Tag: Mur Lafferty

Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty: Not the Sequel I Expected, but the Sequel we Needed

Chaos TerminalChaos Terminal

by Mur Lafferty

DETAILS:
Series: The Midsolar Murders, #2
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication Date: November 7, 2023
Format: eARC
Length: 384 pg.
Read Date: November 3-9, 2023
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What’s Chaos Terminal About?

A contingent of humans is about to arrive on Eternity—a mix of scholars wanting to interact with all the alien races on board, a couple of tourists, a couple of spies, the detective who had Mallory in his sights for years, and the new ambassador to Eternity. Sadly, they arrive at a bad time—Mrs. Brown, the new host for the sentient space station has left for some training on how to be a better host, leaving Eternity functional, but not optimally so. Mallory has been left as the primary contact for Eternity (which only Mrs. Brown and Eternity seem to think was the right choice)—but she’s not quite herself once these humans arrive.

Now, as is wont to happen around Mallory, one of this group is murdered. Something is going on with the Sundry that no one can quite understand. The Gneiss outside of Eternity aren’t happy with what Tina and Stephanie did in the concluding chapters of the last book—and just might attack the station to express their displeasure. Oh, and among the newly-arrived humans are two people Mallory has had zero contact with for years—her High School BFF, Amy, and Amy’s brother, Parker. Parker is Mallory’s long-lost unrequited love, and it’s pretty clear that he’s never really put the torch he carries for her down anywhere.

Adrian

After what happened to him in Station Eternity (and what he did before that), I really thought we were done with the former ambassador, Adrian. Alas, I was wrong—he’s still around. For a guy who’s not a villain or a real antagonist, he’s really unpleasant as a character. I really wish he was something other than “the annoying human on the station.”

He’s toned down a little bit after his recent experiences, but at his heart, he’s still an arrogant twit who doesn’t contribute much of worth to anyone. At least that I can tell. I really hope that now that his replacement is on board he decides to head back to earth.

(or, fine, Lafferty does something really interesting with him in the next book would be preferable to losing him—she really didn’t this time out—but it’d have to be quite interesting not to get on my nerves)

The Killer

I want to start out by saying that I really don’t have sympathy for the killer and think things wrapped up justly for them (that’s a fairly spoiler-free way to put it, I think).

But once it was revealed what led up to the murder—and how things spiraled out of control afterward—I kind of felt bad for them. They were unknowingly wrapped up in things and fell victim to bad assumptions because of that. Yes, their reactions were utterly wrong—but I can understand how they got to the point where murder seemed like a solution. That understanding lasted until they started taking the next steps to cover up the crime and everything that ensued.

I do appreciate that Lafferty set things up that way for the killer—the alien cultures, the intrigue around the killer and the trip to Eternity, and the least-sympathetic murder victim I remember reading this year—help the reader to be ambivalent about the killer’s actions (at least initially). Not enough writers do that.

So, what did I think about Chaos Terminal?

The one thing I wish Lafferty had done differently was the humor in this book. Not that Station Eternity was a yuk-fest by any means, but there was a fairly steady stream of humor throughout—either in character moments, misunderstandings between the aliens and humans, or just the preposterous nature of Mallory’s abilities and what she did with them. The humor in Chaos Eternity was almost entirely centered on Tina. She was a walking, talking (and/or yelling) embodiment of chaos and slapstick. So much so that it started to be too much a few times (but Tina and Lafferty won me over each time I was tempted to give up).

I do wish Xan had a little more to do, too. But he was integral to so much of the plot, but not in an overt way—I remember him playing a bigger role in Station Eternity than he did here. He was almost as important as Mallory before, and he was demoted to the fourth-most integral character. Here’s hoping that’s not a permanent thing.

While I was engaged, very curious, and entertained throughout—I wasn’t having as much fun as I did with Station Eternity and I will admit I wondered if I misjudged the other book. Then two things happened—1. Mallory and Parker had a good conversation where they both communicated* and 2. The killer was revealed. After that (or in the midst of that) everything clicked into place and almost everything that had me on the fence about this book went away.

