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Massif
Not yet published
Expected 17 Sep 26RIDE A MASSIF TO A NEW STAR SYSTEM.
FIGHT THE ENEMY YOU FIND THERE. REPEAT.
It's business as usual for Ship Leader Parnell Shi-Sawahla and the crew of the corvette Sassafras. Ride a Massif to a new system, fight the enemy, repeat. For more than two hundred years humans have been hitching rides on these sentient, starfaring mountain ranges, colonising planets and exporting an on and off again war between Earth and Mars.
But the big questions are always there, behind every battle, every new colony, every new star system discovery.
Why do the Massifs carry humans to the stars?
Why do they help us export our wars?
What's in it for the Massifs?
Ship crews aren't supposed to ask these questions, they aren't supposed to think about these questions, and they definitely aren't supposed to go deep and talk to Massif avatars. But now Parnell and his tight-knit crew must try to find the answers, to save not only themselves but the future of humanity.
From the multimillion-copy bestseller behind many beloved fantasy series including The Old Kingdom and The Left-Handed Booksellers of London, comes his first ever adult sci-fi novel with an epic and poignant story of sentient starships, galactic warfare, and the bonds a crew forms in the cold black of space. Massif is utterly unmissable for readers of Andy Weir and Pierce Brown - and it's also the perfect gateway into science fiction for fantasy fans.
FIGHT THE ENEMY YOU FIND THERE. REPEAT.
It's business as usual for Ship Leader Parnell Shi-Sawahla and the crew of the corvette Sassafras. Ride a Massif to a new system, fight the enemy, repeat. For more than two hundred years humans have been hitching rides on these sentient, starfaring mountain ranges, colonising planets and exporting an on and off again war between Earth and Mars.
But the big questions are always there, behind every battle, every new colony, every new star system discovery.
Why do the Massifs carry humans to the stars?
Why do they help us export our wars?
What's in it for the Massifs?
Ship crews aren't supposed to ask these questions, they aren't supposed to think about these questions, and they definitely aren't supposed to go deep and talk to Massif avatars. But now Parnell and his tight-knit crew must try to find the answers, to save not only themselves but the future of humanity.
From the multimillion-copy bestseller behind many beloved fantasy series including The Old Kingdom and The Left-Handed Booksellers of London, comes his first ever adult sci-fi novel with an epic and poignant story of sentient starships, galactic warfare, and the bonds a crew forms in the cold black of space. Massif is utterly unmissable for readers of Andy Weir and Pierce Brown - and it's also the perfect gateway into science fiction for fantasy fans.
Kindle Edition
Expected publication September 8, 2026
About the author
Garth Nix
233 books15.2k followersGarth Nix was born in 1963 in Melbourne, Australia, to the sound of the Salvation Army band outside playing 'Hail the Conquering Hero Comes' or possibly 'Roll Out the Barrel'. Garth left Melbourne at an early age for Canberra (the federal capital) and stayed there till he was nineteen, when he left to drive around the UK in a beat-up Austin with a boot full of books and a Silver-Reed typewriter.
Despite a wheel literally falling off the Austin, Garth survived to return to Australia and study at the University of Canberra. After finishing his degree in 1986 he worked in a bookshop, then as a book publicist, a publisher's sales representative, and editor. Along the way he was also a part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve, serving in an Assault Pioneer platoon for four years. Garth left publishing to work as a public relations and marketing consultant from 1994-1997, till he became a full-time writer in 1998. He did that for a year before joining Curtis Brown Australia as a part-time literary agent in 1999. In January 2002 Garth went back to dedicated writer again, despite his belief that full-time writing explains the strange behaviour of many authors.
He now lives in Sydney with his wife, two sons and lots of books.
Despite a wheel literally falling off the Austin, Garth survived to return to Australia and study at the University of Canberra. After finishing his degree in 1986 he worked in a bookshop, then as a book publicist, a publisher's sales representative, and editor. Along the way he was also a part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve, serving in an Assault Pioneer platoon for four years. Garth left publishing to work as a public relations and marketing consultant from 1994-1997, till he became a full-time writer in 1998. He did that for a year before joining Curtis Brown Australia as a part-time literary agent in 1999. In January 2002 Garth went back to dedicated writer again, despite his belief that full-time writing explains the strange behaviour of many authors.
He now lives in Sydney with his wife, two sons and lots of books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
2026
March 25, 2026📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager
May 15, 2026
In one word: Excellent!
It’s been forever since I read Garth Nix, I loved his Abhorsen series but aged out. Just like Sabriel, Massif has a lot of world building to push through that at times felt dense. Nix has a fecund imagination and once I stopped trying to steer & settled in for the ride, I was delighted with where he lead.
Massif starts off strong. Quickly we learn that a series of small mountains, or Massifs, have broken free from different plants and travel the stars crisscrossing each other in fixed routes. Humans have been hitching rides on Massifs, colonizing every habitable planet they come across & starting wars with each other over them.
Our story opens with the crew of Sassafras readying to launch off a Massif into battle against a company of Mars colonizers. The battle is a dumpster fire with both sides suffering massive casualties, loss of ships and a member of the Sassafras’s crew is lost on the planet below. The book then focuses on Ship Leader Parnells attempts to rebuild the Sassafras & rescue them. Unfortunately the more we learn about the Massifs, the more we’re forced to question what their true intentions are.
It’s been forever since I read Garth Nix, I loved his Abhorsen series but aged out. Just like Sabriel, Massif has a lot of world building to push through that at times felt dense. Nix has a fecund imagination and once I stopped trying to steer & settled in for the ride, I was delighted with where he lead.
Massif starts off strong. Quickly we learn that a series of small mountains, or Massifs, have broken free from different plants and travel the stars crisscrossing each other in fixed routes. Humans have been hitching rides on Massifs, colonizing every habitable planet they come across & starting wars with each other over them.
Our story opens with the crew of Sassafras readying to launch off a Massif into battle against a company of Mars colonizers. The battle is a dumpster fire with both sides suffering massive casualties, loss of ships and a member of the Sassafras’s crew is lost on the planet below. The book then focuses on Ship Leader Parnells attempts to rebuild the Sassafras & rescue them. Unfortunately the more we learn about the Massifs, the more we’re forced to question what their true intentions are.
