This was a really fast paced and enjoyable space romp with great characters and a compelling plot. I thought Tade Thompson did a fantastic job with the setting, providing enough scientific elements to keep things interesting but never moving too far away from the basic premise. At heart, this is a locked room mystery and I do wish that this part of the plot had a more satisfying conclusion. Overall though, I enjoyed my time with this one quite a bit.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The colony ship, Ragtime docks in the Lagos system to bring a thousand sleeping colonists to settle a new planet, but something is wrong, some of the passengers have been brutally murdered and their bodies chopped to pieces. What’s more, when all the body parts are reassembled, not everyone is accounted for. Shell is nominally in charge of the ship, though the AI is supposed to do all the heavy lifting. Fin is an investigator sent from the planet with his humanoid robot AI, Salvo. Nothing is quite what it seems, especially with the AI, and this is basically a murder-mystery in space. I enjoyed it while I was reading it, but quickly forgot about it afterwards. I liked Tade’s Rosewater better.

This book seems to be super marmite! I quite enjoyed it as my first taste of Thompson and would definitely pick more up in the future.

3.5*

Thanks to the publisher for an eArc copy via NetGalley

"Far from the Light of Heaven" is a thrilling and well-crafted sci-fi mystery novel that will keep readers guessing until the very end.
The story is set on a colony ship Ragtime and follows first mate Michelle Campion as she discovers some of the sleeping humans on her ship will never wake. The book is essentially a closed-room mystery novel, with the setting of a generational spaceship adding a unique and captivating spin. The investigation is led by investigator Rasheed Fin who is tasked with finding out who is responsible for the deaths. The story is well-paced, with suspense building as the investigation unfolds. The characters are well-developed and their motivations are clear, making it easy for readers to become invested in the story. The claustrophobic setting added to the overall atmosphere of the novel. The story is not only a thrilling mystery but also a commentary on the human condition and the struggles of survival in the vast emptiness of space. Overall, "Far from the Light of Heaven" is a fan entry that could entice the fans of sci-fi/mystery genre.

Thank you for my earc of this book! I didn’t finish this book but I think the issue is me rather than the book. I am starting to realise the sci-fi just isn’t a go-to genre for me at the moment

I'm a fan of Tade Thompson's Rosewater trilogy, so when I heard he'd written a space opera, I was very eager to read it. I was even more excited after hearing the premise: a locked-room murder mystery set on a spaceship, featuring aliens and rogue AIs? Sign me up.

The beginning of the novel was ok—though I struggled with the detached feeling of the narration—and it set up everything for the promised murder investigation. This promise went entirely unfulfilled: we only get an initial crime scene examination and then, about two-thirds of the way through, the investigator starts looking at the victims' data (but is interrupted). We don't get any clues, any suspects, any leads or any red herrings. The murderer is revealed to the reader towards the end via a long flashback chapter—but it means very little because there is no build-up. And it is revealed to the readers only; the characters still have very little idea what's going on and they stumble on the murderer by complete chance. This would have been fine had the story been set up like a thriller or survival story, but it was so clearly signposted as a murder investigation at the start that the entire rest of the story felt like a digression.

And there was a lot going on in the rest of the story: life-threatening ship malfunctions, dangerous spacewalks, biological hazards, predatory plants, AI animals, androids, aliens who can jump in spacetime... Mix all this in with a multitude of POV characters (some very minor) in a multitude of locations, and the result felt very messy, like the story was prioritising spectacle over everything else. It was clear that the author had a lot of ideas, and they were all potentially exciting and interesting plot points, but I had no emotional investment in any of it and it all felt quite surface level to me, like I was watching things play out at a distance.

This sense of distance was mostly due to the narration style, which felt extremely detached from the setting and characters. There was never any real sense of place or atmosphere, and it kept all the characters firmly at arm's length. In addition, the characters lacked any real sense of personality, and I couldn't tell you anything about their wants, needs, motives or drives. They felt very flat, sometimes acted inconsistently, and their dialogue was often unconvincing.

I really, really wanted to like 'Far from the Light of Heaven', but despite the intriguing premise and a wealth of interesting ideas, the execution felt severely lacking to me. A bit more development could have done wonders.

Far from the Light of Heaven is a locked-room mystery set in space about a colony ship Ragtime piloted by an AI and first mate Michelle that sailed through the stars for ten years. When Michelle wakes up, a few sleepers are missing and the AI went rogue. An investigator soon joins Michelle to figure out what's happening.