* There was nothing wrong with the scenes earlier where they failed to actually communicate, both were distracted, unsure if they could trust the other, getting over baggage, and thinking they could delay the conversation.

I did say “almost everything” there. I’m not wholly on-board with everything Lafferty was doing. I really haven’t had as much time to think about this book as I wanted to between the time I finished and the time I wrote this post—I assume that if I had, a lot of what I’m uncertain about would make sense to me. I really don’t understand some of the relationships in this book, why some of the interpersonal conflicts existed, and just why Lafferty decided to take up so much space with all that. However, most of that provided a couple of red herrings—or at least things that distracted Mallory from what she needed to focus on—which was likely a large part of the point. It could be as simple as Lafferty was using everything possible to add to the titular chaos.

None of this detracts from everything that (eventually) worked about the novel, but it keeps me from raving about it. It’s not really what I expected from this sequel—and that’s such a good thing. What happens in the last few chapters ensures that Book 3 won’t be anything like this or Station Eternity. I’m not sure what’s going to happen—nor am I going to bother trying to guess (although it’s probably safe to assume that a new group of humans will visit Eternity and one of them will be murdered). I will trust Lafferty to come through with a satisfying conclusion however.

And, boy howdy, did this conclusion satisfy. Everything was wrapped up fairly nicely—those things that weren’t really only served to set things in motion for Book 3.

As the dust settled with the book’s events—and as the dust settles in my mind about those events and Lafferty’s plotting—I’m left satisfied and impressed with the way it all went down. I had my doubts, but they were quelled and assuaged, leaving me able to say that those who enjoyed Station Eternity would do well to pick this up—more importantly, those who like a good mystery in an even better SF setting, in the years soon following First Contact should grab both books in this series and prepare for something great next year (or so).

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.


4 Stars
This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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My Favorite Non-Crime Fiction of 2022

2023 Favorite Non-Crime
Back when I started this site, I knew the content would be largely “genre”-oriented. I’d have wagered the content would be roughly 1/3 Mystery/Detective fiction, 1/3 Urban Fantasy, and slightly less than 1/3 SFF, with “non-genre” fiction, humor, and non-fiction being enough to make my one-thirds just an approximation (honestly, if you asked me what I read regularly, that’s pretty much how I’d describe it today). Actual numbers show that’s wrong—it’s almost 40% Crime/Thriller Fiction, the rest of fiction is around 30% combined. Which is just a long-winded way to get to these two points: because Crime Fiction takes such a big chunk of my reading, it gets its own “Favorite” list, but none of the others really garner enough numbers for their own.

When it comes to this list of favorites, I had to choose—top five or top eleven. There are six I just couldn’t choose between—but hey, it’s my list, so here are my favorite 11 non-Crime Fiction Novels of 2022. It took me very little time to regret trying to write anything new about these books—I’m supposed to cover these in a measly paragraph? I borrow from my original posts, and really say less than I wanted to (or this post would be about 5 times as long as it is).

As always, re-reads don’t count—only the works that were new to me.

(in alphabetical order by author)

Amongst Our WeaponsAmongst Our Weapons

by Ben Aaronovitch

My original post
Any installment in this series is a strong contender for a favorite of the year even before I open it, and this one is a great example of why. While telling a pretty strong story, Aaronovitch expands this world and the reader’s understanding of it, a whole new magic system, and seemingly introduces the next major story arc for the series. We get to see almost every major (and more than a few minor) characters, too. For a fan, this book was a heckuva treat.

4 1/2 Stars

Wistful AscendingWistful Ascending

by JCM Berne

My original post
This novel—a Space Opera/Super-Hero mashup—hit just about every button I have and probably installed a couple of new ones (talking space bears, for example). If I try to expand on that I’m not going to shut up anytime soon. Read my original post—or just read the book.

