Massif

by Garth Nix

From New York Times bestseller and master of speculative fiction Garth Nix comes his first foray into adult science fiction with a brilliant and poignant stand-alone story of sentient starships, galactic warfare, and the bonds a crew forms far, far from Earth.

Caught me a mountain
Rode it to the stars

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, colonizing 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.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Adult, Aliens, Space Opera, Space

352 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication September 8, 2026

About the author

Garth 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.

Reviews

[Mai H.]

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager

[Katie (Semi Hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Leanna Streeter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of science fiction that reminds me why I love the genre.

I’ll be honest—the opening is dense. Garth Nix throws you straight into the worldbuilding, and there is a lot to take in. If you’re someone who struggles with books that don’t hold your hand in the beginning, the first few chapters may feel like work. Personally? I love immersive worldbuilding, so I was more than happy to settle in and let the pieces come together.

And once they do… wow.

The concept alone is one of the most original I’ve read in a long time. Sentient mountain ranges that travel through space carrying civilizations from world to world? I don’t think I’ve ever encountered anything quite like it. Every time I thought I understood where the story was heading, it introduced another fascinating idea that made me want to keep reading.

Beyond the incredible science fiction concepts, I really enjoyed the crew dynamics and the found family that developed over the course of the story. Once I became invested in the characters, the emotional moments landed surprisingly hard.

This definitely isn’t an action-packed, fast-paced sci-fi. It’s a thoughtful, idea-driven story that asks big questions about humanity, exploration, war, and why we seek out the unknown. If that’s the kind of science fiction you enjoy, I think you’ll have a fantastic time with this one.

The opening asks for a little patience, but I thought the payoff was absolutely worth it.

[Venneh · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[Karrie Seibel]

I received an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of Massif for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Captivating, strange, imaginative, and completely unlike anything I expected.

Garth Nix takes science fiction and gives it a wonderfully unexpected twist: what if humanity’s path to the stars came not from technology we invented, but from enormous, sentient mountains capable of carrying people across the galaxy?

That premise alone grabbed my attention, but what kept me turning the pages was the mystery surrounding the Massifs. Humanity has spent centuries using them, fighting wars across them, and depending on their impossible technology—yet there is still so much they don't understand. That uncertainty creates a constant sense of tension. Just when I thought I understood where the story was going, another question appeared.

The story follows the crew of the Sassafras, and one of my favorite parts was watching their relationships develop. Beneath the military structure and science-fiction setting is a strong found-family theme. These characters aren't simply working together—they are trying to protect one another, survive together, and hold onto their humanity in circumstances that are anything but ordinary.

Tropes & themes I loved:
Found family
Sentient alien beings
Space exploration
Military science fiction
Mysterious technology
Humanity facing the unknown
Crew dynamics
Survival against overwhelming odds
Loyalty and sacrifice
Questions about control and freedom
The “we don't fully understand what we're dealing with” trope

The world-building does require some patience, especially at the beginning. There is a lot to absorb, and Nix doesn't immediately hand the reader every answer. But I actually found that uncertainty added to the experience. The more I learned, the more I wanted to know.

One of the biggest lessons I took from Massif is that not everything powerful needs to be completely understood before we learn how to live alongside it. The story explores what happens when humanity encounters something vastly beyond its own understanding—and how dangerous it can be when we assume that something belongs to us simply because we've learned how to use it.

I loved the feeling of being dropped into a much larger universe. There are wars, politics, technology, strange worlds, complicated loyalties, and mysteries that make the Massifs feel almost mythical. At times, it felt like science fiction mixed with the wonder and unpredictability of fantasy.

Massif is a book for readers who enjoy imaginative science fiction, strange mysteries, found-family crews, enormous unanswered questions, and stories that make you stop and wonder what might actually be out there.

Garth Nix has created something wonderfully unconventional here. It isn't just about traveling through space—it is about encountering something we cannot fully explain and discovering what that reveals about humanity.

A fascinating, thought-provoking, page-turning read that stayed with me after I finished it.

Highly recommended for readers who like their science fiction imaginative, mysterious, and a little unsettling.

