Far From the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson
| Far From the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson | |
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| Category: Science Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Alex Mitchell
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| Summary: A gripping science fiction murder mystery featuring a realistic, well-researched setting, excellent characters, and a little bit of Afro-spiritualism for some added freshness. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Maybe |
| Pages: 400 | Date: October 2021 |
| Publisher: Orbit | |
| ISBN: 978-0356514321 | |
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Michelle 'Shell' Campion is fulfilling her lifelong dream of going to space. As first officer aboard the sleeper ship Ragtime, bound for the world of Bloodroot, she will essentially be a babysitter for the ship's AI captain. However, when she wakes up at the end of her trip to find dozens of her passengers butchered and the Ragtime's AI almost non-responsive, she begins to realise that her first mission won't be going as smoothly as she hoped it would. Down on Bloodroot, disgraced investigator Rasheed Fin and his android partner Salvo are sent up to discover exactly what went wrong on the Ragtime. Meanwhile, former astronaut and friend of Shell's father Lawrence Biz takes a shuttle to Bloodroot, half-alien daughter in tow, to see why the Ragtime has gone quiet, leaving behind the politicking and bureaucracy of Space Station Lagos. What the five of them discover on the Ragtime has ramifications not just for Bloodroot, but potentially the entirety of human space…
This is not really a space opera, despite the prevalence of FTL travel, colonies on other planets and at least one intelligent alien race (although, as the book goes on, it might not be so alien after all). It's closer to a locked-room murder mystery aboard what is essentially a mobile version of the ISS. It works well at both the mystery aspect and the science fiction aspects. My only real issue with the way the book is written is the fact that it's written in the present tense with a lot of short, choppy sentences. I almost want to describe it as 'third-person stream-of-consciousness', which did take some getting used to. Originally, I thought that the writing style was a clue that was eventually going to lead up to some major revelation, but no, it's just the way Thompson chose to write the book.
The characters in the story are what really drive the plot along. Thompson admits in an afterword that Shell is a combination of both his own experiences starting out as a medical student (he even states that her surname comes from the hospital ward he used to work on) as well as the training and disposition of a lot of astronauts. That combination of personal experience and research really shines through in the writing and makes Shell seem so much more real. Lawrence is a former astronaut himself and, from what I've seen of former astronauts, he really acts and talks like one. Also, the bond between Shell and Lawrence (whom she calls 'Uncle Larry') is well-written and believable, adding a human touch to the story that was much appreciated. Although the action is not just limited to the characters aboard the Ragtime, there are some chapters from the point of view of the government of Space Station Lagos, specifically Secretary Beko and her adjutant Awe, which offer another perspective on the plot from a much more distant perspective, with them having to deal with the political fallout of the deaths aboard the Ragtime. Overall, the characters are well-written, with that element of personal experience making them seem just that bit more real, and each show a different perspective on the story.
The book has obviously been extensively researched. The Ragtime itself is partially based off the International Space Station in terms of its more modular structure and being an exclusively orbital platform. In the afterword Thompson admits he had to cut plenty of stuff out of the book for the sake of preserving the narrative, which certainly goes to show how dedicated he was to present the setting accurately. Thompson does also mix in some more African inspired elements into the setting, which is an interesting touch. For example, the colonies on Bloodroot are designed to harmonise with nature instead of dominating it, and they limit the number of satellites to prevent space debris from becoming too much of a problem. Even the Lambers, the resident alien species, seem to take elements from Yoruba ideas on life after death. Overall, it is a familiar space-opera setting, but the elements of Thompson's own cultural heritage add in some rather refreshing touches that helps to differentiate it from other SF works.
Overall, Thompson's first foray into space adventure is a strong one, well-researched and smartly written, with elements of his own personal experience and cultural heritage adding enough freshness and realism to it to set it apart from other similar works.
Similar books by other authors:
Rosewater by Tade Thompson – Some of the author's previous work.
The Library of the Dead by T L Huchu – another piece of mystery speculative fiction with some Afro-spiritualist elements.
You could get a free audio download of Far From the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson with a 30-day Audible free trial at Amazon.co.uk.
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