Science Fiction

Far from the Light of Heaven

Far from the Light of Heaven

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  • Create Date：2021-10-29 09:15:56
  • Update Date：2025-09-24
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  • Author：Tade Thompson
  • ISBN：B08M5BZN13
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Summary

“Simultaneously brutally grounded and wildly imaginative。” —Adrian Tchaikovsky， Arthur C。 Clarke Award winner

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 traveled 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。

Praise for Far from the Light of Heaven

"Gripping and skillfully told， with an economy and freshness of approach that is all Tade Thompson''s own。 The setting is interstellar， but it feels as real， immediate， and lethal as today's headlines。"—Alastair Reynolds

“A gripping space opera with characters fighting for their lives aboard a dying starship。 I enjoyed it so much and can't wait to see what he does next。" —Martha Wells， New York Times bestselling author

For more from Tade Thompson， check out:

The Wormwood Trilogy
Rosewater
Rosewater: Insurrection
Rosewater: Redemption

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Reviews

Catalina ，

This sounded so promising to me but unfortunately it fell short。 The writing style took me a good minute to get into and by the time I did I was already checked out of the plot。I'm disappointed because there are very good parts of this story but there is also a lot of confusing and difficult parts。 Full review to come soon。 This sounded so promising to me but unfortunately it fell short。 The writing style took me a good minute to get into and by the time I did I was already checked out of the plot。I'm disappointed because there are very good parts of this story but there is also a lot of confusing and difficult parts。 Full review to come soon。 。。。more

Sophia ，

An interesting story set in the distant future， on the AI ship called The Ragtime， Far From The Light of Heaven follows Michelle （Shell） Campion as she co pilots her first ever mission- a ten year journey for most of which she （and the rest of the passengers） will be in a state of deep sleep as Ragtime navigates。 But something goes wrong and Shell is awoken early to find a wolf in her room， Ragtime unresponsive， and thirty of her passengers dead and dismembered。 Now， with the help of an investig An interesting story set in the distant future， on the AI ship called The Ragtime， Far From The Light of Heaven follows Michelle （Shell） Campion as she co pilots her first ever mission- a ten year journey for most of which she （and the rest of the passengers） will be in a state of deep sleep as Ragtime navigates。 But something goes wrong and Shell is awoken early to find a wolf in her room， Ragtime unresponsive， and thirty of her passengers dead and dismembered。 Now， with the help of an investigator sent to assist her case， a family friend， and his daughter， Shell must find the murderer and get control of Ragtime before it's too late and the lives of the rest of the hundreds of passengers still on board are all lost。 Far From The Light of Heaven was a really interesting story with a premise that I absolutely love- murder mystery set in the confines of space is the perfect backdrop for suspense and tension thick enough that you can cut it with a knife- and Tade Thompson executes this concept fairly well。 Although I wish the tension and claustrophobia of the situation was more pronounced， the urgency of the situation was always front and center- with my main issue being that I wished some scenes lasted a bit longer， allowing for the tension to really settle into the atmosphere and permeate the moment。 The story was rather fast-paced which worked against the tension at times but did work in favor of the story as a whole since it never left a moment feeling dull or slow。 The characters were all unique and well-crafted individuals。 I got a clear sense of all their personalities and motivations with my only problem being that at times the way relationships progressed felt a bit too fast and rushed。 I wish some characters got a little bit more page time than they did， but I still enjoyed each one that was introduced。 The villain of the story was great， the motivation and desires felt real and left me feeling conflicted over their actions in a way that all good villains should。 I only wish that they were introduced sooner so that I could have more time with them to attach to their character and sit in their thoughts。 They were only really introduced towards the last portion of the book which made their introduction and backstory feel more like an info-dump of character information instead of like a natural progression where the reader gradually learns more about the character and their motivations over the course of a few chapters。 It felt a bit like unreached potential to me- especially given how complicated the motives and desires of this character were。 All in all， I enjoyed this book quite a bit。 There were definitely some rough edges that I wish were cleaned up a bit more， but no flaws glaring enough to make me dislike the story。 It was a very fast and enjoyable read that flew by pretty quickly and I'd definitely be willing to check out more books by Tade Thompson within the same genre。 。。。more

Eric ，

TL;DRTade Thompson’s Far from the Light of Heaven explores the closed room mystery in the ultimate closed environment – a space ship far from Earth。 This novel is full of interesting characters and big ideas。 Highly recommended。 Disclaimer: The publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 Any and all opinions that follow are mine alone。For more reviews， please， visit my website Primmlife。com。 Review: Far from the Light of Heaven by Tade ThompsonSpace is an i TL;DRTade Thompson’s Far from the Light of Heaven explores the closed room mystery in the ultimate closed environment – a space ship far from Earth。 This novel is full of interesting characters and big ideas。 Highly recommended。 Disclaimer: The publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 Any and all opinions that follow are mine alone。For more reviews， please， visit my website Primmlife。com。 Review: Far from the Light of Heaven by Tade ThompsonSpace is an inhospitable environment for humans。 The low gravity causes redistribution of bodily fluids and bone loss。 The lack of a day/night cycle has psychological impacts。 Radiation is everywhere。 But， as we all know， humans love nothing more than a challenge。 As a species， humans will find ways to solve these issues in order to survive。 But there is the human issue that we’ll never solve。 Humans， as history shows， are violent creatures。 Some of us engage in violence easily， and we’ve found lots of solutions to the problems of how to harm each other。 There’s no reason to believe that we won’t keep harming each other in space。 So， what would a murder investigation in that harsh environment look like？ Tade Thompson gives us an answer to this question in Far from the Light of Heaven。 This closed room mystery features a ship that arrives at its destination with about thirty passengers murdered。 All humans aboard the ship should have been asleep。 The ship’s AI reports that all sleep chambers are still closed。 What happened？ Far from the Light of Heaven has an interesting answer。Far from the Light of Heaven was not what I expected it to be。 I thought it was going to be a space opera， but it’s not。 Heaven is a closed room mystery set in space， and it’s excellent。 The story begins with Michelle “Shell” Campion， the first officer of the Ragtime。 Shell’s training for her job as the first officer， which turns out to be a redundant job。 Ragtime is not just a ship; it’s an AI housed in a ship。 Its job is to transport sleeping humans from Earth to the distant colony planet Bloodroot。 Shell comes from a space-faring family and decides to skip the traditional NASA route and go straight into space as part of the private sector。 Her job will be as backup in case of AI malfunction。 In Shell’s world， AI’s don’t malfunction; so， in reality， her job is to sleep for the travel time from Earth to Bloodroot。 Wake up for a bit。 Go back to sleep， and travel back to Earth。 Easy peasy。 Except when Ragtime arrives at Bloodroot， Shell awakens to find thirty-ish passengers dead and the AI reduced to a more primitive state。 Rasheed Fin， a disgraced repatriotator， lives on Bloodroot and is trying to get his job back。 While tinkering with 3D printed weapons that he makes， Fin receives a call。 He is to fly up to Ragtime to investigate what is happening。 Joining him will be an Artificial， Salvo， that he’s worked with in the past。 Salvo is an artificial human being; an AI in a bipedal body。 The two travel to space to meet Shell。 It seems someone woke up before the scheduled time and began killing。 That someone is still on the ship because where else would one go in space。 Fin and Salvo look for the killer suspecting everyone on board， even Shell， who has to keep the ship running and in orbit around Bloodroot。Far from the Light of Heaven is a close， third person point of view novel set mostly on a ship in space。 It does travel to other locations like Bloodroot， the Space Station Lagos， and even Earth。 Most of the story takes place inside the ship’s hull， and there’s lots of action there。 One of my favorite early bits comes from Shell seeing a wolf roaming around the ship despite there being no wolves on the passenger or shipping manifest。 She begins to wonder if it’s a hallucination or if something from the special projects portion of the ship got loose。 The answer is better than either of those questions。Thompson wrote a novel filled with interesting ideas。 In the afterword， he says he wanted to set his story in a space that was derived from the actual experiences of astronauts rather than the tropes that make up SFF。 Space is a stress filled place， and Thompson does a great job of writing about them。 Far from the Light of Heaven treats space similarly to how The Expanse series treats it。 Thompson tried to ground as much of the physics in reality as possible; he also went beyond just physics to deal with the psychological stresses。 Shell throughout the book stresses the need for routines， and this is something that isn’t given much thought in space fiction。 There will be no diurnal cycle in space。 The sun doesn’t rise or set。 It’s either visible because you’re in a local system or it’s too distant for useable amounts of light to travel to you。 Scheduled routines will be necessary for humans to maintain sanity and be able to operate in that environment。 Thompson’s inclusion of habitability aspects made me love this book。 Artificial IntelligenceThere’s a lot going on in Far from the Light of Heaven， and Thompson’s use of AI stuck with me。 For the later part of the book， I can’t stop thinking about an AI’s action and what it means for that field of study。 It doesn’t seem like the AI questions were the focus of the book; nonetheless， Thompson raises some interesting issues that go against SF tropes with AI。 I’m of two minds about a few of these issues， which means this book was a success。 I enjoy when books make me think deeper about a subject。 Thompson has done that here; I’ll be thinking about his AI for quite a while。 PacingThe pacing of Far from the Light of Heaven felt off for me。 To be clear， this could just be a ME issue。 Pacing is always a subjective quality。 It will vary from person to person。 With that caveat out of the way， I felt the book just didn’t have a consistent rhythm。 I think it moved too fast for me in a few sections where I would have liked to sit in the moment。 This speed meant that I missed some information。 I had to go back and reread paragraphs to make the connection from one page the next。 Again， this might be an issue with me and not the book。 As always with subjective reviews， your mileage may vary。 ConclusionTade Thompson’s Far from the Light of Heaven is a wonderful locked room mystery in Space。 Thompson has built an interesting world that I hope he – and I – explore more of in the future。 。。。more

