I have to admit that this was a struggle to read at times. The habitats of the people choosing to live on Venus and the lives they lead are fascinating, but the personal relationships and drama that come along with it took away from story and felt like fluff.
The science and explanations, as well as the mysteries discovered on the planet were the only reasons I finished this book. I don't even know if the ending was actually the ending, or if the author plans to continue writing more. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone due to how much interpersonal narration that is that was boring and felt canned.

I was surprised to read in other reviews that readers had issues picturing the setting of House of Styx, because for me that was the part that first drew me into this book; then again, I've always had a love for planet colonies as settings, and especially on hostile worlds. Boy did this ever deliver!

The central part of the novel is part heist, part exploration tale, and it pulls together our characters as they fight for their discovery. There's a lot of information here, too - it's almost too much at points, but readers with the patience for detail will absolutely find that patience paying off. I won't spoil anything, but although there's a resolution, there's absolutely room for a sequel as well.

A strong start to a potential series, one I'll definitely be back for.

Pascale and his family live in the atmosphere of Venus. Venus is a harsh planet and the people who live there live in constant dread of her sulfuric atmosphere and storms taking their loved ones. This story has a family that has dealt with the death of their mom, a child with Down's Syndrome, a son that is confused about his gender identity , a sister who has been sent to deal with the government assembly of Venus, and a father that has seen the wrath of Venus. With all of this going on this story is filled with the descriptions of Venus's sulfuric poisonous atmosphere and the many electrical storms that make Venus's atmosphere the most demanding in our Solar System. A good sci-fi story that explains the way life would have to take place on the second planet from our Sun. I only wish that there was given a reason why people chose to leave Earth to go to live in an atmosphere of a planet in which living on land is not an option. Other than this I enjoyed this book with its new twist of living on a planet choice other than Mars.

The House of Styx is my first introduction to Derek Künsken, and it certainly won’t be the last time I read him.

The first thing that grabbed me about the book was how effortless his descriptive prose was. Künsken describes the environment of Venus so well it took my breath away. I felt I was there with Pascal and the other D’Aquillion’s, and the Québécois colonists, as they worked in their beautiful - deadly - home, soaring through the cloud-filled atmosphere.

Künsken’s take on planetary colonization is the essence of adventure, where humanity pits itself against nature with ingenuity and science every second of every day. In fact, it felt so real that I could really believe this type of thing might not be far away (unlike interstellar space travel and technology that feels like magic).

But most of all, the thing that makes this novel shine are the characters. The loss the D’Aquillion’s have experienced in their time on Venus is tangible as the ruthless environment they work to tame. The dynamics of family play out against the greater dynamics of the colony’s politics as resources are not infinite, and every day is a struggle to survive.

Künsken does a brilliant job weaving a hard SF in amongst the perils of survival on a world hostile to human life, and the fragile personal politics of humans and corporate interests.

I teared up many times reading this story, and Künsken leaves you on a massive cliff-hanger, I was so shocked when I read ‘The End’ I had to go back to check that this was book 1.

I highly recommend this to fans of Hard SF, and I cannot wait to see what happen as the secret the D’Aquillion’s have found is explored further.

Full Review to be posted on Good reads.
What i liked:
The world and the scifi parts were great to read about. Reminded me of why I enjoyed Dune, where the world itself seems like a character in the story. If you like that, you would probably like this book.
Most of the actiony scenes on themselves because of the context were also great to read through.
The MC and its family Relations were fairly interesting while not revolutionary. But enough to keep me interested.

What i didnt really like:
The pacing felt off often a little fast then slowing down to the slowest form possible. The Middle for me, dragged a lot and If i hadnt to finish the book for the Review, i probably would have given up around the middle pages.
Because i liked the first character to be introduced Pascal and his family, i didnt really care for the other povs in the story and the side characters which also made it hard for me to finish.

In the end, an ok read that i feel readers of Dune and similar scifi would enjoy.

Key to understanding this wonderful SF novel by Derek Künsken is the dedication at the beginning to his Québécois relatives, and the remark that “The exploration of Venus by bigger nations had never amounted to much more than seeing Venus as a dead end on the road to colonising the solar system.”

Künsken notes wryly that “The decision of la colonie to separate from Québec had come a bit suddenly for everyone, including the séparatistes. A scorned Québec had been happy to cut its losses on the expensive colonie.”

This sets the background for a shaggy dog story of the colony’s hand-to-mouth survival in the harsh and unforgiving Venusian environment, where “No one had loved the love goddess, and Venus had no soul because no one loved her. And les colonistes had no souls because they had no world.”