What I like:
- a mix of murder mystery, space opera, gothic horror, adventure
- diverse characters
- fantastic world-building and writing style
- tension and the creepy vibe is well done
- explores capitalism and the cost of justice
- the opening is interesting, well-paced and sharp

What I did not like:
- characters are not well flesh-out except for Michelle
- messy and unfocused plot
- all those build-ups for an underwhelming end

A locked room mystery in space with highly octane tension and a fantastic, well crafted main protagonist in Shell Champion. Tade Thompson ultimately captivated me and took me on one hell of a ride with Far from the Light of Heaven.

The writing is this was really wonderful. I've read Tade Thompson before, and they have such a way with words that never fails to pull me into their stories. It's magic, and this was no exception as we get really interesting descriptions of how lonely and isolating space is, while at the same time being something so uniquely beautiful. Add into this the growing tension and suspense when protagonist Shell finds herself on board a ship with a number of murderer crew mates, without knowing who or what happened, and you get a fast paced and exciting read. I desperately wanted to know how this ended. However, I did think that the ending was quite abrupt in its execution. I'm the type of reader who likes to have nothing left to the imagination, and have everything spelled out to me, so for me this didn't quite live up to my expectations in that respect.

However, overall I thought this was a fantastic and genre blurring novel filled with lots of twists and tension.

A riveting sci-if novel with breathtaking scope. An AI gone rogue is such a chilling and timely theme, added to the loneliness of space and time. There were places where I’d have liked the action to move faster, and my only serious gripe is the way the reveal happens. Then again, I’d still highly recommend this to any sci-fi fan, and I’ll be checking out more of Tade Thompson’s work myself.

(Review copy from NetGalley)

🪐Far from the light of Heaven 🪐

Autor: Tade Thompson
Editorial: Orbit Books
Páginas: 384
Nivel de inglés requerido: medio

7,5 / 10 ⭐

Tras el éxito del lanzamiento de la trilogía 'Rosewater' ('Rosalera', en castellano, @leerunas), Tade Thompson ha publicado en estas semanas una novela independiente que es de lo más adictiva.

Esta es una de esas obras de ciencia ficción con un alto componente de thriller donde no puedes dejar de pasar páginas hasta resolver el misterio detrás de ello. La premisa es aparentemente sencilla: Michelle Campion despierta después de diez años en una nave llamada Ragtime. Aunque la IA debería estar al cargo de todos los asuntos, se encuentra con que una serie de robots de servicio han empezado a matar (de la manera más salvaje) a algunos de los pasajeros que dormían en otras de las unidades. La IA apenas realiza funciones básicas y todo se viene abajo. Michelle y otros personajes, cada uno de su padre y de su madre, tendrán que desentrañar el misterio en una nave cerrada al más puro estilo novela detectives.

Sin embargo, Tade añade una buena cantidad de detalles extra en forma de planetas y culturas cuyos intereses en la Ragtime varían en gran medida. De vez en cuando va incorporando historias de otros personajes que dan riqueza al desarrollo de lo que sucede en la nave. Todo ello da una imagen de profundidad al escenario necesario para no quedarse en una trama de misterio a secas.

Es una novela bastante distinta a 'Rosewater', por si alguien esperaba algo del estilo. Tiene una cosa en común, que es el hecho de incorporar muchos otros géneros a una historia detectivesca llena de sobresaltos. Cosas como toques de terror en diversas escenas dentro de la nave, o ciertos elementos que parecen sacados de una space opera clásica, además de temas de biología o los relacionados con la inteligencia artificial. Y, por supuesto, cierta ambientación en algunos momentos que recuerdan a los orígenes africanos de Thompson.

Una novela entretenida y recomendada si os gustan las historias de ciencia ficción en el espacio sin demasiadas tecnicidades pero con el componente de misterio con el que pasar páginas con facilidad.

3,5 stars

Far from the Light of Heaven is an interesting story about the colony ship Ragtime who is being piloted by an AI and first mate Michelle. But when Michelle is jolted out of her sleep she finds there has been murders aboard the ship. How is that possible? A space ship locked room mystery!

Especially the first half of the story carries a suspense that it should as a locked room mystery. We get a look at the situation through Michelle's eyes and new eyes as an investigator Finn comes aboard with his AI companion. We are slowly getting to know these characters. An interesting addition are Michelle's godfather and his daughter. Well mostly his daughter as she is half-alien and sees things quite differently.

However as the plot turns to survival and away from the locked room mystery I lost some of my captivation for the story. The ending also felt needlessly abrupt and with a conclusion that didn't feel like anything was solved. Not really. I was left quite dissatisfied.

