What do you think?
Rate this book
Voidwitch Saga #2
Void Black Shadow
Mars Xi is a living weapon, a genetically-manipulated psychic supersoldier with a body count in the thousands, and all she wanted was to be left alone. People who get involved with her get hurt, whether by MEPHISTO, by her psychic backlash, or by her acid tongue. It's not smart to get involved with Mars, but that doesn't stop some people from trying.
The last time MEPHISTO came for Mars they took one of her friends with them. That was a mistake. A force hasn't been invented that can stop a voidwitch on a rampage, and Mars won't rest until she's settled her debts.
The last time MEPHISTO came for Mars they took one of her friends with them. That was a mistake. A force hasn't been invented that can stop a voidwitch on a rampage, and Mars won't rest until she's settled her debts.
220 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 27, 2018
58 people are currently reading
517 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
April 15, 2018
Another brutal novella in this series about a living weapon who just wants to be left alone, but is constantly drawn back into conflict with the Empire that created her.
Mars Xi has fallen in with a crew of misfits, and she now has a mission to rescue one of them from the clutches of MEPHISTO and a whole new horrific sub-group of super-weapons. But to do it she has to fight her way out of an inescapable prison world and fight off an unstoppable army of cyborg soldiers, while keeping her friends alive.
When I say brutal, I mean brutal. It seems that the author has balanced a character with near omnipotent telekinetic ability with a universe that constantly asks "what's the worse thing that could happen to Mars and the people she cares about now?" and then does it. It's actually almost over an internal line where I resist caring about these characters because of whatever horrible fate is sure to await them.
Still, interesting space opera with a uniquely powerful character who may actually be the monster that her enemies call her.
Mars Xi has fallen in with a crew of misfits, and she now has a mission to rescue one of them from the clutches of MEPHISTO and a whole new horrific sub-group of super-weapons. But to do it she has to fight her way out of an inescapable prison world and fight off an unstoppable army of cyborg soldiers, while keeping her friends alive.
When I say brutal, I mean brutal. It seems that the author has balanced a character with near omnipotent telekinetic ability with a universe that constantly asks "what's the worse thing that could happen to Mars and the people she cares about now?" and then does it. It's actually almost over an internal line where I resist caring about these characters because of whatever horrible fate is sure to await them.
Still, interesting space opera with a uniquely powerful character who may actually be the monster that her enemies call her.
April 21, 2018
As a second instalment in the Voidwitch Saga, it wasn’t much different than the first one. The good part is that it doesn’t suffer of the second book syndrome; the bad part is that there isn’t any development. There is no character growth, no worldbuilding whatsoever, only killings upon killings.
First volume, Killing Gravity, did not impress me, but at least my interest was sparked to know what happened to Mookie and to learn more about the little pet. I thought the writing will improve but I guess I was wrong.
Ocho, the little pet wasn’t developed any further; rescuing Mookie and the whole prison part was too far-fetched, to put it mildly: Mars, besides being Rambo, here is also Superman .
But if you like only action and fighting, I guess you’ll like this one. It was ok to read it after a few hectic days at work, but that's about it; I won’t be continuing with this series any longer.
>>> ARC received thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge via NetGalley <<<
First volume, Killing Gravity, did not impress me, but at least my interest was sparked to know what happened to Mookie and to learn more about the little pet. I thought the writing will improve but I guess I was wrong.
Ocho, the little pet wasn’t developed any further; rescuing Mookie and the whole prison part was too far-fetched, to put it mildly: Mars, besides being Rambo, here is also Superman .
But if you like only action and fighting, I guess you’ll like this one. It was ok to read it after a few hectic days at work, but that's about it; I won’t be continuing with this series any longer.
>>> ARC received thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge via NetGalley <<<
February 27, 2020
An excellent follow-up to Killing Gravity. The story feels complete and tightly episodic, tying up events nicely for the next installment.
There is no let up in the level of violence set in the first book, if anything, Mars is even more dangerous now. I like they way White has tried to leave her with a conscience, but never lets her wallow uselessly or become paralysed by feelings of guilt. It will be interesting to see how her character continues to develop.
