The Faith of Beasts (2026) is a science-fiction novel by James S. A. Corey, the pseudonym for the writing duo Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. It is the second book in the Captive’s War series, following The Mercy of Gods (2024). From the authors of the best-selling and Hugo Award-winning series The Expanse (the first book of which is Leviathan Wakes [2011]), this space opera continues the story of humanity’s subjugation under a vast, alien empire known as the Carryx. After a failed rebellion, the human leader, Dafyd Alkhor, must navigate the empire’s brutal demands, including a mandate to breed his people for servitude, while secretly plotting a long-term strategy for liberation. The novel explores themes of Subversion as a Means of Resistance, The Moral Cost of Leadership, and The Erosion of Identity as the Price of Survival.

Central to the novel is its use of convergent evolution as a metaphor for adaptation under oppressive power. Just as organisms in similar environments independently develop similar biological traits, the human captives are forced to develop social and psychological strategies that mirror those of other subjugated species and even their captors. Dafyd’s leadership requires him to adopt the cold, utilitarian logic of the Carryx, sacrificing individuals and his own morality to ensure the survival of his people. At the same time, characters like the biologist Jessyn Kaul and the alien spy Clae discover that covert intelligence gathering and systemic sabotage are the only viable forms of resistance against a seemingly invincible foe. Under the monolithic pressure of the empire, identity becomes a fluid, functional tool for survival, constantly rewritten by trauma and the brutal necessities of war.

This guide refers to the 2026 Orbit first hardcover edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, graphic violence, sexual violence, physical abuse, emotional abuse, self-harm, mental illness, and cursing.

Plot Summary

The series takes place in a universe in which the Carryx, a species of arthropod-like beings with four arms and four legs, and their unknown “deathless enemy” have been at war for millennia. The Carryx empire is bent on dominating all other life forms, forcing those deemed “useful” to labor in their endless war effort and killing those they deem deficient. In the last book, the Carryx captured lab assistant Dafyd Alkhor and other humans from the planet Anjiin and took them to the Carryx’s “world-palace.” The captors kept the humans’ leaders and intellectuals alive and slaughtered the rest. These survivors are collectively known as the human “moiety,” a term used to refer to all the members of one of the species that the Carryx have captured. Other captured species include the Sinen, goat-like beings that the Carryx appoint as overseers, and the Rak-hund, a centipede-like species with sharp legs that the Carryx use as guard dogs.

In the last book, Dafyd discovered that some of his human friends and colleagues were plotting a rebellion. Although he also plans to overthrow their enslavers, he feared that the rebels’ scheme would fail, leading the Carryx to kill all the humans. To prevent this, he exposed the rebels’ plan to the Carryx, a decision that resulted in the deaths of some of his friends and his “promotion” to the leader of the human moiety. 

In this book, Dafyd struggles with the weight of his decisions and his new responsibilities. The reluctant leader acts as a mediator with the keeper-librarian Ekur-Tkalal, the Carryx in charge of the human moiety. The Carryx demand that the humans become self-sustaining, forcing Dafyd to propose a controversial plan to gestate a new generation in “lamb sacks,” or artificial wombs. His efforts are complicated by the resentment of his lead scientist, Tonner Freis, and the shared guilt of his closest confidant, a physicist named Jellit Kaul who was involved with the failed rebellion. Unbeknownst to anyone, Jellit’s body is secretly inhabited by a microscopic, sentient spy known as “the swarm,” an agent of the Carryx’s “deathless enemy.” The swarm, which previously occupied the body of Dafyd’s deceased lover, Else Yannin, struggles to reconcile its mission with the memories and emotions of its human hosts.

Meanwhile, two of Dafyd’s other former colleagues, Rickar Daumatin and Campar, are assigned to a Carryx warship, where they witness the terrifying, reality-bending nature of the galactic war. Back on the world-palace, the swarm decides to reveal its continued existence to Dafyd. Dafyd is horrified to learn that the entity “ate” Else and now possesses Jellit. Their confrontation is cut short by the arrival of Soft Lothark guards, a furry species assigned to protect Dafyd. Dafyd’s rejection sends the swarm into an identity crisis, causing it to reshape Jellit’s body into a new female form. It adopts the persona of “Clae Audin” to re-infiltrate the human community.