4 1/2 Stars

The Veiled Edge of ContactThe Veiled Edge of Contact

by James Brayken

My original post
Brayken’s debut surprised me more times than I thought was possible. Every time I thought I knew what direction Brayken was taking for the story, the protagonist (or major characters), tone, or even genre—he’d make a sharp turn and make the book better than I thought it was. I have questions and qualms about some aspects of the novel—but this is going down as a highlight of 2022 anyway.

4 Stars

The Art of ProphecyThe Art of Prophecy

by Wesley Chu

My original post
In my original post, I said, “I don’t know that I can really express how excited I am about this book. The last time I was this enthusiastic about a Fantasy novel was Kings of the Wyld, and I’ve read some really good Fantasy since then. But this is a whole different level.” It features my favorite new-to-me-character of the year. It’s just a glorious read. I’ve read (and enjoyed) a lot of Chu’s previous work and this is so far beyond those that it’s hard to describe.

5 Stars

The Iron GateThe Iron Gate

by Harry Connolly

My original post
Every Twenty Palaces novel is better than the last—and The Iron Gate is no exception. This novel is a better version of everything Connolly has delivered before. We get character growth in a character I’d have considered pretty unchangeable, a dynamite plot (two, actually), and a disturbing monster to boot. There’s just so much to commend here—both for this novel and what it promises for the future.

4 1/2 Stars

The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) TrueThe Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True

by Sean Gibson

My original post
This is not a book to read if you’re in a “find out what happened and get to the end of the story” frame of mind. This is a “enjoy the trip, not the destination”/”stop and smell the roses” kind of book. The destination/what happens is fully satisfying, but the getting-there is so much better. This Fantasy/Comedy sends up and celebrates so many Fantasy mainstays that fans (and detractors) of the genre will have a blast on that front alone. The cast of characters is a blast and the protagonist, the bard Heloise, is even better.

4 Stars

Final HeirFinal Heir

by Faith Hunter

My original post
The fifteenth Jane Yellowrock novel was the series finale and the series went down the way it should—with a lot of heart, a lot of love, a lot of violence, and so many buckets of blood. I’ve been reading these for so long that I really didn’t want to see the series end (but it was time). From the jaw-dropping first chapter to the last lines that genuinely made me misty, Final Heir was a great ride.

5 Stars

Kaiju Preservation SocietyThe Kaiju Preservation Society

by John Scalzi

My original post
This book delivers all the ridiculous fun that the title (and premise) promises. Scalzi calls it a pop song, I tend to compare it to a popcorn movie. It’s not meant to provoke thought, to be pondered over, or analyzed. It’s meant to be enjoyed, it’s meant to be light and entertaining. Consider this me writing on the literary equivalent of a bathroom stall, “For a good time…”

5 Stars

Station EternityStation Eternity

by Mur Lafferty

My original post
A Murder Mystery set on a living Space Station with only three human characters surrounded by some of the strangest alien species you’ve seen (those three humans are pretty odd, too). This novel is one for mystery fans open to aliens walking around, SF fans interested in a different kind of story, and readers who like good things. Social commentary, a twisty narrative, a clever mystery, and more chuckles than I expected to get from this. An inventive read that’ll leave you wanting more.

4 Stars

Theft of SwordsTheft of Swords

by Michael J. Sullivan

My original post
Multiple people over the years have told me to read this book (some multiple times). I finally did, and regret not paying attention to them earlier. It’s more “traditional” Fantasy than the others on this list, there’s almost nothing that someone who’s read/watched a handful of fantasy series hasn’t been exposed to before. It’s the way that Sullivan has assembled these tried and true elements that is going to make you happy. The sword fights are fantastic. The imagination showed in the magic system, the magical creatures, and the politics—between races, within the remnants of the human empire, and the ecclesiastical politics—are really well conceived and effectively portrayed. I can’t wait to dive into the rest of the trilogy.