There is no let up in the level of violence set in the first book, if anything, Mars is even more dangerous now. I like they way White has tried to leave her with a conscience, but never lets her wallow uselessly or become paralysed by feelings of guilt. It will be interesting to see how her character continues to develop.
April 11, 2018
This trilogy has a great mix of both scifi and fantasy elements. Our main character Mars developped strong telekinesis powers after being experimented on by an evil corporation as a child. Plagued by the memories of her torture Mars spends her time avoiding the people that gave her voidwitch powers by traveling from one end of the galaxy to the other. The first book Killing Gravity starts off when her spaceship gets destroyed in an altercation and shes rescued by a crew of scavengers. Now with friends to protect and tired of being on the run, Mars finally decides to fight back.
Mars is a killer who accumulates an incredibly high death count during the first two books. After everything shes been through killing is her instinctive reaction, but thats doesnt mean she doesnt have a conscience because she does. It just didnt stop her from committing mass murder to save her new friends. From a different point of view she might come off as the antagonist and I love that about her. All the side characters were fantastic, but especially Pale and Squid. I also freaking love Mars cloned cat-thing Ocho, but Im surprised it was able to deal with all the screaming inside Mars helmet when she uses her power.
This had some great LGBTQIA+ diversity with our main character Mars being bisexual and Squid being non binary. Trix, another bisexual crew member is in an open relationship with Mookie. In this world triples are just as accepted as couples which I thought was really cool. Another part of the world that I really enjoyed was the tech heads and futuristic technology in general. The AI in Mars new ship Waren was just great. I loved how the writing was easy to get into. The pace was gripping with a lot of action and a high stakes plot. I personally dont like reading about captivity and torture, but this is still a favorite series of mine.
I wish it were longer since each book is about 200 pages. With them being on the shorter side I feel like it causes some things to happen too easily. Plus we didnt get to spend as much time getting to know all the amazing characters and exploring the world. There was also this confusing moment where Trix was complaining about Pale being dangerous, but then didnt want to sedate him. I was kind of sad with the way things ended, but it was realistic and Im hopeful will get more of the side characters in the third book. I think I enjoyed the first book a bit more, but this was still a compelling sequel with wonderful diversity. Ill read whatever this author comes out with next.
*received for review consideration*
Mars is a killer who accumulates an incredibly high death count during the first two books. After everything shes been through killing is her instinctive reaction, but thats doesnt mean she doesnt have a conscience because she does. It just didnt stop her from committing mass murder to save her new friends. From a different point of view she might come off as the antagonist and I love that about her. All the side characters were fantastic, but especially Pale and Squid. I also freaking love Mars cloned cat-thing Ocho, but Im surprised it was able to deal with all the screaming inside Mars helmet when she uses her power.
This had some great LGBTQIA+ diversity with our main character Mars being bisexual and Squid being non binary. Trix, another bisexual crew member is in an open relationship with Mookie. In this world triples are just as accepted as couples which I thought was really cool. Another part of the world that I really enjoyed was the tech heads and futuristic technology in general. The AI in Mars new ship Waren was just great. I loved how the writing was easy to get into. The pace was gripping with a lot of action and a high stakes plot. I personally dont like reading about captivity and torture, but this is still a favorite series of mine.
I wish it were longer since each book is about 200 pages. With them being on the shorter side I feel like it causes some things to happen too easily. Plus we didnt get to spend as much time getting to know all the amazing characters and exploring the world. There was also this confusing moment where Trix was complaining about Pale being dangerous, but then didnt want to sedate him. I was kind of sad with the way things ended, but it was realistic and Im hopeful will get more of the side characters in the third book. I think I enjoyed the first book a bit more, but this was still a compelling sequel with wonderful diversity. Ill read whatever this author comes out with next.
*received for review consideration*
April 25, 2018
After the events of Killing Gravity, Mars and the motley crew she fell in are on a daring mission to rescue one of theirs. It’s not that easy however, even for someone with unparallel powers like hers, and the journey is one full to the brim with violence and suffering. So much of it! Makes you wonder how much farther White can push her...
