I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Far From the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson Published by Orbit on October 26 2021
Genres: Adult, Science fiction
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
The nitty-gritty: A locked room murder mystery on a spaceship is just one element in this carefully layered and thoroughly entertaining futuristic thriller.
Far From the Light of Heaven was one of my most anticipated 2021 SF books, especially since I’m a big fan of Tade Thompson, and it did not disappoint. This is a thrilling locked room mystery set in space, ambitious in scope but intimate in character development. I’ve been lucky enough to read a lot of great SF this year, and I was pleased at how different this felt from the others. It’s hard to find new ideas in fiction these days, but Thompson’s story feels fresh and unique. There is a lot to unpack in this sprawling tale, an intricately constructed puzzle whose pieces eventually snap into place.
The story alternates among several main characters who are all in different locations (that’s the “ambitious in scope” part). First we have Michelle “Shell” Campion, a young woman in her twenties whose lifelong desire to go to space is finally being realized. Shell has been offered the chance to accompany a thousand colonists to the planet of Bloodroot as Captain of the Ragtime. The job isn’t that exciting, but Shell doesn’t care. The journey will take ten years there and another ten back, and Shell and her fellow travellers will be asleep for the entire trip. The ship’s AI will fly the ship and keep the passengers safe by monitoring their lifesigns. Along the way, the Ragtime will make a couple of maintenance stops, the last one being the space station Lagos, which lies in orbit above Bloodroot. The trip should be routine, because as everyone knows, a ship’s AI never fails.
On Bloodroot, we meet disgraced detective Rasheed Fin, who lost his job after an incident with an alien life form known as the Lamber. Fin’s boss has intercepted a distress call from the Ragtime, stating that there have been “multiple fatalities” aboard the ship. Fin agrees to investigate, and heads out on a shuttle accompanied by an Artificial named Salvo.
Finally, on the space station Lagos, Governor Lawrence Biz finds out about the distress call from Secretary Beko, who is determined to close the loop on Lagos’s responsibility for the Ragtime, a political maneuver that will absolve them of any blame, since the Ragtime is still technically in Lagos space. When Lawrence finds out that the Captain is none other than Michelle Campion, daughter of his good friend Hal, Lawrence knows he needs to get to her ship to help out, even though he isn’t authorized to do so.
Fin, Salvo, Lawrence and his daughter Joké, who insisted on coming along, all converge on the Ragtime, only to discover that thirty-one of the one thousand colonists are missing, and it doesn’t take long to find their bodies. But after close inspection, they realize that two bodies can’t be accounted for. Could one of them be the killer? Or is something more nefarious going on? The clock is ticking, especially when Shell realizes the ship’s AI is trying to prevent them from getting off the ship alive.
The story slowly unfolds as the author jumps back and forth from the Ragtime to Bloodroot to Lagos, each perspective giving the reader new information. I loved this method of storytelling, because it creates so much tension and is also a great way to show the vast scope of the story.
My favorite parts of Far From the Light of Heaven were the scenes on the Ragtime, as Shell, Fin, Lawrence, Salvo and Joké first try to solve the murders, and later realize they’re fighting for their lives as everything that can go wrong on the ship, does go wrong. This is not only a locked room mystery but a survival story, and boy was it exciting! I don’t want to give anything important away, but I will say that the crew encounters masses of insects, killer bots, alien fungi, mutilated bodies, and a rogue wolf (yes, that’s the wolf on the cover!) just to name some of the dangers. Later in the story the ship’s life support systems start to fail, and that adds another layer of horror and tension on top of everything else. And remember, while all this is going on, there are still 969 sleeping passengers on the ship that Shell is trying to save. I could barely breathe at this point, let alone turn the pages fast enough! And yet, Thompson tempers all this excitement by cutting away from the ship at times to show what’s happening on Bloodroot and Lagos, and I thought this structure was simply brilliant.
The author includes lots of flashbacks that explain how the characters came to be in their current situations, flashbacks that also offer insight into each character’s past. Shell, for example, has two brothers who ask her to look for their missing father, who disappeared fifteen years earlier. We learn how Lawrence came to have a baby, his daughter Joké who is now grown but has many mysteries of her own. Joké is part Lamber, an alien race with connections to a group of Earth miners called the Tehani. I loved that Thompson gives his readers just enough information about the Lambers for the sake of his story, but creates a mystery around them that is never fully explained. Then there’s Lawrence, who was close friends with Shell’s father Haldene Campion, a legendary astronaut even before he disappeared, and the reason for Shell’s obsession with going into space. I even enjoyed Beko’s chapters, which describe an ambitious woman who understands the political nature of her job and won’t let anything disturb the peaceful lifestyle she’s cultivated on Lagos. Even characters who don’t appear to be important at first play critical roles later in the story, and Thompson’s careful plotting and execution is the reason these chapters worked so well.
