ARC Review: Far From The Light Of Heaven by Tade Thompson

“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

Thank you to Nazia Khatun and Orbit for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After I finished Rosewater, I was pretty excited to start my next Tade Thompson book. Far From The Light of Heaven is nothing like Rosewater and at the same time, it’s similar. You’ll recognise certain recurring themes, Tade’s voice, and his imagination. I went in without reading much about it and I’m glad I did. Starting a new book without remembering the blurb is refreshing. So when the pile of dismembered bodies turns up on the pages, my interest was piqued. I had to keep reading.

The book was a varied cast of humans and non-humans, all with different motivations and interests. It’s one of those rare books where I enjoyed all of the point-of-view characters. The cast is an interesting mix considering there’s a locked room murder going on. Because why is there a wolf on board the spaceship? What happened? Who’s responsible? And how do they stay alive on this broken ship? Can Campion keep her passengers alive before the killer murders them too? I’m not good at figuring out the killer so I definitely didn’t see this coming, but maybe even more experienced whodunnit readers will enjoy this conclusion.

I really like the worlds he created, how current world politics might affect future space explorations and the underlying social commentary woven into the motives and backstory of the characters. It’s so subtle, and at the same time, once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

Overall, Far From the Light of Heaven is a book that’ll keep you hooked until the last page. A whodunnit in space with an unconventional cast of characters. I give it 4,5 stars. If you like Aliette de Bodard’s Xuya universe books, you’ll enjoy this one too.