Ocean

[sawyl]

I recently read Ocean, Warren Ellis' story of corporate intrigue and ancient machinery, illustrated by Chris Sprouse and Karl Story. Here's a quick overview:

For reasons he's not entirely clear on, weapons inspector Nathan Kane has been dispatched to Cold Harbour, a UN research station in orbit about Europa. On his arrival, he quickly learns of an unexpected discovery: ancient sarcophagi and billion year old machines have been found deep beneath the ice. Just as he starts to get a handle on this, he learns that a nearby mining station run by the colossal Doors Corporation — they make computer operating systems, require their workforce to have their personalities suppressed for the duration of their employment, I think we know who we're talking about here — has sent a series of activation codes down to the planet below, causing the artifacts to start to power back up. Will Kane and the rest of the Cold Harbour crew be able to come up with a solution the problem in time?

While I'm not entirely sure Ocean worked for me, it was still a fun read. The mysterious ocean and it's potentially malign contents reminded me not little bit of Solaris, while the Doors corporation and their insane station chief could have come straight out of one of the strange world of Transmetropolitan. The art was nice, the story interesting, but for some reason, it didn't totally grab me, but don't let me put you off: it's probably just me.