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.
Dark Space by Rob Hart, Alex Segura Published by Blackstone Publishing on October 8 2024
Genres: Adult, Science fiction
Pages: 304
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A high-stakes space opera with political intrigue, Dark Space succeeded in the first half, but lost me in the second.
I had very high expectations for Dark Space, simply because Rob Hart co-wrote the book. So it pains me to say this was a mixed bag for me and didn’t even come close to Hart’s brilliant Assassins Anonymous. I’m guessing it’s because there are two authors, and for me their styles and writing skills didn’t mesh very well. Still, I did have fun with this story, especially the first half, and it has a lot of elements I love, but I think going in with realistic expectations might be the key to really enjoying it.
The story alternates between two main characters. Jose Carriles is a pilot assigned to the Mosaic, a ship heading away from Earth to a new planet. Carriles got the job after the first pilot died during a training exercise, and because of this, the crew isn’t completely thrilled that he’s flying the ship. When three of the ship’s main systems suddenly fail at the same time, Carriles suspects that something is going on. And when he sends a distress signal back to New Destiny, he finds out later that his message has been deleted.
Back on space station New Destiny, we meet Corin Timony, former spy for Bazaar who has been demoted to desk jockey following an unfortunate incident involving illegal drugs. One day Corin receives a message on the “wire,” the quantum device that allows instantaneous communication with the Mosaic. The Mosaic is in trouble, it’s engines have failed, and they are quickly loosing their shields. But oddly, only moments later another message comes in saying to ignore the first one. Corin doesn’t know what to make of it, and her experience as a spy propels her to start asking questions. Her friend Carriles is up there, and now she’s worried that something terrible has happened.
The authors bounce back and forth between Timony and Carriles as they both realize something foul is afoot with the Mosaic and its mission to the new planet. The stakes are very high, especially up in space as Carriles is trying to figure a way to save them as their shields continue to drop. Once the ship is more or less safe, though, Carriles realizes there is a conspiracy going on, and it involves the captain of the ship. The fact that there is a Chinese contingency on board the Mosaic adds some drama, as the Americans and Chinese start to turn on each other.
From Timony’s POV, we learn what happened to her before she was demoted and experience her frustration with not being able to do the job she’s so good at. We also meet Slade, the woman who took her place and appears to be doing a better job than Timony, which is another source of frustration. Still, Slade and Timony end up working together to not only figure out what’s happening on the Mosaic, but to dig into the death of the first Mosaic pilot. Yes, everything is intertwined, and I thought so many of these details were well done. And I loved the spy subplot, probably even more than what was happening up in space.
So what didn’t work for me? As I mentioned, the first half of the book is very solid. But the second half felt as if the authors were rushing to finish it, and there were too many instances of what felt like lazy writing, unrealistic coincidences, and problems that were way too easily resolved. The story is packed with quite a bit going on, but everything in the second half felt rushed. For example (small spoiler ahead), it turns out there are aliens on the planet, who conveniently look “almost” human and speak perfect English, not to mention they are well versed in popular culture. The sections involving the aliens were probably my least favorite in the whole book, since they came across as silly and clichéd. If the first contact plot had been given more time to develop and wasn’t so rushed, I would have bought it, but the way the story stands now it was sort of ridiculous.
The writing is inconsistent as well, which doesn’t surprise me because there are two different writers. But really that’s no excuse. I found so many awkwardly written sentences and instances of bad dialog, and unfortunately it gave the story an amateurish feel.
But for a space thriller, it definitely has some good moments. The authors address some interesting themes like should a species be judged based on their worst members—those who are hateful and violent? Or should concessions be given for a species willing to change for the better? Readers will have lots to think about while they enjoy the fast-paced thriller parts of the story.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
It’s interesting that you noticed the inconsistencies with the writing as this is something I’ve wondered about in other books with more than one author. In the few I’ve read I couldn’t tell them apart.
It’s a shame this was a bit of a mixed bag for you as parts of it do sound really good.
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The premise was a lot of fun, but it just didn’t completely work, unfortunately.
Bummer. I loved Hart’s Paradox Hotel, though I haven’t read Assassins Anonymous, and I have never read Segura, so I don’t know what kind of writer he is. But two-authors book are tricky. Then again, it’s odd that the second part was so different from the first and less refined.
Roberta R. recently posted…Mira Gonzalez: “The Darkness Behind the Door” (ARC Review)
I have read some very good dual author books, but unfortunately this wasn’t one of them.
Ah I was hoping this one would be better.
You might like it better, but I was disappointed, unfortunately.
This year I feel I’ve read a lot of books where the first half was good but the second half disappointed me and also partly because the ending felt rushed. And that’s just really too unfortunate because some books could’ve been better. I’m sorry this book wasn’t the best for you but at least it had some good moments it seems!
It definitely had a lot of fun moments, but it could have been better…
Bummer!!
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I know…
Hmmm… almost sounds like the editor fell asleep during their read through of the book. Sorry to hear it went down hill before the end.
A lot of readers are enjoying this more than me, but after reading other books by Rob Hart it just didn’t have the quality I expected.
Awe that’s too bad this didn’t work for you as you’d hoped! I’ve never read anything by either of these authors.
The stretchy font on the cover is quite cool though, it’s eye-catching! Often meeting different alien species in sci-fi is the fun part for me, so it’s a bummer this one was poorly executed.
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Definitely not my favorite alien encounter story…
Inconstistent writing is a nightmare for me Tammy! I get why it wasn’t better for you!
Yeah, it was such a mixed bag…
So I think I definitely liked this one more than you did, but it also gave me a lot of The 100 vibes which probably explains why heh. I do agree with some of your complaints about the writing, though I think it just… bothered me a little less? I was waffling between a 3.5 and 4, and eventually went for a 4 just because I enjoyed it and I guess I was feeling generous that day heh. Great review, sorry this one wasn’t such a hit for you!
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I’m glad you enjoyed it more than me. If I weren’t comparting it Rob Hart’s last book, I probably would have rated it higher. But unfortunately it’s hard to not compare.
This book doesn’t really sound well thought out, and it’s disappointing to hear about such a disparity between the two halves. I do wonder too if the collab had something to do with it, some authors’ styles just don’t work well together.
I think the collab had a lot to do with it.
It’s so frustrating to hear how this book kind of fell apart in the second half as it sounds like it had a lot of interesting elements at work prior to that. Bad dialogue can be so grating though and rushed endings are so disappointing, they can ruin a book. I’m particularly sorry to hear about your disappointment given your feelings about one of the authors other books. Hopefully whatever you try out by them next will be another hit though.
Shame about the rushed second half. I sometimes experience this particularly with the endings of books.
Lynn 😀
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I am sorry that this didn’t work out so well for you but I see what you are saying (and what you said about the aliens didn’t sound so good!!). The idea of the book sounds interesting and maybe with lowered expectations can work a tad better!