Sabrina Burton ，

Thank you Netgalley and Tade Thompson for sending me the ARC of this book！As stated by Tade Thompson this book is not a space opera， it is a locked room thriller set in space， the ultimate locked room mystery。 This is an absolutely fantastic book with incredible writing that is definitely not what I was expecting。 The writing is unconventional and took me a bit of time to get into but it lent to the story and meant that you were constantly figuring things out along with the characters。 The revea Thank you Netgalley and Tade Thompson for sending me the ARC of this book！As stated by Tade Thompson this book is not a space opera， it is a locked room thriller set in space， the ultimate locked room mystery。 This is an absolutely fantastic book with incredible writing that is definitely not what I was expecting。 The writing is unconventional and took me a bit of time to get into but it lent to the story and meant that you were constantly figuring things out along with the characters。 The reveal is epic。 The reasoning for the reveal is so elegantly done， the introduction of this idea that progress happens at the expense of others is a fascinating one to explore in this book and hugely relevant to sci-fi as a genre but doesn't get spoken about enough。 Definitely read the Afterward of this book it shows the thinking of the author and makes the book hit even harder。 I loved the inclusion of Afrospiritulism and the lack of "aliens" in the traditional sense， no great sky battles no us vs them just individuals from different planets all focused on survival。 I am so glad I got to read this book it is tense captivating and thrilling and the AI threw me a bit but made me laugh as they are so inhuman their thoughts jump around in a way that would be strange in a human character。 Each character was fascinating and well built and entirely human which I loved， maybe its the close contact with people at various stages of life that Tade Thompson gets from being a doctor。 。。。more

Kath ，

I loved this author's Wormwood Trilogy when I read it a while ago so I was quite excited to get my hand on this， his latest book。We follow Michelle （Shell） Campion as she accompanies the spaceship Ragtime， on a journey in which a thousand people are relocated。 A journey that will take many years。 She is just backup to a fully computerised system headed by the AI Captain。 But at the time when she is scheduled to awaken， she realises that there is a big problem。 Some of the people are missing。 The I loved this author's Wormwood Trilogy when I read it a while ago so I was quite excited to get my hand on this， his latest book。We follow Michelle （Shell） Campion as she accompanies the spaceship Ragtime， on a journey in which a thousand people are relocated。 A journey that will take many years。 She is just backup to a fully computerised system headed by the AI Captain。 But at the time when she is scheduled to awaken， she realises that there is a big problem。 Some of the people are missing。 The AI is strangely unhelpful and refuses to answer her questions。 And then she makes a shocking discovery。 Her distress calls for help are heard by the colony below and they send a detective， Rashid Fin， to help her make sense of what is going on。 And so begins a cat and mouse， locked room， type space opera where the stakes are so high and nothing is making sense。 There's mischief and mayhem aplenty as Fin and Shell try to get to the bottom of what is going on and bring the perpetrator to justice in time。 It's fresh and the world that the author has created herein is so special that， although billed as a stand alone， I really hope that the author returns to it in future books。 Or even， if I may be so bold as to suggest， he develops this into a series / trilogy。Writing is tight and the plot is intricate， well created and expertly executed。 There is enough background and description to complement the narrative rather than distract from it。 This means that the story gets on with itself very well。 Characters are well drawn and develop nicely as the book goes on。 Pacing is also spot on and follows the narrative well all the way through。 There are some rather nasty reveals along the way which keep the tension high and it ramps up all the way through until eventually， when the final shocking reveal is made， I managed to start breathing once again。 Phew。。。 what a ride that was。All in all， a cracking addition to what is shaping up to be a rather impressive back catalogue。 My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book。 。。。more

