Aliya's contradictory theory about the cyclical nature of the Nebula for good measure and what you have is an intriguing narrative.
There are two books in the Heaven’s Vault series and they contain the complete story.
The central conceit is an interesting one as it builds upon the narrative of the videogame but takes it further. The books are very much about how history is largely written and shaped by the ‘victors’. Aliya is a threat to all this as, by using the artefacts from the past, she is able to reinterpret what actually occurred and challenge the circumambient narrative that is prevalent in the cosmos and challenges the systems that perpetuate it.
I liked how Ingold shows how archeology is not just about the collection of artifacts or visiting dead sites but more a discipline dedicated to helping us understand our collective past and what it means for our future. Archaeology has the power to shape the future as by looking into the past, we can look forward and challenge the accepted norms; controlling access to the past controls people in the present by affecting thought and behaviour. Misappropriation and manipulation of the past is a real issue even now and so it is in this story where the status quo is challenged.
The two books were enthralling and I fell in love with the characterisation and world.
LINK: Elden Ring- Videogames As Art
LINK- The Good Place and Philosophy- Book Review
LINK- Humankind: A Hopeful History- Book Review
LINK- ‘Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire’ LINK: Elden Ring- Videogames As Art
LINK- The Transportive Nature of Objects (And the Power of Mini Consoles)
LINK: Japan- My Journey to the East