#Massif #GarthNix #AdvanceReaderCopy #ARC #ARCReview #ScienceFiction #SciFi #SpaceOpera #SpaceAdventure #FoundFamily #MilitarySciFi #AlienEncounter #AlienMystery #WorldBuilding #BookReview #GoodreadsReview #BookRecommendations #SciFiReaders #SpeculativeFiction #MustRead

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Olga · Rating 4 out of 5]

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?

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[zem · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the eARC of Massif: an absolutely fascinating concept that failed to deliver.

Parts of a mountain range suddenly break away and travel through space, in a network of sorts, and have avatars. Why do they need these avatars? What are the massifs, really? I hope you don’t want answers to those questions .

One thing I’ve noticed about science fiction is that authors will, more often than not, choose the least interesting point of view to tell a story from. In this case, Nix chose a military POV. Because military characters here follow orders unquestioningly and have little to no curiosity, we get so little about what is, on paper, a fascinating concept. DrummerBoy, the avatar of their similarly named massif, starts acting up and everyone goes “weird but okay”. Only Parnell, our POV character, feels any kind of way about this, and even then it is not any sort of driving force or interest.

Maybe it’s just me, but an exposition dump over 90% of the way into a novel that only sort of solves things in a stand alone novel is not worth it. There is no real resolution to this book, which is disappointing but expected after reading the whole of it in two days. It’s a lot of science and math and concepts with nothing to flesh out those concepts. Everything is hindsight, but you don’t really care about any of it: the trackers ‘tasting’ humans to see who might be a match, the whole backdrop of the war doesn’t matter at all, there was so much potential and yet here we are.

Unless you are really into reading everything Garth Nix writes, I would skip this one. For an adult science fiction debut, I would call it weak at best, boring at worst. HarperCollins calls it a “poignant stand-alone story of sentient starships, galactic warfare”, but it was none of those things. It wasn’t poignant, the star ships weren’t truly sentient (unless they mean the massifs, not Basics—don’t get me started on the Basic stuff, I’m a sucker for anything remotely Farscape-like and yet…and yet), and the galactic war was background noise for 90% of the novel.

Unfortunately, and I’m sorry to say, Massif failed to deliver on all fronts.

[Lois Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Kate Lauder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sci-fi and I have a complicated relationship because I genuinely can’t remember the last time I picked one up - would have been sometime in high school! So Massif was very much outside my current reading choices.🚀🌚🛸👩🏼‍🚀

This book is about a group of travellers journey across a strange universe aboard sentient mountain ranges, carrying entire civilisations from one world to another. When their journey takes an unexpected turn, they’re forced to navigate unfamiliar worlds, complex relationships and questions about humanity, survival and exploration.

It took me a little while to find my footing with this one!!! There’s a lot happening early on, and I wasn’t immediately sure how I felt about the story or where it was going... BUT as I continued, I found myself becoming more curious about the world and wanting to understand how everything connected.

The premise is definitely the standout for me. It’s weird, imaginative and unlike anything I’ve read recently, which kept me interested even when the pacing felt a little slow. I also unexpectedly enjoyed the characters and their relationships. By the end, I felt much more attached to the crew than I expected to, and those little emotional moments ended up being some of my favourites.

I wouldn’t say sci-fi is suddenly my new favourite genre, but I actually had a good time with this! It challenged me to read something completely outside my comfort zone, and I’m glad I did.

A slower read, but one that left me thinking about the story long after I finished it!!! 👏🏼👏🏼

Tropes:
*Space exploration
*Strange & alien worlds
*Sentient landscapes
*Found family
*Crew dynamics
*Immersive world-building

Out 8th Sept!
Thank you to NetGalley, Allen & Unwin and Garth Nix for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Nadya · Rating 4 out of 5]

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. Specifically, I don't understand how Parnell gets the Basic, and why the Horrors try to infect him with the stuff that would make him a seed as well. DrummerBoy can read his mind, he knows that Parnell will be going to try to save Kaz using that Basic. Even if the original alien fighting the DrummerBoy from within is able to get through and communicate, that doesn't seem likely to extend to giving Parnell a Basic unless DrummerBoy also wanted that. We can assume that DrummerBoy is confident that Parnell won't get to Kaz on time, and if something goes wrong with Kaz, Parnell can become a seed himself, but it seems like a serious stretch and requires a lot of unsubstantiated assumptions.