Caroline ，

Overall， I did really enjoy this book and I give it 3。5 stars rounded up。 Thompson's writing， on its own， is outstanding。 From the very first page I had trouble putting this book down and， for a novel that can be tech heavy in parts， it is a very quick read。 At its heart， this book is your traditional locked room mystery， but nothing about it feels traditional。 The pacing and the management of what information is released when （so important for mysteries） is top notch。 The majority of the charac Overall， I did really enjoy this book and I give it 3。5 stars rounded up。 Thompson's writing， on its own， is outstanding。 From the very first page I had trouble putting this book down and， for a novel that can be tech heavy in parts， it is a very quick read。 At its heart， this book is your traditional locked room mystery， but nothing about it feels traditional。 The pacing and the management of what information is released when （so important for mysteries） is top notch。 The majority of the characters， individually， were also wonderfully fleshed out and felt like real people you could actually meet。 Further， I really appreciated the ending of the book。 Thompson does a fantastic job of wrapping up all of the loose ends of the actual story， while at the same time not compromising his messy， very human characters。 Honestly， there was a thing here or there I could nitpick at， but the only truly significant criticism I have for the book is about how some of the interpersonal relationships developed。 Without getting into spoilers， some of the relationships， or moments thereof， just rang false。 This is a book that runs at a break-neck speed and takes place over only a handful of days。 So there were times where the characters felt， not so much overly intimate （that is understandable given the stress levels the entire time - brothers in arms and all that） but overly knowledgeable of， and established，with each other。 There was one relationship in particular that was overly developed within that time frame。 There was even a long flashback near the end of the book that made me think "okay， WHEN could this have even happened？" It just felt so out of place。 But even with that， I still got out of bed at quarter to 1 in the morning to go get Rosewater and fought myself about ordering books 2 &3 of the trilogy immediately。 If you like fast paced SF or just a good ol' fashioned locked room mystery， I definitely recommend picking this one up。 。。。more

Anna ，

What do you need to know？ This is a high flying， first-timer Campion’s first flight， not that it matters because spaceship AI never fail - right？ It’s a murder mystery with almost no candidates and a wolf is on the spaceship。 There are a lot of things going on but Thompson holds it together。 This is not a space opera， this is less character driven than plot driven （not to be confused with action-heavy） but we do learn about everyone involved and even a bit about the authorities of the colonies。 What do you need to know？ This is a high flying， first-timer Campion’s first flight， not that it matters because spaceship AI never fail - right？ It’s a murder mystery with almost no candidates and a wolf is on the spaceship。 There are a lot of things going on but Thompson holds it together。 This is not a space opera， this is less character driven than plot driven （not to be confused with action-heavy） but we do learn about everyone involved and even a bit about the authorities of the colonies。 It’s a survival story too， in a hostile environment as they try to resolve a situation no one could prepare for fully。 I liked the narrative voice - normally you don’t notice third person unless it’s an omniscient narrator - it had the detail in all the right places and everything tied together with some nuance thrown in that left me thinking about the other things the plot touches on like motive and the way people are treated on Earth or Bloodroot or Lagos， the conclusion of the story may annoy some readers but I appreciate where we were left: mystery solved and not quite an epilogue - with thanks to NetGalley for the eARC。 。。。more

Rachel Bridgeman ，

The notion of a locked room mystery ， set in space is jaw dropping ，and so clever-the perspective of Michelle 'Shell' Campion being the AI back up， the human captain of the Ragtime ship （itself with its own conscience） pulls you into the story straight away， as she contemplates the path that has taken her to the launch pad。On the way to Bloodshot， with a 1000 passengers in sleep paralysis， this is the moment that Shell has hoped for， a chance to step out and also in to the shadow of her famous f The notion of a locked room mystery ， set in space is jaw dropping ，and so clever-the perspective of Michelle 'Shell' Campion being the AI back up， the human captain of the Ragtime ship （itself with its own conscience） pulls you into the story straight away， as she contemplates the path that has taken her to the launch pad。On the way to Bloodshot， with a 1000 passengers in sleep paralysis， this is the moment that Shell has hoped for， a chance to step out and also in to the shadow of her famous father， who has disappeared 15 years earlier， a space traveller believed lost in a black hole。 So this metaphysical problem raises its head from the start-the knowledge that the everything a person is is essentially sucked out and into a black hole is simultaneously terrifying and wondrous to this reader。Bloodshot is an ecologically ethical human outpost， having tried， and failed with Nightshade ， a so-called 'flat' outpost， where the world was mined and structures built as high as possible-hmmm。。。people not learning their lessons from the past， how about that？-and these passengers have skills and knowledge which will help those on Bloodshoot to work with， not against the planet。Except， in the middle of space， no one can hear you scream because you have been woken by a wolf which you were 100% was not in the inventory of the ship。 Woken up screaming， convinced that something was wrong， it does not take long for Shell to work out what is wrong-of the 1000 pods， only 969 are still occupied by sleeping passengers。Where are the other 31？What the hell has gone so wrong？The outpost of Lagos dispatches disgraced repatriater， Rasheed Fin and his A。I， Salvo， to investigate。 Bubbling in the background is the mystery of why， after 5 hugely successful cases， he is suddenly persona non grata and yet is the man of choice to fly out to Ragtime to solve the mystery。The dialogue sparks between Fin and Shell， neither giving an inch as they try and work out what the sabotage angle is， try to stay alive， and deliver the remaining humans to Bloodshoot。This is an incredible book， I loved everything about it from the futuristic set ups on other planets， the inevitable failures because we humans are undone time and again by greed， the use of Afrocentric languages and names is fantastic。 Why is it always that when you meet alien races that they speak English？ In this time and space， Mandarin， Yoruba and French are amongst the languages spoken and about damn time！ The notion of belonging， of hiraeth， is explored so convincingly from the attitude of growing up in space， or even， between colonies。 Does it exacerbate the feeling of otherness， being the perpetual outsider， or does it in fact do the reverse， and create a more equal opportunity for engagement on a level previously unheard of？As the action （and body parts） fly around in zero gravity， I was completely swept away and into the story， the biggest locked room mystery I could imagine， and with such engaging creations as Fin， Shell and Salvo as our eyes and ears， it is impossible not to hand yourself over to them and wing your way to the heavens。I am not a sci-fi expert， nor have I read widely within this genre-in fact， I put myself forward for this blog tour after having read Tade's crime novel， ''Making Wolf'。 I trust him as a storyteller， not to leave me behind or get me so bogged down in the science of it that I find myself thrown out of the airlock and free wheeling through the vast expanse of space。 And I was not wrong。 。。。more

Eule Luftschloss ，

trigger warning（view spoiler）[ n-word， gore， trauma （hide spoiler）]It was meant to be a routine job， but when Campion awakes from artificial sleep， some of the passengers under her care are dead。 Nobody but them is on board of the ship， and everybody has been asleep。 Or have they？This is the ultimate locked room mystery in which the locked room is a space ship。 We have a limited cast of people， because there may be thousands of people on board， but most of them are trackable as still asleep in trigger warning（view spoiler）[ n-word， gore， trauma （hide spoiler）]It was meant to be a routine job， but when Campion awakes from artificial sleep， some of the passengers under her care are dead。 Nobody but them is on board of the ship， and everybody has been asleep。 Or have they？This is the ultimate locked room mystery in which the locked room is a space ship。 We have a limited cast of people， because there may be thousands of people on board， but most of them are trackable as still asleep in their pods。Since she doesn't know what's going on， the captain has to take matter into her own hands and solve this before she can establish a physical outside link， because what if there is contamination or a virus going on？I was intimidated by the sheer size of this book， but once I started - having an off day， mind you - it nearly read itself and I am amazed at having finished this in one day， if not in one sitting。I will make sure to look up earlier books by this author and hope they're written as this one。The arc was provided by the publisher。 。。。more

