Scan barcode
wordsareworlds's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
I was so invested in this book for the first 50%, and then it felt like it went off the rails. Thompson packed so many different ideas into the book that most didn't end up having any room to breathe let alone shine. The resolution felt divorced from what had actually happened in the rest of the book, which left me feeling unsatisfied and a little bit cheated of the story the first half promised.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Gore, Colonisation, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, and Genocide
Minor: Cannibalism
tigger89's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is a neat little locked room mystery set in space, with a compelling twist in the second half. I don't know what I thought was going on when I started this book, but I certainly wouldn't have guessed that! I loved the afrofuturism — the destination colony is in the Lagos system — and the attention to scientific detail, though I have to take the author's word for it that it's accurate. I also appreciated the themes surrounding AI consciousnesses.
My biggest gripe with this book is that it felt like a prequel to a different book or series. There were some aspects — the Lambers, Nightshade — that felt un-elaborated upon, and the ending of the story felt like it was setting up the kind of grand conflict that would be the main plot of a different story. There should be another story taking place five or ten years after this one, and the fact that we don't have that makes this feel incomplete somehow, despite the fact that the mystery was successfully concluded.
I usually try to note animal death content warnings in my reviews, but this is one where I'm gonna have to direct you to somewhere else. I have a note that there is such a content warning needed, but I've fallen behind on reviews and no longer recall the specific contexts well enough to warn.
My biggest gripe with this book is that it felt like a prequel to a different book or series. There were some aspects — the Lambers, Nightshade — that felt un-elaborated upon, and the ending of the story felt like it was setting up the kind of grand conflict that would be the main plot of a different story. There should be another story taking place five or ten years after this one, and the fact that we don't have that makes this feel incomplete somehow, despite the fact that the mystery was successfully concluded.
I usually try to note animal death content warnings in my reviews, but this is one where I'm gonna have to direct you to somewhere else. I have a note that there is such a content warning needed, but I've fallen behind on reviews and no longer recall the specific contexts well enough to warn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Body horror, Slavery, Terminal illness, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Animal death, Medical content, and Genocide
billyjepma's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I struggled to get into this at first and found myself bristling at how little the story prepared me for its version of space travel, alien worlds, and technology. On one hand, I admired the in media res approach, but on the other, I felt like it kept me at arm’s length from the characters and the mystery they find themselves in. And then, right around the halfway point, something in me or the book clicked into place, and I tore through the remaining 150+ pages in one sitting. All those wrinkles I initially saw as obstacles unfolded and played out in immensely satisfying, exciting ways. I still think that the first half is a little rough, and there are areas I found to be slightly underbaked, but I can’t argue with the results. Once things got going, I was all in and then some.
The very concept of a single-location murder mystery in a spaceship is enough of a hook to get me. If you’re willing to be patient, Thompson’s storytelling delivers on and exceeds the expectations of that initial conceit. I love the themes stitched into the plot, appreciate how they exist analogously to the story, and pay off in simultaneously rewarding and frustrating ways. Which is a good thing in my book because the themes Thompson introduces are too big and, in some ways, too abstract to have a proper resolution. I appreciate that he lets his characters (and, by extension, his reader) sit in that vaguely uncomfortable space. Take away the headiness, though, and you still have a simmering thriller that feels like the twisted love child of Seven, The Martian, and 2001: A Space Odyssey, with some tasteful hints of a Hercule Poirot caper mixed in for good measure.
The very concept of a single-location murder mystery in a spaceship is enough of a hook to get me. If you’re willing to be patient, Thompson’s storytelling delivers on and exceeds the expectations of that initial conceit. I love the themes stitched into the plot, appreciate how they exist analogously to the story, and pay off in simultaneously rewarding and frustrating ways. Which is a good thing in my book because the themes Thompson introduces are too big and, in some ways, too abstract to have a proper resolution. I appreciate that he lets his characters (and, by extension, his reader) sit in that vaguely uncomfortable space. Take away the headiness, though, and you still have a simmering thriller that feels like the twisted love child of Seven, The Martian, and 2001: A Space Odyssey, with some tasteful hints of a Hercule Poirot caper mixed in for good measure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Murder, Terminal illness, Violence, Cursing, and Medical content
Minor: Child death, Colonisation, Classism, Racial slurs, and Cannibalism
urs's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Gore
Moderate: Confinement, Terminal illness, Violence, and Body horror
sarah984's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I really enjoyed this one. It's a sort of a combination of space thriller and detective story with a bit of a supernatural element. There are some great action scenes, and while the characters aren't super developed, they feel unique and do the job. The romance is pretty bland though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Gore
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, and Violence
Minor: Excrement, Sexual content, War, and Fatphobia
azrah786's review against another edition
4.0
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, gore, mass murder, death, contagion, terminal illness
Far From the Light of Heaven is a fast paced character driven, sci-fi thriller that’s difficult to put down once you pick it up.