Going in, I was intrigued but apprehensive. I’m still fairly new to sci-fi as a genre and my experiences have been hit and miss. This one was very much a hit with me.

What I loved most about Far From the Light of Heaven is that every single time I thought I knew what the book was or where it was going, something happened that knocked me off my feet. There were so many perfectly executed twists that made me scream “WHAT?!?” out loud. It was a little bit surreal but I kind of like that…

As the author briefly mentions, this isn’t quite a space opera although it definitely feels like one at times. The interpersonal relationships between this fond family on board a doomed spaceship were another highlight. These characters are well developed. Flawed, vulnerable and all deeply compelling.

My only grievance is that because so much is happening, I felt like I didn’t fully understand certain sideplots? Again, I’m a sci-fi newbie and this has been the case with almost every sci-fi book I’ve read so far so it’s not necessarily a criticism of the author’s work but more of my level of comprehension.

Overall, Far From the Light of Heaven is a gripping sci-fi mystery that I highly recommend to fans of both genres.

DNF’ed at 15%
Super interesting premise but just didn’t seem to keep my attention - may try to read again at other point though.

ARC + AudioARC Review – Far from the Light of Heaven
November 11, 2021CategoriesARC reviews, Audiobook Review, Reviewfeatured1 Commenton ARC + AudioARC Review – Far from the Light of Heaven

Title: Far from the Light of Heaven

Author: Tade Thompson

Release Date: 28/10/2021

E.S.C.A.P.E Score: 41
(see below for breakdown)

4 stars
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I received a free eARC copy from Orbit ,via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I received an Audio copy from Hachettee via libro.fm

All opinions are my own.

From Goodreads:

A tense and thrilling vision of humanity’s future in the chilling emptiness of space from rising giant in science fiction, Arthur C. Clarke Award winner Tade Thompson

The colony ship Ragtime docks in the Lagos system, having travelled light-years to bring one thousand sleeping souls to a new home among the stars. But when first mate Michelle Campion rouses, she discovers some of the sleepers will never wake.

Answering Campion’s distress call, investigator Rasheed Fin is tasked with finding out who is responsible for these deaths. Soon a sinister mystery unfolds aboard the gigantic vessel, one that will have repercussions for the entire system—from the scheming politicians of Lagos station, to the colony planet Bloodroot, to other far-flung systems, and indeed to Earth itself.

My Thoughts
I was lucky to be gifted both an eARC and and AudioARC for this book, and I am so glad I had both as I think for the first time if I had received only the AudioARC I would have DNF’d this book despite really enjoying the book. I would not recommend the Audio for this one. I found the narrator really monotone and there was no distinction in the various characters, flashbacks, internal monologues, private messages sent between characters etc. of which there are many. It became almost impossible to tell the characters apart from the narration. Even worse there was no initiations on certain words so it lost any emotion between characters. This was particularly evident between Joké and Larry who had a father daughter relationship with nicknames that were often read as literal and not in that familiar joking manor you would expect of that kind of interaction. The Audiobook just took so much feeling and excitement out of this book instead of adding too it so I would have to say I just don’t rate the audio at all.

The book itself is amazing! it really is my kind of book. The Locked room mystery vibes are really there and it just keeps building and building. The Characters are really interesting and complex. While I wish we got to know them a little more, particularly the more peripheral characters as they do have a lot of influence over the mystery but we don’t learn a lot about them. This did feel very Christie-esq as she had a habit of slipping in side characters to twist and confuse the readers trying to solve the mystery and Thompson very much does the same here.

The setting is just Sci-Fi enough to keep Sci-Fi fans like me happy, while also being soft enough in the science to be interesting for non-scifi readers. Space offers the ultimate locked room scenario and I think the way it is used here is really interesting. I really liked the resolution and the reveal of how it all came about. It had moments of being dark and confusing, while also parts that felt like a classic cosy mystery in such an excellent balance. I really enjoyed Thompson’s writing, its just a shame the narration just didn’t do it justice in the audio verison.

I would say if you are a Sci-fi fan or a mystery fan, or both, this would be an enjoyable read for you. Just stick to the text version if you can and give the audio a pass.

This book begins well, with a strong premise that had me interested immediately. Colony-ship Ragtime has sailed through the stars for ten years. But when first mate Michelle Campion wakes up, she discovers a horrible crime has happened, the ship's AI has broken or gone AWOL, and she has no idea how to figure out what happened. Investigator Rasheed Fin goes on board to take a look...