June 2, 2026
We get a neat military sci-fi where a crew starts to actually ask questions about "hey, these random large land masses have been cool with taking us to space, has anyone thought about why that might be??" as they try to rescue a crew mate who's been left behind and repair their own land mass. Lots of world building, v dense on the military aspect at times, but a neat, enjoyable read. Comes out in September!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Actual Rating: 2.5
I love the authors Old Kingdom series so I was pretty excited to check out his first adult sci-fi book. Sadly this book wasn’t for me but I do think a younger reader or someone new to sci-fi might enjoy it.
For me, having read plenty of sci-fi, the science in this felt weak. I feel like Nix had this great inventive idea (Massifs-a space traveling sentiment mountain? How cool!) but didn’t have the the science knowledge/imagination to back it up.
Honestly would have loved it if Massif had really explored the whole cosmic horror aspect. Those scenes were where the book really shined.
Received from NetGalley
I love the authors Old Kingdom series so I was pretty excited to check out his first adult sci-fi book. Sadly this book wasn’t for me but I do think a younger reader or someone new to sci-fi might enjoy it.
For me, having read plenty of sci-fi, the science in this felt weak. I feel like Nix had this great inventive idea (Massifs-a space traveling sentiment mountain? How cool!) but didn’t have the the science knowledge/imagination to back it up.
Honestly would have loved it if Massif had really explored the whole cosmic horror aspect. Those scenes were where the book really shined.
Received from NetGalley
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received an ARC of this book. My review is based on that copy. The published work may differ from what I read.
I love the Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix. I’ve read it more times than I can count. His other works are always creative and conceptually interesting, but haven’t always worked for me as a total product. They have tended to lean heavier on the ideas over the characters. That’s not going to be an issue for a lot of people, but I am a character first kind of reader. I need people to connect to in order to care about the concepts, settings, ideas, or themes being presented to me. Nix did that to absolute perfection in Sabriel, so I know he’s got it in him.
In Massif the world building is front loaded and it is a lot all at once. The first few chapters are pages and pages of info dumping to set up the context. The concepts and ideas are fascinating, but I really struggled to get into the book. It’s very slow going at first and there is a lot of technical language. The cast of characters is an interesting mishmash of a crew and I was interested in who they were and how they fit together. It takes a while to get a feel for them as people, and the clunky dialogue doesn’t help. But it smooths out, and the found family aspect comes to the forefront especially as the plot starts to take shape.
The plot appears to be one thing on the surface, but there’s a deeper layer of much more complex goings on underneath that takes a while to show itself. We are limited to what the characters know. The story is focused on their goals and experiences and the bigger issues are on the periphery because the characters themselves are not making them a priority. It’s only as those bigger issues begin to make themselves known and encroach on the character’s mission that we start to know more. The world is a lot bigger than the story being told. I found that frustrating at times. But the reveal, when it comes, is stunning and disturbing. The ending, however, felt incomplete and abrupt.
There are some incredible, memorable descriptions in this book, especially as related to the avatars and their effects on people. A few scenes in particular could have been out of a horror novel. Those brief moments, interwoven into the much more practical and straightforward book around them, stand out like blood in a white room.
Like all of Nix’ work, there are unique and creative ideas at play here. I just wanted the whole experience to be tighter and more streamlined. There is a lot of time wasted on overly detailed, minute explanations of step by step actions being taken. It bogged down the story. I would have enjoyed this more if that had been reined in. I also wanted more depth to the characters. What is there is great! There just isn’t enough of it. There is a really good book buried underneath the excess. It just needs to be cleaned up and trimmed to fully reveal itself.
I love the Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix. I’ve read it more times than I can count. His other works are always creative and conceptually interesting, but haven’t always worked for me as a total product. They have tended to lean heavier on the ideas over the characters. That’s not going to be an issue for a lot of people, but I am a character first kind of reader. I need people to connect to in order to care about the concepts, settings, ideas, or themes being presented to me. Nix did that to absolute perfection in Sabriel, so I know he’s got it in him.
In Massif the world building is front loaded and it is a lot all at once. The first few chapters are pages and pages of info dumping to set up the context. The concepts and ideas are fascinating, but I really struggled to get into the book. It’s very slow going at first and there is a lot of technical language. The cast of characters is an interesting mishmash of a crew and I was interested in who they were and how they fit together. It takes a while to get a feel for them as people, and the clunky dialogue doesn’t help. But it smooths out, and the found family aspect comes to the forefront especially as the plot starts to take shape.
The plot appears to be one thing on the surface, but there’s a deeper layer of much more complex goings on underneath that takes a while to show itself. We are limited to what the characters know. The story is focused on their goals and experiences and the bigger issues are on the periphery because the characters themselves are not making them a priority. It’s only as those bigger issues begin to make themselves known and encroach on the character’s mission that we start to know more. The world is a lot bigger than the story being told. I found that frustrating at times. But the reveal, when it comes, is stunning and disturbing. The ending, however, felt incomplete and abrupt.
There are some incredible, memorable descriptions in this book, especially as related to the avatars and their effects on people. A few scenes in particular could have been out of a horror novel. Those brief moments, interwoven into the much more practical and straightforward book around them, stand out like blood in a white room.
Like all of Nix’ work, there are unique and creative ideas at play here. I just wanted the whole experience to be tighter and more streamlined. There is a lot of time wasted on overly detailed, minute explanations of step by step actions being taken. It bogged down the story. I would have enjoyed this more if that had been reined in. I also wanted more depth to the characters. What is there is great! There just isn’t enough of it. There is a really good book buried underneath the excess. It just needs to be cleaned up and trimmed to fully reveal itself.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Full disclosure: I won a free ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
Massif is an innovative alien encounter novel. I’m delighted to have found it.
The engine of the book is the mystery of what these aliens really are and why behave as they do. It’s tantalizing.
Humans have been dealing with the Massifs for two centuries, but still don’t understand what they are, what they want, or how they work. As the plot moves forward, the reader senses that the crew of the Sassafras will be in the middle of some sort of breakthrough on this.
I loved the concept of a whole mountain range being an alien. I loved the technology, especially spaceships piloted by mind. And I loved the freaky physics that should NOT work, but do. Science fiction books usually trip over themselves making sure they obey the known laws of physics. It was refreshing to have a book that said, “Nope! The engines of these ships break every law of physics we know. There are physics humans don’t know about yet!”
There were two elements of the book that frustrated me.