As Dafyd grapples with leadership, members of his original research group are scattered by the empire. Jellit’s sister, biologist Jessyn Kaul, is sent on an exploratory mission to a newly conquered planet called “World.” There, she discovers that the native flora is DNA based and that the ruins belong to a human civilization, leading her to the conclusion that humans are the so-called “deathless enemy.” She’s soon captured by Corvall, a human soldier in biomechanical armor who is protecting a group of refugee children. Jessyn’s fellow captive, archaeologist Garral Pär, is lured into Corvall’s trap when Jessyn sends him a coded message. Garral discovers a linguistic link to the refugees, confirming a shared ancestry with the people of Anjiin. Corvall devises a desperate plan: He will activate his crashed ship’s emergency beacon to summon a rescue party for the children. He gives Jessyn a sabotage device to disable the Carryx ships during the rescue. Realizing that the rescue fleet would likely destroy the vulnerable Carryx ships anyway, Jessyn convinces a reluctant Garral to go with the children to negotiate for the lives of the human captives. To make her cover story of Garral’s death and her own escape believable, she shoots herself with Corvall’s weapon. 

Simultaneously, on the world-palace, Tonner discovers that the Soft Lothark guards use a form of biological data transfer by nibbling on one another. When he discusses this discovery with Dafyd, the nearby Lothark overhear him and beat him to death. Dafyd saves himself by forging a secret alliance with the “Deep Lothark,” a hidden collective consciousness within the species. 

The war escalates, and the Carryx decide to evacuate non-essential personnel from their warship, including Rickar. Unbeknownst to the Carryx, the swarm had previously implanted a small piece of itself containing all its gathered intelligence inside Rickar. Once his evacuation pod is clear of the ship, this piece activates, broadcasting its data trove to the swarm’s allies. The transmission incinerates Rickar’s body and destroys the pod, creating an anomaly that is flagged by the highest echelons of the Carryx empire. 

Jessyn, recovering from her wound, learns that the Carryx are evacuating her planet. Under the cover of night, she retrieves the sabotage device from its hiding place but is confronted by her Sinen overseer, Third Gardener. She kills the Sinen and its Rak-hund guard, returns to the ship, and releases the nanites. The Carryx ships attempt to lift off, but their engines fail, causing them to crash back to the surface. The ship’s engines, however, restart. As the Carryx vessels begin to lift off again, the enemy rescue fleet arrives. However, thanks to Garral’s successful negotiations, the fleet holds its fire, allowing the Carryx ships, including Jessyn’s, to retreat. 

On another battlefront, Campar and his lover, Ghati, are sent to investigate the disabled enemy command ship. They find a crew of dead humans and five-tentacled aliens. When the ship’s power is partially restored by the proximity of an approaching enemy fleet, a sample taken from a strange, blackened alien corpse reanimates. This “deathless” soldier pursues them through the ship. Campar lures it into the path of the Carryx’s own field weapons, destroying it but suffering grievous injuries himself. 

Back on the world-palace, Dafyd faces a labor strike organized by Brun, Tonner’s successor. To reassert control and mimic Carryx methods of conflict resolution, Dafyd has the Soft Lothark hold Brun down and breaks his arm, brutally ending the challenge. His victory is hollow, as he soon learns that the leader of the Carryx, the Sovran, has been killed and replaced by her daughter in a ritual combat, a routine process that makes the empire’s leadership functionally immortal and Dafyd’s assassination plan useless. All seems lost for Dafyd’s rebellion, but his new understanding of the Carryx’s nature gives him a new, desperate idea. He finds the swarm, now living as Clae, and presents a new strategy involving the ascension of a second Sovran, a development that would compromise the Carryx’s careful hierarchy and give the humans and their allies a chance at victory.