It is not so surprising to find that Chris Brookmyre has written his first science fiction novel. His hugely popular crime novels have frequently contained and even depended on genre elements, most particularly to computer gaming references. But it does take some time to work out just why the setting of this latest crime novel should be the dark and seedy underbelly of a space station, the 'ciduad de cielo' rather than the back streets of Glasgow or Edinburgh.
It is brave of Brookmyre to eschew his usual formula, where the reader is most often apprised of who is the instigator of the dastardly deed of murder and mayhem revealed at the outset. The thrill of the chase is instead in just how the investigating heroes, be they Jasmine Sharp, Catherine MacLeod, or Jack Parlabane piece together the breadcrumb clues and lead them to the miscreants, who will invariably be pillars of the conservative establishment, or captains of industry, and whose comeuppance will be both enjoyable and deliciously appropriate to the nature of their transgressions. Brookmyre relies on the sometimes challenging backstory of his protagonists to elicit empathy with their plight, and have readers cheering them on.
So the when mismatched pair in whose hands the investigation into the 'first' murder on the 'ciduad de cielo' is dumped have a curious lack of history revealed or explored, it makes Alice Blake and Nikki Freeman hard to care about. Particularly when Alice Blake appears for all the world like a privileged child of the establishment, and Freeman (aka Nikki Fixx) has no apparent 'heart of gold' as counterpoint to her corrupt mercenary cop persona.
Suffice to say without spoilers that this set up proves a key aspect of what makes the stakes so high, and success in the investigation most vital. It is in this mystery and danger that the science fiction element becomes both apparent and required for the success of the story and the resolution of the conflicts of the protagonists. I found it to be not particularly plausible, but I was certainly able to suspend disbelief effectively enough that the payoff was satisfying. It helped that the danger and peril into which our heroes had been plunged managed to keep the adrenaline pumping and the pages turning fot the last half of the book.
Eligible for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2018.
It is brave of Brookmyre to eschew his usual formula, where the reader is most often apprised of who is the instigator of the dastardly deed of murder and mayhem revealed at the outset. The thrill of the chase is instead in just how the investigating heroes, be they Jasmine Sharp, Catherine MacLeod, or Jack Parlabane piece together the breadcrumb clues and lead them to the miscreants, who will invariably be pillars of the conservative establishment, or captains of industry, and whose comeuppance will be both enjoyable and deliciously appropriate to the nature of their transgressions. Brookmyre relies on the sometimes challenging backstory of his protagonists to elicit empathy with their plight, and have readers cheering them on.
So the when mismatched pair in whose hands the investigation into the 'first' murder on the 'ciduad de cielo' is dumped have a curious lack of history revealed or explored, it makes Alice Blake and Nikki Freeman hard to care about. Particularly when Alice Blake appears for all the world like a privileged child of the establishment, and Freeman (aka Nikki Fixx) has no apparent 'heart of gold' as counterpoint to her corrupt mercenary cop persona.
Suffice to say without spoilers that this set up proves a key aspect of what makes the stakes so high, and success in the investigation most vital. It is in this mystery and danger that the science fiction element becomes both apparent and required for the success of the story and the resolution of the conflicts of the protagonists. I found it to be not particularly plausible, but I was certainly able to suspend disbelief effectively enough that the payoff was satisfying. It helped that the danger and peril into which our heroes had been plunged managed to keep the adrenaline pumping and the pages turning fot the last half of the book.
Eligible for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2018.