A closed room mystery, in other words. As someone who loves crime fic and SF, this was right up my street. I think I enjoyed the SF elements the most - the broader world was fascinating, I wanted to know more about the ship's AI, the colony worlds, the aliens, etc.

After the aforementioned strong beginning, the mystery element didn't work as well for me - there was less an investigation and more happened-upon discovery in places. It also ends fairly abruptly. I was left with a sense that it wasn't quite finished, but without enough strings for another book (of course I could be wrong about that).

A promising, interesting read that is trying new things, and I'd definitely like to return to the author again.

I'm having to be very careful writing this review, perhaps more careful that I would normally be since I am not just worried about upsetting people with spoilers but also about not creating a misleading impression for the book. I suspect that's a concern that Thompson himself shares because in the Afterword he explains that he doesn't consider it a space opera (albeit it takes place, mostly, in remote space aboard spaceships). I'd concur with that.

I'd also add that neither is it really a "locked room" detective story. One might jump to that conclusion, as a crime is committed, on an isolated ship, with a limited roster of suspects and a detective - of sorts - is dispatched to resolve it. However, Thompson robustly - almost gleefully - refuses to go through with the dance moves you'd expect for a locked room mystery. Yes, Fin is an isolated, washed-up investigator who has been suspended form duty, lives in a domestic tip and now has One Last Chance at redemption. Yes, he does insist on procedure, against the protestations of Shell, Captain of the ship Ragtime. Yes, there are inferences and red herrings. But - slight spoiler perhaps - Fin doesn't reason his way to the heart of a fiendishly complex mystery and announce it in a dramatic conclusion.

Rather, as we move into the endgame of the story, we're given an account of what actually happened. By this time it's fairly clear that the immediate heart of the matter is more about survival in space and the dangers therein - albeit the motivation behind the crime creates a potent threat to that survival. But also that Thompson is using Fin more as a chorus or commentary to cast light on the deeper story (behind the survival theme) than him being the focus of the story itself.

I have, rather ploddingly, spelled this out because I have seen online reviews of the book which I think came away slightly disappointed, or perhaps perplexed, because they were trying to fit this book into a different template. I could make the point more bluntly by citing one very well known classic SF novel which nobody would ever try to approach in that way, but doing so would probably cross the line into being spoilery so there I will leave it.

Having got all that out of the way, what do we have in this book? I found three elements of the story particularly notable.

First, as a survival story, Far From the Light of Heaven is absolutely top class. Shell, the human captain woken from ten years of sleep when something goes wrong aboard Ragtime, is an excellently drawn character. She's strong and prepared but trying oh so hard to keep her doubts and fears in check, alternately helped and hindered by the necessary routines of life in space - necessary to remaining alive, that is. It's her first mission. She trained for years in the knowledge that she would only be aboard the ship as a backup, in case something came up which the AI systems can't handle. Her family background and motivations - including a missing space hero father - are described, and we then see her forced to step up, having to make myriad crucial decisions not only to discover what has gone wrong but to try and preserve several hundred lives aboard the ship. The technical stuff here is first rate - kind of like The Martian but with higher stakes and greater danger - as is the humanity of our Captain, notable in a story which also involves significant portrayals of AI. I also enjoyed Shell's relationship with Fin: both professional and rivalrous, as they have slightly different interests, backgrounds and goals.

A second strand was the background of the voyage, one of merciless plutocrats directing space exploration from afar (we briefly meet the richest man in the Galaxy). It is an interesting thought experiment how these Earth-grown tyrants relate to their distant empires, and how the inhabitants of the planets, colonies and stations feel about that. At one point in this story there's something like a popular show of protest against the behaviour of the trillionaires - something that Thompson leaves to us to decide whether or not it will come to anything, or indeed, is justified in the particular circumstances.

The third element that grabbed me in this story was the one I'd ideally have liked more of - the background and personalities on the space station Lagos, which Ragtime visits some time before the fatal events. Lagos's identity, and its crew/ inhabitants, explicitly recognises that the spreading presence of humanity in distant space is not just about White Americans, but that other cultures have also travelled to the stars. That sets up some promising potential conflicts, and Thompson introduces us to a range of characters, a couple of whom do travel to the Ragtime and intervene (kind of) in the central plot. However I felt that we could have heard far more about Lagos, and I got a definite sense that Thompson could have done that, albeit it would have been a longer book. In the event I wondered if Far from the Light of Heaven might best be seen as establishing a setting within which further adventures can take place? I would welcome that, although I think there's always a risk when work is being done here establishing that setting, work will only really pay off properly if more books do follow.