The first was the war between Earth and the Mars consortium. The two polities were distinct enough in ideology that it was believable they would go to war over some short-term goal. But the book implied this was a forever-war that had been going on for centuries. For nations to choose to drain their blood and treasure for centuries, there has to be a powerful motive—a huge upside. There wasn’t one. Earth and Mars were fighting over who would get to colonize each planet. But there were LOTS of planets. And these were WHOLE PLANETS. Even if both Earth and Mars were vastly overpopulated (it didn’t feel like they were), they could easily have divided up just ONE planet and had plenty of room—“you take that continent, we’ll take this continent.“ But with the multiplicity of planets available, there was even less reason to fight. There were no valuable or rare resources on these planets. They were just tolerable places to build homes—not even great places to build homes, just tolerable places. So wasting expensive weapons, difficult-to-obtain ships, and human lives fighting over something there was plenty of, made little sense.
The second element that frustrated me was the portrayal of earth’s future climate. The descriptions did not match the IPCC’s most likely projections for climate change. I’m guessing Nix got his depressing assumptions from the extreme catastrophizing going on in the media. Unfortunately, the media reports only the most extreme climate change models, not the IPCC’s most likely climate change models. I wouldn’t bother mentioning this as a problem, except that so many people are hearing these unlikely projections about Earth’s future that it is driving up mental illness—dumping thousands of people into depression. It is not wise at this time to encourage such fear-mongering.
Other than those two annoyances, it was a great book. I highly recommend it.
Massif is an innovative alien encounter novel. I’m delighted to have found it.
The engine of the book is the mystery of what these aliens really are and why behave as they do. It’s tantalizing.
Humans have been dealing with the Massifs for two centuries, but still don’t understand what they are, what they want, or how they work. As the plot moves forward, the reader senses that the crew of the Sassafras will be in the middle of some sort of breakthrough on this.
I loved the concept of a whole mountain range being an alien. I loved the technology, especially spaceships piloted by mind. And I loved the freaky physics that should NOT work, but do. Science fiction books usually trip over themselves making sure they obey the known laws of physics. It was refreshing to have a book that said, “Nope! The engines of these ships break every law of physics we know. There are physics humans don’t know about yet!”
There were two elements of the book that frustrated me.
The first was the war between Earth and the Mars consortium. The two polities were distinct enough in ideology that it was believable they would go to war over some short-term goal. But the book implied this was a forever-war that had been going on for centuries. For nations to choose to drain their blood and treasure for centuries, there has to be a powerful motive—a huge upside. There wasn’t one. Earth and Mars were fighting over who would get to colonize each planet. But there were LOTS of planets. And these were WHOLE PLANETS. Even if both Earth and Mars were vastly overpopulated (it didn’t feel like they were), they could easily have divided up just ONE planet and had plenty of room—“you take that continent, we’ll take this continent.“ But with the multiplicity of planets available, there was even less reason to fight. There were no valuable or rare resources on these planets. They were just tolerable places to build homes—not even great places to build homes, just tolerable places. So wasting expensive weapons, difficult-to-obtain ships, and human lives fighting over something there was plenty of, made little sense.
The second element that frustrated me was the portrayal of earth’s future climate. The descriptions did not match the IPCC’s most likely projections for climate change. I’m guessing Nix got his depressing assumptions from the extreme catastrophizing going on in the media. Unfortunately, the media reports only the most extreme climate change models, not the IPCC’s most likely climate change models. I wouldn’t bother mentioning this as a problem, except that so many people are hearing these unlikely projections about Earth’s future that it is driving up mental illness—dumping thousands of people into depression. It is not wise at this time to encourage such fear-mongering.
Other than those two annoyances, it was a great book. I highly recommend it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I read this book in 2 days. Once I got past the first 3-4 chapters, which were a bit exposition heavy, I had to know what was going to happen. There was a scary chase scene and a pretty horrific ‘caving’ scene, otherwise it was relatively mild, and the thrill was mostly in figuring out what’s going on. There are these mountains, called Massifs. One of them detaches itself from Earth at some point. Then, even though it’s completely surrounded by empty space, there’s an ‘enclave’ on it where atmosphere, pressure, and temperature are pretty constant and pleasant. This Massif has an ‘avatar’ that looks like a little human girl, and through her it communicates that it’s going to go on a journey through space, it will come back, and a human expedition is welcome to tag along. Then it takes us to various solar systems, where we encounter more Massifs, and slowly we build kind of a railway map of the universe where the transport is provided by Massifs. The question is, since they seem to be conscious entities, why would they do this? What’s in it for them?
The above is described in the prologue, so it’s not a spoiler. We tag along with the crew of a small space ship deployed to a Massif whose avatar is a Drumming hamster-like figure. Humanity has split into two factions, one based on Earth and the other on Mars, and these are at war, while attempting to colonize as many livable planets as possible. Our crew is made up of nice people who really just want to stay together and do what they like best, which is fly their ship. Of course there are many people who try to profit off this war by selling shoddy merchandise at a premium, or taking the best (e.g., food) to themselves and letting the rest have the hardly edible, but all in all Garth Nix’ world is a relatively pleasant and optimistic future. I enjoyed that. He has a very light touch, that makes even the most harrowing scenes kind of nice to read.
I’m a long time fan of Mr. Nix, having loved the Booksellers books, Angel Mage, and the adventures of Sir Hereford. (Yet to read the Abhorsen series.) Any new book of his is an automatic want to read for me, and if you liked any of the others, you will not be disappointed. When it comes, the revelation regarding the Massifs is quite satisfying and ties most plot threads off, while leaving - perhaps - room for a sequel. Or an adjacent novel in the same world?
The above is described in the prologue, so it’s not a spoiler. We tag along with the crew of a small space ship deployed to a Massif whose avatar is a Drumming hamster-like figure. Humanity has split into two factions, one based on Earth and the other on Mars, and these are at war, while attempting to colonize as many livable planets as possible. Our crew is made up of nice people who really just want to stay together and do what they like best, which is fly their ship. Of course there are many people who try to profit off this war by selling shoddy merchandise at a premium, or taking the best (e.g., food) to themselves and letting the rest have the hardly edible, but all in all Garth Nix’ world is a relatively pleasant and optimistic future. I enjoyed that. He has a very light touch, that makes even the most harrowing scenes kind of nice to read.