However, the infrastructure and essential commodities for such a colony to survive are owned, mined and produced by a financial superstructure comprised of various banks, with the colonists being the petite bourgeoisie. You can see how Künsken transmutes the elements of colonialism into his SF setting, but he is way too savvy a writer for this to become pedagogical.

Apart from the theme of Venus being the runt of the solar system in genre terms (it does play a key role in the first couple of Expanse novels by James S.A. Corey), Künsken also deconstructs the very concept of colonisation itself, which often has a Western or Imperialist slant, especially in American SF:

Farming in the heights or scavenging in the depths, choices no different from the ones facing the teeming, nameless billions who’d scraped the ground for most of Earth’s history, never walking more than thirty kilometres from where they’d been born. His parents had crossed hard vacuum to reach a world where most of them would be subsistence farmers.

And what a world it is. Künsken’s evocation of the Venusian ecosystem and how to survive there reads like a lavish and riveting David Attenborough nature documentary. Although he has clearly done his homework, the nuts and bolts of the actual science are cleverly hidden in the background of the story.

The reader is mesmerised by the sheer fight for survival of the D’Aquillon family as it painstakingly harvests water and oxygen in the depths of Venus’s atmosphere, living in huge dirigible-like craft, and also harvesting precious metals from volcanic ash in the lowest levels … where the family has a date with destiny as it makes a truly astonishing discovery (definite hints of Arthur C. Clarke here.)

Above all of this riffraff (but still quite a way from the level of the banks) are the habitats of the political elite in the upper Venusian atmosphere, who rule and scheme among the families in order to subjugate and control them.

What made me love this book so much, apart from the impeccable world-building and Künsken’s sheer technical chops as a writer, are the wonderful characters, whose lives and loves and struggles make them achingly and so frustratingly human. Here in particular I am thinking of the teenage Pascal and the fraught journey of self-discovery he makes (to say any more would be to spoil this treasure chest of a novel.)

They all tested themselves against Venus, each according to their gifts, all in the process of becoming something else, something better. They might die. They each had lost loved ones to the clouds. And although Venus would resist them, although Venus herself did not know she was beautiful, they would show her.

I've read other books by this author, and liked them. He's got a good imagination and writes well. This book has interesting characters and the setting is unique, and of course the plot is important, and after a slow start it was enjoyable. I'm not a fan of incomplete endings, but otherwise it was a good read.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

This book was a slow but steady read for me. It was really good, but for some reason it took me a long time to finish it.

The author did a wonderful job of bringing so many different characters to life in this book. I think that was why I had such a hard time reading the book. I have a hard time with character-driven stories. This book, however, was so good. I don't regret a minute I spent reading it.

I do hope the author gives us a sequel, because the book didn't give as much closure as I would have hoped. The book builds up to this huge climax, and I was honestly a little disappointed. I loved each of the characters, and I found myself rooting for all of them to get what they wanted. My favorite characters were Pascal, a young man who doesn't fit in his body, Marthe, the voice of the family with the Colonie, and Jean-Eudes, the autistic brother whose birth sparked the D'Aquillon family's rift with the government. These were amazing people, and the author wrote them with such feeling.

I could only give this book 4 stars. The book was really good, but it took me a while to finish it, and I was confused about the closure I never received. I enjoy character-driven books, but I have to be in a specific mood. It all boils down to the lack of closure in the book. I really hope the author writes a sequel, and continues the story. These characters were really great, and I'd love to see them in other books.

I recommend this book, but please don't feel discouraged if, like me, this book takes you a bit to get into. Anyone who loves character-driven stories would enjoy this book. I found myself invested in what happened to this family, and loved each and every one of them.

Thank you very much to Solaris and NetGalley for providing me with this advance copy of »The House of Styx« by Derek Künsken.

It was the short description of the novel that got me interested, apart from being a huge science fiction fan. Still, I didn‘t know Derek Künkens at that time, but short summary got me hooked at once. Fortunately, I have not been disappointed.

Set in the solar system, or to be more specific on the planet Venus and its turbulent atmosphere, the story revolves around Acadian colonies that live in artificial habitats floating above the clouds in a hostile environment. Making a living is dangerous, and fatal accidents are common. Those who were born on Venus don‘t know life on Earth or even solid grounds. Self-destructive behavior like drugs is widely spread among the younger generation, some even worship the deadly planet like a goddess and burn themselves in the acidic atmosphere to honor it. Most People have to struggle hard and are under the thumb of the large banks controlling finances and goods. But there are also a smaller group of family based rebels living on lower levels in trawlers among the stormy clouds. When Pascal, a young engineer and transgender girl in the body of a boy, discovers a strange object on the surface of Venus, this finding might alter the fate of the D'Aquillon family. It‘s their one chance to strike a fortune, but they will have to risk everything to harvest it.

