What a fantastic read! I was initially drawn to this book because of the star-studded list of authors, all of whom have written some of my favorite science fiction in recent memory. Their combined talents have resulted in a grandiose space opera with a deeply emotional bent that had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.

For those unfamiliar with Serial Box, the way this novel worked is each author published an "episode", or a chapter, each week, resulting in a full "season" in which each chapter of the novel was written by a different author. I think this is a really cool way to create a story, especially when you have such a talented group on board.

The story follows two main protagonists. There is the mercenary assassin Asala, a former refugee from a dying planet who has found herself in the service of the President of the prosperous planet Khayyam and Niko, the President's child, a talented hacker with a passion for justice and a desire to help the growing body of desperate refugees. The two made a strong pair and provided a wide berth of insight into different aspects of the novel, expanding the world-building through the own experiences and developing one another through their interactions. The side characters were also solid: General Cynwrig was a dynamic villain, Soraya provided a powerful perspective into life in the refugee Camp Ghala, and even President Ekrem represented the misguided priorities of so-called "good" people in power. I also loved the casual representation present in the novel: Asala is a trans woman, and Niko is non-binary, not to mention the broad cast of queer secondary characters.

The premise of the story is is also fascinating; it takes places in a solar system in which the sun is rapidly dying, turning distant planets into uninhabitable frozen wastelands and forcing their inhabitants to flee inward, where they are faced with rampant racism and xenophobia from the prosperous inner planets who have (for the time being) escaped the creeping cold.

More than anything though I was struck how much the story felt like a parable for our own society: not that we have to worry about a dying sun, but the growing climate crisis and war have already displaced millions of people globally, many of whom face the same harrowing levels of animosity as the asylum seekers in this novel. To me, the heart of truly good science fiction is that it makes insightful commentary into the problems in our own society using a theoretical or futuristic lens. The Vela absolutely succeeds in this, and had me thinking hard about issues of xenophobia, the migrant crisis, cultural erasure, and even white saviorism and performative activism. Furthurmore, the examples of isolationism and resource hoarding present in this novel are all too pervasive on our society today, and in many ways the reality of the novel is one that i could see coming to pass in our own futures if society does not improve.

This book wasn't great for me, I tried really hard to get It, but it just made me got bored, it needs something else for me to get better.

I can't believe this book was written by so many different authors! Maybe I'm just a completely unsophisticated reader, but the book seamlessly flowed - I couldn't have picked out any specific voice if it weren't for the author labels above each chapter. In the same vein, I didn't really understand why it was divided up like "season 1 episode 9", aside from switching authors. It didn't seem to me to be particularly divided by character POV, setting, or plot points. It didn't mess up the flow of the book or anything - just couldn't nail down a reason for the separate "episodes".

There was quite a bit of space action and battles (which I don't generally care for), but you also get robust character development. Everyone is fundamentally flawed, but also granted room for sympathy. Their literal universe is falling apart as their sun dies, so it's understandable that not everyone will display perfectly grace. The book is also very matter-of-fact in its inclusive elements, which is amazing! Lots of parallels to be made to our current political climate ...but I read to escape the news, so I tried not to dwell too long on making those connections :)

When I requested this one, I was intrigued by the premise, and curious as to how this serialised series with multiple authors would work – brilliantly as it turns around. The Vela hooked me right from the beginning, and while I could pick up on the shifts in writing style, they were subtle. I found the chapters for the most part seamlessly weaved together a complex, wide-reaching space opera, in a way that I was always rushing to pick up the book as soon as I had a moment spare to continue reading.

Firstly, I loved the complexity of the worldbuilding. The Vela is about a dying solar system, with the complexities of relationships and experiences of planets at different ends of the crisis. You have the ones in the inner ring, who are most distant from the threatening climate change and planetary death that has come about from the people harvesting hydrogen from the Sun to point where it is now dying. At the other end, you have the peoples from planets that have already died, or which are dying and becoming uninhabitable, triggering a system-wide refugee crisis that has been ongoing for decades. This people-induced climate change, and the detailed, heart-breaking tale of refugees risking everything to escape. Forced to make lives in a camp because the richer planets won’t allow them to land on their surface, shutting their borders apart from when they need good publicity or there is a tactical reason, all resonate very strongly with the current situation our world is in today. Grounding the narrative firmly and painfully in reality without losing that wonderful, otherworldly feel of being in space.

There was a rich sense of culture, and not just from the inner-ring planets that still existed and were clinging to normality, with the overhanging threat of climate change, but amongst those fleeing the dying planets. Stories passed on, songs shared, tattoos as well as physical items smuggled/salvaged while fleeing, woven together with the memories of one our main characters Asala, allow us to build a sense of the worlds and lives that have been lost, even without seeing them in their full glory, and that creates a real sense of loss.

The two main characters Asala – a sniper from one of those dying planets, whose family had sent her to safety years before – and Niko, the child of an inner-ring President made for an odd pairing that worked brilliantly. They’re tasked with finding the titular ship when it goes missing following a rescue mission, something of a publicity stunt in Niko’s father’s push for re-election. These two characters drive the narrative of The Vela, and they are fascinating, complex and flawed, bringing together the experiences of both sides of the divide in the solar system, even though their motives and paths are incredibly different.