I’m a long time fan of Mr. Nix, having loved the Booksellers books, Angel Mage, and the adventures of Sir Hereford. (Yet to read the Abhorsen series.) Any new book of his is an automatic want to read for me, and if you liked any of the others, you will not be disappointed. When it comes, the revelation regarding the Massifs is quite satisfying and ties most plot threads off, while leaving - perhaps - room for a sequel. Or an adjacent novel in the same world?
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received a free copy from Harper Voyager via Netgalley in exchange for a fair review. Release date September 8th, 2026.
I've read a bit of Nix's adult fantasy and of course his children's novels ages ago, so I was curious about his foray into SF. In Massif, Parnell is captain of a ship attached to a mysterious, spacefaring Massif. When a routine battle in their endless war goes terribly wrong, Parnell is determined to rescue his lost pilot—but in the process, he must explore the deepest secrets of the Massifs...
Massif ran much more classically military SF than I expected, which is, admittedly, not my favorite genre. If you're going to spend half the plot in space battles, I need much more anti-war critique, in the line of Hurley's The Light Brigade. I thought the underlying premise was interesting—humans have discovered space travel, but they're completely dependent on the mountain-sized alien Massifs that move through space on set routes. But all the worldbuilding does with that plot is set up an eternal Earth-Mars space colonization war. Bang bang space marines space guns over the apparently infinite resource of barely colonized worlds. It didn't help that the characterization was relatively shallow, which is fatal with a plot revolving around crew comradery. We shan't even mention the half-baked romance.
I think part of my issue with this book was due to the structure. Effectively, the inciting incident only happened about halfway through the novel. And it feels like the point of the whole book was just to set up the big twist at the end. This is a structure for a short story, not an entire three hundred fifty page novel. But fundamentally, Massif is not focused on topics that interest me. The story is about survival and surviving bad orders, and it's fundamentally plot driven with relatively flat characters. While there's apparently an entire sentient alien measuring scale, we don't learn anything about alien cultures or civilizations. And while the ending obviously sets up a sequel, it seems poised to introduce merely a different kind of war.
Ultimately a bit of a disappointment. There's nothing here I find appealing. I liked Nix's Sir Hereward collection, but this foray into SF feels like a dud.
I've read a bit of Nix's adult fantasy and of course his children's novels ages ago, so I was curious about his foray into SF. In Massif, Parnell is captain of a ship attached to a mysterious, spacefaring Massif. When a routine battle in their endless war goes terribly wrong, Parnell is determined to rescue his lost pilot—but in the process, he must explore the deepest secrets of the Massifs...
Massif ran much more classically military SF than I expected, which is, admittedly, not my favorite genre. If you're going to spend half the plot in space battles, I need much more anti-war critique, in the line of Hurley's The Light Brigade. I thought the underlying premise was interesting—humans have discovered space travel, but they're completely dependent on the mountain-sized alien Massifs that move through space on set routes. But all the worldbuilding does with that plot is set up an eternal Earth-Mars space colonization war. Bang bang space marines space guns over the apparently infinite resource of barely colonized worlds. It didn't help that the characterization was relatively shallow, which is fatal with a plot revolving around crew comradery. We shan't even mention the half-baked romance.
I think part of my issue with this book was due to the structure. Effectively, the inciting incident only happened about halfway through the novel. And it feels like the point of the whole book was just to set up the big twist at the end. This is a structure for a short story, not an entire three hundred fifty page novel. But fundamentally, Massif is not focused on topics that interest me. The story is about survival and surviving bad orders, and it's fundamentally plot driven with relatively flat characters. While there's apparently an entire sentient alien measuring scale, we don't learn anything about alien cultures or civilizations. And while the ending obviously sets up a sequel, it seems poised to introduce merely a different kind of war.
Ultimately a bit of a disappointment. There's nothing here I find appealing. I liked Nix's Sir Hereward collection, but this foray into SF feels like a dud.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Massif, by Garth Nix, is a sci-fi book that feels fresh in its ideas. In this novel, Earth and Mars are at war but there’s a unique type of player in the game — Massifs. These mountains function as space transports from war to war, that humanity has figured out how to utilize without understanding how or why they function. Each massif also has an avatar and they each have unique personalities and friendliness levels. The massifs may give a military or an individual a spaceship after a grueling and traumatic quest to ask for one. Only certain “sensitives” can pilot these ships with their minds. The massifs can be fickle, killing on a whim. They torture people via the avatar, and a few scenes are out of a horror novel. So while battling each other, Earthers and “Marsies” have to contend with these overlord mountains that they don’t fully understand.
This book is an engaging space adventure following the crew of the Sassafras. The first few chapters are a lot of world-building and the characters have long hyphenated names which have to do with cloned traits. I’d like to have had a little more character development, but what’s there makes the crew likable, interesting, and gives that “found family” vibe that makes the reader root for them. The book has a satisfying ending, while still leaving an opening for a sequel. Some creative and interesting ideas here. Definitely worth a read.
Note: after I wrote this review, I looked a a few other reviews. I have to say that this is the first book I’ve read by Garth Nix, so I think I’ve come into it without any preexisting expectations of his writing and enjoyed it.
Massif, by Garth Nix, is a sci-fi book that feels fresh in its ideas. In this novel, Earth and Mars are at war but there’s a unique type of player in the game — Massifs. These mountains function as space transports from war to war, that humanity has figured out how to utilize without understanding how or why they function. Each massif also has an avatar and they each have unique personalities and friendliness levels. The massifs may give a military or an individual a spaceship after a grueling and traumatic quest to ask for one. Only certain “sensitives” can pilot these ships with their minds. The massifs can be fickle, killing on a whim. They torture people via the avatar, and a few scenes are out of a horror novel. So while battling each other, Earthers and “Marsies” have to contend with these overlord mountains that they don’t fully understand.
This book is an engaging space adventure following the crew of the Sassafras. The first few chapters are a lot of world-building and the characters have long hyphenated names which have to do with cloned traits. I’d like to have had a little more character development, but what’s there makes the crew likable, interesting, and gives that “found family” vibe that makes the reader root for them. The book has a satisfying ending, while still leaving an opening for a sequel. Some creative and interesting ideas here. Definitely worth a read.
Note: after I wrote this review, I looked a a few other reviews. I have to say that this is the first book I’ve read by Garth Nix, so I think I’ve come into it without any preexisting expectations of his writing and enjoyed it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC.
