Arc of the Universe follows Dr. Carrie Davenport, a constitutional law professor, as she works on developing founding documents for an upcoming mission to create a settlement on Mars. She must not only grapple with the complexity of researching existing constitutions and legal regimes to craft a legal system from scratch to function in a very unique and challenging environment, but must also figure out how to navigate and challenge the racism and sexism of the project’s funder, assigned collaborators, STEM as a field, and the American legal documents she has to work with as sources.

I like so much about this book! Dr. Davenport is a multi-faceted, nuanced character. I really enjoyed how Alexander develops Carrie as well as her relationships, especially with her best friend Kim and with her father. The pacing is consistent and quite fast. The plot is engaging. As a queer reader, I appreciate the representation of Carrie as a character. I think the author effectively made discussions of political/legal concepts accessible to a readership who may not know much about those topics.

Please note that this is not sci-fi. Some reviews have noted that it doesn’t read like sci-fi – that’s because it really isn’t; it’s set in a world very very much like the present full of present-day real-world references (to places, individuals, etc) but with the technology to support starting a Mars colony. On NetGalley it is classified as General Fiction (Adult), LGBTQIAP+, and Multicultural Interest. This said, I would recommend it for fans of books like Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronaut series.

Thank you to the author, Strawberry Tree Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC to review.

Content warnings: sexism, misogyny, racism, classism, police brutality, violence

This book explores the challenging task of designing a government for Mars through the eyes of Carrie, a Black queer constitutional law professor navigating intense social issues on Earth alongside futuristic ambitions. The blend of real-world struggles like police violence and racism with big ideas about space colonization makes it a thoughtful, emotionally charged read. While it leans more into contemporary drama than hard sci-fi, its exploration of justice and identity feels urgent and fresh.

This book is AMAZING! Like so bloody good. It will rile you up for all the right reasons. While dealing with issues of police brutality, political and large corporations and institutions biases towards black people and any other person of ethnic minority, LGBTQ or females. It still takes you on an entertaining journey through one persons ups and downs. It is truly one of those powerhouse books that everyone should own and shout out about. The author writes about her main character Carrie, a black LGBTQ woman fighting against racism and misogyny to fight for the rights of those who are underrepresented in this new mission. And whilst It’s a dreamscape idea, this colonist mission to Mars, where big steps are taken towards tackling social injustice, in real life, even the smallest voices can make a big difference. And the author is that voice here, reminding us all, no matter how small we may think we are, if we have a platform. We should speak out about social injustice and help remind people, we are all human and we all deserve respect.

If I could give more than 5 stars for this book, I would. Absolutely brilliant. Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley for making this Arc available to read!

The premise of this book was really interesting, and that's what initially drew me in - it doesn't hurt that the cover also really stands out from the crowd!

So a billionaire has decided that he is going to fund the first settlement on Mars (sound familiar?) , and in the process of doing this, it's decided that a constitution will be needed for the settlement, because Earth's constitution wouldn't necessarily. be applicable on another planet. Enter our main character Dr Carrie Davenport, a brilliant law professor, who just so happens to specialise in constitutional law! Carrie is a black, queer, American woman, who is divorced from her ex-husband. Carrie is going to be leading the constitution team, which will not be straightforward, and then there is a harrowing incident with the police which shakes Carrie, as she confronts the affects of this incident and as she is further exposed to the project she begins to question many things about herself, the constitution and the Mars project itself!

I enjoyed this book, Carrie is an interesting character, she has kept herself almost hidden away in her comfortable academic bubble up to this point, trying to live a peaceful life avoiding confrontation. Which given her family have all been involved in activism, is a bit of a departure from what is expected of her by them, Carrie is reluctant at first to involve herself in activities taking her out of her academic sphere, but we watch Carrie grow and use her voice throughout the book which was an engaging journey to read.

I as a sci-fi fan was particularly intrigued in the concepts around making a constitution for humans who were going to be off planet so to speak! There are so many quandaries I thought to consider, not everyone is necessarily going to be American, there might be issues that could crop up on Mars that are not covered within the constitution as it stands. What rights would they have there for instance compared to on Earth, and what could they and couldn't they do, because I think international law restricts one sovereign nation from trying to claim ownership of another planet- but they're ultimately moving there with the hopes of having a permanent settlement one day? The list of questions goes on in my mind! I was really keen to see how this was going to be explored.

