Far from the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson

'Gripping and skilfully told, with an economy and freshness of approach that is all Tade Thompson's own. The setting is interstellar, but it feels as real, immediate and lethal as today's headlines' Alastair Reynolds Arthur C. Clarke Award winner Tade Thompson makes a triumphant return to science fiction with this unforgettable vision of humanity's future in the chilling emptiness of space. The colony ship Ragtime docks in the Lagos system, having travelled light years from home to bring one thousand sleeping souls to safety among the stars. Some of the sleepers, however, will never wake - and a profound and sinister mystery unfolds aboard the gigantic vessel. Its skeleton crew are forced to make decisions that will have repercussions for all of humanity's settlements - from the scheming politicians of Lagos station, to the colony planet of Bloodroot, to other far flung systems and indeed Earth itself. 'A gripping space opera with characters fighting for their lives aboard a dying starship. I enjoyed it so much and can't wait to see what Thompson does next' Martha Wells, author of the Murderbot Diaries 'Simultaneously brutally grounded and wildly imaginative' Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time 'Perfectly balances inspired universe building with both high-octane action and emotional depth' Big Issue 'Readers looking for a smart sci-fi mystery should snap this up' Publishers Weekly 'First-rate space opera from one of the genre's most exciting voices' Gareth L. Powell 'Tade Thompson is a writer of enormous heart and talent. Just brilliant' Dave Hutchinson

This is the best “not good” book that I actually wanted to finish. It's weird, it has all the ingredients of an awesome sci-fi story but it just kind of misses the mark.

The action sequences were not super well described, the sci-fi concepts were neat at a surface level but not well explored, and the murder mystery angle kind of just meanders along without a compelling conclusion. It felt like ideas, characters and plotlines were casually introduced and discarded and then the book ends.

It might click with other people, but if you're not super into it by the first chunk it doesn't really get better.

Pros: interesting characters, great world-building, unique

Cons:

AIs fly ships, and AIs have never failed in flight.

When first mate Michelle ‘Shell' Campion is woken after the last bridge-jump to the Bloodroot colony, 10 years into her mission, she finds the starship Ragtime's AI reduced to its basic operating system and 31 colonists missing from their sleeping pods. This is not the way the now acting captain foresaw her first mission going.

Bloodroot sends an investigator in answer to Shell's distress call to find out what's happening on the quarantined ship, but murder is just the start of the mysteries he uncovers there.

The world-building is great. While most of the action takes place on Ragtime, I loved Lagos station and learning about the Lambers. I also appreciated that the human characters were considerate towards the AI, even asking what pronouns they prefer.

The plot begins with the mystery of how the colonists died, but that's quickly overshadowed by the weirdest series of events as things on Ragtime quickly spiral out of control. You're not going to figure out ‘who dunnit', or foresee any of the other twists that come completely out of left field, but the ending explains why everything happened, which I greatly appreciated.

The pacing can be on the slow side at times, reflecting the actualities of space travel and communication. Having said that, the characters never have enough time to solve a problem before the next one comes up, making the story feel claustrophobic, rushed, and tense.

The characters are intriguing and unusual. Shell is calm and collected even under the worst pressure. Fin hates space though he's excited to be practicing his trade again after screwing up his last assignment. Joké is... unique and kind of fun.

This is a different kind of science fiction novel, something the author mentions in an afterword at the end of the book. So if you want something outside the norm give this a try.