I loved the world building and character studies of this novel. It may not exactly be hard science fiction, but the description of Venus and its climate are accurate and convincing enough to make the story believable, as long as you accept the invented technology. But that‘s what reading fantastic literature is all about, isn‘t it? The way Derek Künskens describes the may aspects of his creation – ranging from individual fates to politics – is utterly fascinating. Maybe some of the backstories he tells are a little to elaborated. However, this is supposed to be the first installment of a new series, so there‘s groundwork to be done. All in all, the book tells an exciting adventure, making it a page turner despite the fact that there is more exploration involved than action. Although there‘s a certain cliffhanger at the end, the story seems more or less self-contained.

I definitely recommend this book.

Derek Kunsken is a master world builder, as evidenced in The House of Styx. For those who like solidly built sci-fi this is a book that will delight, with detailed descriptions that may deter the casual fan. However, for those that do choose to read, a cast of well drawn characters will draw them into the well paced novel. I hope this is the start of a new long running series!

This was first book by this author, so I had no idea what to expect, but the blurb sounded interesting so I decided to go with it.

This is very intricate story with filled with a lot of detail and amazing worldbuilding. The book is able to make the harsh environment of Venus and the battle to survive come alive. It is a story about family, secrets, angst and drama.

It is not a book you can just read in between. It takes time to get into the book and you need to keep your focus.

I loved the vast and intricate world building for this novel, I found it hard to become really invested in the characters and plot. Although the detail and scientific descriptions can add a lot of information about the world, it made the reading experience feel very overwhelming and at times made the story drag. The characters themselves also needed a lot more fleshing out. These feel like the ideas of characters that haven't been fully realised yet. None of them felt three-dimensional and there definitely isn't a character in this novel that really connected with me as they were all quite forgettable.
The scattered French within the novel also felt very out of place and forced. I enjoy having languages in novels but the way this was incorporated didn't feel authentic.
Overall I think this is a great starting point for a book, the world is definitely one to be explored. What needs the work though is the plot and characters. Both need to be a lot more alive so that readers can really connect to this story.

Welcome to this book review,
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.
This book was a surprise, while it took me about a dozen pages or so to get into it once I was into it, I only wanted to know more about it. The world was captivating and the story was really well thought out.
It touches so many subjects, like family, gender identity, love, politics and will make you cry.
I loved that it happened on Venus or well on it's cloud , it was a really original and beautifully writen book, a great start to a new series. As a Québécoise it was really lovely to be represented in a futuristic world.
I can't wait to read where the next book will take us into this world.
I only wanted more resolution for some conflit, plot line points, I felt like a little resolution could've pushed it to be even better as this was a first book and had to keep us hooked on it. Overall great book that is totally worth the read.
4/5 stars
Bookarina

An excellent read. Full of Venusian facts all backed up with a plausible and well written story. A tale of one family's life and hardships living and working on Venus. Politics, drama and adventure all come into play and the book keeps you locked within it's pages shortly after first picking it up.

Highly recommended to all sci-fi fans especially fans of Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy.

Really great work and i'm really looking forward to where the story takes us in the next instalment.

Huge thank you to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions and views in this review are my own.

So being a huge mythology fan, the first thing that drew me to this book was the title. But once I read the description, I desperately wanted to get my hands on the book. A story set on planet Venus? Yes, please! The only other time I've ever read a book set on Venus was by C.S. Lewis.

This book had some major pros.
I loved the setting. And holy cow, did the author think out every aspect of the world building well. In the first handful of chapters, the reader is going to have a hard time following the setting and details, but as time goes on and the science behind their homes, travel methods, and means of survival are explained, it feels markedly organic and plausible. One of the best setting developments I've read in a long, long time.
Also, I loved the dynamic of Jean-Eudes' diagnosis (Down Syndrome) and his father's adamant choice to protect his son and give him life.
Lastly, the author did a good job of giving each character their own voice. I didn't have to remind myself which character POV I was reading.

Cons:
Unfortunately, by the time I was done with the book, there was very little I was latching onto. The setting only carried the novel so far and by that point, the storyline felt flat.
Side-note, this is a very small critique, but initially the French dialog doesn't feel organic to the conversational flow. For the first half of the book or more, this pulled me right out of the story every time it was dropped in. I either got used to it, or the author got better at melding it in naturally. For example, one of the main characters would rattle off a French phrase and finish with "pa." I kept thinking, repeatedly, that it would feel more natural for him to say "papa" if their native language was French. And then he did...like...once. And then went back to "pa." Super minor, but it slowed my reading flow over and over.