I really like Nix's writing style. This is my sixth or seventh book by him, but a first sci-fi one.
Massif sets up an interesting future world where we didn't come up with interstellar travel, but it has been provided to us by massifs (alien space-floating mountains). Unsurprisingly, we go about using this breakthrough by constantly fighting each other in space. Enter our protagonist and his space ship crew who are part of the military force of one of the sides of the conflict. The war is ongoing as we are thrust into action. It's part space-opera, part first contact, all fun.
My main gripe is with what I perceive as a plot hole towards the end. It is required for the resolution and that's why I am taking off a star.
I really like Nix's writing style. This is my sixth or seventh book by him, but a first sci-fi one.
Massif sets up an interesting future world where we didn't come up with interstellar travel, but it has been provided to us by massifs (alien space-floating mountains). Unsurprisingly, we go about using this breakthrough by constantly fighting each other in space. Enter our protagonist and his space ship crew who are part of the military force of one of the sides of the conflict. The war is ongoing as we are thrust into action. It's part space-opera, part first contact, all fun.
My main gripe is with what I perceive as a plot hole towards the end. It is required for the resolution and that's why I am taking off a star.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Garth Nix is one of my favorite authors for a good comfort read, I started reading his Old Kingdom series in my teens and have gone back to it numerous times over the past couple decades. Still love to re-read them and often recommend the series to friends!
So when I saw a new Nix book coming out later this year, I knew I HAD to request it. Sci-fi is not his usual genre so I was excited to see what he would with it and I wasn't disappointed. The beginning was a bit rough for me, with many characters with many names and many duties being introduced all at once and a LOT of worldbuilding happening quickly to set the scene for the story. I feel like that overwhelm can happen for me with Sci-fi in general? For this book, my brain would definitely benefit from a cast of characters list and maybe some of the general worldbuilding explained in short descriptions in an introduction that I could have referred back to.
While the start to the book was dense at times, the story eventually really hooked me. There was a lot of mystery and perplexing unknowns. Although I had a hard time remembering who was who at times, the characters were definitely compelling, especially our main character Parnell. I really admired him as a leader and the dynamics between the entire crew were great.
All in all, a satisfying read for me. I'll recommend this book to people who I know like Sci-fi but my main Garth Nix recommendations will continue to be Sabriel and the Old Kingdom books.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the eARC!
So when I saw a new Nix book coming out later this year, I knew I HAD to request it. Sci-fi is not his usual genre so I was excited to see what he would with it and I wasn't disappointed. The beginning was a bit rough for me, with many characters with many names and many duties being introduced all at once and a LOT of worldbuilding happening quickly to set the scene for the story. I feel like that overwhelm can happen for me with Sci-fi in general? For this book, my brain would definitely benefit from a cast of characters list and maybe some of the general worldbuilding explained in short descriptions in an introduction that I could have referred back to.
While the start to the book was dense at times, the story eventually really hooked me. There was a lot of mystery and perplexing unknowns. Although I had a hard time remembering who was who at times, the characters were definitely compelling, especially our main character Parnell. I really admired him as a leader and the dynamics between the entire crew were great.
All in all, a satisfying read for me. I'll recommend this book to people who I know like Sci-fi but my main Garth Nix recommendations will continue to be Sabriel and the Old Kingdom books.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the eARC!
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Full disclosure: I won a free ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
So the titular Massifs are sentient mountains capable of near instantaneous interstellar travel to systems with Earthlike planets while maintaining comfortable gravity and a breathable atmosphere. There's a bit more to the concept than that, but those are the salient points.
“That sounds too good to be true.” An understandable reaction. Sussing out the motives and plans of the Massifs is part of what this book is all about. No spoilers, but by the end of the book, you should have some idea what's going on.
“Sounds like magic.” True. All I can say is Clarke's Law, and that Garth Nix does a really good job of selling the idea.
And that's really all backdrop for the main story, which is about the camaraderie of soldiers, and the lengths to which a good commander will go to rescue a team member.
I loved this book! As I said, Nix does a fine job of making such an off-the-wall concept believable. He manages to convey a truly astonishing amount of information about the Massifs early on without it feeling like an overwhelming infodump. His characters feel real. I was definitely emotionally invested in their adventures, and eager to find out what happens next.
The book is not, as of this writing, part of a series. I suppose there's always the possibility of exploring this universe further. But the book comes to a definite and satisfying conclusion.
Massif is as fine a Science Fiction novel as anyone could wish for. Highly recommended!
So the titular Massifs are sentient mountains capable of near instantaneous interstellar travel to systems with Earthlike planets while maintaining comfortable gravity and a breathable atmosphere. There's a bit more to the concept than that, but those are the salient points.
“That sounds too good to be true.” An understandable reaction. Sussing out the motives and plans of the Massifs is part of what this book is all about. No spoilers, but by the end of the book, you should have some idea what's going on.
“Sounds like magic.” True. All I can say is Clarke's Law, and that Garth Nix does a really good job of selling the idea.
And that's really all backdrop for the main story, which is about the camaraderie of soldiers, and the lengths to which a good commander will go to rescue a team member.
I loved this book! As I said, Nix does a fine job of making such an off-the-wall concept believable. He manages to convey a truly astonishing amount of information about the Massifs early on without it feeling like an overwhelming infodump. His characters feel real. I was definitely emotionally invested in their adventures, and eager to find out what happens next.
The book is not, as of this writing, part of a series. I suppose there's always the possibility of exploring this universe further. But the book comes to a definite and satisfying conclusion.
Massif is as fine a Science Fiction novel as anyone could wish for. Highly recommended!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I'm really disappointed, because I greatly enjoyed Garth Nix's Old Kingdom series.
Massif had the potential to be really engaging for me. I liked the original concept -- flying mountains suddenly are sentient and basically like giant spaceships?
We are flung into action so quickly and introduced to so many people that I immediately was unable to follow the thread of connection. There's a lot of space jargon, and also a lot of dialogue that feels more tell than show, as well as info-dumping. The writing felt a little like a bunch of pieces moved around very quickly, but I never really felt like I had a good handle on the visuals of what was going on--there isn't a lot of time built up for descriptive prose which grounds the reader in the location.
Many of the chapters are written as tactical reports, which maybe military readers might enjoy, but I found very dry. Characters spend a lot of time barking orders ("red ten, z on our axis is plus eleven, range one hundred and sixty-five K, closing"), followed by more expository dialogue about various types of ships. So many sitreps my eyes glazed over and I was really unable to follow what plot I was supposed to care about.
