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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
I really wanted to like this one, but I couldn't. The story is of a colony ship heading to a planet. The captain's from a famous family, with some issues, and wakes up to find a bunch of sleeping passengers killed. The AI in the ship does a HAL. A guy from the planet comes up to investigate before the remaining people are allowed down to the colony. All the basics are there for an interesting SF mystery.
However, the author drags it out,. Then there's the father and daughter from a way station, who really had no purpose other than speechifying. It all just became tedious.
However, the author drags it out,
Spoiler
never explains why, once the bad guy kills the guy he wanted to kill he keeps killing and acting insane
This is the third locked-room-mystery-in-space story I've read in the last three months. It's the first that I'll unabashedly recommend. It's meant to be a simple trip into space. All passengers on board, including the human captain, will sleep for ten years and arrive at their destination ready to start a new life. Their trip will be watched over by the AI captain/pilot who will safely guide them there and see them off. There's only one problem. When Captain Campion, the human captain wakes up to prepare for docking and waking the other passengers, the ship is in disarray, the AI isn't responding appropriately, and 31 passengers are missing, which does explain the pile of hacked up dead bodies gooily leaking in the corner. She places a call to Bloodroot, their destination, and help arrives in the form of an investigator who's meant to handle aliens and who is instead arriving under duress after an extended leave of absence thanks to some botched policing. His AI partner is sent along to keep him under wraps. More help arrives from the last gate they jumped through in the form of the Captain's godfather and his half-alien daughter.
The ship's AI continues to run rampant, the robots meant to sweep the halls are bloodthirsty, and the captain may or may not be hallucinating the wolf that's rambling through the halls. It's a proper locked room mystery that slowly unrolls itself for the reader, mixed with the high stakes work of keeping the floundering ship from destroying itself around them. All is not as it seems and it's a fantastic ride the whole time.
Great worldbuilding in how it depicts a futuristic world where Earth is still our anchor planet but humans are spreading across the galaxy and still somehow caught up in the machinations of the rich and powerful and the gatekeepers, both literal and figurative.
If you, like me, have recently picked up Kowal's "The Spare Man" and Lafferty's "Six Wakes," this is the locked room mystery for you. Not very cozy, but very smart, very fun, and action-packed, with fantastic characterization.
I was going to rate it 4 stars, but things keep popping into my mind that make the story so smart, so deeply human, so fantastically speculative, that I've got to bump it to 5 stars.
The ship's AI continues to run rampant, the robots meant to sweep the halls are bloodthirsty, and the captain may or may not be hallucinating the wolf that's rambling through the halls. It's a proper locked room mystery that slowly unrolls itself for the reader, mixed with the high stakes work of keeping the floundering ship from destroying itself around them. All is not as it seems and it's a fantastic ride the whole time.
Great worldbuilding in how it depicts a futuristic world where Earth is still our anchor planet but humans are spreading across the galaxy and still somehow caught up in the machinations of the rich and powerful and the gatekeepers, both literal and figurative.
If you, like me, have recently picked up Kowal's "The Spare Man" and Lafferty's "Six Wakes," this is the locked room mystery for you. Not very cozy, but very smart, very fun, and action-packed, with fantastic characterization.
I was going to rate it 4 stars, but things keep popping into my mind that make the story so smart, so deeply human, so fantastically speculative, that I've got to bump it to 5 stars.
This novel starts out incredibly brutally and violently, with the discovery of dozens of dead bodies aboard a ship making an interplanetary transport of people in suspended animation. Captain Michelle Campion awakens at the end of ten years to find a ship in disarray, and must discover the perpetrator while keeping the remaining passengers safe. Oh, and there's a giant wolf that shows up. The story weaves in themes of interstellar colonialism and resource exploitation, but ultimately the "whodunnit" falls short with an unsatisfying reveal.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I wanted to like this book more than I did, but I really struggled especially at the beginning. It was a quick read, but I was confused in the first 30% of the book about a lot of stuff and was missing a lot of detail. I hate when books throw in new terms and don't take the time to clearly indicate via context clues what they mean, and I felt like this book did that quite a bit. As the plot got going, I definitely feel like I got more into it, especially as things slowly became more clear later in the book.