Elizabeth Romero ，

Sounds like wayward pines but in space？ Intrigued！

Brian ，

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for a copy of the eArc of Tade Thompson's Far from the Light of Heaven。 The Ragtime is taking a new batch of colonists to Bloodroot，。 A planet which lacks much of space program wanting to avoid the clogged space of Earth。 Enter the prodigal daughter of Earth's space program and first time captain of Ragtime。 She is over trained for what is expected of her as the AI will pilot the ship from Earth orbit through wormhole gates until it arrives in Bloodroot orbit。 Howev Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for a copy of the eArc of Tade Thompson's Far from the Light of Heaven。 The Ragtime is taking a new batch of colonists to Bloodroot，。 A planet which lacks much of space program wanting to avoid the clogged space of Earth。 Enter the prodigal daughter of Earth's space program and first time captain of Ragtime。 She is over trained for what is expected of her as the AI will pilot the ship from Earth orbit through wormhole gates until it arrives in Bloodroot orbit。 However， this training is really put to the test when she is awoken in Bloodroot orbit with alarm notifications blaring。 She soon finds herself on a derelict space ship with 1000 colonists to protect。 This novel is a great blend of Tade Thompson's inventiveness， characters， and uneasiness in the Rosewater Trilogy and the horror of the Molly Southborne duology。 。。。more

Jess ，

Far From The Light of Heaven is a fast paced， enjoyable read - I sped through it in under 48 hours， and constantly wanted to find out what happened next。 The only down-side to this book was that the ending felt rather abrupt。The premise was really intriguing to me， as was the world building - although technically this is a locked-room murder mystery in space， I would happily read more in a series centring on this reality。 I also felt the portrayal of an alien culture without a focus on them as " Far From The Light of Heaven is a fast paced， enjoyable read - I sped through it in under 48 hours， and constantly wanted to find out what happened next。 The only down-side to this book was that the ending felt rather abrupt。The premise was really intriguing to me， as was the world building - although technically this is a locked-room murder mystery in space， I would happily read more in a series centring on this reality。 I also felt the portrayal of an alien culture without a focus on them as "other" was really refreshing。Thanks to Orbit and Netgalley for the ARC。 。。。more

D。A。 Adam Smith ，

Far from the Light of Heaven is an action-packed murder-mystery-cum-science fiction space voyage。 It reminded me so much of the movie Sunshine， with a dab of Leviathan Wakes; it's nail-biting， intelligent and heavens damned moreish。 This book was simply 。。。 different。 And amazing for it。 Different because when you read the premise of ship travelling from Earth to the Lagos System， you're trained （as an SFF reader） to think 'ah， Space Opera，' which was the expectation I had going in。 But no， as T Far from the Light of Heaven is an action-packed murder-mystery-cum-science fiction space voyage。 It reminded me so much of the movie Sunshine， with a dab of Leviathan Wakes; it's nail-biting， intelligent and heavens damned moreish。 This book was simply 。。。 different。 And amazing for it。 Different because when you read the premise of ship travelling from Earth to the Lagos System， you're trained （as an SFF reader） to think 'ah， Space Opera，' which was the expectation I had going in。 But no， as Thompson himself posits， this is definitely not Space Opera， it's Locked Room Murder in Space - the most tightly locked room there is。 Because how can someone commit a murder aboard a humongous spaceship like the Ragtime and not immediately be caught by its on-board Artificial General Intelligence？ And the plot certainly does make you guess， lead you down the wrong path， trick you into thinking you've worked it out when you haven't; also， it manages to throw completely explainable weird tentacle creatures， a wolf， an owl， printed-weaponry， rogue robots and aliens into the mix - all the things us SF readers love but in a wildly， wildly original way。 I'd never read Tade's work before， but now I'm going to read them ALL。 There's some magical originality that goes on here。 On the topic of writing style， I love how natural the tone of the novel and the speech of the characters are。 It's clipped where it can be， naturally flawed and incomplete in most parts。 Its writing that knows how people communicate and adds no fluff to the situation。 Lamber so awesome and original。 Again does depth of creativity and imagination。。。 am imagination that says aliens would have to be hominid， human-like or of a concept we'd understand at all？ Tade shows us that the answer is 'no， they don't have to be，' when he gives us the Lambers。 I won't go into too much detail， but the amount of world-building around this species in such a short book， focused on Locked Room murder， it frankly amazing。 Fin and Shell have alot of depth， as do the other less major characters like Salvo， Joke and Lawrence。 Well， they are main characters as well but not like Fin and Shell 。。。 and I think the characters here play into what's mentioned in the afterword。 Each one's a very clever working of the stressors in space Tade considers: physical， mental， interpersonal and habitability。 I mean， the first three are certainly explored - the mental so much with Shell。 The weight she feels on her shoulders， the failure and this carries through the novel。 So much so that I'm so moved by the ending that I'm writing this review immediately after。 Shell goes through layers of the stressors， then all at once。 And then a different combination in turn。 As do all the characters。 But it's fascinating how you could split the plot down into those four base stressors 。。。 and I'm not saying much and I'm babbling here but I don't want to spoil the novel， I only want to prove to you how clever Thompson is at what he does and make you read this book。 Overall， this is probably the best book set in space （not Space Opera） you'll read this year。 I guarantee it'll stick with you at least。 。。。more

Tad ，

Good sci-fi mysteries are hard to find and not a lot of authors tackle them。 Tade Thompson has added a really interesting entry into this genre with Far From The Light of Heaven。 Shell Campion comes from an astronaut family。 Freshly graduated from training she is first officer on a transport ship。 Her duties， if all goes well， are to do nothing。 AI’s captain the ship and they have never failed。 Until now。Shell awakes to find the ship， Ragtime， has arrived at the colony world Bloodroot but the AI Good sci-fi mysteries are hard to find and not a lot of authors tackle them。 Tade Thompson has added a really interesting entry into this genre with Far From The Light of Heaven。 Shell Campion comes from an astronaut family。 Freshly graduated from training she is first officer on a transport ship。 Her duties， if all goes well， are to do nothing。 AI’s captain the ship and they have never failed。 Until now。Shell awakes to find the ship， Ragtime， has arrived at the colony world Bloodroot but the AI is barely functioning。 In addition， 31 of the 1000 sleeping passengers are dead。 An investigator from Bloodroot， Fin， is sent to investigate。 Shell is trying to keep the ship operating while Fin and his partner， Salvo， try to find a murderer。 Someone， or something， is working against them。 It’s a race to save the ship and solve the crime before an already bad situation takes a turn for the worse。Thompson does a great job building both characters and suspense。 The characters are complex and grow over the course of the novel。 The perspective shifts between a number of perspectives which aids both in developing the characters and the central mystery。 He reveals more and more about the relationship between earth， the colony， and the local space station， as well as a very realistic look at space travel。 The pacing from the first half of the book is quite different from the latter half as a mystery that was slowly played to begin is filled in much faster in the latter half。 The excitement factor definitely ratches up at the end。The human， artificial intelligence， and alien characters all hold your attention。 There is a lot of emotional depth to these characters and you really grow to care about them。 The mystery， ultimately， becomes secondary to the arc that these characters go through。 Despite some uneven pacing， this is a book with a lot of suspense and it will have you thinking long after you reach the last page。I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher。 。。。more