Just not for me, so I think I will go reread the Old Kingdom series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!
Massif had the potential to be really engaging for me. I liked the original concept -- flying mountains suddenly are sentient and basically like giant spaceships?
We are flung into action so quickly and introduced to so many people that I immediately was unable to follow the thread of connection. There's a lot of space jargon, and also a lot of dialogue that feels more tell than show, as well as info-dumping. The writing felt a little like a bunch of pieces moved around very quickly, but I never really felt like I had a good handle on the visuals of what was going on--there isn't a lot of time built up for descriptive prose which grounds the reader in the location.
Many of the chapters are written as tactical reports, which maybe military readers might enjoy, but I found very dry. Characters spend a lot of time barking orders ("red ten, z on our axis is plus eleven, range one hundred and sixty-five K, closing"), followed by more expository dialogue about various types of ships. So many sitreps my eyes glazed over and I was really unable to follow what plot I was supposed to care about.
Just not for me, so I think I will go reread the Old Kingdom series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received an ARC from Netgalley and I recently won a goodreads giveaway for this title so that's cool! Thanks, Harper Collins!
3.5 rounded up.
I am a long time fan of Garth Nix. And while I don't usually pick up sci-fi, I did because of the author and the premise. I frequently play a video game called Oxygen Not Included and I felt like the author either played the game or should play the game if they haven't yet...
Fast paced and engaging, this book does dump a lot of information and characters at you all at once before it hits the ground running at a breakneck speed. I did feel a little overwhelmed but thoroughly engrossed. The info dumps can sometimes hinge on a bit dry but most of the time they are done well and in line with the plot. Giving you enough information to know what is going on but not enough to fully realize the twist till it is satisfying.
The crew of character's are dynamic for being in a space war. A found family vibes, they try to do right by each other even if they are flawed. Massif's are a terrifying concept and at times it felt more like a horror novel than a sci-fi. It tapped into a lot of my fears of space and the general unknown of it all. Very unique concept.
The ending is abrupt, almost violently so. Left me wondering if there will be a sequel...
3.5 rounded up.
I am a long time fan of Garth Nix. And while I don't usually pick up sci-fi, I did because of the author and the premise. I frequently play a video game called Oxygen Not Included and I felt like the author either played the game or should play the game if they haven't yet...
Fast paced and engaging, this book does dump a lot of information and characters at you all at once before it hits the ground running at a breakneck speed. I did feel a little overwhelmed but thoroughly engrossed. The info dumps can sometimes hinge on a bit dry but most of the time they are done well and in line with the plot. Giving you enough information to know what is going on but not enough to fully realize the twist till it is satisfying.
The crew of character's are dynamic for being in a space war. A found family vibes, they try to do right by each other even if they are flawed. Massif's are a terrifying concept and at times it felt more like a horror novel than a sci-fi. It tapped into a lot of my fears of space and the general unknown of it all. Very unique concept.
The ending is abrupt, almost violently so. Left me wondering if there will be a sequel...
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
As a fan of many of Mr. Nix's earlier works, I enjoyed his odd turn of humor and whimsey here, when he had room to show it. As this is a more serious work of military sci-fi, with high stakes, that was often in a darker, gallows humor kind of way. The odd names of the massifs; how the troops dealt with the day to day moments of weariness, danger, and adrenaline. It certainly worked well when dealing with the aliens - who are, thankfully, very alien.
This is obviously the first of several titles in this world; the final reveal bringing everything clear in a harrowing way while also not providing anything remotely like a culmination. It would have been nice to definitely know this was going to be a series when going into it. (Though most everything is these days.)
On the whole, this book felt a bit like being in the military. Lots of waiting for things to start; barrels of Oh-My-God! moments poured on all at once; more moments of waiting through clean-up and then wash-rinse-repeat. I do want to see where he's going with this, though.
Thanks to Netgalley and Mr. Nix for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion.
This is obviously the first of several titles in this world; the final reveal bringing everything clear in a harrowing way while also not providing anything remotely like a culmination. It would have been nice to definitely know this was going to be a series when going into it. (Though most everything is these days.)
On the whole, this book felt a bit like being in the military. Lots of waiting for things to start; barrels of Oh-My-God! moments poured on all at once; more moments of waiting through clean-up and then wash-rinse-repeat. I do want to see where he's going with this, though.
Thanks to Netgalley and Mr. Nix for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you, NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for allowing me to read this book early. The opinion in this review is my own.
This is the first book I’ve read by Garth Nix. I’ve heard great things about him and I was curious to try his scifi book because I’m a fan of that genre. This was pretty good, but it had some things that brought the rating down for me. I’d give this a solid 3.5 stars.
I liked the premise, it was very unique. The beginning of the book is complete info-dumping, but there is a lot of information to convey so I understand why it was written that way. It reminds me of the beginning of Star Wars when they have the information scrolling up to let you know where we’re at in time. When I think of it that way, I can tolerate info-dumping. Once everything was established it was engaging and I was invested in the plot. The characters could’ve had more depth, but I understand this is the start of a series so their character arcs and development might come in later books. The ending was abrupt and I’m assuming that’s to keep you on the hook for the next book. Overall, I liked the book and I’d recommend it for scifi fans.
This is the first book I’ve read by Garth Nix. I’ve heard great things about him and I was curious to try his scifi book because I’m a fan of that genre. This was pretty good, but it had some things that brought the rating down for me. I’d give this a solid 3.5 stars.
I liked the premise, it was very unique. The beginning of the book is complete info-dumping, but there is a lot of information to convey so I understand why it was written that way. It reminds me of the beginning of Star Wars when they have the information scrolling up to let you know where we’re at in time. When I think of it that way, I can tolerate info-dumping. Once everything was established it was engaging and I was invested in the plot. The characters could’ve had more depth, but I understand this is the start of a series so their character arcs and development might come in later books. The ending was abrupt and I’m assuming that’s to keep you on the hook for the next book. Overall, I liked the book and I’d recommend it for scifi fans.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ebook in exchange for an honest review.
2.5/5 stars, rounded up to 3
I love The Old Kingdom series, and I loved the Keys to the Kingdom series when I was a kid, so I was very excited for a sci-fi book written by Garth Nix. Unfortunately, I wasn’t so much a fan of this. I think there were a ton of very interesting concepts, but the execution just wasn’t there for me.