My bigger issue with the book was the fact that it was a soap opera. <i>Downton Abbey</i> has a huge following and the characters each have a distinctive voice. One of the reasons it wasn't immediately recognized as a soap was the period it was set in. But at the end of the day, it's a soap opera set in an abbey. <i>House of Styx</i> is a soap opera full of angsty characters. Especially Pascal. His POV was next to unbearable for me to get through and, frankly, felt like a poor substitute for a YA novel. If you pick up the book, don't go into it looking for a sci-fi novel. I think the majority of readers will be heavily disappointed if they enter it with that mindset. Action and classic sci-fi, this is not. If you're into family drama and soap operas, like <i>Downton Abbey</i>, the setting will probably go a long way to engage readers who enjoy that genre.

This is just a plug for readers trying to decide if this is a book to spend your time on, the heavy liberal views by the author are pretty preachy. Just one example, Pascal's character tells his brother that saints are like fairies, a magical, imaginary belief system fools used to cling to. This may not bother some readers at all, so all speed ahead. But be forewarned that if this bothers you, this wouldn't be a book you would want to spend your time on.

Some mild grammatical errors I'm sure will be fixed before this goes to print.

Two stars for the well-fleshed out setting, but unfortunately, the rest of it fell flat for me.

I'd rate this book an R for strong swearing, sex scenes, drugs and self-harm, and some violence.

On Venus there are colonies in the future claimed by the French Canadian. They call themselves colonistes. However it’s not the most ideal place to raise a family and have children.

Since it’s a class based society and the rich have higher opinions then the poor and better living styles and jobs. It seems oblivious to the plights of each other.

Also because of some choices that are made whole families need to suffer because of the opinion of one. Revenge is prominent lies, coverup and bribes too.
Not all voices are equal especially for the D’Aquillion family.

Arc was provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for providing me a digital ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I don't think this book was for me. i don't read much science fiction in general but sometimes, if I like a premise, I will dabble in a sci-fi book. This time, it didn't end well.

There wasn't anything bad about this book, per se, I just didn't feel connected to the characters in the way I wanted to be and I felt that the pace was too fast and it was a bit difficult to follow along.

I don't believe it was any fault of the author, Derek Kunsken's writing was always clear and had a certain poetry to it that I rather liked. The actual story itself was also really interesting and unique from anything I've ever read before.

I think If I read this again, maybe with a different mindset, I might enjoy it much more.

Overall, I give this book 3/5 stars and would recommend it to people who like sci-fi and are used to reading sci-fi books.

I was able to read this thanks to a NetGalley ARC and, initially, I couldn’t say it was a book for me. I simply couldn’t quite get into it and the first few chapters felt a lot like an info dump at points. The text can be heavy with description which, for many readers can be incredibly helpful, I personally found the style to drag in the opening chapters.

However, I can honestly say that I was wrong and this ended up being a truly enjoyable read with Pascal(e) being an incredibly protagonist who really was a joy to read. While the writing style is a credit in itself, it’s the characters who are the saving grace for this story.

There are some hard hitting storylines which merge well with the Sci-Fi genre and makes the genre more approachable for those who are not usually comfortable with it. The ending left more than a few questions and, while that is most likely due to the fact that there will be a sequel, it felt a little underwhelming compared to the bulk of the story. I am likely to read the sequel, however, in the hopes that my questions are answered.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this.

There was a lot of description of machinery and technicality that I didn't think was so interesting. And then I was a little confused about oxygen being important yet people are smoking cigarettes. I was interested in the space found in the chasm but that part seemed to progress rather slow. Also, I don't really know french and am not inclined to look up translations of each phrase.

4.5 Stars

Omg!! I didn’t know this book was going to make me cry!!



When I saw this book was a sci-fi book set around Venus I was hooked. This book was so much more than a space romp. This book is about family, politics, gender identity, corruption, mental health, drugs, love....... the Stars.

I loved all of the characters! Marthe ended up being my favorite!

And Venus, beautiful, deadly Venus. No one can live on you but they can live in your clouds and if they’re important, they can live a bit above your clouds.

Venus holds secrets that one awesome family discovers! But what will all of this lead to, how many will survive and die to find out the answers...

I’m excited for this new series and I can’t wait to have the physical copy in my hands!! The following excerpt isn’t set in stone as this is an advanced copy.

They all tested themselves against Venus, each according to their gifts, all in the process of becoming something else, something better. They might die. They each had lost loved ones to the clouds. And although Venus would resist them, although Venus herself did not know she was beautiful, they would show her.




Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

** Thank you to Netgalley and Solaris Books for a digital copy of this book!