December 25, 2022
The second installment of the Voidwitch Saga picks up pretty much where the last left off. If you liked the first one, you will probably like this even more. With the background out of the way, Void Black Shadow chronicles the rescue of 'Mooky'; the one member of the rag-tag crew on an old spacetug that was spirited away by the MEPHISTO corporation during the hijinks at the space station that ended the last volume. The problem is Mars and company do not know where they took him, so they have to raid a MEPHISTO information center first...
We already know Mars (the voidwitch) has awesome ESP powers, able to destroy entire space ship fleets and turn a person to paste with a thought. The body count in in the first installment was massive, but White turns it up a notch here with even more action and death. While in a way you kinda root for Mars; she just wants to be free after her escape from MEPHISTO, but they keep trying to get her back, forcing her to do whatever to stay free. On the other hand, she has killed thousands of people 'just doing their jobs', even though some or most of those jobs involved MESPHITO business. Mars is not quite a Mary Sue, although it comes pretty close. I will give White some credit here as it seems hard to put a person like Mars in a dicey situation given her powers, but she gets into a few here. Not much on the science front; this could be set in a fantasy world just as easily. If you have a hankering for a vengeance novel led by a powerful female protagonist with a high body count, this may be for you. 2 stars
We already know Mars (the voidwitch) has awesome ESP powers, able to destroy entire space ship fleets and turn a person to paste with a thought. The body count in in the first installment was massive, but White turns it up a notch here with even more action and death. While in a way you kinda root for Mars; she just wants to be free after her escape from MEPHISTO, but they keep trying to get her back, forcing her to do whatever to stay free. On the other hand, she has killed thousands of people 'just doing their jobs', even though some or most of those jobs involved MESPHITO business. Mars is not quite a Mary Sue, although it comes pretty close. I will give White some credit here as it seems hard to put a person like Mars in a dicey situation given her powers, but she gets into a few here. Not much on the science front; this could be set in a fantasy world just as easily. If you have a hankering for a vengeance novel led by a powerful female protagonist with a high body count, this may be for you. 2 stars
June 19, 2022
All I wanted to do was save Mookie; get inside Homan, find him, and leave. I wasn't planning to kill everyone who had a hand in running this place, but plans change...
Boy do they. And Mars Xi is ultimately flexible when it comes to plans; there's always the possibility of fitting in a little extra murder.
Novella 2 in the Voidwitch Saga gives us more of this really intriguing universe, and the high-body-count heroine known as Mars. There's definitely some devastating moments here, slightly undercut by just not having a complete introduction to these characters. I'm looking for more from the universe too, because there's such tantalising hints, but the story moves on before we really get to know any of the places it's been. Those hints though, paint an extremely interesting picture, and I'm in this one til the end.
Boy do they. And Mars Xi is ultimately flexible when it comes to plans; there's always the possibility of fitting in a little extra murder.
Novella 2 in the Voidwitch Saga gives us more of this really intriguing universe, and the high-body-count heroine known as Mars. There's definitely some devastating moments here, slightly undercut by just not having a complete introduction to these characters. I'm looking for more from the universe too, because there's such tantalising hints, but the story moves on before we really get to know any of the places it's been. Those hints though, paint an extremely interesting picture, and I'm in this one til the end.
August 25, 2022
Loved it!
Listened to it twice!
Rtc
Listened to it twice!
Rtc
May 11, 2019
Wow. Just wow. Like the first instalment Killing Gravity, the second blew me away (which is a funny phrase to use, given the level of mayhem and bloodshed in this.) You wouldn’t think that such an oddball coupling of military SF, space opera, and horror/fantasy would work – but it does, from the very first word, until the reader stops breathlessly at the end, simply because it has ended.
There is a line towards the end when Mars reflects on her “weird family”, which consists of an “untethered AI, a broken psychic boy, and a self-cloning cat thing.” And let’s not forget the voidwitch herself, who really, er, comes to grips with the true extent of her powers in Void Black Shadow.
