Book Review: Calypso

Oliver K. Langmead’s 2024 science fiction ‘epic’ Calypso explores questions of morality, science versus nature, love and finding beauty in despair. When astronautical engineer, Rochelle awakes from a deep sleep to find her exploration craft deserted, and a strange forest-like life form to have taken root in the ship, she is thrust into a war between engineers and lifeforms to determine the future of the human race, with unexpected consequences from the very first moment.

It is widely said that you should never judge a book by its cover, and Langmead’s book is a striking example that sometimes, just sometimes, this fact holds true. Its appearance is simply mesmerising, adorning a beautifully-designed forestry cover, enhanced with a striking pink hue that stands out on any bookshelf. Similarly, the prose inside is formatted in a variety of manners, each associated with a particular character, that gives each page a captivating look to it and artfully used in many instances to communicate transformations for each of our characters.

Unfortunately, despite the care and elaboration that has gone into enhancing the text inside, it is the very story that, sadly, lets this book down. Whilst the world-building and concept of our story is a strong one, it often lacks the ability to truly develop effectively. Written in a mix of first- and third-person perspectives, there is often a high level of exposition complemented by pages of artful language that gives the tale a whiplash-inducing stop-start effect throughout, one that struggled to connect with me as a reader.

As such, our three main characters don’t always get the character development they deserve, with world-building and abstract through prioritised over traditional storytelling. In some cases, this enhances what would otherwise be a traditional science fiction story, elevating it to something much more engaging. But in other cases, it subtracts from the overall plot, which when combined with swift perspective shifts and a formatting structure which can be a significant challenge to read, serves as more of a barrier than a bonus.

The story itself is okay – an engineer on a long-haul space exploration mission awakes from stasis to find herself the only person left alive on their craft and two rival factions vying for power – but lacks the nuance and originality that elevates stories of this nature. I also appreciate the novel approach that Langmead has taken to bring a brand new approach to science fiction, and I am sad that it struggled to reach fruition. I would, however, say that the potential is still there, and should certainly be revisited should Langmead write another such story.

Billed as a ‘science fiction epic’, Calypso is a beautifully enrobed identity crisis that struggles to reach a ‘science fiction moderate’. It is a great attempt at something new which whilst didn’t land for me, might be the perfect story for those who prefer non-traditional approaches to storytelling, particularly in science fiction. The potential of these techniques, and of this author, are clear to see, but Calypso was not the story for me, but still remains one of the most visually stunning books I have ever read.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Calypso by Oliver K. Langmead was published in April 2024

Written by, Sophie Layton