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Fiction. Science Fiction. Thriller. HTML:NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BUZZFEED AND KIRKUS REVIEWS � With deeply moving human drama, nail-biting suspense�and bold speculation informed by a degree in physics�C. A. Higgins spins a riveting science fiction debut guaranteed to catapult readers beyond their expectations. Serving aboard the Ananke, an experimental military spacecraft launched by the ruthless organization that rules Earth and its solar system, computer scientist Althea has established an intense emotional bond�not with any of her crewmates, but with the ship�s electronic systems, which speak more deeply to her analytical mind than human feelings do. But when a pair of fugitive terrorists gain access to the Ananke, Althea must draw upon her heart and soul for the strength to defend her beloved ship. While one of the saboteurs remains at large somewhere on board, his captured partner�the enigmatic Ivan�may prove to be more dangerous. The perversely fascinating criminal whose silver tongue is his most effective weapon has long evaded the authorities� most relentless surveillance�and kept the truth about his methods and motives well hidden. As the ship�s systems begin to malfunction and the claustrophobic atmosphere is increasingly poisoned by distrust and suspicion, it falls to Althea to penetrate the prisoner�s layers of intrigue and deception before all is lost. But when the true nature of Ivan�s mission is exposed, it will change Althea forever�if it doesn�t kill her first. Praise for Lightless �Gripping . . . sci-fi flavored with a hint of thriller.��New York Daily News �[A] measured, lovely science-fiction debut [that is] more psychological thriller . . . contained, disciplined, tense . . . The plot is compulsive. . . . Lightless is the first of a planned series, and you can�t help looking forward to learning what�s next.��The New York Times �Lightless is full of suspense and fun as hell to read.��BuzzFeed �Absolutely brilliant . . . This is science fiction as it is meant to be done: scientific concepts wedded to and built upon human ideals.��Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of the October Daye series �The stakes in this story are high�life and death, rebellion and betrayal�and debut novelist Higgins continually ratchets up the tension. . . . A suspenseful, emotional story that asks plenty of big questions about identity and freedom, this is a debut not to be missed.��Kirkus Reviews (starred review) �A taut, suspenseful read.��Tech Times �Lightless is an exercise in lighting a very slow fuse and building the tension to an unbearable pitch while making us guess just how apocalyptic the ultimate explosion will be. . . . It is a high-wire act, a wonderment, and a fine accomplishment from a name we�ll be seeing again.��Sci Fi.… (more)
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It sounds like a good, interesting setup, and the plot is clearly trying to be clever and twisty. But it just failed to work for me on far too many levels. The pace was slow, with almost nothing happening for much of the book, until a bunch of plot revelations -- many of them far too easy to guess in advance -- get dumped on us all at once at the end. The writing, while not bad, exactly, felt slightly odd or awkward to me, in a hard-to-pin-down way that had me double-checking to see if it had been translated from another language. (It hadn't.) Too much important world-building stuff is left entirely too vague and underdeveloped, while a lot of other story elements, from the minor to the plot-critical, felt implausible or just plain wrong. It ends on an not-very-satisfying note, too, presumably to induce us to buy the sequel (which I am not going to do). Most damning of all, I never felt, from the first page on, that I had any reason at all to care about these people, their ship, or their solar system.
Rating: 2/5, although it does occur to me to wonder if I'd be less harsh on it if my expectations were lower going in. I'd heard some good buzz about this one that steered me very, very wrong.
It has been some time a book didn't hook me like this. It shows that well-known ingredients can still produce engaging stories.
I am skeptical, though, that "The System" (a Big Brother lookalike)
I received a review copy of "Lightless" by C.A. Higgins (Del Rey Spectra) through NetGalley.com.
I enjoyed reading the book, the plot was unique, especially in explaining the creation of AI, and should leave the author with several starting points for sequels should that be her wish. Thanks for the chance to read your work, I'll be recommending it to my contacts.
Lightless by author C.A. Higgins seemed to start out slow at least for me and I almost gave up on it. But then, somewhere near the middle, without even realizing it had happened, I found myself completely engrossed in the story and couldn’t put it down. The narrative for much of the book is split between Stay’s interrogation of the intruder and Althea’s efforts to discover what is causing all of the ship’s malfunctions. The fact that the entire story takes place on the ship within narrow corridors, windowless rooms, a makeshift cell and maintenance shafts gives the story an overpowering sense of claustrophobia. Add to this the tension which is strengthened by the chaos that takes over Ananke and is magnified by the physical limits placed on it – the visual and auditory sensations created by lights flickering, alarms wailing, and the very loud tantrums of a very powerful teenaged computer counterposed with Althea’s frantic attempts to save her ship and Stay’s interrogation- and the impact on the reader is almost visceral.