Speaking of plot, I love the idea of an AI going rogue. It's not an original idea, but it's a fun one, and I haven't read a ton of books with this premise even though I know they're out there. I really enjoyed thinking about the implications of being stuck on a ship where the AI controls everything while it's also actively trying to kill you and how difficult that would be to survive or deal with. It makes me think of self-driving cars, tbh lol. I also enjoyed reading from the perspective of the antagonist and how that whole situation led to the AI going rogue. Eventually, that sort of became the only interesting bit to me because the protagonists were just sort of blah, especiallythe idea of an AI doing whatever it took to complete its objective, even at the cost of killing random civilians because it was "necessary for the mission .
But what I enjoyed with the plot, I felt like the characters were super lacking. There wasn't really any development and I didn't really care about any of the characters too much. The description of the aliens and their deal went way over my head and tbh, the author just couldn't get me to care enough to figure it out because the writing was so convoluted and meandering overall. Sometimes, things felt like they were written in a bit stream of consciousness fashion, which I hate, and a bunch of stuff could have been cut from this book and it wouldn't have mattered.
Of note, a lot of people seemed to have disliked the ending and felt that it was too abrupt, but I did actually like the ending. They figured out who was behind the rogue AI, killed the bad guy, and covered how everyone got out (or didn't get out) of the situation they were in. Seems like a good ending to me. Just because it wasn't an ending where everything was perfectly tied up doesn't mean that it didn't work as an ending, and I liked that it ended on a bit of a downer because this whole book was a downer. This book clearly was written to illustrate the danger of both capitalism, accumulating wealth, and revenge being taken too far, but it didn't really stir my feelings about any of the above.
Speaking of plot, I love the idea of an AI going rogue. It's not an original idea, but it's a fun one, and I haven't read a ton of books with this premise even though I know they're out there. I really enjoyed thinking about the implications of being stuck on a ship where the AI controls everything while it's also actively trying to kill you and how difficult that would be to survive or deal with. It makes me think of self-driving cars, tbh lol. I also enjoyed reading from the perspective of the antagonist and how that whole situation led to the AI going rogue. Eventually, that sort of became the only interesting bit to me because the protagonists were just sort of blah, especially
But what I enjoyed with the plot, I felt like the characters were super lacking. There wasn't really any development and I didn't really care about any of the characters too much. The description of the aliens and their deal went way over my head and tbh, the author just couldn't get me to care enough to figure it out because the writing was so convoluted and meandering overall. Sometimes, things felt like they were written in a bit stream of consciousness fashion, which I hate, and a bunch of stuff could have been cut from this book and it wouldn't have mattered.
Of note, a lot of people seemed to have disliked the ending and felt that it was too abrupt, but I did actually like the ending. They figured out who was behind the rogue AI, killed the bad guy, and covered how everyone got out (or didn't get out) of the situation they were in. Seems like a good ending to me. Just because it wasn't an ending where everything was perfectly tied up doesn't mean that it didn't work as an ending, and I liked that it ended on a bit of a downer because this whole book was a downer. This book clearly was written to illustrate the danger of both capitalism, accumulating wealth, and revenge being taken too far, but it didn't really stir my feelings about any of the above.
Really impressed with this, but expect no less from Tade Thompson. This is speculative fiction at it's best, a murder mystery in space, with some unsettling AI and robot tech, and the kind of gruesome detail that is signature Thompson.
This is science fiction where the story comes first, it isn't bogged down by too much factual accuracy which often weights sci-fi down. It also feels a little space-opera yet isn't - it's a murder mystery in an enclosed space, and where more enclosed and dangerous a space than, well, Space.