4 1/2 Stars

Adult Assembly RequiredAdult Assembly Required

by Abbi Waxman

My original post
This novel starts in the same bookstore that Nina Hill works in, and she’s around a lot—but this isn’t her book. It’s the story of a woman who moved across the country to start her life over, and the results aren’t what she expected. Adult Assembly Required is funny, it’s sweet, it’s heartwarming, and will make you feel good all over. It’s full of the Waxman magic.
5 Stars

The Ophelia Network (Audiobook) by Mur Lafferty, Khristine Hvam: A Cute (?) Dystopian Thriller

The Ophelia NetworkThe Ophelia Network

by Mur Lafferty, Khristine Hvam (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Publisher: Audible Studios
Publication Date: May 26, 2022
Format: Audible Original
Length: 2 hrs., 42 min.
Read Date: October 13-14, 2022

What’s The Ophelia Network About?

Under a dystopian U.S. government, a group of resistance workers coordinate through encoded messages in newspapers—but when the government sends censors to those outlets, they have to find a new way to spread the word to their operatives.

Which is where Libby comes in—it’s a children’s TV show—sort of a Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, but with puppets. The show’s new intern (a recently laid-off newspaper reporter) is using nonsense lyrics in their songs to communicate these messages.

We join the story when the actor playing the human character on the show is being interrogated, and get flashbacks catching us up to the present.

All of this happens under the watchful and helpful gaze of the “unhackable” Alexa/Siri-esque electronic assistant, Ophelia, that’s in every office, interrogation room, and restaurant.

Khristine Hvam

I’ve listened to something like twenty audiobooks narrated by Hvam—all reading Faith Hunter works (I thought I listened to a non-Hunter book, but can’t prove it). I enjoy what she does, she can deliver solid character work and accents, and evoke the right emotions. What I didn’t know is that a cartoon voice from her can crack me up—there’s a giggle we hear in this that would be worth the purchase price (if Audible didn’t include it for members). There’s one other character voice that doesn’t sound like someone from Hunter’s works, which is almost as good, too.

I had a blast with this.

So, what did I think about The Ophelia Network?

A novel-length version of this story might be too much—but I think this novella isn’t quite enough. It’s just a little too short, the story doesn’t get to be fully played out. Yes, Lafferty closes things off cleverly (especially if she didn’t want to get detailed about the ending), and no, I don’t think we needed to see the government fall/change for this to be an effective story. But we needed something a little more.

I am not complaining about what Lafferty and Hvam gave us, though—I just wanted more of it. I don’t know if a sequel is planned, but I’d welcome it. It’s a good Orwellian-ish story but with just enough humor to keep it from being entirely oppressive and dark. There’s a lot more to explore, but if that doesn’t happen, I’m satisfied with what we received.

This caught my eye after I read Lafferty’s Station Eternity, and seeing Hvam’s name on it sealed the deal. I’m going to keep an eye out for more from Lafferty, there’s something that she’s doing that just clicks with me. The Ophelia Network isn’t perfect, but I enjoyed this glance at a dystopian future, the characters and plot worked, and Hvam knocked it out of the park. If you have the means, give it a shot.


3 Stars

Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty: One Giant Leap for Homicide

Station EternityStation Eternity

by Mur Lafferty

DETAILS:
Series: The Midsolar Murders, #1
Publisher: Ace 
Publication Date: October 4, 2022
Format: eARC
Length: 464 pg. 
Read Date: September 23-29, 2022
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What’s Station Eternity About?

In the not-too-distant future, Aliens (of various species) have made Contact with Humanity. It’s not unheard of for them to be seen on earth, looking around. Many humans are worried about war with the aliens—that they’re around to invade or something. What they can’t accept is that the aliens just don’t think enough about humanity to bother.

Nearby—but not that near—is a Space Station where the aliens that Earth knows about are living. It’s important to know that the Space Station is sentient. She’s allowed three humans to live on board. One is an ambassador from the U.S. (you’re going to spend a lot of time wondering how he got that appointment, until—of course—Lafferty explains it, and then it’ll actually make sense); another is our protagonist, Mallory Viridian (more on her in a bit); and Xan, an Army quartermaster, Mallory met in college a few years back.

