Omni (novel)
Omni (English title: Omni ) is a science fiction novel by the German writer Andreas Brandhorst and was published by Piper Verlag in 2016 . It is the first book from the so-called Omniverse.
content
short version
Omni is an association of 14 super civilizations that watch over the universe. Omni once appointed six people, including Aurelius, as his travelers. He endowed them with extended life and instructed them to do the will of Omni. The book revolves around Aurelius, former agent Forrester, his daughter Zinnober, and the intellect of Forrester's ship Casandra.
Aurelius is said to recover a dangerous omni artifact from the stranded freighter Kuritania. Forrester gets the order from the agency, his former employer, to kidnap Aurelius. They have already taken possession of the artifact and want to activate it again with Aurelius' help. But the mission gets out of hand and Forrester, Zinnober and Aurelius find themselves in an opaque game that could affect the future of the entire universe.
action
The traveler Aurelius receives an order from Omni to recover a mysterious artifact on board the freighter Kuritania, which is stranded in the sprawl. At the same time, the former agent of the organization "Agency" Forrester lives with his daughter Zinnober on a lonely planet somewhere on the edge of the Milky Way. However, an employee of the agency, a Wefing by the name of Rubens, tracks them down and threatens them. Forrester is supposed to kidnap the traveler Aurelius and bring him to the agency, otherwise they will deliver Zinnober to an old enemy of Forrester, the Duka of Javaid. He also names the Kuritania as the starting point for his search for the traveler.
Forrester sets off with his ship, the "Solar Wind" immediately and makes his way to Nathan, his former mentor and former head of the agency. He wants to put Zinnober with him because she is safe there. However, shortly before Forrester's departure, this sneaks back onto the solar wind. Forrester reluctantly decides to take Zinnober on the dangerous journey. It is there that Forrester comes into contact with an angel for the first time. These are inhabitants of the sprawl, a superordinate medium that most civilizations use to travel faster than light.
Your first stop is the Kuritania. They hope to meet Aurelius there. During their search on the destroyed freighter, however, they only encounter the paracosmic Trifon Corneille. The paracosmics have special abilities and, unlike most other races in the universe, can come into direct contact with the angels in the sprawl without mental or physical pain. He advises Forrester and Zinnober to look for Aurelius on the inhabited moon Caledonnia Four of the gas giant Caledonnia.
On the way there, however, they are attacked by a Likotha, a Duka's helper equipped with psionic powers, and the solar wind is badly damaged and Forrester is injured. To repair the effects of the meeting with the Likotha or to heal Forrester, they make a stopover on a space station at Caledonnia Vier. After his healing, Forrester can determine the approximate whereabouts of Aurelius there. However, shortly afterwards, Zinnober is kidnapped by the Likotha and brought to Javaid.
In his desperation, Forrester finds out the exact whereabouts of Aurelius and Nathan, who has also followed suit. He kidnaps both of them, hoping Aurelius could get the duka to release Zinnober. When you arrive on Javaid, however, it is already too late and Zinnober has been trapped in a penal stone. As a result of a shootout between Forrester and some of the agency's shapeshifters, Nathan is killed and Aurelius is kidnapped by them. As Zinnober's penalty stone threatens to break, Forrester gets in touch with the angels again. These intervene in the causality of the universe and thereby prevent Zinnober's death.
The agency has now managed to recover the artifact. It is an all-powerful omni machine that can produce a wide variety of omni artifacts. Benedikt, the new head of the agency, would like to use Aurelius' help to gain access to the machine. You manage to penetrate further and further into the heart of the machine. Aurelius escapes the agency through a trick and takes refuge on the nearby planet Usher.
Forrester and Zinnober have now arrived on Mechanika, a planet completely covered by a city. There they want to finally have the solar wind repaired. However, they are already wanted as criminals and arrested while trying to steal a ship. They should be severely punished for their crimes. However, this can be prevented by a legislator, an enforcer from Omni. He manages to free the two of them and get them a new ship. After the transmission of the ship's intellect, Forrester, Zinnober and Cassandra make their way to the planet Usher.
The situation there is already completely out of control. Due to the aggressive advance of the agency, the artifact has gone into defense mode and begins to soak up all the matter in its environment. The planet itself is also affected. Large parts of its surface were devastated by the gravitational forces of the machine. The severely weakened Aurelius manages to escape from the planet only with the help of Usher's administrator and is saved by Forrester shortly afterwards. Through a risky maneuver and renewed contact with the angels, the four manage to penetrate the protective shield of the machine. Inside, all agency employees were killed. Benedict's body has also been wiped out, but his spirit survived due to an omni artifact. Aurelius connects with the machine with the last of his strength and kills Benedict. As a result of the preceding events, Aurelius dies shortly afterwards. Forrester and Zinnober take the machine to the sprawl where they hand it over to the angels.
To fulfill Aurelius' last wish, they bury him on earth, which has been completely destroyed for centuries. There they learn of Aurelius' mission to win Forrester and Zinnober as travelers for Omni. Both agree to the proposal and go to an unknown place with a member of the supercivilizations.
criticism
“Science fiction at its best. Highly exciting, intelligent and philosophical space opera by the best German science fiction author at the moment. "
"The novel 'Omni' offers captivating and lasting science fiction entertainment with many clever questions and the famous 'sense of wonder'."
"An incredibly compact, extensive and exciting story in a universe far away."
“The story is gripping, extensive and, like the universe behind it, very well thought out. There are also great figures and one or the other passage that makes you think and resonates. I am not surprised that Brandhorst belongs to the spearhead of the German SciFi authors. "
Audio book
- Omni , read by Richard Barenberg, audio book Hamburg HHV
continuation
In May 2017, the second book of the Omniverse was published, entitled The Arkonadia Riddle . This, too, revolves around Forrester and Zinnober, who are now traveling as Omni travelers.
Nominations
- Kurd Laßwitz Prize (2017): Winner in the "Best Novel" category
- German Science Fiction Award (2017): 2nd place in the category "Best German-language novel"
- German Fantasy Prize (2017): entered in the longlist "Best German Novel"
Web links
- Omni website at Piper Verlag
- Review notes at perlentaucher.de
- Author's Omniversum website introducing the book
- The Arkonadia puzzle at Piper Verlag