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A review by azrah786
Persephone Station by Stina Leicht
3.5
[This full review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I was provided with an ARC through netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, gore, gun violence, murder, war, death, medical procedures
A fun and fresh take on the genre with much to love but not without its flaws.
Set on a backwater planet, Persephone Station primarily follows a band of mercenaries under contract with a criminal boss. A particular job that they undergo puts them head to head with a corrupt Earther corporation who are hell-bent on exploiting the planets resources and eradicating its native species - The Emissaries, who want nothing more than to remain discrete from the rest of the universe.
There is also a secondary storyline following a character who finds themselves on the planet after following a distress call that only they can hear.
Action packed, this is a Space Opera-Western mashup that has a cinematic feel to it. In fact what caught my attention about this book to begin with was how it was described to have an air of Cowboy Bebop, Firefly and The Mandalorian and I’d say the vibes are definitely there.
It is very much a plot-driven story with intriguing political commentary and a cast of characters that you can’t help but get attached to. However, I do feel like the story could have maybe benefitted from being split into more than one book.
A slow and slightly info-dumpy beginning sets the story off, giving you a feel for the boisterous weather of another world and immersing you right into the noir city scene of West Brynner, but you have to push through a good 40% of the book before things really start to get interesting. Not only that, the world-building doesn’t really expand further than Persephone. Other than giving an insight on the political side of things and the United Republic of Worlds being name dropped a handful of times, we learn hardly anything about the rest of this universe. This wasn’t exactly a bad thing, it’s just that you’re left wanting more!
Furthermore though the two storylines weave and intersect one another perfectly, it did feel like there was a little too much going on so at times the story felt a little rushed and it was a case of more telling rather than showing with the action. A particularly gripping section towards the end where some big reveals occurred was wrapped up so quickly compared to other events in the book and I just wish it had had more page time.
However, there were so much to love about this book too! The sci-fi elements were exciting and well researched particularly when it came to The Emissariesand the discussions and ethics around artificial intelligence. I absolutely loved the main cast of characters who were all either female or non-binary. Each of them, despite having again a sort of info-dumpy introduction, was beautifully nuanced and their relationships and interactions with one another added both great humour and so much emotion to the narrative. I was personally a big fan of Angel de la Reza who sort of reminded me of Bobby Draper from The Expanse.
So my feelings are slightly conflicted but all in all I'd say this book is a solid Sci-Fi debut and I’d probably be interested if the author ever decided to return to this universe.
Final Rating – 3.5/5 Stars
**I was provided with an ARC through netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, gore, gun violence, murder, war, death, medical procedures
A fun and fresh take on the genre with much to love but not without its flaws.
Set on a backwater planet, Persephone Station primarily follows a band of mercenaries under contract with a criminal boss. A particular job that they undergo puts them head to head with a corrupt Earther corporation who are hell-bent on exploiting the planets resources and eradicating its native species - The Emissaries, who want nothing more than to remain discrete from the rest of the universe.
There is also a secondary storyline following a character who finds themselves on the planet after following a distress call that only they can hear.
Action packed, this is a Space Opera-Western mashup that has a cinematic feel to it. In fact what caught my attention about this book to begin with was how it was described to have an air of Cowboy Bebop, Firefly and The Mandalorian and I’d say the vibes are definitely there.
It is very much a plot-driven story with intriguing political commentary and a cast of characters that you can’t help but get attached to. However, I do feel like the story could have maybe benefitted from being split into more than one book.
A slow and slightly info-dumpy beginning sets the story off, giving you a feel for the boisterous weather of another world and immersing you right into the noir city scene of West Brynner, but you have to push through a good 40% of the book before things really start to get interesting. Not only that, the world-building doesn’t really expand further than Persephone. Other than giving an insight on the political side of things and the United Republic of Worlds being name dropped a handful of times, we learn hardly anything about the rest of this universe. This wasn’t exactly a bad thing, it’s just that you’re left wanting more!
Furthermore though the two storylines weave and intersect one another perfectly, it did feel like there was a little too much going on so at times the story felt a little rushed and it was a case of more telling rather than showing with the action. A particularly gripping section towards the end where some big reveals occurred was wrapped up so quickly compared to other events in the book and I just wish it had had more page time.
However, there were so much to love about this book too! The sci-fi elements were exciting and well researched particularly when it came to The Emissariesand the discussions and ethics around artificial intelligence. I absolutely loved the main cast of characters who were all either female or non-binary. Each of them, despite having again a sort of info-dumpy introduction, was beautifully nuanced and their relationships and interactions with one another added both great humour and so much emotion to the narrative. I was personally a big fan of Angel de la Reza who sort of reminded me of Bobby Draper from The Expanse.
So my feelings are slightly conflicted but all in all I'd say this book is a solid Sci-Fi debut and I’d probably be interested if the author ever decided to return to this universe.
Final Rating – 3.5/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Animal death, Death, Gore, and Medical content