Azrah ，

[This review can also be found on my BLOG]**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**CW: violence， blood， gore， mass murder， death， contagion， terminal illnessFar From the Light of Heaven is a fast paced character driven， sci-fi thriller that’s difficult to put down once you pick it up。After embarking on a journey across the stars for a decade in statis， Mission Specialist Michelle “Shell” Campion awakens on the colony ship Ragtime as planned only to find so [This review can also be found on my BLOG]**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**CW: violence， blood， gore， mass murder， death， contagion， terminal illnessFar From the Light of Heaven is a fast paced character driven， sci-fi thriller that’s difficult to put down once you pick it up。After embarking on a journey across the stars for a decade in statis， Mission Specialist Michelle “Shell” Campion awakens on the colony ship Ragtime as planned only to find something is very wrong。 With the ship - along with its 1000 passengers on course to the planet Bloodroot - being captained by a fail-safe AI， Shell was guaranteed her position as the required spaceflight-rated human on board was a straightforward one。 However， upon docking in the Lagos system she finds 31 of the sleeping passengers have been brutally murdered and to make matters worse the ships AI is compromised。 Upon hearing her distress message， the destination planet sends up a detective and accompanying AI to get to the bottom of the situation。A murder mystery confined to spaceship on the float in a far corner of the cosmos，how much more ‘locked room’ can you get？ Thompson’s writing effortlessly brings about the tense atmosphere that evokes both the hair raising disquiet of being trapped with a killer as well as the vast eeriness and isolation of space。 There are some spine-chilling horror elements too。On top of that an intriguing cast of characters and glimpses of an expansive future world really hook you in。 I quite enjoyed the interactions upon the Ragtime between the main protagonists and the transition their relationship took from one of brewing hostility to reluctant camaraderie in the strained situation that they were in。Though admittedly this book felt more action thriller than mystery to me as the storyline involved more flashbacks than clue-following。 Hence the shock factor that you’d expect with a murder mystery was a little subdued。 That paired with what I felt was a needless aspect of romance was my reason for knocking off a star。Otherwise this was a thoroughly enjoyable and addictive read and I am definitely checking out Thompson's other novels。 I’d also be super interested if he ever decided to return and write other stories set in this universe！ Final Rating – 4/5 Stars 。。。more

Runalong ，

A fantastic high octane inventive science fiction thriller that you stay up late to finish。 Very very very good Full review - https://www。runalongtheshelves。net/bl。。。 A fantastic high octane inventive science fiction thriller that you stay up late to finish。 Very very very good Full review - https://www。runalongtheshelves。net/bl。。。 。。。more

Ellen ，

Review to follow over at Bibliophilebookclub。com on the 5th of November

Ian J ，

Tade Thompson is best known for his excellent Afrofuturist Rosewater/Wormwood trilogy。 At first glance his latest novel， Far from the Light of Heaven， looks to be space opera， but is in fact a locked-room murder mystery。 Perhaps taking the lead from the Alien movie - a horror movie in space， this novel is a crime thriller in space。Campion has always wanted to be in space。 Despite this being long past 2077 （we know this thanks to some graffiti in an old space duct）， she references the twentieth c Tade Thompson is best known for his excellent Afrofuturist Rosewater/Wormwood trilogy。 At first glance his latest novel， Far from the Light of Heaven， looks to be space opera， but is in fact a locked-room murder mystery。 Perhaps taking the lead from the Alien movie - a horror movie in space， this novel is a crime thriller in space。Campion has always wanted to be in space。 Despite this being long past 2077 （we know this thanks to some graffiti in an old space duct）， she references the twentieth century’s space exploration as her raison d’etre。 Her debut flight - where she is the only human crew - is on the AI Ragtime ship transporting sleeping passengers to a planet called Bloodroot。 AIs never fail so her duties are mainly perfunctory。 Along with the passengers， including the richest human alive， she sleeps for 10 years while the ship passes through Einstein-Rosen bridges between systems; including its final stop on Lagos， where the friend of her missing father resides as a symbolic politician。 However， when she wakes in orbit around Bloodroot， the AI is not playing ball and several of the passengers are dead， chopped into pieces。 And there’s a wolf wandering around， despite animals not allowed on the journey。 Bloodroot sends the disgraced Rasheed Fin （accompanied by his artificial side-kick） to investigate and he is immediately suspicious of Campion - after all， she’s the only human awake on board and as mentioned， AI’s don’t fail。 Ever。 What follows， without giving away any spoilers， is a slow drip-feed of clues and plot points that reveal that the aliens on Bloodroot known as Lambers are not all they seem， that racism still exists in the future， people are still people （even when they are Lambers） and the malignant rich will always exploit the poor。 While being very cleverly plotted， there isn’t much subtly in Thomson’s murder mystery。 It is written in a style which mirrors Hollywood action movies， rather than traditional locked-room mysteries。 Campion and her fellow protagonists lurch from crisis to crisis in a very ‘action-y’ style。 Nothing wrong with that of course， and it makes for a very enjoyable page-turning read。 It does mean， however， that certain events come out of the blue and are only explained in the final third of the novel as clues are uncovered， the antagonist appears， and the investigation from Fin and Campion starts to reach its conclusion。 Far from the Light of Heaven could have been a bit more of an average read if not for a combination of Thompson’s distinctive world-building and his characters。The world-building includes some interesting perspectives， which are clearly rooted in African mythology。 The nature of the Lambers and the machinations on Lagos would not have appeared in a book written by someone without Thompson’s heritage。 It is therefore important to have voices such as his writing mainstream science fiction novels。 Meanwhile， the characters are not so one-dimensional。 Her father’s friend， Uncle Larry and his daughter （Joké） show up to help Campion save the day。 One might have expected， for example， that after meeting Joké who makes a comment about Campion’s rear-end， Thompson would use that to go down a particular romantic path。 Or Campion’s missing father might have shown up to save the day in lesser hands。 Thompson doesn’t take us down these paths， which is cool。 Not that Thompson’s characters are particularly complex and spend their time exploring the nature of humanity。 It’s not that kind of science fiction novel。 It is just great that they aren’t one-dimensional cyfers for his comments on race and speculation on humanity's place in the future。 Humans exploit， make mistakes， take vengeance， face doubts， panic， act with kindness and generally accept their fate in Thompson’s genre mash-up。 As mentioned， people are people， even on a giant space ship facing disaster while investigating an impossible mass murder。 Far from the Light of Heaven is a phrase based on Milton’s Paradise Lost。 It is a grand statement for Thompson’s first venture into space。 A book packed to the brim with ideas highlighting both his skilled prose and vibrant imagination （the arc involving the wolf is such an example）。 While not as grand as its source， and more in line with its other inspiration， Poe’s Murders in the Rue Morgue， it is a most entertaining read。 。。。more