There is a long tradition in both SF and fantasy of a bunch of strangers/weirdos banding together against impossible odds (and probably an impossible goal as well.) There is another tradition of smart alec robots and spaceships, from Iain Banks to Martha Wells. Here we have Waren, who thinks he is superior to most AIs and humans. (Unfortunately, Squid and the good ship Nova are MIA in this instalment.)
I really enjoyed the way White takes such a heady soup of genre tropes, and makes something quite new, that simmers with energy and violence and sheer sense of wonder. It could have been a real hot mess otherwise. But the world-building is exceptional, with just enough glimpses of a larger geo- and socio-political structure looming in the background.
However, it is the characters, and the intense bonds forged between this ragged bunch of misfits, that really makes this zing. White is a master at making someone come alive in a few telling sentences on the page. More importantly, the characters are not over-shadowed (ha ha) by the theatrics and blood-shedding in the background.
Did this have to be so violent? There is a lot of casual violence and unforeseen consequences in a lot of SF, especially when dealing on a larger galactic perspective. This is often brushed under the carpet in the name of ‘action’.
Yes, Mars is morally-conflicted by the carnage and destruction she delivers, and the fact she goes up against MEPHISTO in the second instalment should make it a black-and-white case of good versus bad. But White is way too nuanced a writer to bog his story down in pat moralising.
In a way, he seems very much in line with a writer like Iain Banks, but refracted through the genre’s current shining stars like Kameron Hurley and Yoon Ha Lee. The mere fact that we have a bisexual heroine in a space opera, with a cute cat-like creature as a pet, and with powers of destruction that seem rather to belong in the realm of superhero movies, is cause for wonder and celebration.
I was so excited by this that I began reading the third instalment, Static Ruin, straightaway as soon as I finished. It has been a long time that a series has got me so fired up. Yup, it begins on full throttle – no half-measures for White anywhere, in any of this, it seems – but he really takes the story in a wonderfully unexpected direction, with one massive plot twist already in the first couple of chapters.
As I said, wow. Mr. White, here’s hoping you write lots of long novels pretty soon.
There is a line towards the end when Mars reflects on her “weird family”, which consists of an “untethered AI, a broken psychic boy, and a self-cloning cat thing.” And let’s not forget the voidwitch herself, who really, er, comes to grips with the true extent of her powers in Void Black Shadow.
There is a long tradition in both SF and fantasy of a bunch of strangers/weirdos banding together against impossible odds (and probably an impossible goal as well.) There is another tradition of smart alec robots and spaceships, from Iain Banks to Martha Wells. Here we have Waren, who thinks he is superior to most AIs and humans. (Unfortunately, Squid and the good ship Nova are MIA in this instalment.)
I really enjoyed the way White takes such a heady soup of genre tropes, and makes something quite new, that simmers with energy and violence and sheer sense of wonder. It could have been a real hot mess otherwise. But the world-building is exceptional, with just enough glimpses of a larger geo- and socio-political structure looming in the background.
However, it is the characters, and the intense bonds forged between this ragged bunch of misfits, that really makes this zing. White is a master at making someone come alive in a few telling sentences on the page. More importantly, the characters are not over-shadowed (ha ha) by the theatrics and blood-shedding in the background.
Did this have to be so violent? There is a lot of casual violence and unforeseen consequences in a lot of SF, especially when dealing on a larger galactic perspective. This is often brushed under the carpet in the name of ‘action’.
Yes, Mars is morally-conflicted by the carnage and destruction she delivers, and the fact she goes up against MEPHISTO in the second instalment should make it a black-and-white case of good versus bad. But White is way too nuanced a writer to bog his story down in pat moralising.
In a way, he seems very much in line with a writer like Iain Banks, but refracted through the genre’s current shining stars like Kameron Hurley and Yoon Ha Lee. The mere fact that we have a bisexual heroine in a space opera, with a cute cat-like creature as a pet, and with powers of destruction that seem rather to belong in the realm of superhero movies, is cause for wonder and celebration.