After embarking on a journey across the stars for a decade in statis, Mission Specialist Michelle “Shell” Campion awakens on the colony ship Ragtime as planned only to find something is very wrong. With the ship - along with its 1000 passengers on course to the planet Bloodroot - being captained by a fail-safe AI, Shell was guaranteed her position as the required spaceflight-rated human on board was a straightforward one. However, upon docking in the Lagos system she finds 31 of the sleeping passengers have been brutally murdered and to make matters worse the ships AI is compromised. Upon hearing her distress message, the destination planet sends up a detective and accompanying AI to get to the bottom of the situation.
A murder mystery confined to spaceship on the float in a far corner of the cosmos,how much more ‘locked room’ can you get? Thompson’s writing effortlessly brings about the tense atmosphere that evokes both the hair raising disquiet of being trapped with a killer as well as the vast eeriness and isolation of space. There are some spine-chilling horror elements too.
On top of that an intriguing cast of characters and glimpses of an expansive future world really hook you in. I quite enjoyed the interactions upon the Ragtime between the main protagonists and the transition their relationship took from one of brewing hostility to reluctant camaraderie in the strained situation that they were in.
Though admittedly this book felt more action thriller than mystery to me as the storyline involved more flashbacks than clue-following. Hence the shock factor that you’d expect with a murder mystery was a little subdued. That paired with what I felt was a needless aspect of romance was my reason for knocking off a star.
Otherwise this was a thoroughly enjoyable and addictive read and I am definitely checking out Thompsons other novels. I’d also be super interested if he ever decided to return and write other stories set in this universe!
Final Rating – 4/5 Stars
**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, gore, mass murder, death, contagion, terminal illness
Far From the Light of Heaven is a fast paced character driven, sci-fi thriller that’s difficult to put down once you pick it up.
After embarking on a journey across the stars for a decade in statis, Mission Specialist Michelle “Shell” Campion awakens on the colony ship Ragtime as planned only to find something is very wrong. With the ship - along with its 1000 passengers on course to the planet Bloodroot - being captained by a fail-safe AI, Shell was guaranteed her position as the required spaceflight-rated human on board was a straightforward one. However, upon docking in the Lagos system she finds 31 of the sleeping passengers have been brutally murdered and to make matters worse the ships AI is compromised. Upon hearing her distress message, the destination planet sends up a detective and accompanying AI to get to the bottom of the situation.
A murder mystery confined to spaceship on the float in a far corner of the cosmos,how much more ‘locked room’ can you get? Thompson’s writing effortlessly brings about the tense atmosphere that evokes both the hair raising disquiet of being trapped with a killer as well as the vast eeriness and isolation of space. There are some spine-chilling horror elements too.
On top of that an intriguing cast of characters and glimpses of an expansive future world really hook you in. I quite enjoyed the interactions upon the Ragtime between the main protagonists and the transition their relationship took from one of brewing hostility to reluctant camaraderie in the strained situation that they were in.
Though admittedly this book felt more action thriller than mystery to me as the storyline involved more flashbacks than clue-following. Hence the shock factor that you’d expect with a murder mystery was a little subdued. That paired with what I felt was a needless aspect of romance was my reason for knocking off a star.
Otherwise this was a thoroughly enjoyable and addictive read and I am definitely checking out Thompsons other novels. I’d also be super interested if he ever decided to return and write other stories set in this universe!
Final Rating – 4/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Murder, Death, Violence, and Terminal illness
More...