From this starting point though, The Vela becomes something of a thriller, because there are twists and turns from start to finish, conspiracies and complications both from the pair themselves, but from the real motives behind the rescue mission, to the relationships between the inner-ring planets themselves, as well as their relationships with the refugees trying desperately to reach them. I had so many suspicions, and most of them were proven wrong, and I loved that because this book kept me on my toes from start to finish. Even better, it did and had wonderful action scenes, without losing the heart of the story at any point – the fight for survival, tragedy and hope, injustice and a search for justice, family and friendships.

The Vela touches on so many things that it is impossible to encompass in a single review. It has wonderful LFBTQIA+ representation, with a non-binary main character and sapphic relationships, as well as dealing with characters including Asala with disabilities, without resorting to advanced tech to erase that – and most importantly, those aspects are part of them, but they’re not explained or excused, it is as natural to the characters and story as it would be in real life. All of this, along with a wonderful secondary cast, was woven into a world undergoing changes and challenges, with political and social manoeuvring, and threats that are very relevant today to create a living, breathing narrative that consumes you.

I adored this book from start to finish. It wasn’t perfect, and I will admit that. There were a few shifts between chapters, particularly towards the start that I found a little jarring until I got into the rhythm. There were also a few places where I questioned Niko’s hacking abilities, as they felt a little overpowered in places, although they were largely balanced out by their other abilities. Still, this was a fantastic, consuming read that I would highly recommend, and I live in the hope that there will be a second season.

I super wanted to love this because of the awesome premise, but the writing style is just not clicking. Wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished and rated it lowly. DNF.

I really loved this, it had all the aspects of space sci-fi that I enjoy, fast-paced plot, hidden conspiracies, technological advances etc. I found the environmental degradation of the solar system very intriguing, as it's a plot I haven't come across much in sci-fi. The only thing that put me off this book was Niko. I loved Asala, found her an interesting MC that I was actively rooting for and cared about. Niko on the other hand just got on my nerves. Their idealism without critical thinking and the way they talked down to Asala about her own culture just bothered me too much and brought this down from a 5 to a 4 star for me.

Unexpectedly great. I've read other offerings from Serialbox, some hits, and some misses. This started off slow, but really got going. I love a good sci fi set in space.

What a lineup of authors! This, and the format of a serial space opera where every author wrote a chapter a week in a round robin fashion, drew me in. Serialbox publishes books like a streaming series: one season consists of ten episodes, and the second season of Vela takes off right now.

The star of a solar system is at the very end of its lifespan, outer planets are freezing and a refugee crisis hits the inner planets. Spaceship Vela is one of the refugee transporters, but it's gone lost.

The series starts with a loud bang - a visiting General is threatened to get assassinated and has to be rescued. The main protagonists, sniper Asala and hacker kid Niko get introduced and shine in their heroic roles.

After this short interlude, they get the real mission to find The Vela again and lead it to rescue. A journey through the solar system starts with many twists and turns, a prison break-in, a whole war and mysterious technology.

I'm no stranger to serial narrations, as I've been invested for several years into the longest running SF serial Perry Rhodan which produces 64 pages each and every week since 1961. Those guys know how to evolve a tension arc over several issues and separate work between authors. I have a certain expectation with this format.

And it wasn't met, sadly. First of all, each of the ten episodes tells a conclusive story, and I found them to be equally fine. The setting is interesting, though I had to scratch my head somewhat over the idea of harvesting a star leading to bleed it out of energy within the next hundred years. The topic of refugee migration is relevant in our days, and the thriller oriented plot is interesting with its twists and turns. Having a non-binary character with Niko in a prominent role is to be expected with theses authors, and feels like a must these days.

But some elements annoyed me seriously - first of all the tension arc: Every chapter needed its own micro arc and used a cliffhanger for more tension. This doesn't turn out well in the novel form that I read. A natural tension arc with relaxation in between wasn't installed and the read was bumping heavily through the whole season.

Secondly, some chapters had continuity problems - the previous chapter left me in an unresolved state and I wasn't picked up by the next chapter at that place but found a strange jump in time and space.

Also, the planetary settings don't get enough visual impression, they feel abstract and and lack a sense of being there.

Lastly, that hacker kid Niko, a real Mary Sue / Gary Stu - hacking each and everything, starting from prison A.I.s up to planetary defense systems within minutes, conveniently surpassing every obstacle. Surely, people in a highly advanced civilization plastered with A.I.s will have passwords like Dog1234. The whole hacking explanations where just ridiculous bad.

After three chapters, I started skimming through the text, and the book didn't draw me back to slow reading, which is always a bad sign.

So sorry to be the party pooper here, but this format didn't meet my expectations and the quality of the authors. I rather read single stories or novels from them and won't continue the next season.

This book struck me as different from other scifi. It seems to take a dimmer view of humanity than others. The entire solar system is dying because the people have been harvesting hydrogen from the sun. That's been going on long enough that climate change has become an inescapable force. Entire planets are freezing to death.
The story centers on Asala, who is tasked to find a missing spaceship. Of course, there's more to it than meets the eye and she finds herself trapped in larger and larger moral dilemmas. The story never gets bogged down, but it does make you think.