Lightless is a very well-written, intelligent, and compelling scifi novel. I didn’t realize until after I finished it but this is the first in a series - if this first book is any indication, this series is shaping up to be one hell of a ride.
There’s room, plenty of room. Man lives on Earth, Luna, Mars and various planetoids and moons.
People used to live on Saturn’s moons too – before they rebelled against the System, and it killed them all.
Rebellion persists,
When stowaways Leontios Ivanov and Mattie Gale are captured aboard the System’s supersecret spaceship the Ananke, System security agent Ida Stays is sent aboard to interrogate Ivanov. She is convinced he knows who Mallt-y-Nos is.
The best part of the story is Higgins skillfully filling in the backstory mostly through those interrogation sessions.
She restricts herself, for most of the book, to three viewpoint characters: Ida, Ivanov, and the story’s heroine, engineer and computer scientist Althea Bastet.
There is a claustrophobic feel to the story because we never leave the Ananke and because the characters are always cautious about the emotions and thoughts they express because, like everywhere else humans live in the Solar System, they are watched by the System.
The various plots and subplots come together perhaps too neatly at the end, but I particularly liked the final chapters.
The overarching problem with Higgins’ story is vagueness. We’re not sure if the System is a government headed by an artificial intelligence or humans or a combination of both. The details of the government are vague. The justification for what happens in the final chapter is vague.
And the marketing for this book is misleading. It is not a “’locked spaceship’ mystery”. It is more a haunted spaceship mystery. Higgins, trained as an astrophysicist, does not give us “bold speculation”. The secret ability of the black-hole powered Ananke? It can reverse entropy. Certainly useful, but we don’t even get pseudoscientific babble as an explanation.
Presumably some of these questions will be answered in the sequel, and I found this book good enough that I will probably take a look at it.
Some things to like and some I didn't in the debut scifi thriller. The first 2/3
Now on what I did like. As I said the first part was slow, but the author really hit her stride and the last 1/3 of the book flew by! I was not expecting the twist or the change into basically a thriller novel. As a science fan I did enjoy the science that was in there. I didn't realize until I was almost done that this is just book one with two planned sequels. That said it did end at a satisfying point and left me curious enough to want to know where it goes next. I will be checking out book two for sure.
And because I love sci-fi. So, I was predisposed to love the book. Unfortunately, I just wasn't able to.
The premise: Three crewmembers are aboard an experimental spacecraft, on a top-secret mission, about which even they
The System sends a senior investigator, Ida Stays, to interrogate the prisoners. Before she gets there, one of them escapes. He's presumed dead - but the investigator is none too pleased. However, at least she's still got one captive to question.
And then... well, the bulk of the book is the inquisitor (a completely two-dimensional character) questioning the guy, and what he tells her. He's mystifyingly forthcoming, sitting down and blabbing his life story, even though Ida's much-vaunted interrogation techniques don't seem to consist of much more than: "Talk to me. And if I think you're lying, I'll give you a truth serum."
Meanwhile, there seems to be a ghost in the machine - that machine being the ship's AI. Althea, the engineer/computer tech, bumbles around trying to fix things, getting emotional about the situation, and trying to cover up how very confused she is about the malfunctions.
Well... that's about it. I felt like I kept waiting for the story to get started but it never did. The style of the writing felt like it ought to be a not-too-deep but entertaining & exciting space opera... but we just all sat there on a malfunctioning ship, with some people talking.
It's been mentioned in multiple other reviews, but I'm also compelled to chime in that the publisher's blurb comparing this to 'Alien' and 'Gravity' is wholly baseless. All three stories do take place in space, and feature astronauts. That's where the similarities end.
Many thanks to Del Rey and NetGalley for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinions are solely my own.
For people who've already read it:
For me this is a key passage:
"There is a degeneracy," Ananke said. "A scientific degeneracy. The two stories produce the same data, and which one is true and which one is false cannot be determined with the data we have. We need more information. ... A second source."
That applies to everything that Ivan and Mattie do and say through the whole book. Including Ivan's explanation of what and "who" Ananke is. There are certainly flags raised in their final exit from the ship. Is Ananke really "alive"? Was the whole spoonful o' chaos bit just another con? When we know that Mattie didn't just have minutes but days to make modifications?
What if someone told you that you weren't really conscious, you just thought you were? Is that a distinction without a difference?
I love that we have nothing but unreliable and misinformed viewpoints in this little world. It felt like a stage play at times. "OFFSTAGE: Sound of Earth being destroyed"
This is another case where a sequel might clarify things, and I don't know if that would be better or not.
I was going to go into greater detail about what I didn't like about the book, but most of the reviews have already covered that. I can say that by the end of the book, I really had no feelings
I won this book in a giveaway.
t was a highly-entertaining read that I enjoyed throughout--I'll definitely pick up the sequel--but it is a first novel from a young writer, and that shows quite clearly in places.