The first 3 or 4 chapters were extremely dense exposition with a lot of concepts just dropped on you. I almost DNF-ed it, but I pushed through because I wanted to give it a good chance. It does get better after it stops burying you in concepts, but the first few chapters are rough.
I thought the idea of massifs was fascinating. Sentient, potentially friendly mountain ranges that carry people to space and make route through the stars? It’s cool! But it felt like the majority of the plot was not about the massifs themselves, but about Parnell’s struggle with the military’s red tape to go rescue his marooned crew member, which is so much less interesting to me. I would much rather have had it be solely about the cosmic horror of the massifs.
2.5/5 stars, rounded up to 3
I love The Old Kingdom series, and I loved the Keys to the Kingdom series when I was a kid, so I was very excited for a sci-fi book written by Garth Nix. Unfortunately, I wasn’t so much a fan of this. I think there were a ton of very interesting concepts, but the execution just wasn’t there for me.
The first 3 or 4 chapters were extremely dense exposition with a lot of concepts just dropped on you. I almost DNF-ed it, but I pushed through because I wanted to give it a good chance. It does get better after it stops burying you in concepts, but the first few chapters are rough.
I thought the idea of massifs was fascinating. Sentient, potentially friendly mountain ranges that carry people to space and make route through the stars? It’s cool! But it felt like the majority of the plot was not about the massifs themselves, but about Parnell’s struggle with the military’s red tape to go rescue his marooned crew member, which is so much less interesting to me. I would much rather have had it be solely about the cosmic horror of the massifs.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Well Garth Nix isn't exactly a "new" author, but when I read the description of Massif, it sounded so far from all of the other works that I've seen or heard about from Nix, that I was curious. This story is solidly in the "space opera" science fiction genre. There is a lot of world building that comes at the reader from the start just to be able to navigate the story, but then you are also introduced to the central characters who are an interesting group. There is a balance of character-driven and plot-driven story that kept me engaged. I don't know if this book would appeal to the author's fans who are looking for the familiar (high fantasy adventures), but for those with an open mind to exploring a new frontier or space story enthusiasts who haven't even read Sabriel, Massif may be the right adventure.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Avon and Harper Voyager) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Avon and Harper Voyager) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I have a lot of conflicting feelings about this book. I found the concept of the Massifs incredibly interesting and the thought of Massif delusion terrifying, but by the end of the book I had both more information about the world and even more unanswered questions.
I really enjoyed the setting, the crew, and the overall plot, but the ending made me so angry. It was basically just "well there is one problem that we kind of managed, here is a list of other things that may go wrong but we are going to end the book now, goodbye." It may be my fault for not realizing this was going to be a series instead of a standalone, but even if I had realized it, I'd still be irate with where it was left.
The Massifs as an idea are just so weird and I would really like to see more books in the series exploring more of the known Massifs, but I'm not sure that's where this is going to go.
3.5 stars - very enjoyable, but why would you end it like that! Thank you to author, publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to read.
I really enjoyed the setting, the crew, and the overall plot, but the ending made me so angry. It was basically just "well there is one problem that we kind of managed, here is a list of other things that may go wrong but we are going to end the book now, goodbye." It may be my fault for not realizing this was going to be a series instead of a standalone, but even if I had realized it, I'd still be irate with where it was left.
The Massifs as an idea are just so weird and I would really like to see more books in the series exploring more of the known Massifs, but I'm not sure that's where this is going to go.
3.5 stars - very enjoyable, but why would you end it like that! Thank you to author, publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to read.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I've really enjoyed Garth Nix's Abhorsen series, and I've even read and liked some of The Keys to the Kingdom children's books. I was looking forward to see Nix move into adult science fiction. But unfortunately, this book is terrible.
The writing in terms of sentence structure and style reads very childish or young adult to me, rather than a more adult structure. There was also a huge amount of info dumping as Nix was setting the scene for the book, and it was not handled well at all. I fell asleep reading this multiple times, and had to bribe myself to keep reading so I could leave a review. The characters themselves are rather dull, and I found myself having zero desire to cheer for our protagonist or any of the crew. If this is meant to be a space opera, or a military SF, it failed miserably.
Unless the book is dramatically revised and edited before publication, I can't in good conscience recommend it.
The writing in terms of sentence structure and style reads very childish or young adult to me, rather than a more adult structure. There was also a huge amount of info dumping as Nix was setting the scene for the book, and it was not handled well at all. I fell asleep reading this multiple times, and had to bribe myself to keep reading so I could leave a review. The characters themselves are rather dull, and I found myself having zero desire to cheer for our protagonist or any of the crew. If this is meant to be a space opera, or a military SF, it failed miserably.
Unless the book is dramatically revised and edited before publication, I can't in good conscience recommend it.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Interesting premise, but I don’t feel it was fully delivered. The first two-thirds moved glacially slowly, only dropping occasional crumbs of what was framed as the main plot in the summary — discovering what the Massifs want with humanity. The last third picked up the pace significantly, but there was only so much that could be fit in at that point. The big secret of the Massifs was not discovered so much as dropped in all at once. Overall, it read like the awkward first book of a series that hasn't yet hit its stride, though, as far as I know, it's not going to be a series.
The psychological horror of the Massifs and their avatars was well-written and unsettling. The mere presence of their avatar is enough to hijack people's bodies and warp their minds, not to mention what it does to people who choose to approach it or the ominous second presence beneath the Massif's own. I would have liked to see more of that.
The psychological horror of the Massifs and their avatars was well-written and unsettling. The mere presence of their avatar is enough to hijack people's bodies and warp their minds, not to mention what it does to people who choose to approach it or the ominous second presence beneath the Massif's own. I would have liked to see more of that.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is the first book in a new science fiction series by an author known for his fantasy novels. Also it's military sci-fi but not hardcore military sci-fi. Nix does a masterful job bringing to life the alien lifeforms known as Massifs, mountain sized behemoths that can only communicate through and avatar, and that not well. No one knows why the Massifs ferry humans around the galaxy or why each one has a different type of avatar. The Massif on which most of the story takes place is called Drummer Boy, because it's avatar is a giant figure drumming and when it appears everyone also starts drumming, tapping their fingers to the beat. No one knows why it does that.