[Andrea - The Wobbly Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re in the mood to dig yourself into a thrilling, mysterious scifi, don’t deny yourself the chance to pick this one up.

Nix, as an author, contains multitudes. If you’re familiar with his Abhorsen trilogy, for example, don’t expect this book to be anything like that. For starters, this is an adult fiction, not YA. However, just as with his YA fiction, Nix doesn’t talk down to his readers. Nothing is softened or dumbed down, and that’s part of what makes the writing so compelling.

Massif is what I call a “hard” scifi. That is, rather than scifi simply being a vibe or window dressing for the story, the science and tech are central to the plot, and a lot of time is spent on explaining and describing it. Fans of Weir and Asimov will enjoy this greatly.

From the first chapter, I was uneasily reminded of the way cordyceps will control the behavior of its ant hosts to maximize its own spread and survival, and had a bad feeling that humanity might be the ants in this scenario. Much like the book Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer, there are aspects of body horror and atmospheric dread. You’ll find yourself questioning the reliability of the narrator and reality until the last page, biting your nails the whole time.

If you like a touch of horror/thriller with your scifi, don’t miss this one. While this works as a standalone, I’ll be interested to see if a sequel diving further into this world is on the way.

Thank you so much to Avon and Harper Voyager for generously providing me with a copy. All opinions are my own.

[East of Reality · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first 60% of this book — and I’ll be honest, much of the remaining 40% — is very focused on the world building, and that world is one of soldiers. So expect a heavy, heavy dose of military science fiction with ship maneuverings, tactics, battles, engineering, discussions about maneuverings, tactics, battles, and a great deal of exposition. From eating to sleeping to politics and parades, it’s … it’s a lot of exposition, a lot of action, and if you’re not expecting it, it’s quite can be somewhat tedious. While the science fiction element is well done, (and I can’t personally comment on the more military aspects), it’s also very slow and staid.

But if you’re in the mood for that sort of story, it is well written. The characters … well, they’re not all that well developed, since so much of the book is about their actions rather than their personalities. Parnell has the most development, but it’s a very thin spread of character over action-filled toast.

The grand mystery of the Massif is predictable — if you’re big on science fiction and speculative horror — but the plotting is solid. I do, however, regret that the book decided to spend so much time on so many extraneous details that it shifted focus from what could have been an interesting horror element to … flying a ship, and finding out what beds had been slept in.

I’m sorry, but this … this wasn’t the book for me. I was bored, always waiting for something to happen, and then the book ended. It you give it a try, I hope you enjoy it more than I did. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC received at ALA 2026

Nix’s Massif takes a slow, exploratory approach to the classic trope of “what happens if humans suddenly receive access to alien tech they don’t fully understand?”

The “tech,” in this case, is an interstellar traveling mountain range. The mountain ranges in question are at least semi-sentient and provide safe havens for humanity to journey across the stars. But while humanity is happy to carry its penchant for war through the galaxy, it’s equally happy to refrain from questioning the motivations of the Massifs.

The primary plot driver of this book is the crew of the spaceship Sassafras attempting to recover their lost comrade from the planet below the Massif, DrummerBoy, on which they’re stationed. That aim takes up the bulk of the novel and the greater questions about the true nature of the Massifs only come out towards the end of the book.

There’s a strong focus towards navigating military bureaucracy and the indifference of both incompetent local leadership and remote superiors as the members of the Sassafras fight to preserve their tight-knit group from losing a member. A sense of urgency drives the book forward, but apart from the opening, action scenes are few and far between.

