Gain Dead Space Translated By Kali Wallace Shown As Softcover

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Dead Space opens in the distant future, when humans have inhabited Mars



exploration of moons in the outer solar system is ongoing



and rich corporations are mining planetoids in the asteroid belt.




A rebellion by discontented residents of Mars has been subdued, and the horrific weapons used

in that conflict have been outlawed.




In this atmosphere, AI specialist Hester Marley was looking forward to a bright future.
She was one of two hundred people aboard the spaceship Symposium, on their way to establish the first human settlement on Saturn's moon Titan.
It was to be a research colony, for scientific exploration and discovery,



To aid in exploration, Marley and her colleagues had built an AI called Vanguard, whose complex mind and innumerable lifetimes' worth of learned experience would be invaluable for reconnaissance and research.
Vanguard had a quirky streak as well, and liked to take on the shape of a praying mantis, resulting in its nickname Bug.




Tragically, an antiexpansion terrorist group blew up Symposium en route, killing almost all the passengers and destroying Vanguard.




The explosion left thirtyone survivors, including Hester, all of whom were rescued by cargo ships belonging to Parthenope Enterprises, which has mining operations in the asteroid belt.


Hester's hideous injuries required her to be fitted with a prosthetic left arm, left leg, left ear, and left eye and the medical expenses left her hugely indebted to Parthenope, which could repossess the prosthetics for nonpayment.




Thus two years after the disaster Hester is working as a Safety Officer at Parthenope's headquarters on the asteroid Hygeia, which oversees commercial operations in the region.




Hester's job is to make criminals and troublemakers vanish before they can affect the company's profits, so wrongdoing is usually whitewashed and wrongdoers are generally expelled.


Hester is in constant discomfort from her prosthetics, and misses her family, friends, colleagues, and the Vanguard AI who was almost like a child to her.
Then one day, out of the blue, Marley gets a video message from another Symposium survivor, robotics expert David Prussenko, who was a close friend on Earth.




David is a sysadmin for the Overseer AI that manages Parthenope's asteroid mine Nimue, which produces water, fuel, and rare metals.




In his missive, David seems to misremember things that happened in the past, and Hester concludes that he's sending a coded message.
Before Hester can respond, David is killed, and Hester joins the team investigating his death,

The detective squad going to Nimue consists of Hester lead investigator Mohammad Adisa, a native of Mars nonbinary security tech Avery Ryu and Parthenope lawyer Hugo van Arendonk, who represents the company's interests.




The investigators expect to find the culprit quickly and close the case before it generates any adverse publicity.


Things don't work out that way though, Nimue foreperson Yevgenya Sigrah is obstructive



David's coworkers, including his fellow sysadmin Mary Ping, are evasive



operational problems on Nimue are suspicious



and it becomes clear David was investigating something.


As Hester assists with the investigation, examines David's quarters, and delves into David's activities on Nimue, she uncovers a monumental conspiracy.
At this point the story morphs from mystery to thriller, and Hester must race against time to head off further tragedy.


This story is an intriguing blend of science fiction and mystery that leaves the reader wanting more.


Thanks to Netgalley, Kali Wallace, and Berkley Publishers for a copy of the book,

You can follow my reviews at sitelink blogspot. com If you're looking for a formulaic investigation story set in a vague scifi setting, then do we have a book for you.
Worried about your favourite characters dying No need with Dead Space, where you're unlikely to grow attached to anyone unless you love unlikeable characters who constantly moan about their circumstances.
Tired of creative, immersive worlds tricking you into escaping reality Fear not, dear reader, Dead Space piggybacks on all your nearfuture scifi staples, such as AI security systems, lowG stations, and clever little robots who are exactly as smart as the plot needs them to be.
No need to strain your imagination conjuring innovative implementations of technologies or socities, Let Dead Space spoonfeed you all the exposition you need today and, as a bonus, take your mind off the predictable plot which we all know you barely care about anyway, right

Oh, did you fall asleep back there No worries.
We'll just reexplain everything for you at the end, and if you act now, Dead Space will even throw in some thematic discussion about monopolistic corporations and rogue AI.
Don't worry though, it'll keep things light and simple, making sure not to throw in anything even remotely original or provocative.
Wouldn't want to leave you with something to think about, now would we

Go ahead, Pick up Dead Space today not to be confused with the awesome game, sitelinkDead Space, and witness some truly mediocre writing do the bare minimum to call itself a novel.
Simply keep your expectations as low as humanly possible and disregard the clunky pacing, confusing action scenes, endless coincidences, constant whining, incompetent side characters, forced twists, and unsatisfying ending.
A great read Good time Alright distraction Technically better than sitting around, twiddling your thumbs for a few hours, guaranteed.
An investigator must solve a brutal murder on a claustrophobic space station in this tense science fiction thriller from the author of Salvation Day.


Hester Marley used to have a plan for her life, But when a catastrophic attack left her injured, indebted, and stranded far from home, she was forced to take a deadend security job with a powerful mining company in the asteroid belt.
Now she spends her days investigating petty crimes to help her employer maximize its profits, She's surprised to hear from an old friend and fellow victim of the terrorist attack that ruined her lifeand that surprise quickly turns to suspicion when he claims to have discovered something shocking about their shared history and the tragedy that neither of them can leave behind.


Before Hester can learn more, her friend is violently murdered at a remote asteroid mine, Hester joins the investigation to find the truth, both about her friend's death and the information he believed he had uncovered.
But catching a killer is only the beginning of Hester's worries, and she soon realizes that everything she learns about her friend, his fellow miners, and the outpost they call home brings her closer to revealing secrets that very powerful and very dangerous people would rather keep hidden in the depths of space.
Stars:out of

I have been lucky with my scifi books inso far and Dead Space continues the trend.


It is an interesting murder and conspiracy mystery written in a very claustrophobic setting a mining facility on a small asteroid, what can be more claustrophobic than that But what makes this story so engaging is the protagonist.


Sometimes you think that you have your whole life ahead of you, You have dreams, you have a job you love, you are on a mission that will change the world.
. . and then you watch your whole life crash and burn around you in a single agonizing moment, This is what happened to our protagonist,

To say that Hester is broken is an euphemism, The terrible explosion that destroyed her brilliant future left her with a body that is half organic and half machine.
. . something that has never been done before to that extent, She is in constant pain from human joints rubbing against unyielding metal and a human brain trying to make sense of input submitted by a robotic eye, but that is only scratching the surface.
. . Hester also has severe psychological trauma after her ordeal and PTSD is only part of it, And the fact that she is now stuck in a thankless job she is way overqualified for, on a dismal little asteroid far away from Earth, trying to pay off the gigantic medical debt that only keeps growing.
. . well, you can understand that her view of the world around her is rather bleak,

I liked Hester, even though being in her head was rather hard sometimes because of how hopeless and jaded she sounded, but honestly, can you blame her But even despite her bleak state of mind, she still tries to do her job as a crime analyst the best she can.
And when another survivor of the crash that destroyed her future is murdered, she does everything she can to understand what happened.


I also love that once she understands that the situation is far worse than a simple murder, she does everything she can to keep the people she works with safe, even if that means going on a walk on the surface of an asteroid in an EVA suit and facing her biggest fear the open vacuum.


The ending wraps up the main mystery in a quite satisfactory manner and gives us a couple more answers about what happened to Hester's ship along the way.
And Hester grows emotionally and psychologically during this ordeal, and might I say, gets a little bit of closure in the end And even though her situation is just as bleak by the end of the book, she has made peace with it, because she knows that her biggest creation is free in the universe to do what she created it to do explore.


PS: I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, .