It's Shell Champion's first mission, so nerves and pressure reign, especially when she wakes from the ten year sleep necessary to fly the journey to find that somehow thirty plus of her sleeping passengers have been murdered.
Fin is sent from nearby mining colony Bloodroot to investigate the gruesome affair, along with synthetic partner Salvo, and the trio make some terrifying discoveries.
Add to that an unauthorised rescue mission by Shell's 'Uncle' Lawrence Biz and his daughter Joké, and the sighting of a wolf on board with no knowledge of how it got there, plus the murder of this universe's very own 'Jeff bezos' space tech entrepreneur, the story unfolds with plenty of twists and turns and inevitable dangers of being trapped in a space ship nearing destruction.
The kind of book you stay up all night trying to finish!
Also included is an afterword by Thompson; he says that he feels it the afterword is required then it means the book has failed but I disagree, I like to read a little extra context - particularly hearing where he drew his inspiration from and some of the extra facts about space travel and the pressure it puts on human beings, and the psychological issues that arise really added to the experience of reading this book.
This is science fiction where the story comes first, it isn't bogged down by too much factual accuracy which often weights sci-fi down. It also feels a little space-opera yet isn't - it's a murder mystery in an enclosed space, and where more enclosed and dangerous a space than, well, Space.
It's Shell Champion's first mission, so nerves and pressure reign, especially when she wakes from the ten year sleep necessary to fly the journey to find that somehow thirty plus of her sleeping passengers have been murdered.
Fin is sent from nearby mining colony Bloodroot to investigate the gruesome affair, along with synthetic partner Salvo, and the trio make some terrifying discoveries.
Add to that an unauthorised rescue mission by Shell's 'Uncle' Lawrence Biz and his daughter Joké, and the sighting of a wolf on board with no knowledge of how it got there, plus the murder of this universe's very own 'Jeff bezos' space tech entrepreneur, the story unfolds with plenty of twists and turns and inevitable dangers of being trapped in a space ship nearing destruction.
The kind of book you stay up all night trying to finish!
Also included is an afterword by Thompson; he says that he feels it the afterword is required then it means the book has failed but I disagree, I like to read a little extra context - particularly hearing where he drew his inspiration from and some of the extra facts about space travel and the pressure it puts on human beings, and the psychological issues that arise really added to the experience of reading this book.
This book has so many intrigues I like in the sci-fi genre, a mystery, aliens, AI, weird creatures, the list goes on!
I picked this book up from the used section of a local indie, never heard of it before, and it was such a great surprise! The murder mystery gripped me, the cast was charming, and the world-building was stellar! It's so refreshing to see a Black author insert some Afro-futurism into a sci-fi world that echoes more mainstream depictions resulting in a very nice blend of cultures. The cast is very likable with many prominent Black characters and a lead heroine that is both strong and vulnerable at the same time.
I only wished the ending had a little bit more time to rest and marinate in the build-up for the supporting cast, but the journey for the lead was wrapped up very well and is satisfying.
I picked this book up from the used section of a local indie, never heard of it before, and it was such a great surprise! The murder mystery gripped me, the cast was charming, and the world-building was stellar! It's so refreshing to see a Black author insert some Afro-futurism into a sci-fi world that echoes more mainstream depictions resulting in a very nice blend of cultures. The cast is very likable with many prominent Black characters and a lead heroine that is both strong and vulnerable at the same time.
I only wished the ending had a little bit more time to rest and marinate in the build-up for the supporting cast, but the journey for the lead was wrapped up very well and is satisfying.