I was so excited by this that I began reading the third instalment, Static Ruin, straightaway as soon as I finished. It has been a long time that a series has got me so fired up. Yup, it begins on full throttle – no half-measures for White anywhere, in any of this, it seems – but he really takes the story in a wonderfully unexpected direction, with one massive plot twist already in the first couple of chapters.
As I said, wow. Mr. White, here’s hoping you write lots of long novels pretty soon.
June 7, 2018
'They think just because these people are criminals they can treat them like they're less than human.'
Ugh, this was so good! Even better than the first. I love how Mars complexity lies in the fact that she can easily kill thousands with a single push of her mind no problem, but still get mindfucked in a prison for a friend out of guilt, misses her pet and wants to help people who can't help themselves. I mean, she goes all out and it is glorious. This book is hard to read, though because feeeeels and physical and mental torture.
Also, Mars is either bisexual or pansexual and hell yes.
I'm so glad there's going to be a third book which sounds equally fantastic but also, I need like twenty more.
Favorite quote: 'I'm doing it because fuck you, because fuck every piece of shit that uses their strength, their power, their privilege to harm those weaker than them.'
Ugh, this was so good! Even better than the first. I love how Mars complexity lies in the fact that she can easily kill thousands with a single push of her mind no problem, but still get mindfucked in a prison for a friend out of guilt, misses her pet and wants to help people who can't help themselves. I mean, she goes all out and it is glorious. This book is hard to read, though because feeeeels and physical and mental torture.
Also, Mars is either bisexual or pansexual and hell yes.
I'm so glad there's going to be a third book which sounds equally fantastic but also, I need like twenty more.
Favorite quote: 'I'm doing it because fuck you, because fuck every piece of shit that uses their strength, their power, their privilege to harm those weaker than them.'
April 1, 2018
3.5 stars
Not as good as the first book, but pretty good and again, pretty short. Easy prose style, more focused on action than character development. A good plot, and some clever twists. A fun read but more brutal than the first book.
As usual with my reviews, please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book. Thank you.
I will read the next instalment, even though there's a central core of "super-powers fantasy".
Not as many quotable quotes in this one, either.
On Homan these people are abusers, torturers, and murderers, but down here? They’re just boring fucking assholes, with a job, maybe a family, and either no conscience or a convenient series of lies they tell themselves to get through the day. I didn’t want to think that evil could be so boring, so normal, but here it is, laid out in front of me.
.
Not as good as the first book, but pretty good and again, pretty short. Easy prose style, more focused on action than character development. A good plot, and some clever twists. A fun read but more brutal than the first book.
As usual with my reviews, please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book. Thank you.
I will read the next instalment, even though there's a central core of "super-powers fantasy".
Not as many quotable quotes in this one, either.
On Homan these people are abusers, torturers, and murderers, but down here? They’re just boring fucking assholes, with a job, maybe a family, and either no conscience or a convenient series of lies they tell themselves to get through the day. I didn’t want to think that evil could be so boring, so normal, but here it is, laid out in front of me.
.
August 31, 2018
This was so emotional. I didn't expected it at all. I mean, Killing Gravity already was but this just... Ah, it was so hard to read some parts. I love Mars so much and my heart breaks for her and everything she has to get through.
April 6, 2018
Mars isn't the one to mistreat. She's a living weapon, a genetically-manipulated psychic super soldier able to crush spaceship fleet with her mind. MEPHISTO company engineered her, and some of its representatives want her back. They have her friend. Mars won't stop until she's settled her debts and recovered her friend.
Mayhem ensues.
The body count is high, and there's plenty of violence in this book. Things get much darker and brutal than in the first novel. Grisly details of scientific experiments are visual, and they may be difficult to digest by more sensible readers. They're not explicit but not much is left to the imagination.
The cast of characters isn't the biggest one but is diverse, and there's some nice LGBT representation. The main character is bisexual, one of her friends - Squid is, well, non-binary? He's them. There's also an open relationship between crew members. All in all, a fun team.
While worldbuilding is imaginative and some scenes were entertaining, the plot is quite linear and straightforward. Characters remain flat, and their motivations aren't particularly deep. Mars is reckless, emotional and illogical. Not a problem per se, but a problem for me as a reader.
