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A review by willrefuge
Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty
3.0
6.5 / 10 ✪
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2022/10/02/station-eternity-by-mur-lafferty-review/
Mallory Viridian is a walking death-trap. For as long as she can remember, death has followed her, often striking those closest. Her first kiss, her first boyfriend, her college professor, even her uncle. Adjacent to three deaths in her early years, Mallory solved her first murder shortly after, a crime that baffled the police.
But detectives were not impressed. Soon, Mallory was a suspect in not only that murder, but an entire string of them—some even going so far as to accuse her of being a serial killer. While she continued to solve these murders, it did little to help her case.
After one particularly bizarre and traumatic double-murder, Mallory had had enough. She left Earth behind, seeking asylum aboard Station Eternity, a sentient space-station not far from Sol. A station that bans humans. Her plan: to stay as far away from other humans as possible; if she’s not near them, they won’t die.
When the station agrees to allow human visitors, Mallory is nearly catatonic. But before she can run, a tragedy befalls the human shuttle prior to its arrival. And when the survivors are finally brought aboard, bodies continue to drop. Not to mention Eternity, who’s in the middle of a full-blown panic attack. And Mallory must rush to solve this case before humans and aliens alike are killed.
—
“It’s a small base. Shouldn’t be too hard to find that guy who ran.”
“Yeah… this is the part you’re really going to hate,” Mallory said, wincing. She’d been trying to figure out how to drop this bit of information, and she hadn’t come up with a good opener, so she just told him,” You won’t find him. He’s been abducted by aliens.”
—
Six Wakes was one of my favorite releases of 2017—a mystery set aboard a vessel in the depths of space, where a murdered crew must find the perpetrator before they kill again. Five years later, Station Eternity aims to replicate its success, to nominal results.
See, Six Wakes succeeded because it was isolated, claustrophobic, and tense. A classic whodunnit, with a twist: clones, spaceships, and a secret worth dying for. Likewise, Station Eternity is a whodunnit, with a different twist. Mallory knows where the murders will happen—after all, they follow her around—she just doesn’t know when, or why they do so. And in solving one, she just might discover it all.
But it’s not only the setup that has changed between these two stories, but also the tone. Where Six Wakes was tense and thrilling, Station Eternity attempts to be light and comedic. At least, at first. Later it has a go at introducing some tension, to mixed results. Neither did the tone immerse sell me on this, not the way the author’s earlier works managed. That said, it’s still an entertaining mystery. The setting is interesting—a sentient space-station in a universe that is still wary of humanity—as is the the mystery. And while nothing is as simple as it seems, neither is it as immersive. While I enjoyed the characters, I didn’t love the conflicting threads. While I liked the mystery, I didn’t love the plot. And when it all came together, I’d argue that everything was just too convenient, too readily explained—in the way that only sentient space-stations and hive minds can get away with.
Additionally, there was one remaining loose end to this mystery, one that annoyed me upon reaching the final wrap-up. It was (probably) a meaningless detail, but still—if you’re going to explain everything else via a hive mind, it makes no sense to overlook this.
TL;DR
As much as it pains me to admit, Station Eternity and Six Wakes are just two different beasts. While I loved the latter, the former filled me with mostly indifference. The most recent Lafferty release attempts a different tone, a wider setting, a less immersive experience but with on a grander scale. And it… I guess kinda works? An entertaining read, if not an amazing one. A decent mystery, if not a repeat of the last one. All in all, Station Eternity ends up being a little meh, much to my disappointment.
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2022/10/02/station-eternity-by-mur-lafferty-review/
Mallory Viridian is a walking death-trap. For as long as she can remember, death has followed her, often striking those closest. Her first kiss, her first boyfriend, her college professor, even her uncle. Adjacent to three deaths in her early years, Mallory solved her first murder shortly after, a crime that baffled the police.
But detectives were not impressed. Soon, Mallory was a suspect in not only that murder, but an entire string of them—some even going so far as to accuse her of being a serial killer. While she continued to solve these murders, it did little to help her case.
After one particularly bizarre and traumatic double-murder, Mallory had had enough. She left Earth behind, seeking asylum aboard Station Eternity, a sentient space-station not far from Sol. A station that bans humans. Her plan: to stay as far away from other humans as possible; if she’s not near them, they won’t die.
When the station agrees to allow human visitors, Mallory is nearly catatonic. But before she can run, a tragedy befalls the human shuttle prior to its arrival. And when the survivors are finally brought aboard, bodies continue to drop. Not to mention Eternity, who’s in the middle of a full-blown panic attack. And Mallory must rush to solve this case before humans and aliens alike are killed.
—
“It’s a small base. Shouldn’t be too hard to find that guy who ran.”
“Yeah… this is the part you’re really going to hate,” Mallory said, wincing. She’d been trying to figure out how to drop this bit of information, and she hadn’t come up with a good opener, so she just told him,” You won’t find him. He’s been abducted by aliens.”
—
Six Wakes was one of my favorite releases of 2017—a mystery set aboard a vessel in the depths of space, where a murdered crew must find the perpetrator before they kill again. Five years later, Station Eternity aims to replicate its success, to nominal results.
See, Six Wakes succeeded because it was isolated, claustrophobic, and tense. A classic whodunnit, with a twist: clones, spaceships, and a secret worth dying for. Likewise, Station Eternity is a whodunnit, with a different twist. Mallory knows where the murders will happen—after all, they follow her around—she just doesn’t know when, or why they do so. And in solving one, she just might discover it all.
But it’s not only the setup that has changed between these two stories, but also the tone. Where Six Wakes was tense and thrilling, Station Eternity attempts to be light and comedic. At least, at first. Later it has a go at introducing some tension, to mixed results. Neither did the tone immerse sell me on this, not the way the author’s earlier works managed. That said, it’s still an entertaining mystery. The setting is interesting—a sentient space-station in a universe that is still wary of humanity—as is the the mystery. And while nothing is as simple as it seems, neither is it as immersive. While I enjoyed the characters, I didn’t love the conflicting threads. While I liked the mystery, I didn’t love the plot. And when it all came together, I’d argue that everything was just too convenient, too readily explained—in the way that only sentient space-stations and hive minds can get away with.
Additionally, there was one remaining loose end to this mystery, one that annoyed me upon reaching the final wrap-up. It was (probably) a meaningless detail, but still—if you’re going to explain everything else via a hive mind, it makes no sense to overlook this.
TL;DR
As much as it pains me to admit, Station Eternity and Six Wakes are just two different beasts. While I loved the latter, the former filled me with mostly indifference. The most recent Lafferty release attempts a different tone, a wider setting, a less immersive experience but with on a grander scale. And it… I guess kinda works? An entertaining read, if not an amazing one. A decent mystery, if not a repeat of the last one. All in all, Station Eternity ends up being a little meh, much to my disappointment.