People tend to die around Mallory. Well, that’s not exactly true—people in Mallory’s vicinity have a tendency to be murdered. When that happens, Mallory is really good at solving the murders, too. Sure, she has to repeatedly convince law enforcement that she wasn’t involved in the murder—but after that, she’s great at figuring out who did the killing. Her presence on the Space Station is her attempt at staying away from people. Her thinking is that if she’s not around people, they can’t be killed. Yes, there are two other humans on board, but she avoids them as much as possible for their own sake.

But now…Eternity has decided to allow a shuttle-full of humans to visit, and Mallory is worried. Beyond worried, really. She tries to convince Eternity to call it off, but before she can…there’s a murder. And before long, there are others—is Mallory up for the challenge?

The Aliens

There’s a lot that I liked about this novel—more than I’m going to be able to really dig down into. But one of my favorite aspects of the novel is the alien races, their cultures, how they relate to humans, and so on. Aliens should be…alien. They shouldn’t all be humanoid with a few cosmetic differences. Novels are a better place for this than movies/TV because they’re not limited by an F/X budget, but still, we tend to get variations on a theme. Lafferty’s good at keeping the aliens strange and humans should be equally strange to them (beyond a McCoy-can’t-get-the-whole-Vulcan-logic thing)

A couple of examples to start with: there’s the food on the station—a lot of it is lethal to humans, some is just unpalatable (think of the way 80s sitcom characters would react to the idea of sushi, and then multiply that). There’s also the way way that the universal translation device (fairly reminiscent of Adam’s Babel Fish) being implanted is a bloody and painful process—which is still not easy and pain-free by the end of the book. Unless I’m forgetting something (likely) or haven’t been exposed to the right things (very likely), I’m used to this being a seamless, easy and pain-free process in SF.

We are talking about races here that can remember thinking of species like humans (and some others on the station) as “masticatables,*” before they got to the point where they saw them as sentient beings who should be treated with respect and on the same level. Physiology, communication, ethics, and worldviews that we can’t comprehend easily. Not only are they only barely interested in dealing with humans (it’s never stated, but I think most of Eternity’s residents wish they’d waited a few centuries before making First Contact)—they’re sure not going to go out of their way to make things accessible to humans. It’s up to the three on board to figure out how to survive.

* Of the thousands and thousands of words that I read last week, that’s probably my favorite one..

That said, they are pretty curious about humanity’s squishy bodies full of wetness, our lack of symbiotic relationships (oh, yeah, I forgot to mention—every other race in this book is in some sort of symbiosis). Isolated creatures are hard for them to wrap their minds around. Throughout the novel, various characters repeatedly express how they can’t understand how humans get by without a symbiotic relationship of some kind—in fact, they pity humans for how they must be isolated and hampered by it.

I could keep going here, but without writing a few hundred words on each race, I’m not going to be able to say enough (besides, that’s Lafferty’s job, not mine). Let me just sum up by saying that these aliens are alien, and we’re pretty strange to them. I love seeing both of these in action.

A Question of Genre

In my Spotlight post, wrote that Station Eternity is:

“a witty, self-aware whodunit with a unique sci-fi twist” (at least that’s what the promotional material says—I’d call it a witty, self-aware Sci-Fi novel with a unique whodunit twist, if I was in the mood to split hairs).

Now, largely, genre is used as a marketing tool—how do we get this in front of the readers who are most likely to respond with their attention (and wallets, can’t forget to get Lafferty and the publisher paid). As such, maybe it doesn’t matter what genre it’s classified as—and there’s something to it. But genre also helps you talk about a book—the conventions of the genre, the way a book diverts from and/or uses them, etc. It also helps you find a book, “I’m in the mood for a good book,” really doesn’t get you very far, whereas “I’m in the mood for an Urban Fantasy,” points you in the right direction.