Probably would have gone for 3.5 if I could. An interesting read, very different from the Rosewater trilogy. Overall the plot and story line were good, the characters were interesting but not developed as much as I would have liked, I felt I was always wanting to know a bit more about background and motivation for individual characters but the book just didn’t get to that depth. At the end, it felt like the big reveal had far too much squeezed in, and some of those key elements should have been introduced a bit earlier in the book. I suspect part of what he was going for was the element of surprise, with the reader finding out what was going on at exactly the same time as the main characters, but it just fell a little short for me. Definitely a page turner, and an interesting reality it’s set in with the Lagos space station, the bridge and non-conflict in space. Space murder mystery is quite new to me as a genre, and I enjoyed Tade’s take on it overall. Hope we will see more from these characters.
really enjoyed the world building but felt incredibly underwhelming. didn’t feel invested in fin/joké and really thought the one line in the beginning referred to a potential romance between shell and joké. (slamming fist on the table) i want to see more from this universe and these characters! i think this book could have been so much more than what it was
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wanted to like this because I love horrible things happening on spaceships, but Far From the Light of Heaven really left so little impression on me. Really "go girl give us nothing" as a book for me.
To start with, I just didn't connect with the characters at all, for a few reasons: the writing felt flat and like it kept me at a distance from the story itself, we're just handed a couple of pieces of background for each of them without really getting any compelling demonstrations of how it shapes their motivations, and most of all we just kept getting new POVs throughout and skipping around too much for me to really care about anyone. Despite being the main character, Shell really felt like such a minor part of the story and I never really got into her head the way I would've loved. Another big problem for me is that this book isn't just unsatisfying as a space-survival story, because I didn't care about any of the characters enough to worry about them dying, but it also fails as a murder mystery in my opinion. The whole point of a mystery is trying to solve it as a reader myself, or at the very least get to have a moment of satisfaction when all these separate pieces come together in a cohesive conclusion, and that is NOT what we got here.What do you MEAN the murderer is some completely random guy we've literally never met before this??? His reasons for being there are pretty interesting, but they're just dropped in through his point of view pretty late in the book, without exploring it fully or feeling like it really even mattered.
So much of the writing in this book just felt flat and distant and I just couldn't get into it. Another issue was the worldbuilding. There were a lot of cool elements thrown in, like the androids, aliens, the released wildlife all over the ship, the Lagos space station itself--but none of these were given enough detail or exploration. This is just my issue as a reader, but I DO want a bunch of paragraphs on how space plants work or what daily life looks like on the giant space station, and we got some technical detail but not in the way I wanted. Also, it really just felt like things kept happening to the characters without them driving the plot.
I know lots of people love this author's work, and he has a really interesting concept here, but so many different elements of this book fell flat for me. I was reading it to be finished with it and not because I wanted to be reading it.
To start with, I just didn't connect with the characters at all, for a few reasons: the writing felt flat and like it kept me at a distance from the story itself, we're just handed a couple of pieces of background for each of them without really getting any compelling demonstrations of how it shapes their motivations, and most of all we just kept getting new POVs throughout and skipping around too much for me to really care about anyone. Despite being the main character, Shell really felt like such a minor part of the story and I never really got into her head the way I would've loved. Another big problem for me is that this book isn't just unsatisfying as a space-survival story, because I didn't care about any of the characters enough to worry about them dying, but it also fails as a murder mystery in my opinion. The whole point of a mystery is trying to solve it as a reader myself, or at the very least get to have a moment of satisfaction when all these separate pieces come together in a cohesive conclusion, and that is NOT what we got here.
So much of the writing in this book just felt flat and distant and I just couldn't get into it. Another issue was the worldbuilding. There were a lot of cool elements thrown in, like the androids, aliens, the released wildlife all over the ship, the Lagos space station itself--but none of these were given enough detail or exploration. This is just my issue as a reader, but I DO want a bunch of paragraphs on how space plants work or what daily life looks like on the giant space station, and we got some technical detail but not in the way I wanted. Also, it really just felt like things kept happening to the characters without them driving the plot.
I know lots of people love this author's work, and he has a really interesting concept here, but so many different elements of this book fell flat for me. I was reading it to be finished with it and not because I wanted to be reading it.