Jessica Strider ，

Pros: interesting characters， great world-building， uniqueCons:AIs fly ships， and AIs have never failed in flight。When first mate Michelle ‘Shell’ Campion is woken after the last bridge-jump to the Bloodroot colony， 10 years into her mission， she finds the starship Ragtime’s AI reduced to its basic operating system and 31 colonists missing from their sleeping pods。 This is not the way the now acting captain foresaw her first mission going。Bloodroot sends an investigator in answer to Shell’s dist Pros: interesting characters， great world-building， uniqueCons:AIs fly ships， and AIs have never failed in flight。When first mate Michelle ‘Shell’ Campion is woken after the last bridge-jump to the Bloodroot colony， 10 years into her mission， she finds the starship Ragtime’s AI reduced to its basic operating system and 31 colonists missing from their sleeping pods。 This is not the way the now acting captain foresaw her first mission going。Bloodroot sends an investigator in answer to Shell’s distress call to find out what’s happening on the quarantined ship， but murder is just the start of the mysteries he uncovers there。The world-building is great。 While most of the action takes place on Ragtime， I loved Lagos station and learning about the Lambers。 I also appreciated that the human characters were considerate towards the AI， even asking what pronouns they prefer。The plot begins with the mystery of how the colonists died， but that’s quickly overshadowed by the weirdest series of events as things on Ragtime quickly spiral out of control。 You’re not going to figure out ‘who dunnit’， or foresee any of the other twists that come completely out of left field， but the ending explains why everything happened， which I greatly appreciated。The pacing can be on the slow side at times， reflecting the actualities of space travel and communication。 Having said that， the characters never have enough time to solve a problem before the next one comes up， making the story feel claustrophobic， rushed， and tense。The characters are intriguing and unusual。 Shell is calm and collected even under the worst pressure。 Fin hates space though he’s excited to be practicing his trade again after screwing up his last assignment。 Joké is… unique and kind of fun。This is a different kind of science fiction novel， something the author mentions in an afterword at the end of the book。 So if you want something outside the norm give this a try。 。。。more

Katie Soderlund ，

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the digital ARC， it has not affected my honest review。 This was a brilliantly written locked room mystery set inside a spaceship piloted by an untrustworthy AI and a human woman who never expected to find herself in the middle of a murder scene。 The tension of the writing was so powerful and the characters reflected that: from Campion discovering 31 hacked up bodies to Fin， the investigator sent to determine what happened。 I love the individual per Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the digital ARC， it has not affected my honest review。 This was a brilliantly written locked room mystery set inside a spaceship piloted by an untrustworthy AI and a human woman who never expected to find herself in the middle of a murder scene。 The tension of the writing was so powerful and the characters reflected that: from Campion discovering 31 hacked up bodies to Fin， the investigator sent to determine what happened。 I love the individual perspectives as news about the Ragtime leaked across the universe and how everyone reacted differently。 The reveal of the killer was brilliant， and although this is a stand alone， I would love to see these characters again。 I'm very glad I picked this up and will definitely read it again！ 。。。more

Mark Redman ，

ade Thompson Far from the Light of HeavenFar from the Light of Heaven is a locked-room mystery set in space。 In an imagined humanity beyond the stars。 The main protagonist of the story is Michelle "Shell" Campion。 Shell is a new promoted captain desperate to prove herself aboard the Spaceship Ragtime。 Captain Michelle Campion finds a bunch of her crewmembers murdered， haywire AI， and a mysterious wolf which she thinks she may all be in her imagination！ Introduced in to this is detective Rasheed ade Thompson Far from the Light of HeavenFar from the Light of Heaven is a locked-room mystery set in space。 In an imagined humanity beyond the stars。 The main protagonist of the story is Michelle "Shell" Campion。 Shell is a new promoted captain desperate to prove herself aboard the Spaceship Ragtime。 Captain Michelle Campion finds a bunch of her crewmembers murdered， haywire AI， and a mysterious wolf which she thinks she may all be in her imagination！ Introduced in to this is detective Rasheed Finn， sent with his own AI to figure out what happened and why。 The more Rasheed uncovers， the more realisation begins to set in that there's a sinister plot afoot。Far from the Light of Heaven has that readable quality， which hooked me from the first page。 Much like Thompson’s previous ‘Wormwood trilogy，’ this book is a fast-paced space thriller。 Tade Thompson has created a unique world for the story to take place。 It is an immersive read。 The characters in the book move the story along at a good pace。 I felt that Shell was a very well written character， reflecting how a newly qualified， highly trained person may feel when suddenly thrust into a new reality， a situation I’m sure we can all relate to！ I enjoyed figuring out who the murderer was while simultaneously wondering how the allies would survive from all the forces against them。 There’s plenty action and tension to the story。 The exploration and psychology of relationships both old and new， even under the stressors of space was done well。Tade Thompson’s writing has a compelling， readable quality to it that draws you into the story。 A story that was cleverly executed and unputdownable。 I hope that he revisits this well-crafted world。Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-arc for an honest review！ 。。。more

The Wulver's Library ，

Far From The Light of Heaven is a vapid science fiction murder mystery by Tade Thompson that reads like a detailed escape room trapped in a complex universe of descriptive history and interstellar life。 This is the story of the colony ship Ragtime， docking in the Lagos system， which has travelled light-years to bring thousands of passengers safely in the cosmos。 Some of these sleepers never wake as we discover a sinister mystery unfolding aboard this vessel and it is up to Shell Campion and the Far From The Light of Heaven is a vapid science fiction murder mystery by Tade Thompson that reads like a detailed escape room trapped in a complex universe of descriptive history and interstellar life。 This is the story of the colony ship Ragtime， docking in the Lagos system， which has travelled light-years to bring thousands of passengers safely in the cosmos。 Some of these sleepers never wake as we discover a sinister mystery unfolding aboard this vessel and it is up to Shell Campion and the ragtag crew to determine the best course of action。 This is a sci-fi novel filled with political intrigue， crafty AI and a hopeful journey。The characters deepen the story here and Thompson has added a dimension to each character that is hardly rivalled。 Shell Campion is introduced as the Second-In-Command signed with a private space organisation to serve on the colony ship。 Daughter of the famous Hal Campion， she is incredibly nervous about her first mission but what can go wrong when the AI running the ship is guaranteed to take care of everything？ The AI never fails and we can definitely be sure that the AI has played no part in what is occurring aboard the Ragtime。Thompson has played the story in Far From the Light of Heaven brilliantly and it became an intriguingly nervous but ambitious space mystery。 The themes of virtue， spirituality and colonialism are prevalent in this novel and are not overshadowed but the exploitation of power。 The idea of personification with artificial intelligence bonding with humans and legality is in scope with current affairs。 Sometimes this can draw back from novels， especially science fiction， but Thompson weaves an expert storyline that encompasses bravery in the scope of loss。This novel is a surprisingly engaging read but these elements can easily be lost whilst reading。 Thompson has a wonderful way of helping you think twice about the surface level narrative but layers this over an imaginatively deeper story that keeps us entertained in a fast-paced ride。 。。。more

