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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
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
motherbeetle's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
This book broke my brain. It was more horrific than I expected, which I think added to the tenseness of the whole situation. I really enjoyed it, even if I did have to sleep with the light on for a few nights.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Cannibalism
Minor: Fatphobia
thalia_r's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-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
2.75
This book is according to the author based on the Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe: a locked room mystery but set in space. I really like the concept of this book and there are some aspects that I thought were very affective, such as the descriptions and world building of the Ragtime (the spaceship), Lagos and Bloodroot (the colonies).
Unfortunately, I didn't like the execution of this story. I think in part I don't love Thompson's writing style, it feels stilted in some places like it needed to an extra sentence here and there to connect ideas. I also wish there was more time put into making the characters feel more fully formed as individuals. I couldn't really descibe much in the way of defining characteristics past maybe one or two descriptors. Shell is the new and dedicated Captain, Fin is the detective (and I can't actually think of any traits I'd assign him with), Lawrence is a former adventurer turned govenor who's perhaps a bit reckless, Joke is the eccentric manic pixie dream girl type who's also an alien, and Salvo is an artificial so is loyal and focused on the mission.
The mystery aspect kept me reading as I wanted to know who was responsible. The problem is, the way that the narrative is split between perspectives (of more that just the main five charaters) means that characters can be added in with little build up and it felt rather abrupt at times. It also made it difficult to keep track of what was happening in the present as there were some flashbacks throughout and it wasn't always clear when there were flashbacks and when it was back to the present. Most of my issues with this book are in the writing style more than the story itself but it really held it back in my view.
Unfortunately, I didn't like the execution of this story. I think in part I don't love Thompson's writing style, it feels stilted in some places like it needed to an extra sentence here and there to connect ideas. I also wish there was more time put into making the characters feel more fully formed as individuals. I couldn't really descibe much in the way of defining characteristics past maybe one or two descriptors. Shell is the new and dedicated Captain, Fin is the detective (and I can't actually think of any traits I'd assign him with), Lawrence is a former adventurer turned govenor who's perhaps a bit reckless, Joke is the eccentric manic pixie dream girl type who's also an alien, and Salvo is an artificial so is loyal and focused on the mission.
The mystery aspect kept me reading as I wanted to know who was responsible. The problem is, the way that the narrative is split between perspectives (of more that just the main five charaters) means that characters can be added in with little build up and it felt rather abrupt at times. It also made it difficult to keep track of what was happening in the present as there were some flashbacks throughout and it wasn't always clear when there were flashbacks and when it was back to the present. Most of my issues with this book are in the writing style more than the story itself but it really held it back in my view.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Cannibalism
khia's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Murder
Minor: Cannibalism
inameitlater's review
Startet in autumn 2021, lost focus around the middle because I don't like reading multiple POV and around the middle of the story new POVs with flashbacks that summarized what happened so far but from the new POV were introduced.
Restarted the book in 01/2022 and enjoyed the perpetrators POV immensly, but afterwards I lost focus again. It's just not for me.
Corona depression and "I rather read fanfic" definitiv issues too. Would try another book of the author in future.
Restarted the book in 01/2022 and enjoyed the perpetrators POV immensly, but afterwards I lost focus again. It's just not for me.
Corona depression and "I rather read fanfic" definitiv issues too. Would try another book of the author in future.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cannibalism
rorikae's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
'Far from the Light of Heaven' is a locked room mystery in space that incorporates some intriguing world building.
The story centers around Michelle Campion, a passenger aboard a spaceship who wakes up midflight. Campion finds that a number of the passengers have been murdered and sends out a distress signal. Rasheed Fin, an investigator, is sent to Campion's ship, Ragtime, to get to the bottom of what really happened.
My favorite aspect of this story is the worldbuilding that Thompson incorporates. There are some alien creatures with interesting abilities that I felt really fleshed out the world and drew my interest. I found the mystery engaging and the way the story wove into a larger narrative that expanded beyond the Ragtime, allowed us to learn more about the wider world.
My real issue with this book was the audiobook. It's a decent audiobook but it failed to truly capture my interest and this led me to feel like I was missing parts of the book. I would highly recommend picking up the physical copy if you have a similar experience. I would be interested to return to this story in the future as I feel that I've missed out on some crucial aspects of the story due to my issues with the audiobook.
The story centers around Michelle Campion, a passenger aboard a spaceship who wakes up midflight. Campion finds that a number of the passengers have been murdered and sends out a distress signal. Rasheed Fin, an investigator, is sent to Campion's ship, Ragtime, to get to the bottom of what really happened.
My favorite aspect of this story is the worldbuilding that Thompson incorporates. There are some alien creatures with interesting abilities that I felt really fleshed out the world and drew my interest. I found the mystery engaging and the way the story wove into a larger narrative that expanded beyond the Ragtime, allowed us to learn more about the wider world.
My real issue with this book was the audiobook. It's a decent audiobook but it failed to truly capture my interest and this led me to feel like I was missing parts of the book. I would highly recommend picking up the physical copy if you have a similar experience. I would be interested to return to this story in the future as I feel that I've missed out on some crucial aspects of the story due to my issues with the audiobook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Murder, Blood, Body horror, and Violence
Moderate: Cannibalism
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
booksthatburn's review
funny
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.5
FAR FROM THE LIGHT OF HEAVEN is a locked-spaceship mass-murder mystery with a disgraced detective and a rookie ship captain.
The ensemble of characters is interesting, I especially like Joké. Her storyline was the most engaging for me, and I like how she comes into her own.
The main thing that frustrated me is that there was literally no way to figure out the answer any earlier than the extended sequence which explains the whole thing in great detail. The actual answer was fascinating enough to loop back around to regaining my interest, but it does mean the middle of the book dragged for me. I like the world that was built, but not really the way that it was conveyed, and I enjoyed the political wrangling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Blood, Animal death, and Death
Moderate: Racism, Gore, Excrement, Gun violence, and Violence
Minor: Fatphobia, Child death, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, and Cannibalism
adancewithbooks's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway
Far from the Light of Heaven is an interesting story about the colony ship Ragtime who is being piloted by an AI and first mate Michelle. But when Michelle is jolted out of her sleep she finds there has been murders aboard the ship. How is that possible? A space ship locked room mystery!
Especially the first half of the story carries a suspense that it should as a locked room mystery. We get a look at the situation through Michelle's eyes and new eyes as an investigator Finn comes aboard with his AI companion. We are slowly getting to know these characters. An interesting addition are Michelle's godfather and his daughter. Well mostly his daughter as she is half-alien and sees things quite differently.
However as the plot turns to survival and away from the locked room mystery I lost some of my captivation for the story. The ending also felt needlessly abrupt and with a conclusion that didn't feel like anything was solved. Not really. I was left quite dissatisfied.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Cannibalism and Sexism