Overall, it's entertaining space adventure novella. Brutal, fast and furious. I'm not sure if I'll read the sequels, but I liked it more than the first book in the series.
I received the copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Mayhem ensues.
The body count is high, and there's plenty of violence in this book. Things get much darker and brutal than in the first novel. Grisly details of scientific experiments are visual, and they may be difficult to digest by more sensible readers. They're not explicit but not much is left to the imagination.
The cast of characters isn't the biggest one but is diverse, and there's some nice LGBT representation. The main character is bisexual, one of her friends - Squid is, well, non-binary? He's them. There's also an open relationship between crew members. All in all, a fun team.
While worldbuilding is imaginative and some scenes were entertaining, the plot is quite linear and straightforward. Characters remain flat, and their motivations aren't particularly deep. Mars is reckless, emotional and illogical. Not a problem per se, but a problem for me as a reader.
Overall, it's entertaining space adventure novella. Brutal, fast and furious. I'm not sure if I'll read the sequels, but I liked it more than the first book in the series.
I received the copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
April 2, 2018
This second story in The Voidwitch Saga is every bit as good as the first was except with even more violence and destruction. It is amazing to read the psychic powers the author has given Mariam Xi (Mars). At the end of the first story Mookie has been taken into custody by MEPHISTO and moved to a military prison to be court marshaled for desertion. Mars feels responsible for his capture so she is hunting for the prison. If she can find it, she can get inside and rescue Mookie.
A great space saga featuring a voidwitch trained with psychic powers even stronger than those medical scientists who developed her had expected, Mariam Xi is the epitome of contrasts. She thinks and feels nothing when causing the deaths of thousands but wears a cape with a hood so her cat can snuggle up close to be with her all the time. The amount of death and grisly details concerning scientific experiments is quite a bit higher in this story so you might want to watch out for that. Luckily the author is adding new characters to the story as it goes along because it's a pretty dangerous place to be if you are close to Mars when she starts using her powers.
A great space saga featuring a voidwitch trained with psychic powers even stronger than those medical scientists who developed her had expected, Mariam Xi is the epitome of contrasts. She thinks and feels nothing when causing the deaths of thousands but wears a cape with a hood so her cat can snuggle up close to be with her all the time. The amount of death and grisly details concerning scientific experiments is quite a bit higher in this story so you might want to watch out for that. Luckily the author is adding new characters to the story as it goes along because it's a pretty dangerous place to be if you are close to Mars when she starts using her powers.
March 29, 2018
Mars is back and it’s just as bloody and violent as last book!
“Freedom’s a funny thing,” I say. “It’s hard to enjoy when the people who hurt you are still out there.”
This novella involves a rescue mission on a prison planet, complicated feelings with her crew, and trying to find out what happened to her and the others experimented on.
Mars is still as unstoppable as before, even faced with Cyborg supersoldiers and her trauma that she does not hesitate to punch in the face the minute she sees an opening.
“Fun? Fuck. He’s too young to realize that mass destruction isn’t meant to be fun, that you’re not meant to take a life so casually. He’s young; what’s my excuse?”
I loved Killing Gravity and I went into this sequel with expectations that were over the roof. Though I wasn’t disappointed, I guess I wanted a bit more? I wasn’t as blown away as with the first BUT I had an awesome time and rated it a solid 4/5. I’m still totally on board with this series and super excited about everything going on, and of course following Mars and her friends.
Once again I highlighted a lot in this copy and I’m leaving you with my very favourite:
“I’m not doing this for Mookie, I’m not even doing this for me, I’m doing it because fuck you, because fuck every piece of shit that uses their strength, their power, their privilege to harm those weaker than them.”
Content warning: torture, gore, violence, animal testing and death
A review copy (eARC) of this book was provided by the publisher. Some things might change in the final copy.
Review can also be found on my blog!
“Freedom’s a funny thing,” I say. “It’s hard to enjoy when the people who hurt you are still out there.”
This novella involves a rescue mission on a prison planet, complicated feelings with her crew, and trying to find out what happened to her and the others experimented on.