Khimaera ，

“So many ways to die on the Ragtime， so little time。”If you are looking for Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue in space then Tade Thompson’s latest， Far From the Light of Heaven， has you covered。 Michelle “Shell” Campion is eager to rack up some space miles with a ceremonial captaincy shepherding 1，000 colonists through the bridge gate system from station to station to their final destination， the distant colony of Bloodroot。 Her partner is the newly minted Ragtime AI who will handl “So many ways to die on the Ragtime， so little time。”If you are looking for Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue in space then Tade Thompson’s latest， Far From the Light of Heaven， has you covered。 Michelle “Shell” Campion is eager to rack up some space miles with a ceremonial captaincy shepherding 1，000 colonists through the bridge gate system from station to station to their final destination， the distant colony of Bloodroot。 Her partner is the newly minted Ragtime AI who will handle all essential functions and handshaking with the stations between Earth and Bloodroot。 Shell can sleep through the whole thing。 And she does。 Waking ten years later in orbit around Bloodroot with alarms going off and multiple fatalities among the sleeping passengers。 And when she finally discovers the horrific scene where the bodies are being stored， 2 1/2 of them are missing。That’s just the opening for a fast and furious ride where Thompson likes reminding us that “space wants to kill you， always。” He finds quite a few ways to pile time bomb upon time bomb while Shell and a few others do their best to solve the mystery。 Rasheed Fin is a disgraced investigator sent up to Ragtime from Bloodroot along with his Artificial named Salvo。 Lawrence Biz had worked with Shell’s father and comes out from Lagos Colony， Ragtime’s last port of call before Bloodroot who are contractually responsible until the AI can signal it has successfully arrived at its destination。 There’s Larry’s adopted daughter， a half alien lamber and half human named Joké who we first meet as she is trying to communicate with a mold colony on Lagos Station by reading it poetry。Where the characters hold up and are interesting to follow as they connect with each other and wrestle with puzzling， life threatening situations that just keep piling up， the worldbuilding feels a little fragile at times。 We get all the basics: MaxGalactix is an enormous private space agency run by Yan Maxwell。 Lagos Colony is being threatened by their security team when they come in search of their illustrious lost CEO and Founder。 There’s Dreamstate that seems to function like a limitless virtual reality simulation for the sleeping passengers in transit。 Maybe it is okay to only get the simplest of broad strokes as it keeps the action moving along at a furious pace， but some readers may long to learn more about all of it so that the payoff moments feel more impactful。What is most confusing is that at times later in the book it feels like some important scenes are missing like they just got cut out by the editing process and didn’t quite make it back in leaving some strange gaps between some of the scenes on the page。 However， this review is only based upon an ARC copy and the final version is obviously subject to change。 If you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller mystery in space， you need look no farther than this for your reading list。** Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest， unbiased review ** 。。。more

Lauren loves llamas ，

This book is everything I want in a space mystery。 I love locked room mysteries， and this book utterly blew me away with its version on a spaceship。 It’s utterly thought-provoking and extremely hard to put down！“Let me get this straight。 You have never investigated a killing on board a large spacecraft？”“Any spacecraft， really。 But don’t worry。 The principle is the same， except all your culprits are locked in here。 With murder， some things never change: means， motive， opportunity。” Shell has trai This book is everything I want in a space mystery。 I love locked room mysteries， and this book utterly blew me away with its version on a spaceship。 It’s utterly thought-provoking and extremely hard to put down！“Let me get this straight。 You have never investigated a killing on board a large spacecraft？”“Any spacecraft， really。 But don’t worry。 The principle is the same， except all your culprits are locked in here。 With murder， some things never change: means， motive， opportunity。” Shell has trained for years to go into space and now finally has her chance as the captain of the Ragtime， a passenger transport bound for the colony of Bloodroot。 It’s a bit of a joke， though， that all that training is mostly superfluous as all the real work is done by the ship’s AI while she and the passengers are in an induced sleep。 But when she’s woken on the other side， it’s to disaster。 Ragtime isn’t responding and dozens of passengers are dead。 Desperate to save the rest， she contacts Bloodroot for help， and they send her Fin and his Artifical partner Salvo。 Fin’s currently in disgrace due to a repatriation job gone wrong， but surely even he can figure out what murdered her passengers。 But more importantly， they need to figure out how to survive， because the actions they take on this one spaceship may soon affect the future of the entire galaxy。“Why am I insane？”“Because you are still trying to solve a murder when you should be trying to survive。 Tick-tock， Rasheed。 Life support is running out。” The book is mainly told from the captain and the investigator’s point of view， though there are several other POV characters。 I loved Shell from the first page。 As someone who’s known from the start that she’s basically an overtrained babysitter， she rises to the occasion of having all of that knowledge suddenly be very， very necessary for her （and the ship’s） continued survival。 She’s lacking in a few of the soft skills – she comes off as an insufferable know-it-all occasionally – but her focus is always on her duty to her （remaining） passengers。 Fin， on the other hand… well， Finn hates space， and he knows the reason he was sent on this mission – which has nothing to do with repatriation – was because he’s already someone his bosses feel willing to wipe their hands of if he screws it up。 What exactly repatriation is is something that it takes a good chunk of the book to explain， but， like the rest of the breadcrumbs throughout the book， it’s totally worth it。 There’s a few other characters， including retired astronaut Lawrence， a quasi-uncle of Shell’s and now the in-title-only governor of Lagos station， and his daughter Joké， who come rushing to Shell’s aid when he hears that something’s gone wrong。 Beko， the actual administrator of the station， originally struck me as nothing more than another politician， but by the end of the book， I was firmly a fan。“The pressure of living is the pressure of the reader of a story who wants something to go awry， otherwise what’s the point？” And that’s one of the things I loved about this book。 Hints of the plot are scattered like breadcrumbs， and your initial interpretation of events （or characters） is likely to be shaken as the book progresses。 It’s hard， though， to talk too much about the plot without going into spoilers。 The pacing is terrific， with one discovery or twist after another keeping the plot moving， and the book was extremely hard for me to put down。 The mystery portion itself is top notch， but it’s also exploring themes of inequality and colonialism; both Lagos and Bloodroot are based on Afro-futurist principles， with Bloodroot especially adhering to living with their new planet， in direct opposition to the climate-wrecked Earth。 The only thing that stopped me from giving it 5 stars was some “men-writing-women” stumbles that took me out of the story。Overall， easily a 4。5 star book， and one I’ll be thinking about for a long time。 I’ve already added the author’s previous trilogy to near-the-top of my TBR and cannot wait to see what he writes next！Content notes: （view spoiler）[violence （including murder， dismemberment）， cannibalism， racism （including the n-word）， grief， PTSD， colonialism （hide spoiler）] 。。。more

Donna Bull ，

A fast paced， intriguing and wild ride of a science fiction story！！ This stand alone story really does have it all: a rogue AI， strong female protagonist， fun side characters， a murder mystery， a wolf companion， and more crises than you can imagine！！ The tale begins with Michelle "Shell" Campion waiting to board the spaceship Ragtime as its first mate on an interstellar voyage where she will be in Dreamstate for 10 years on the outbound trip。 The Ragtime is carrying colonists for the planet Bloo A fast paced， intriguing and wild ride of a science fiction story！！ This stand alone story really does have it all: a rogue AI， strong female protagonist， fun side characters， a murder mystery， a wolf companion， and more crises than you can imagine！！ The tale begins with Michelle "Shell" Campion waiting to board the spaceship Ragtime as its first mate on an interstellar voyage where she will be in Dreamstate for 10 years on the outbound trip。 The Ragtime is carrying colonists for the planet Bloodroot， and its captain in an artificial intelligence， so Shell's job is mostly ceremonial as the AI's always handle everything so well。 Except this one time。 Shell is woken from Dreamstate early to a ship where the AI is not responsive and the "you know what" has hit the fan。 From here the story takes off and the twists， turns and wild events that take place keeps you thoroughly engaged in this tale。 The interactions of the characters like Fin and Joke really make the story and enjoyed getting the backstories along the way。 I recommend this book not only to people who love a good space adventure story but who also love a good mystery story。 So this one's a winner on multiple levels！！ A fun read！！ 。。。more