However, it was this element of the book, which was lacking for me personally, and is why I didn't score the book higher . Principles and concepts to be included within the constitution are mentioned and there are discussions between characters, but to me it read as though, those characters had done the reading and the research and they were merely commenting to one another on whether or not they agreed on a principle - just without explaining it to us. It just felt a little vague and peripheral at times to me, and that was disappointing, but then again the ins and outs of the constitution isn't what the novel is about as such - I can just go Google the questions that I might have about those concepts! I'm a sucker for detail though, so maybe I went in with my expectations too high on that front, this as I've said was not really the overall intended purpose or message of the book!

My only other quibble as such was the pacing, I was quite surprised at how quickly everything seemed to reach a conclusion. I wouldn't say that the story suffered because of it, I just felt that the ending seemed to be a little bit rushed.

Overall I did enjoy the book and I would definitely recommend it, as i said Carrie is an interesting character, and it is an engaging read with an interesting premise, it just maybe wasn't quite the book that I thought I was going to be reading on the science and space travel front- which is my own issue not the books!

4 stars

Is it a person's duty, to become a voice of change, when injustice falls upon them? This is the very question this book poses to answer.

Arc of the Universe by Nikki Alexander follows Dr. Carrie Davenport, a shy law professor who has been chosen to help draft the constitution for the first human colony on Mars. When Carrie, a black, queer woman, falls victim to police brutality, she has to decide between healing from the incident by moving on, or using her position to fight for change.

This is a book that is highly relevant today. It critiques the ‘tech bro' culture of outer space, and highlights the prejudices women and people of colour still face today. Despite its clear plot, the novel is mostly character driven. Carrie's internal conflict between keeping her head down and doing her job, and standing up for what she knows is right is well portrayed. I also enjoyed that Carrie is not a perfect character. People of colour and queer characters are often placed on a pedestal in avoidance of public scrutiny, but Carrie Davenport is a three-dimensional, flawed character who seems to exist outside the confines of the page.

Despite its intriguing plot and engaging opening scene, this book is not much of a page turner. It took me a while to get into it, but I am, however, glad I did.

As stated above, Arc of the Universe by Nikki Alexander is highly relevant in today's society. I would recommend this book to fans of literary fiction, low-grade science fiction, and anybody who would like to hear a voice different from the ones we are used to seeing on bestseller charts.

This was an interesting read, quite thought-provoking. The main character, Carrie, is well-drawn and I was interested to see what she would do to about the injustice she herself had suffered in her personal life and how this might have bearing on her professional duty. She’s a law professor with the job of creating a constitution for a proposed Mars colony. But she’s also black and queer, and gets slammed in jail with a cop’s boot in her face for doing little more than being in a car with a friend. A lot of the book is about how the personal and professional Carrie interact. Will she be true to herself?

Where I have reservations about the story it is because there seems to be too little peril, somehow. Carrie seems to get a new outfit and a makeover at the beginning of every chapter, thanks to her friend Kim. She is faced with difficult choices such as whether she should sleep with a film star (male), a senator-astronaut (female) or the rough-edged but good-hearted woman she picks up in a bar. She gets unwelcome news and the story of her brush with the law goes viral, and she gets drunk for a week, doesn’t shower, and fails to change to a fresh outfit. The possibility that she might lose the job of crafting the constitution becomes quite real. She might be reprimanded for not giving lectures and meeting her students face to face. It’s not quite life or death stuff!

There is a major point to all this, though, and that is the celebration of diversity. This is handled well, and there is a pleasing denouement, with Carrie coming out on top, thanks to her friends, assistants and research students. There’s a moving Epilogue, where this success is realised and Carrie can celebrate the fruits of her labours.

As above, so below, we might feel. If Mars could have a constitution celebrating equity of all humans and admitting the mistakes of the past, perhaps Earth should have one too?

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the readers copy. This is my own honest review after a full read.

If you are looking for a dystopian science fiction story that isn't quite as heavy as Octavia Butler, this is a good one. The first half was a little slow and the supporting characters were a little one dimensional (but no so much so that they pulled you out of the story) but those are the only downsides. The main character, Carrie, is an incredibly complex and rich character. Her potentially deadly encounter with police and subsequent trauma response were believably and realistically written. The character's struggle with navigating how to advocate for herself and others, while taking care of herself, and dealing with continued racist encounters was also well written. I think this is a book that is going to stick with the reader for a while.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC (heh) for this book.

