Look at me, branching out, trying new things, being a courageous genre adenturer(tm)! Anyhoo. As my “break” from romance extends itself into a full-on hiatus, I now present you with three reviews for various books that feature Space Ships and Aliens!
Title: Six Wakes Author: Mur Lafferty
Published: January 31, 2017
Genre(s): Science Fiction
Page Count: 364
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:A space adventure set on a lone ship where the clones of a murdered crew must find their murderer -- before they kill again.
It was not common to awaken in a cloning vat streaked with drying blood.
At least, Maria Arena had never experienced it. She had no memory of how she died. That was also new; before, when she had awakened as a new clone, her first memory was of how she died.
Maria's vat was in the front of six vats, each one holding the clone of a crew member of the starship Dormire, each clone waiting for its previous incarnation to die so it could awaken. And Maria wasn't the only one to die recently...
Overall, Six Wakes was a super engrossing closed-room murder mystery set on a spaceship. I genuinely love mysteries where I have no idea where things are headed and each new tidbit of information is completely surprising. Even though the plot takes place entirely onboard a ship, Lafferty takes time to explore an interesting future world full of clones and endless ethical/legal implications.
I would agree with others that at the end of the day, the execution of things got a bit haphazard towards the end, and I wonder if the author was going for a comedic/campy vibe but couldn’t quite grasp it? In any case, I nevertheless found that everything was wrapped up satisfactorily. And, again, the world-building was great.
Title: The Luminous Dead Author: Caitlin Starling
Published: April 2, 2019
Genre(s): Science Fiction
Page Count: 432
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she’d be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She also thought that the fat paycheck—enough to get her off-planet and on the trail of her mother—meant she’d get a skilled surface team, monitoring her suit and environment, keeping her safe. Keeping her sane.
Instead, she got Em.
Em sees nothing wrong with controlling Gyre’s body with drugs or withholding critical information to “ensure the smooth operation” of her expedition. Em knows all about Gyre’s falsified credentials, and has no qualms using them as a leash—and a lash. And Em has secrets, too . . .
As Gyre descends, little inconsistencies—missing supplies, unexpected changes in the route, and, worst of all, shifts in Em’s motivations—drive her out of her depths. Lost and disoriented, Gyre finds her sense of control giving way to paranoia and anger. On her own in this mysterious, deadly place, surrounded by darkness and the unknown, Gyre must overcome more than just the dangerous terrain and the Tunneler which calls underground its home if she wants to make it out alive—she must confront the ghosts in her own head.
But how come she can't shake the feeling she’s being followed?
If you’ve ever wanted to experience the film The Descent, but with a subtle, psychological menace rather than jump-scare monsters, boy do I have the book for you! The Luminous Dead is pretty much exactly what it sounds like on the tin: Gyre is a desperate person trying to explore a deadly cave, and her only contact with the outside world is her “handler,” Em, who seems to have…a lot of secrets.
This book is phenomenally good! I never would have thought that a book with literally two characters (who don’t even meet IRL), trapped in a pitch-black cave system would be so enthralling, but it was.
To be fair, things kind of backslid a little towards the end, where I think the author doesn’t close all of the gaps opened by the creepy/unreliable nature of the setting. I don’t mind when things are left open-ended, but there were a couple of key points that really had me thinking “huh? is that a plot hole?”
But, okay. If you’re interested in reading a book about smol, secretive, ANGRY lesbians trying to trust each other in spite of a huuuuge complicated mess, then this is the book for YOU. Also features: giant tunneling alien cave worms (think The Empire Strikes Back).
Title: Strange Love Series: Galactic Love #1
Author: Ann Aguirre
Published: January 15, 2020
Genre(s): Romance: Science Fiction & Fantasy
Page Count: 275
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:Zylar of Kith Balak is a four-time loser in the annual Choosing. If he fails to find a nest guardian this time, he'll lose his chance to have a mate for all time. Desperation drives him to try a matching service but due to a freak solar flare and a severely malfunctioning ship AI, things go way off course. This 'human being' is not the Tiralan match he was looking for.
Beryl Bowman's mother always said she'd never get married. She should have added a rider about the husband being human. Who would have ever thought that working at the Sunshine Angel daycare center would offer such interstellar prestige? She doesn't know what the hell's going on, but a new life awaits on Barath Colony, where she can have any alien bachelor she wants.
They agree to join the Choosing together, but love is about to get seriously strange.
This book is so…wholesome? Very sweet, very kind alien guy accidentally abducts a human woman, and he feels terrible about it. But they do end up competing in the alien version of The Bachelor together and slowly win each other’s trust and affection.
I’m used to alien romances being all rah-rah alpha master dominance, etc., but instead we have here this absolute cinnamon roll guy who is so deeply honored and touched that his love interest wants to share a bed with him?
Stop. It is too pure! *sniffles*
AWwww, the Ann Guirre book sounds really great. I haven’t read anything by her yet! And I’m delighted that you liked Caitlin Starling’s book. I feel like that one kinda sailed under the radar when it came out, but I found it like, bottomlessly terrifying. I can’t wait for her next book.