Librow0rm Christine ，

Thank you Little， Brown Book Group U。K。 and NetGalley for the arc of Far From The Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson in exchange for my honest and unbiased review。 I love Sci Fi， I’m a sucker for a space opera and when you unite them with a locked room murder mystery， you’ve got my taste buds tingling， and Tade Thompson does not disappoint。 Shell Campion is on her first interstellar voyage as first mate; this is the interstellar equivalent of a walk in the park…the AI captain pilots and she’s the Thank you Little， Brown Book Group U。K。 and NetGalley for the arc of Far From The Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson in exchange for my honest and unbiased review。 I love Sci Fi， I’m a sucker for a space opera and when you unite them with a locked room murder mystery， you’ve got my taste buds tingling， and Tade Thompson does not disappoint。 Shell Campion is on her first interstellar voyage as first mate; this is the interstellar equivalent of a walk in the park…the AI captain pilots and she’s the human face， but of course things don’t go to plan。 A decade into the journey she is so feebly awoken and from that point on it’s like hell in a hand basket！Despite the sudden and terse ending， the story itself is full on from start to end。 Multiple fleshed out characters， with diverse and interesting back stories。 Human and alien relations， AI and a Wolf make for a variegated cast and I must say I do have a soft spot for Frances and Joké。 Overall a most satisfying locked room murder mystery that engages and draws you in from start to sudden stop！ 。。。more

Melanie ，

Content Warnings Noted During Reading: Suicidal ideation， one use of a racial slur， two short instances of sexual content （not super graphic from what I could tell but I skipped past them so just be aware）， violence throughout， cannibalism。I received an ARC of the Kindle version through a Goodreads giveaway， and my review is reflective of that version。On the whole， there were parts I like， and I really admire the extent of the world building。 The mystery was the most compelling part for me， and Content Warnings Noted During Reading: Suicidal ideation， one use of a racial slur， two short instances of sexual content （not super graphic from what I could tell but I skipped past them so just be aware）， violence throughout， cannibalism。I received an ARC of the Kindle version through a Goodreads giveaway， and my review is reflective of that version。On the whole， there were parts I like， and I really admire the extent of the world building。 The mystery was the most compelling part for me， and I'd die for Frances （this will make sense if you read it）。 As a whole work， though， I was unfortunately left feeling like I had to keep track of a lot of moving balls in a very detail-rich story， and while that's not INHERENTLY a bad thing， something about that combination with the multiple perspectives， it being a very "toss you in the deep end and trust you'll keep up" style of storytelling， and the narration style made me feel a little lost in places。 It did also feel a lot slower in the first half before really picking up speed in the second， which is probably why at least one other review I saw noted the ending felt abrupt。There were also a few plot threads that didn't feel strictly necessary to the main mystery plot， which added to the amount of Stuff going on that I had to keep track of。 （view spoiler）[For instance， the main murder victim's company threatening war in retaliation for his death， while tied INTO the mystery， didn't really further it in any meaningful way and at best feels like a setup for a sequel that may or may not be happening。 There's also a random romance that doesn't take up too much screen time， but I'm also not sure why it's there， as it doesn't really benefit either character。 （hide spoiler）]Overall， definitely imaginative and interesting， if a bit difficult in places for me。 This is more of a 2。5 rounded up with the acknowledgment that it's probably just not a book for me。 。。。more

USOM ，

（Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher。 This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest。） Above all， Far From the Light of Heaven is thrilling。 There's a current of adventure as Thompson only increases the stakes and mystery。 This locked room mystery adds the stress and fear of being in space。 Having just a layer between you and certain death and wow all the ways you can die in space。 I was instantly immersed in reading Far From the Light of Heaven。 From the very begin （Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher。 This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest。） Above all， Far From the Light of Heaven is thrilling。 There's a current of adventure as Thompson only increases the stakes and mystery。 This locked room mystery adds the stress and fear of being in space。 Having just a layer between you and certain death and wow all the ways you can die in space。 I was instantly immersed in reading Far From the Light of Heaven。 From the very beginning， there's a distinct sense that we are not seeing everything。 That what we perceive has only scratched the surface。 As we continue reading， we get to know the characters and what they will do to survive。 Who they will all become by the end。 Thompson does a phenomenal job at showing readers all the angles of the crew and forces at work in the stars and on the ground。 While we are focused on the crew and their pursuit of survival， we are also able to see the scope of action and consequences。full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind。com/revi。。。 。。。more

Cat ，

4。5 stars A locked-room murder mystery in space， Afro-Futurist settlements， an exploration of what it means to be Other in the context of AI， alien and the afterlife， and the truth of our complicated relationships with our moral selves， Tade Thompson’s Far From the Light of Heaven has much to offer。 The plot is a well-blended mix of science fiction and murder mystery。 It has the pacing of a murder mystery with the slightly more frenetic edge of a space opera。 Best of all the “who” in the who-don 4。5 stars A locked-room murder mystery in space， Afro-Futurist settlements， an exploration of what it means to be Other in the context of AI， alien and the afterlife， and the truth of our complicated relationships with our moral selves， Tade Thompson’s Far From the Light of Heaven has much to offer。 The plot is a well-blended mix of science fiction and murder mystery。 It has the pacing of a murder mystery with the slightly more frenetic edge of a space opera。 Best of all the “who” in the who-done-it comes as a surprise （and yet not exactly？）。 But no spoilers。 The one down side （though only。5 stars worth） is the ending， which left me wanting more。 There’s no indication of a sequel， so… On the other hand， Tade Thompson wins for best quote in an “Acknowledgements” section: “Any mistakes or misinterpretations are mine。 Blame me， because dammit， Jim， I’m a doctor， not an astrophysicist。”（Btw: Tade Thompson is a physician。）[An advance review copy of this novel was provided to me by the publisher Orbit Books （Hachette Book Group） and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。] 。。。more

Malika ，

I received the e-book version from a Goodreads giveaway。 Overall I enjoyed the book。 It's more of a who dunnit/murder mystery than a space story or afrofuturisim。 I had no idea who was responsible for the "mishap" on the spaceship。 I did find it a little tricky to remember the species of everyone involved in the story。 I hope there is a 2nd book so that readers can get answers about what happened to many of the characters。 I received the e-book version from a Goodreads giveaway。 Overall I enjoyed the book。 It's more of a who dunnit/murder mystery than a space story or afrofuturisim。 I had no idea who was responsible for the "mishap" on the spaceship。 I did find it a little tricky to remember the species of everyone involved in the story。 I hope there is a 2nd book so that readers can get answers about what happened to many of the characters。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Far from the Light of Heaven

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Far from the Light of Heaven&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Far from the Light of Heaven&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0