You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
Sci fi is not my usual genre but read this as part of a GR challenge. Of those sci-fi books I've read, I do best with subtle world-building and more humans than aliens. This was perfect. I never go wrong with Lisa Henry and she shined once again in this book. Superb writing. Snarky, smart, sexy, funny and well drawn characters. I was pleasantly surprised by the the depth of the characters! I loved Brady! Stubborn, angry, passionate, smart - a real survivor who grew up as a reffo. He was clearly defined for me and I was rooting for him through the whole book. Now Cam - I did like him but didn't trust him and I suppose that was the point. Was he a traitor as some painted him and using Brady or was he truly caught in the middle between the Faceless and his fellow soldiers? Very nuanced characterization. Excellent world building. I wasn't overwhelmed by gadgets or slime or anything I typically associate with sci fi. Just a ship stuck in the "black" as Brady calls it, with 600 men trying to make it from day to the next fighting an unseen enemy that has killed thousands of people in the past. Now that ending - wow! So now I am forced :) to read [b:Darker Space|20700258|Darker Space (Dark Space, #2)|Lisa Henry|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1444376339s/20700258.jpg|40019913].
Rating: 4* of five
Grimdark fantasy only set on a space station where the only thing to do to wile away your mandatory ten-year hitch is wait for the Faceless to decide to kill you and everyone else on every other station then destroy earth's population.
Add in some rape, some torture, oh yeah and the aliens have one of us they've held for four years! But now he's back! Funny thing how he's less popular now than when he was enduring...whatever it was he was enduring at the hands of an enemy so little understood our name for them is "the Faceless".
Humanity is, as always, irredeemable. The Faceless are right to exterminate us.
The TL;DR version is on my blog.
Grimdark fantasy only set on a space station where the only thing to do to wile away your mandatory ten-year hitch is wait for the Faceless to decide to kill you and everyone else on every other station then destroy earth's population.
Add in some rape, some torture, oh yeah and the aliens have one of us they've held for four years! But now he's back! Funny thing how he's less popular now than when he was enduring...whatever it was he was enduring at the hands of an enemy so little understood our name for them is "the Faceless".
Humanity is, as always, irredeemable. The Faceless are right to exterminate us.
The TL;DR version is on my blog.
4 stars for the romance, 3 stars for the story. The immediate connection between Brady and Cam got me in the feelz, and I felt like my world was ending every time it seemed like they would be separated (caveat: review written during the COVID-19 pandemic, I feel that way 95% of the time anyway. The two men are great together and I look forward to watching their relationship develop in the next two books.
But the more I thought about the story, the more I realized its problems. We spend 85% of the book waiting for the deadly Faceless to come aboard and when they do...well, stuff happens but it's mostly related to Brady and Cam, not so much about the fate of humanity that seemed to be hanging in the balance. The ending also feels very rushed, with little rationale for the deus ex machina that allows the two MCs to be together.
And finally, I loved Brady for his kindness, his toughness and his willingness to roll with it when he finds himself attracted to a man for the first time in his young life. But I wish Lisa Henry had let him have a little more agency; a lot of things happen to him but he doesn't get to display many heroics other than staying loyally by Cam's sidefor most of the story anyway . Again, maybe Books 2 and 3 will let him be more of the badass that I suspect he can be.
Definitely looking forward to [b:Darker Space|20700258|Darker Space (Dark Space, #2)|Lisa Henry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1444376339l/20700258._SY75_.jpg|40019913].
But the more I thought about the story, the more I realized its problems. We spend 85% of the book waiting for the deadly Faceless to come aboard and when they do...well, stuff happens but it's mostly related to Brady and Cam, not so much about the fate of humanity that seemed to be hanging in the balance. The ending also feels very rushed, with little rationale for the deus ex machina that allows the two MCs to be together.
And finally, I loved Brady for his kindness, his toughness and his willingness to roll with it when he finds himself attracted to a man for the first time in his young life. But I wish Lisa Henry had let him have a little more agency; a lot of things happen to him but he doesn't get to display many heroics other than staying loyally by Cam's side
Definitely looking forward to [b:Darker Space|20700258|Darker Space (Dark Space, #2)|Lisa Henry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1444376339l/20700258._SY75_.jpg|40019913].
It's pretty entertaining. Just too much sex. I swiped through much and didn't lose the story which tells you it wasn't needed.
Really liked the lead character. You can't help but root for him. And overall, it was pretty decent SF, beautifully written.