In the midst of the horrors unfolding on the ship, Thompson inserts several thoughtful subplots. We get to see the efforts of the people of Bloodroot who are determined not to make the same mistakes that the people of Earth made—ruining the planet’s resources and engaging in wars, for example. Bloodroot is a peaceful planet where the colonists have inserted themselves into nature, rather than trying to undo it. There has never been war in space, although the Ragtime’s predicament might change that. I also felt for the Tehani, who are being poisoned and dying from working in Earth’s mines. I loved the way their plight is tied into the murder mystery on the ship and the famous billionaire Yan Maxwell, who just happens to be one of the sleeping passengers.
The last few chapters were simply thrilling, and I loved that the author doesn’t ever make things easy on his characters. The ending was completely satisfying, even though not everything was fully resolved or explained. If you’re looking for a well rounded story set in space with so many wonderful elements—mystery, danger, politics, emotional moments and engaging characters—then I highly recommend this book.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
WOW! I missed any information on this book until now, so thank you for bringing this to my attention with a very, very, very (did I say “very”?) intriguing review! It sounds exactly like the kind of story I love to read – that is, with an oxygen bottle at hand, because it looks as if I will need it badly! 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…DAY ZERO, by Robert Cargill – #SciFiMonth
I haven’t seen many reviews of this, which is sad. It’s really worth checking out:-)
Oh, this sounds so fun! Layered story, cool setting. Great review, Tammy!
Priscilla Bettis recently posted…Rejected Reviews
Thanks Priscilla! It was really good, and very well written.
This sounds like the perfect kind of book for me. I think I’d really enjoy immersing myself in this one, if for no other reason than to find out what a wolf is doing in the story, and whether it’s where I’d expect it, on Bloodroot, or perhaps someplace far stranger. 🙂 And to think I might have skipped it because the cover didn’t catch my attention. Thanks for the review, Tammy!
I didn’t say much about the wolf but I loved that element. It’s such a well constructed story:-)
Sounds terrific!
It was!
I’m really glad to see that you enjoyed this one so much, I have been really looking forward to it, but subconsciously putting it off for some reason. It sounds so good! I think I may have to bump it up to pick up soon now. Great review! 🙂
Jordan @ Forever Lost in Literature recently posted…Top 5 Tuesday: 2021 Releases I Still Need to Read
Thanks Jordan! Definitely worth trying:-)
This sounds like a really exciting read! I love that it’s a locked room murder mystery on a spaceship. It makes the stakes only that much higher in space!
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Review: Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes #NonfictionNovember
It was so exciting! And I wasn’t expecting that:-)
I passed on getting a copy of this because I had so many other books to read, but now I’m regretting it! I love SFF murder mysteries 😀
Rebecca @ Powder & Page recently posted…The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman – Review
Me too! But I get it, I’ve had to turn down so many books…
I’m definitely pushing this one up to the top of my TBR!
I hope you enjoy it too!
I never read anything by Tade Thompson, but this sounds intriguing! Is there a book by this author you particularly recommend?
Honestly this is a good place to start! His Wormwood trilogy is also excellent.
Thanks!
I think I may need to add this to my TBR list 😀
It’s definitely worth adding!
Sounds fabulous. Definitely adding it. I like the sound of the challenges on the ship, and the colonists’ attempts to avoid Earth’s mistakes also. I love a good mstery in space.
Greg recently posted…Tuesday Tagline #212
It’s one of those books that keeps getting better and better:-)
I fancied reading this one but I’m behind with a few review books so didn’t want to request it until I’d caught up a bit.
This sounds good though.
Lynn 😀
Story of my life, being behind!
Excellent review Tammy! I am pretty sure I would love this and I didn’t even know about it. I’ll have to see if I can fit it into my reading somewhere.
Anne – Books of My Heart recently posted…Top 10 of 2021
I can see you enjoying this, Anne:-)
Yesss totally agree with you here! The story did feel quite fresh, and I enjoyed it too. Glad it was such a win for you as well!
Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight recently posted…Reviews in a Minute: More November Nonsense
You’re the only person I know who’s also read this. Glad we both loved it!
I lost count of how many times I tried to read this review, every time I was reading it something happened to take away my attention, once it was a phone call, the other it was the doorbell, then I was in a line and they were calling number 9 and I was number 17 so I had all time in the world but as soon as I started reading they called my number straight away (okay, here I can’t really complain, can I? ) and so on so on, but now I finally read it from the start to the end! And wow!
I wasn’t really interested in this one, but your review changed my mind and now I have added it to my TBR!! I am not the biggest fan of flashback, vut usually they are a small setback, especially when there is so much more to the book!!
LOL I know what you mean Susy! It’s so easy to get distracted. The flashbacks worked really well in this book, even if you don’t really like them:-)