So, Ace’s marketing—and the title of the series itself—leans on the mystery. And I think that’s fair. But I think the emphasis in this novel is on SF elements. That might not really be the case* in future novels in the series, but it felt that way this time. Lafferty’s own bibliography and résumé are pretty heavy on Speculative Fiction, too—so it makes sense that the book would be Science Fiction-heavy.

* Pun unintended. But I really wish I had planned it.

Considered separately, I think the mystery part of the novel isn’t as successful as the SF part is. That’s largely because the SF aspects change the rules for the mystery. Thankfully, you don’t have to consider the two strains separately—the book doesn’t, there’s little reason for a reader to do that (unless you’re trying to talk about it in a blog post or something).

As I mentioned, most of the various races in the novel are in a symbiotic relationship of some kind to survive (and things do not go well for them when the symbiosis is disrupted). I think the relationship between the two genres here could be thought of that way—it’s a mutually dependent relationship. The SF needs the mystery to generate and advance the plot, and the whodunit needs the SF to have a setting and for the characters to work.

Ultimately, I think a Mystery-reader who isn’t that into SF is not as likely to enjoy this as a SF-reader who isn’t that into Mysteries will. But I think readers of either genre who are open to the idea are going to find themselves really getting into this.

So, what did I think about Station Eternity?

I’ve said almost nothing about Mallory, Xan or any of the other humans running around this book—but this has gone on too long already. Also, most of what I’d say is best discovered in the novel. So let me just say that Mallory is a fantastic character, and I’ll sign up for at least three more books about her now. She’s this great mix of neurosis (tied to all the murders around her, so they’re understandable), talent, determination and snark. We don’t get to know Xan quite as well—but I’ll eagerly take at least one more book about him, too. He’s going to be able to be a very different person after the events of this book, and I’m curious to see what that looks like.

Eternity herself is a character I want to understand more—and everyone on board, too. There’s a Princess, for example, who seems like good comic relief when we meet her—and stays that way for most of the book. Then she does something and becomes a whole different kind of character—she’s still a hoot, but she’s a whole lot more.

That goes for the series, too—after Lafferty has created this world and shaken it up pretty well in this book, I want to see what happens afterward.

But I’ve gotten side-tracked, I want to focus on Station Eternity—there’s a lot of backstory woven into plot, and Lafferty handles it well. We learn enough to advance the plot and understand the characters—but not so much that she can’t throw us a curve-ball every now and then to be surprised by someone. And she does—and I relished each of them. These events and the characters will keep you on your toes.

This is a funny book—in the narration, some of the situations, and the way the characters relate to each other. The circumstances around a lot of the murders that Mallory encounters, for example, are frequently ridiculous. But it is not a comedy—we’re talking about a lot of murders for one thing. Then there’s intergalactic intrigue, the dangers of space travel, and life-or-death situations all around. The interactions and histories between the various characters are full of drama and the serious stuff that comes from being a person, too. There’s a great balance of light and darkness throughout the book and Lafferty writes both with skill and a touch of panache.

I had a great time with this book and will be thinking about it for a while to come—and as I’ve suggested, I’m eager to see what’s around the corner. I strongly recommend this book for mystery fans open to aliens walking around, SF fans interested in a different kind of story, and readers who like good things.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Berkley Publishing Group, Ace via NetGalley in exchange for this post and my honest opinion—thanks to both for this.


4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.


My thanks to Penguin Random House for the invitation to participate in this Publication Day Blitz and the materials (including the book via NetGalley) they provided.

EXCERPT from Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty: Nobody Believed Murders “Just Happened” Around Mallory

from Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty

Nobody Believed Murders “Just Happened” Around Mallory

The kettle screamed its achievement of boiling water and Adrian jerked it off the element, wincing. He must have a hell of a headache, she thought. He retrieved a mug from his shelves above the sink and then a tea bag from a small basket on his counter. He went on with his tea-making ritual with his back to her.