Thought the amount of time the two guys spent together without being under observation was absurd though. You come back in a weird pod thing from being kidnapped by aliens, you can bet for sure the military will observe you morning, noon and night for awhile. Also, smoking in space? Yeah, no. Not a gnat's chance in hell.
Really liked the lead character. You can't help but root for him. And overall, it was pretty decent SF, beautifully written.
Thought the amount of time the two guys spent together without being under observation was absurd though. You come back in a weird pod thing from being kidnapped by aliens, you can bet for sure the military will observe you morning, noon and night for awhile. Also, smoking in space? Yeah, no. Not a gnat's chance in hell.
The best piece of sci-fi perfection I've read in forever. Literally flawless.
I've just re-read this before going on to the second novel. In addition to what's below, I want to add that there is a vividness to Henry's writing that is critical to the impact of this story.
Original review:
What a trip. I feel like I'm still recovering.
Dark Space is as far from a typical romance as any I've ever read. Hard SF, gripping and ugly but for a thread of human goodness stressed to breaking. That thread dips and unravels, reappears then gets lost so many times, just before it gets really creepy. This is a quality work, well written, great plot and world-building, harrowing consequences no matter where Brady turns. I cannot recommend it enough.
Original review:
What a trip. I feel like I'm still recovering.
Dark Space is as far from a typical romance as any I've ever read. Hard SF, gripping and ugly but for a thread of human goodness stressed to breaking. That thread dips and unravels, reappears then gets lost so many times, just before it gets really creepy. This is a quality work, well written, great plot and world-building, harrowing consequences no matter where Brady turns. I cannot recommend it enough.
This could have easily been 5 stars, except spending so much time in Brady's head was just too depressing. His fear of the Faceless was so visceral that I whimpered right along with him. And the constant reminders of the hell his life is, was, and will be again was... brutal. Kick a man while he's down, why don't you. There was just a constant feeling of helplessness reading this, even with this being a 'romance' book. And yet, I couldn't put it down and I must read the next book. Very soon!
I might have to change this to 5 stars just because of the emotional turmoil that seems to be staying with me...
I might have to change this to 5 stars just because of the emotional turmoil that seems to be staying with me...
Great audiobook narration, promising premise, a slight Star Trek fanfic vibe, BUT I can’ignore that Dark Space is problematic in so many ways. The story wallows in violence, angst, and despair, there’s lack of or at least dubious consent, there’s a troubling love triangle (or quartet?), and those things are only part of what bugs me. I’m sorry, I am weak for telepathy storylines but I wasn’t ready for ”dark fic.” I’ll admit that’s more about me than the book but I just can't give more stars with these issues.
This was intense, and I absolutely loved it. The connection was there, the slow burn.
The plot was really interesting.
This definitely had me falling in love with Sci-Fi.
Can't wait to read the next one.
The plot was really interesting.
This definitely had me falling in love with Sci-Fi.
Can't wait to read the next one.
So I REALLY enjoyed this book for various reasons:
-I LOVED LOVED Brady's voice, he was such a wonderful set of eyes to see this story from.
-I thought the premise was brilliant, the sci-fish moments (which there were really not that many of) were incredibly crisp and clear. They were strange enough to be interesting, but not too weird that they seemed gratuitously gross.
-I was surprised with the tone of this book, going on Lisa Henry's previous books I was expecting to be scared shitless half the time, and the other begging for my gag reflex to stay in check. However neither of these things happened. This book was dark, yes, but more in like a morosely despaired kind of way, there was also humor and the love story had time to grow on me.
So Brady our storyteller is recruit in the space station Defender 3. He is in the third year of his ten year conscription. He hates being there, but he has no choice his familiy had no means to keep him out of the draft. He is stuck there, missing his little sister and his father back on Earth.
Brady oscilltes between feeling sorry for himself, and being angry at everyone, but there is nothing to be done. The military needs to be prepared for an attack from The Faceless, they need every man available. The Faceless...A ruthless species who can destroy thousands of human lives swiftly in minutes...Everyone fears The Faceless and mourn the poor bastards that have fallen victim to them or like Lt. Cameron Rushton TAKEN BY THEM. Rushton is the stuff of legends...Taken four years before by the Faceless never to be heard of again.
Until the day that he comes back in a pod...Brady a medic at the station is present when they are trying to remove Rushton from the device he's in...Things get a bit out of hand and Brady ends up resucitating Rushton and for unknown reasons attached to him like a pacemaker...They have to touch ALL THE TIME...Brady's heart regulates Cameron's, he keeps him alive. The kicker is that they are in each other's head too. Every thought, every feeling, every dream they share. Cameron's lust is Brady's and Brady's homesickenss for his sister's is Cameron's hurt too. They are one...And soon that bleeds over to their physical desires. Brady is dumbfounded he isn't even gay!!