Recommended for those who enjoy stories that involve requisition forms, a crew who will do anything for each other, and military base shenanigans.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received an eARC from Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review.*
I'm a pretty big fan of both sci-fi and Garth Nix so was super excited to find this on Netgalley. It's started a little slowly, but as it went on got more interesting and intriguing. The concept of Massifs as gigantic space-faring mountains with quirkily moving avatars is quite unique but still quite vague for a lot of the book. I didn't really mind the vagueness though.
I didn't enjoy all the military jargon (I had to Google quite a lot of acronyms) and it took me many chapters to remember what UEGN and MBPSF stood for.
I DID enjoy the crew camaraderie, which while not up to Becky Chambers standards was surprisingly wholesome and endearing.
I was a bit frustrated that the Netgalley file format was the really tiny text one you can't zoom in easily on, but that is not Mr Nix's fault. Also presumably in the final version they will fix the typos (titled for tilted, Bob for Bobb) and one misgendering (she for they, referring to Aditi).
There were two very exciting parts of the book (Parnell going deep and the final encounter on Rukhmini IV) which I would have liked more of, and the end was a little abrupt. I want to know what happened after. I'm not sure there actually is anywhere else to go in this universe though. But I can hope! I'd recommend this to Nix fans and sci-fi fans if you can tolerate more than ideally necessary military bits and bobs.

[Krista B · Rating 2 out of 5]

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!

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

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...

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Garth Nix wrote one of my favorites series so he will always have a special place on my bookshelf. This was my first ever giveaway win and I could not be happier that it was a Garth Nix book!! Thank you so much for picking my name for this ACR copy.
Massif however was not a book for me. And it might be that adult Sci-fi is not my genre.

The book blurb captivated me and I was very excited to see what this book was about. However I struggled with the plot - mainly that that blurb exaggerated what I would be reading. I kept waiting for more plot/details around the Massif avatars and the mystery around the Massif's, but those plot points were underdeveloped (IMO) so by the time I got 2/3 of the way through the book, when avatar plot points started to get developed, I just didn't really care anymore. It felt more like a rescue mission book then a mystery around the Massif's and their avatars, and I was really wanting it to be more of a sci-fi mystery book - given what was written in the book blurb.

I also found the character development a little lacking. I never felt like I connected with any of the characters and would have loved if more time was spent on developing the characters.

Overall just not the book for me, but hard core sci-fi fans might love it, and I hope they do.

[Shymsal · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Reading Xennial · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Annabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Vans · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird mix of horror and sci-fi that felt underdeveloped and unnecessarily slow moving.

The premise: sentient mountain ranges that transport humanity around the stars? 10/10.

The fact that humanity uses these sentient mountain ranges that we know nothing about as troop transports for war? Yeah, that tracks, unfortunately.

Worldbuilding: Probably a 5/10. The sci-fi parts were very underdeveloped, while horror parts were overdeveloped. While military sci-fi is more my cup of tea, the book would have been much better had it leaned harder into the cosmic horror aspects of the whole 'sentient mountain ranges with alien avatars but we never meet any more of the species'.

Pacing: Yawn. Way too slow.

Characters: 5/10. Odd combination of underdeveloped and overdeveloped

Plot: 3.5/10. I'm not sure what the plot was supposed to be? They don't 'go deep' until more than halfway through the novel

2.5 stars, rounded down

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager | Harper Voyager for the Digital Review Copy

[Abbi · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Massif is a fascinating sci-fi story with a unique concept that pulled me in immediately. Humanity is at war with itself in space, fighting over sentient, travelling mountain ranges with powerful god-like avatars. Humans don't really understand these beings, but of course that doesn't stop us from trying to exploit them.

Honestly, I don't think you need to know any more than that, if even that! This is the kind of story to jump into and learn as you go. There is a lot of worldbuilding at the beginning, which can be intimidating, but I felt the same way about Sabriel by this author, which I loved. Slowly getting to know the world and how it works is part of the fun.

The story didn't go where I expected at multiple points, and I really enjoyed that. I had so many questions as I read, and they just built and built, until a rush of answers at the dramatic, satisfying end.

Recommended to sci-fi fans who enjoy a bit of weird.

Thanks to Netgalley for the copy.