Mallory grew tired of the silence. “Do you think Earth knows that someone else did the diplomatic negotiating? Think they’re sending someone to take your place?”

“Don’t bait me, Mallory,” he said quietly, picking up the mug in both hands and facing her. He inhaled the steam, eyes closed.

Mallory nearly said she hoped a new ambassador would offer their guests tea, but Adrian was pretty tightly wound right now. There was something alarming about the way he was keeping himself perfectly still, like a waiting snake. She mentally prepared herself to dodge a mug of boiling water if he let loose.

She cleared her throat. “May I also have some tea, please?” She asked it just the way her mother insisted she do when she was young.

He looked at her for a long moment as if he didn’t understand her words and then turned around, face still stony. Behind him, hanging below the shelves against the wall, was a wooden dowel. Slung over the dowel and secured with a thumbtack were about twenty used tea bags. He removed one and prepared her tea.

“An old tea bag? Really, Adrian?” she protested.

“I have to ration when I don’t know when I’ll get back home again,” he said woodenly. “If I’d known they were coming, I could have asked someone to bring me some more tea. I was denied that option.” He cleared his throat, and then his voice took on his smoother diplomatic tone. “About the incoming humans-it’s a good thing, Mallory. Trade will increase. Doctors will visit. Diplomats will come to make the situation better on Earth. We might get closer to negotiating for FTL technology. People will bring us news. Media. More books and games. I know you don’t like people, but it’s undeniable-”

She stopped him before he got into full diplomat monologue mode, holding up her hand. “Wait, wait, wait, you still think I don’t like people?” she echoed in disbelief. “Jesus, when are you going to believe me? I like people just fine. They just tend to not like me.”

He had the full diplomatic face on, and he smiled benignly and spread his hands in the classic way to defuse arguments without actually conceding. “What can I do to make things better? Can we find a compromise?”

“You can listen to me when I tell you that letting that shuttle dock will very likely result in someone getting killed,” she said, glaring at him from behind bangs that hadn’t been cut in three months. “You can go to your meeting and tell them to send the humans back home.”

“You knew this was what we were working toward, and it’s much bigger than you and your personal problems. This is a big step for humanity and long overdue,” he said patiently. “What if one of us humans gets appendicitis and there’s no one who understands human anatomy? Having humans on board who can handle our medical needs is good for both of us!”

She got to her feet. “If you won’t listen to me, I’ll ask for a meeting with the station folks. I can still get this changed.”

He shook his head slowly. “That’s not going to work. They’re not going to deny a new race access to the station based on one person’s paranoia. And if you succeed you will be responsible for single-handedly holding back humanity from scientific evolution. Do you want that on your tombstone?”

“If humans come aboard, we will be writing the epigraph for someone’s tombstone, but it won’t be mine,” she said, defeat weighing on her shoulders.

Nobody—really, nobody—believed murders “just happened” around Mallory.

After two years of college and four murders in six months, she had tried therapy.

Dr. Miller first said she’d seen too many murder mystery shows and didn’t believe her when she said she wasn’t a fan of them. Then he suggested possible paranoid schizophrenia. Or maybe just paranoia. She left the appointment with a prescription for brexpiprazole that she didn’t fill.

During her second appointment, Miller’s receptionist became number eight when she was murdered while Mallory and the doctor were arguing in the next room. When they discovered the body, Dr. Miller accused her instead of validating her, and then, when she obviously had a perfect alibi, refused to treat her further.

He didn’t appreciate her solving the crime either. Probably because the killer had been his own wife, who had been convinced he was sleeping with the victim.

She’d turned to religion next. She didn’t care which; she just made a list of places one could worship in Raleigh and rolled a die. Each holy leader she spoke with told her to trust in a variety of higher powers, give herself over to Christ, follow the Tao, meditate, pray, volunteer, whatever. They each thought she was presenting a troubled mind that their faith could focus, not a real problem. But she couldn’t just magically believe in something; she had trouble believing in what was actually happening in front of her.