Once Cameron begins to talk he announces that the Faceless are coming. They will come to talk to the commanders of Defender 3 and unless they are smart about it, things can end pretty badly. Brady is conflicted. Is Cameron a traitor? Did he become an ally to the Faceless? He is not sure...He is also falling for Cameron, how can he help it? The man knows him inside and out and still looks at him with kindness and desire...In the midst of this Brady knows it's only a matter of time before they all die. He knows the Faceless will have no mercy. Once they come it will al be over. For all of them. So they must make their time count.
So this book had a slow pace, and a very somber tone at times, but that was how Brady felt and we were seeing things through his eyes. I loved his voice, he was so sincere in his anger, his awe at this feelings he felt for Cameron, so steady in his desire to go back to his family. He hurt about so many things, but he was so willing to let Cameron touch him in places he didn't let anyone go before. To the ends both these men were open with each other and were willing to sacrifice for what the knew was best. They did not run away from their responsibilities.
All in all I liked this book a lot. If I had a complaint would be that I would have liked to know more about the Faceless and for the Sci-Fish stuff to be more prominent, the Faceless seemed such an interesting species, I wanted to understand them a bit more...Maybe there is another book in the future...Chri Varro's Redemption perhaps.
-I LOVED LOVED Brady's voice, he was such a wonderful set of eyes to see this story from.
-I thought the premise was brilliant, the sci-fish moments (which there were really not that many of) were incredibly crisp and clear. They were strange enough to be interesting, but not too weird that they seemed gratuitously gross.
-I was surprised with the tone of this book, going on Lisa Henry's previous books I was expecting to be scared shitless half the time, and the other begging for my gag reflex to stay in check. However neither of these things happened. This book was dark, yes, but more in like a morosely despaired kind of way, there was also humor and the love story had time to grow on me.
So Brady our storyteller is recruit in the space station Defender 3. He is in the third year of his ten year conscription. He hates being there, but he has no choice his familiy had no means to keep him out of the draft. He is stuck there, missing his little sister and his father back on Earth.
Brady oscilltes between feeling sorry for himself, and being angry at everyone, but there is nothing to be done. The military needs to be prepared for an attack from The Faceless, they need every man available. The Faceless...A ruthless species who can destroy thousands of human lives swiftly in minutes...Everyone fears The Faceless and mourn the poor bastards that have fallen victim to them or like Lt. Cameron Rushton TAKEN BY THEM. Rushton is the stuff of legends...Taken four years before by the Faceless never to be heard of again.
Until the day that he comes back in a pod...Brady a medic at the station is present when they are trying to remove Rushton from the device he's in...Things get a bit out of hand and Brady ends up resucitating Rushton and for unknown reasons attached to him like a pacemaker...They have to touch ALL THE TIME...Brady's heart regulates Cameron's, he keeps him alive. The kicker is that they are in each other's head too. Every thought, every feeling, every dream they share. Cameron's lust is Brady's and Brady's homesickenss for his sister's is Cameron's hurt too. They are one...And soon that bleeds over to their physical desires. Brady is dumbfounded he isn't even gay!!
Once Cameron begins to talk he announces that the Faceless are coming. They will come to talk to the commanders of Defender 3 and unless they are smart about it, things can end pretty badly. Brady is conflicted. Is Cameron a traitor? Did he become an ally to the Faceless? He is not sure...He is also falling for Cameron, how can he help it? The man knows him inside and out and still looks at him with kindness and desire...In the midst of this Brady knows it's only a matter of time before they all die. He knows the Faceless will have no mercy. Once they come it will al be over. For all of them. So they must make their time count.
So this book had a slow pace, and a very somber tone at times, but that was how Brady felt and we were seeing things through his eyes. I loved his voice, he was so sincere in his anger, his awe at this feelings he felt for Cameron, so steady in his desire to go back to his family. He hurt about so many things, but he was so willing to let Cameron touch him in places he didn't let anyone go before. To the ends both these men were open with each other and were willing to sacrifice for what the knew was best. They did not run away from their responsibilities.
All in all I liked this book a lot. If I had a complaint would be that I would have liked to know more about the Faceless and for the Sci-Fish stuff to be more prominent, the Faceless seemed such an interesting species, I wanted to understand them a bit more...Maybe there is another book in the future...Chri Varro's Redemption perhaps.