Which is, kind of, why I'd refer back to what I said earlier - approach this book with the right mindset. I think it is a fascinating introduction to a remarkable universe, and I'd like to read more about that. More, over and above my own selfish motivations here I think this kind of risk-taking deserves to be applauded, both by the author and by the publisher, and it deserves to succeed.

This is my first Tade Thompson novel, but it will definitely not be my last. His latest book Far From The Light of Heaven is an absorbing scifi thriller novel meets locked room, murder mystery. It’s a cliché but you won’t want to put this book down, the story is thrilling, the characters fully realised, the pacing exceptional and it has a killer ending to boot.
If you are a scifi fan you will be more than satisfied with what’s on offer her. Under the exquisite penmanship of Tade Thompson we discover a fully realised and very grounded science fiction world with all the beloved tropes you would expect from a great scifi novel; deep space exploration, AI gone wrong, frontier worlds clinging to the edge of the galaxy and shady galactic corporations. This book is a stand-alone, but I hope we see more this world Thompson has expertly created. At the very least this very talented man should be expecting a knock on the door of Hollywood very soon.
Everything that great modern science fiction should be 5 out of 5

Really impressed with this, but expect no less from Tade Thompson. This is speculative fiction at it's best, a murder mystery in space, with some unsettling AI and robot tech, and the kind of gruesome detail that is signature Thompson.

This is science fiction where the story comes first, it isn't bogged down by too much factual accuracy which often weights sci-fi down. It also feels a little space-opera yet isn't - it's a murder mystery in an enclosed space, and where more enclosed and dangerous a space than, well, Space.

It's Shell Champion's first mission, so nerves and pressure reign, especially when she wakes from the ten year sleep necessary to fly the journey to find that somehow thirty plus of her sleeping passengers have been murdered.

Fin is sent from nearby mining colony Bloodroot to investigate the gruesome affair, along with synthetic partner Salvo, and the trio make some terrifying discoveries.

Add to that an unauthorised rescue mission by Shell's 'Uncle' Lawrence Biz and his daughter Joké, and the sighting of a wolf on board with no knowledge of how it got there, plus the murder of this universe's very own 'Jeff bezos' space tech entrepreneur, the story unfolds with plenty of twists and turns and inevitable dangers of being trapped in a space ship nearing destruction.

The kind of book you stay up all night trying to finish!

Also included is an afterword by Thompson; he says that he feels it the afterword is required then it means the book has failed but I disagree, I like to read a little extra context - particularly hearing where he drew his inspiration from and some of the extra facts about space travel and the pressure it puts on human beings, and the psychological issues that arise really added to the experience of reading this book.

What a book! I am a casual reader of sci-fi and loved how this book didn't feel too sciencey or technical for me to understand. Essentially Far From The Light of Heaven is a locked room murder mystery in space and how cool is that!? Throw in some murderous robots, a room full of dismembered carcasses, an impossible wolf and you're in for a riot of a read!

Michelle (Shell) Campion is a young, newly qualified captain from a family of astronauts, determined to prove herself on the colony ship Ragtime. Of course, everybody knows that a physical captain is NEVER needed as the fail safe AI will take care of the whole journey to the planet Bloodroot and ensure the safety of all on board....you can see what's coming right? Shell is woken prematurely from stasis to discover things have gone horribly wrong. There are no longer a thousand sleeping passengers on board, thirty one of them have been literally torn from their slumber and ripped to pieces. That is not the only problem, Ragtime is no longer responding to her orders and appears to have been hacked. Shell's distress signal is received while she is docked on Lagos and Detective Finn and his AI partner (Salvo) are sent to investigate. An old family friend of Shell's (Lawrence) and his daughter Joke also travel to the Ragtime to lend a hand.

I LOVED this book so much!! The world building is fantastic and the characters were so varied and interesting. I admired Shell's determination to safely deliver her passengers to their new planet even though it was obvious from the onset she was viewed as spare part. Finn and Salvo are quite the duo and you can't help but love Lawrence as the support/father figure. Joke is something else (literally) altogether - part Lambo (alien) and she adds an element of fun and light relief to the novel.

Far From The Light of Heaven is a delightful mix of sci-fi, thriller with a sprinkle of horror thrown in. I'll let you find out about that wolf for yourselves...

Five stars!

I liked this sci-fi murder mystery. The writing was great and it was a thrilling read that had so much drama and action to it. There were a couple of times i got confused with that what was happening but i was so excited to see what caused the deaths that it wasn't too big of an issue for me. I would love to read another book by this author as this one was such an exciting read.