Mars is still as unstoppable as before, even faced with Cyborg supersoldiers and her trauma that she does not hesitate to punch in the face the minute she sees an opening.
“Fun? Fuck. He’s too young to realize that mass destruction isn’t meant to be fun, that you’re not meant to take a life so casually. He’s young; what’s my excuse?”
I loved Killing Gravity and I went into this sequel with expectations that were over the roof. Though I wasn’t disappointed, I guess I wanted a bit more? I wasn’t as blown away as with the first BUT I had an awesome time and rated it a solid 4/5. I’m still totally on board with this series and super excited about everything going on, and of course following Mars and her friends.
Once again I highlighted a lot in this copy and I’m leaving you with my very favourite:
“I’m not doing this for Mookie, I’m not even doing this for me, I’m doing it because fuck you, because fuck every piece of shit that uses their strength, their power, their privilege to harm those weaker than them.”
Content warning: torture, gore, violence, animal testing and death
A review copy (eARC) of this book was provided by the publisher. Some things might change in the final copy.
Review can also be found on my blog!
July 12, 2022
Before we start... ❗ Warnings ❗ for murder, torture and erm... genocide... 😶 yeah it's a lot.
That's right I'm not afraid of your guns or your prison; I chose this. You think I'm your prisoner? You're all dead fucks walking, and I'm a monster in human skin. — Mars (p.69)
Mariam "Mars" Xi is back. While kicking ass destroying the MEPHISTO fleet at the end of Killing Gravity she lost a friend, Mookie. Now she's off to track him down and bring him home to Trix and Squid on the Nova. She did also gain a potential ally if she can train him, help him and get him healthy, the boy she saved from Briggs's ship, known only as Pale. She is teaching him control but they have a long way to go.
While in Killing Gravity our antagonist was a known quantity, Briggs and MEPHISTO the antagonist/s for Void Black Shadow is more of an unknown, it's still MEPHISTO but there are new players as well. While looking for information on where MEPHISTO sent Mookie the crew of the Nova run into the Legionnaires. The Legionnaires are augmented MEPHISTO soldiers. They are highly reminiscent of the Borg, heavily augmented, with a hive mind and no access to individual thought. I can't remember all my Trek lore but I'm pretty sure the Borg are the inspiration for the Legionnaires. They are an effective villain or the pawns to the villain, in the same way that the void witches were for Briggs. The face of MEPHISTO in Void Black Shadow is Doctor Ratham. The man who runs the prison moon that Mookie has been sent to, Homan. Ratham is an intelligent man when it comes to psychological and physical manipulation and torture. He knows exactly what is most likely to hold a prisoner in line. As a villain, he's the right choice, intelligence over the force of Briggs.
I like the ending which I'm actually going to write thoughts about. Void Black Shadow set up Static Ruin well, encourages the reader to finish the series. Void Black Shadow is an almost unexpectedly intelligent title. The phrase itself appears multiple times with different meanings, the most obvious being space.
This moment lead me to another thought. Mars is a protagonist you don't want to think too hard about. Honestly, she is probably closer to an antihero. There is just so much death and danger around her. Those closest to her risk their lives, sanity and bodies. She can also play a bit fast and loose with the innocents in play. I really hope Mars finds her way back to Squid, they are good for her. She is different around them. Almost like they remind her a little of Sera. I've decided Pale is interesting, I didn't expect him to be so important. But I can see him becoming a real wild card.
Before I jump into my quote dump I will write what would usually be a conclusion. The plot of Mars saving a friend and getting vengeance the only way knows how is enjoyable but highly violent. That said I do recommend this but If you are going to read it I advise reading Killing Gravity first. While this may standalone reading as part of the sago you will get so much more out of it. The characters are complicated and you will start thinking about the morals of action, means and ends. But that doesn't make the characters any less likeable.
Some quotes
• "Did she really destroy a whole fleet single-handed? Shit is crazy."
"Yes, Miguel, I really did. And since you've brought me all the way out to the ass-end of nowhere, the least you could do is talk to me, not about me."