The beginning was a little blah because of info-dumps. After that it takes off with a space battle, including a boarding attempt and a crewmember in a single ship crashlanding on the enemy planet. When the survivors get back to base on their Massif, Drummer Boy, the leader of Sassafrass ship who lost his crewmember when her ship went down wants to go back and rescue her. But the brass says no. No rescue mission. Still the leader is not disheartened and is determined to get his crewmember back. The crew of the Sassafrass are very tight and close with each other. They are also loyal to their leader. The leader hatches a crazy plan that has a low chance of actually working out. By the end of the novel we will discover one of the big secrets of the Massifs.
This book was great, a nice adventure with heart. The writing is very good, bringing to life the characters. Personally, I can't wait for the sequel to find out what happens next.
I received an e-book advance copy through NetGalley, and this in no way influenced my opinion.
The beginning was a little blah because of info-dumps. After that it takes off with a space battle, including a boarding attempt and a crewmember in a single ship crashlanding on the enemy planet. When the survivors get back to base on their Massif, Drummer Boy, the leader of Sassafrass ship who lost his crewmember when her ship went down wants to go back and rescue her. But the brass says no. No rescue mission. Still the leader is not disheartened and is determined to get his crewmember back. The crew of the Sassafrass are very tight and close with each other. They are also loyal to their leader. The leader hatches a crazy plan that has a low chance of actually working out. By the end of the novel we will discover one of the big secrets of the Massifs.
This book was great, a nice adventure with heart. The writing is very good, bringing to life the characters. Personally, I can't wait for the sequel to find out what happens next.
I received an e-book advance copy through NetGalley, and this in no way influenced my opinion.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Garth Nix writes a book about a crew who start asking questions about the sentient beings called the Massif"s. For two hundred years they have been riding these Massif's across galaxies to the Stars. I thought that Nix had great character development, especially Parnel the main character. Parnel is the Captain of the Sassafras. He's kind of like Han Solo in that he kind of does things his way. Parnel is able to figure out the answers to questions What are the Massif's getting out of transporting humans to distant galaxies. Why do the Massif's do anything at all. I won't give you any spoliers but there are definitely quiet the build up and Nix doesn't leave things untold. I liked this book better then I thought I would. I would say give this book a try it's worth it to unravel everything.
May 8, 2026
Massif is an extremely unique scifi novel about the crew of the ship Sassafras. They must work together to battle against the soldiers of Mars, as well as discover the secrets hiding within the leviathan floating terrains known as Massifs.
Garth Nix knows how to create worlds within his books that are completely distinctive from other works, and Massif is no exception. I really enjoyed the humor and heart of the Sassafras crew, as well as unraveling the mystery within the colossal floating crags at the center of the story.
My thanks to the publisher for sending me an Advance Reader Copy of this book. It was provided to me through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Everything stated in my review is my own opinion written in my own words.
Garth Nix knows how to create worlds within his books that are completely distinctive from other works, and Massif is no exception. I really enjoyed the humor and heart of the Sassafras crew, as well as unraveling the mystery within the colossal floating crags at the center of the story.
My thanks to the publisher for sending me an Advance Reader Copy of this book. It was provided to me through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Everything stated in my review is my own opinion written in my own words.
June 21, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for supplying me with an ARC of this book.
I have been a huge fan of Garth Nix since first picking up Sabriel as an adult more than 25 years ago. I love his humor and the real emotional connection he creates between his characters and readers.
No spoilers here.
This book took a bit more effort to get into than most of his writing. There’s a lot of world building and jargon dumped into the beginning. It’s a bit of different genre than he usually gives us, taking place in space and addressing a future for mankind.
Once the actual story got going and that character connection happened I had a hard time putting it down. Ultimately I really enjoyed it and look forward to a potential sequel.
I have been a huge fan of Garth Nix since first picking up Sabriel as an adult more than 25 years ago. I love his humor and the real emotional connection he creates between his characters and readers.
No spoilers here.
This book took a bit more effort to get into than most of his writing. There’s a lot of world building and jargon dumped into the beginning. It’s a bit of different genre than he usually gives us, taking place in space and addressing a future for mankind.
Once the actual story got going and that character connection happened I had a hard time putting it down. Ultimately I really enjoyed it and look forward to a potential sequel.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
By the end of chapter two, I was already overwhelmed and ready to give up.
Nix introduces a staggering amount of jargon and lore immediately: flying mountains and their avatars, multiple warring corporate/planetary systems, and a complex naming convention where surnames dictate professional suitability. Add to that the technical mechanics of how "massif gifts" allow for ship expansion, and the narrative feels completely buried.
The story finally gets off the ground—literally—at the end of the second chapter, but the "background noise" was so loud I’d already lost interest. A space opera needs momentum, but this felt more like reading a technical manual.
Nix introduces a staggering amount of jargon and lore immediately: flying mountains and their avatars, multiple warring corporate/planetary systems, and a complex naming convention where surnames dictate professional suitability. Add to that the technical mechanics of how "massif gifts" allow for ship expansion, and the narrative feels completely buried.
The story finally gets off the ground—literally—at the end of the second chapter, but the "background noise" was so loud I’d already lost interest. A space opera needs momentum, but this felt more like reading a technical manual.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Oh man, I wish I'd liked this more. The concept of the Massifs is cool! This is some hard science fiction though, and the military side of the story made me zone out at the beginning. I audibly groaned at the parade chapter. The characters felt shallow. The pacing was so slow which made it feel like the narration didn't make much progress through the story. I liked uncovering a secret of the Massifs, but we ended mid-mystery in a way that wasn't necessary. The setting was very well-written, and I am intrigued about what more the characters will find out about the Massifs.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
I liked the premise of this a lot but the first half was very, very slow, and then it ends kind of abruptly. I assume it's going to be a series, but not showing up as such on Goodreads (yet). I would probably consider reading the next one, but if it was similarly slow that would likely be it for me.
I received an e-arc from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.
I received an e-arc from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to netgalley and publishers for this arc. Unfortunately I couldn't finish this novel. I quickly became bored with the novel's premise of sentient "mountains" traveling between star systems carrying humans using dumbed down spaceships to colonize while they fight each other. Writing in the novel felt stilted and tedious.
April 28, 2026
I’ve been a fan of Garth Nix since picking up Sabriel, and his foray into science fiction didn’t disappoint. Chosen family, deep space exploration and mysterious alien entities made for a fun ride.
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.
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