The Faith of Beasts by James S.A. Corey

Published by Orbit on April 14, 2026

The Faith of Beasts is the second novel in The Captive’s War series, following The Mercy of Gods. The first novel detailed the capture of humans from a planet called Anjiin. The humans are tasked with making themselves useful to their captors, the Carryx. If the humans cannot prove themselves useful, the Carryx will likely end human existence — at least, the existence of humans from Anjiin. 

The most useful humans tend to be scientists who can help the Carryx solve problems, such as creating food that will provide nutrition to other captive species. The humans also need to figure out how to reproduce more efficiently than the standard method, because a “moiety that cannot sustain its own population is not useful and will be culled.” Whether the humans should be complicit in “birthing new slaves for the Carryx” is one of several moral dilemmas the characters debate as they struggle for survival and the hope of freedom.

The Carryx follow the leadership of their Sovran, but they cannot be defeated by chopping off their organizational head because a Sovran, unlike a queen bee, is easily replaced by another Sovran. In fact, Sovrans only last a few years before one of their daughters challenges them to a battle for supremacy. One such challenge erupts during The Faith of Beasts, contributing both to human knowledge of the Carryx and despair that they seem so invulnerable.

When The Mercy of Gods ended, a few characters were plotting to fight back against the Carryx, because humans are badass and that’s what they do. Dafyd Alkhor and Jellit Kaul exposed a foolish group of rebellious conspirators to protect the larger group of humans and their (presumably more intelligent) clandestine efforts to continue the fight. Whether sacrificing a few for the good of the many was the right thing to do is one of the complex moral questions that the first two novels tackle.

Sometimes groups of humans are sent to other worlds on various missions in service of the Carryx. Jessyn Kaul and Garral Pär, while on one such mission, encounter beings who appear to be humans, although their origins are a mystery. Jessyn and Garral hope to use their knowledge of the other humans as a means of attacking the Carryx.

The first novel introduced aliens known as the swarm. They incorporate individuals into their collective, taking whatever shape they please. The swarm devours/incorporates some human characters who were introduced in the first novel,. We learn that the “swarm is a weapon of war. A spy sent to collect everything and transmit what it learns back to worlds it has never known.”

So the swarm count as good guys, even though they effectively murder individuals to gain access to their knowledge and talents. This sets up an interesting love-hate relationship between Daffyd and the swarm because the swarm killed/absorbed his lover. Should Daffyd have sex with the swarm if it takes the shape of his former lover? Ick. Overlaying the complexities of human emotions onto interactions with aliens has been a strength of the writers who use the collective pen name James S.A. Corey.

In addition to the humans led by Daffyd who plot against the Carryx, the side plot against the Carryx instigated by Jessyn and Garral, and the spying in which the swarm engage, the most formidable threat to the Carryx may be the beings known to the Carryx as the deathless enemy. They are an “enemy that hated the Carryx and fought against them on thousands of worlds.” Corey offers some hints as to the nature of the deathless enemy, but there is still much to be revealed. The Carryx want the humans to help them understand and defeat the deathless enemy, while the humans want to join forces with them to defeat the Carryx.

The Faith of Beasts moves the larger story forward, but there is a lot to unpack. Fortunately, occasional battles, clandestine acts of daring, and conflicts among human characters keep the story in motion. Still, holding all this information in the reader’s head may be challenging, particularly if the interval between each novel continues to be two years. The novels are lengthy and a reader may need to take notes to keep track of characters and events. Corey does a bit of internal summarizing so it isn't necessary to reread the first novel before tackling the second (although I might have been less confused had I done so).

The Faith of Beasts feels like it is continuing to lay a foundation for the larger story. The series was announced as a trilogy (with some novellas or short stories as filler), but the final book will need to be mammoth to bring everything together. I nevertheless look forward to reading it, because the Corey writing team produces some of the most inventive and enjoyable space opera in modern science fiction.

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