While I'm not from the United States, recent political events have made me learn more than I ever wanted to know about the American Constitution and how it guides the basic rights of everyone in that country. Given this, it's quite timely that I found this book by Nikki Alexander that focuses on the idea of a constitution for a brand new planet/colony. As a thought experiment, this book is as close as you can get without going into alternative historical fiction to wonder: if the American Constitution were being written from scratch today, who should be involved in writing it, and what would they include? I appreciate that this book pulls no punches in describing that scholarly pursuit.

Dr Carrie Davenport is a divorced queer black woman and a renowned constitutional law professor who has been tasked to lead the group that will draft a constitution for the first human colony on Mars. Carrie is an interesting character because she exemplifies the damage done to a person by internalising minority exceptionalism. Carrie sits in her ivory tower of academia, preferring the drier world of constitutional law, which refers primarily to the intent and spirit of the founders of a country rather than the messier legal frameworks that are based on this initial document. Until she is suddenly thrust into her own police brutality incident, her only real experiences with racism in her professional life are a passive-aggressive colleague who believes "wokism" has gone too far and gets in his digs at her when he can. Suddenly faced with police violence, Carrie struggled with the sanitised idea of a constitution as an ideal vision that protects all under its cloak from discrimination, violence, and unjust practices, and the reality of the laws based on the constitution and their very unequal enforcement.

Adding to this are side characters that bring interesting depth to the dilemma as well, such as Carrie's three research assistants, who are fiery Gen Z folks who bring opinions about intesectionality into the mix, as well as Carrie's fellows in the committee to create the new constitution, one of whom is a racist mysogynist conservative and the other an enabling fence-sitter. Adding further to the mix of provocative opinions is Shauna, Carrie's friend with benefits, who was the cause of the major police incident, but also brings a non-academic and lower-class perspective to Carrie's sanitised world, despite being white and a sometime criminal in the past.

As always, I appreciate the nod to our times with a conservative, old-money billionaire manchild who wishes to fund the Mars expedition and establish the colony with his own company and the shadowy figures who seek enrichment for themselves and the US over humanity's interests in this new planet (and its minerals).

All of this together makes for a rich and nuanced story about a person who finally sees a way to have a lasting legacy that will help people be better than we have been in the past, but is rapidly brought back down to Earth (heh) by racism, sexism, and good old-fashioned greed. If I had to deduct some points in my final rating, it would be because the end feels a bit too neat and easy, but I can't be mad when my inner optimist is smiling hard when we conclude the tale, unrealistic as it may end up being in a real-world situation.

I would caution anyone wandering into this book expecting a hardcore sci-fi book because this has only the slightest dash of any sci-fi and is very much about social justice, being better as a society, and how we can bridge the gap from where we are now and where we want to be and what role a foundational document such as a Constitution can play in holding that line (while also not being shot down by conservative voices). I am reminded of the old days of Star Trek (The Original Series) where we have some silly buttons and screens to represent the future bu the real stars are the optimism towards the future (something we rarely see anymore, honestly) and the human efforts to get to that ideal.

This book had such an interesting premise, and I really enjoyed watching Carrie’s development throughout. It was so incredibly well researched, and gave such an interesting insight into America’s legal system (which I didn’t know much about).

The dynamics between all the different characters were so interesting and the message was so important. I would totally recommend this!

I loved this book, and it’s obvious the author did a lot of research. I went into this not really knowing what I was about to read, and I don’t want to spoil it by giving away too much of the plot. I want other readers to go on the journey I went on. For so much of the book, I wasn’t sure where it was going. Here are some things I liked about the book: Carrie struggling with the expectations of others, trying to do the right thing when everything seems wrong, struggles with bigotry and being invalidated about struggles of marginalized groups, and as a professor - I liked reading about Carrie’s life in academia. If you have ever wondered about how to make life more fair, if you have ever struggled to figure out what’s the right thing, you need to read this book. This is something I hope to be able to recommend to students of mine who are interested in social justice.

The whole premise of designing a government from scratch was interesting, and I enjoyed Carrie as a character. That being said, this book was barely science fiction. I think it could have benefited from more differentiation between the world the story was set in and our own.