“Miracles happen daily if we just open ourselves to it,” one priest had said while she was in confession. He hadn’t wanted to call it a miracle when, while hearing Mallory’s confession, a parishioner had been murdered in the church’s parking lot. The church had not admitted she was right; they instead accused her of orchestrating the crime. This was her ninth murder and she should have known better.


Excerpted from Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty Copyright © 2022 by Mur Lafferty. Excerpted by permission of Ace. All rights reserved.


My thanks to Penguin Random House for the invitation to participate in this Publication Day Blitz and the materials (including the book via NetGalley) they provided.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty

Today I’m very pleased to welcome the Publication Day Book Blitz for the first of The Midsolar Murders series, Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty, “a witty, self-aware whodunit with a unique sci-fi twist” (at least that’s what the promotional material says—I’d call it a witty, self-aware Sci-Fi novel with a unique whodunit twist, if I was in the mood to split hairs). It’s a great read and I’m happy to spend some time today highlighting it. Along with this spotlight post, I have an excerpt from the novel to share and my take on the novel later this morning (I’ve got about 4 paragraphs to go on that). Those links’ll work when the posts go live.

First, let’s take a look at Station Eternity.

Book Details:

Book Title: Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty
Publisher: Ace Books
Release date: October 4, 2022
Format: Ebook/Paperback/Audiobook
Length: 464 pages
ISBN: 9780593098110
Station Eternity Cover

About the Book:

Amateur detective Mallory Viridian’s talent for solving murders ruined her life on Earth and drove her to live on an alien space station, but her problems still follow her in this witty, self-aware novel that puts a speculative spin on murder mysteries, from the Hugo-nominated author of Six Wakes.

From idyllic small towns to claustrophobic urban landscapes, Mallory Viridian is constantly embroiled in murder cases that only she has the insight to solve. But outside of a classic mystery novel, being surrounded by death doesn’t make you a charming amateur detective, it makes you a suspect and a social pariah. So when Mallory gets the opportunity to take refuge on a sentient space station, she thinks she has the solution. Surely the murders will stop if her only company is alien beings. At first her new existence is peacefully quiet…and markedly devoid of homicide.

But when the station agrees to allow additional human guests, Mallory knows the break from her peculiar reality is over. After the first Earth shuttle arrives, and aliens and humans alike begin to die, the station is thrown into peril. Stuck smack-dab in the middle of an extraterrestrial whodunit, and wondering how in the world this keeps happening to her anyway, Mallory has to solve the crime—and fast—or the list of victims could grow to include everyone on board….

Purchase Links

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Books A Million ~ Bookshop.org ~ Hudson Booksellers ~ IndieBound ~ Powell’s ~ Target ~ Walmart

Early Praise for Station Eternity:

“Lafferty (Hugo-nominated for Six Wakes) creates a clever and suspenseful sci-fi mystery, with intriguing characters and attentive worldbuilding.”
Library Journal, STARRED review

“What a glorious romp. Murder, sentient space stations, and banter. It had everything I wanted.”
—Mary Robinette Kowal, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of The Calculating Stars

“A science fiction mystery has to nail both the science fiction and the mystery, and this book passes both tests with flying colors. As bingeable and satisfying as your favorite murder show. I couldn’t put it down.”
—Sarah Pinsker, Nebula Award-winning author of A Song For A New Day and We Are Satellites

“Lafferty’s characters stomp off the page, kicking ass and taking names as they do. If Jessica Fletcher ended up on Babylon Five, you still wouldn’t get anywhere close to this deft, complicated, fast-moving book. Station Eternity kept me up way too late turning pages.”
—T. Kingfisher, Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning author of Paladin’s Grace and Nettle & Bone

About the Author:

Mur Lafferty is an author, podcaster, and editor. She has been nominated for many awards, and even won a few. She lives in Durham, NC with her family.


My thanks to Penguin Random House for the invitation to participate in this Publication Day Blitz and the materials (including the book via NetGalley) they provided.

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