"Eh, sorry, chica." — Stackhead Miguel is back. This is his "inside" voice, Mars and then Miguel's outside voice. He's now terrified of her, I mean fair she's freaking terrifying, but still willing to give her info. (Miguel and Mars, p.15-6)
• "How do you feel, Mariam?"
I try to think of the best words to describe my particular mix of brain-fog and sluggish limbs. The best I can come up with is, "Drug-fucked." — Oh God this is a perfect definition for that feeling. I know all about that. I can't believe I never thought of that phrasing before. (Ratham and Mars, p. 81)
She tries to push me off, but I stab her again. I'm not doing this for Mookie, I'm not even doing this for me, I'm doing it because fuck you, because fuck every piece of shit that uses their strength, their power, their privilege to harm those weaker than them. — Mars (p.113)
A representative gif:
November 5, 2018
There’s so much good stuff in here: Mars is a conflicted heroine with outstanding powers who manages to believably balance between a fucked up rage machine/abuse survivor and remorseful human with a soft heart underneath all the killing.
Add in: Non-binary characters who don’t get fridged!! Theme centered around family!! Space battles, terraformed prison spheres, void magic ... it’s pretty slick action story while also having heart.
Add in: Non-binary characters who don’t get fridged!! Theme centered around family!! Space battles, terraformed prison spheres, void magic ... it’s pretty slick action story while also having heart.
August 30, 2018
3.5 earth-shattering stars
Woah, I've never read anything like this. This novella series is intense, extremely violent and well written. From her actions the MC could be judged as an intergalactic super villian, but her intentions are mostly good (?) Certainly worth reading if you're in the mood for something dark and action packed.
Woah, I've never read anything like this. This novella series is intense, extremely violent and well written. From her actions the MC could be judged as an intergalactic super villian, but her intentions are mostly good (?) Certainly worth reading if you're in the mood for something dark and action packed.
November 29, 2018
The sequel is super strong and crazy! There is so much destruction physical but also emotional!
March 31, 2020
While not as strong as Killing Gravity in terms of Mars' character, Void Black Shadow does offer up a little more than dramatic battle scenes and destruction of epic proportions. There's also a really cool torture sequence.
One thing that is really well handled in this series (so far) is an increase in the stakes. The first book is a personal vendetta (on a large scale), this book is against a company, and it sounds like the next night just be against the empire itself.
I would have liked a little more "how" in terms of Mars' power - especially when she meets other voidwitches and proceeds to absolutely slap them silly. The only thing that keeps her from destroying the entire universe is her conscience - but is that really enough to hold the story aloft? Time to find out in book three.
One thing that is really well handled in this series (so far) is an increase in the stakes. The first book is a personal vendetta (on a large scale), this book is against a company, and it sounds like the next night just be against the empire itself.
I would have liked a little more "how" in terms of Mars' power - especially when she meets other voidwitches and proceeds to absolutely slap them silly. The only thing that keeps her from destroying the entire universe is her conscience - but is that really enough to hold the story aloft? Time to find out in book three.
June 21, 2019
I barely made it through the first one. It was fairly short & would have made a good comic book. I'd hoped this one would be better. I wasn't going to read it, but I was out mowing & didn't want to spend a lot of time trying to figure out which other book to read. I wish I had. Every flaw of the first was magnified. As soon as I was finished mowing, I quit.
June 11, 2018
Just as much fun as the first one.
May 6, 2023
A story becomes a lot less interesting when the main character is all too powerful, almost godlike, completely impossible to best or even approach, and the only moments she fails is when she makes an emotional or tactical mistake. And even those mostly work out for her. The story lost its drive for me because of this.
June 8, 2018
"...but that's what happens when you bring cyborgs to a space witch fight."
Richly imaginative, bloodthirsty, hyper-kinetic, little book.
Occasionally it drifts into the ridiculous, but I feel like the author was more assured than in book than in the predecessor.
An excellent palette cleanser between some harder reads.
Richly imaginative, bloodthirsty, hyper-kinetic, little book.
Occasionally it drifts into the ridiculous, but I feel like the author was more assured than in book than in the predecessor.
An excellent palette cleanser between some harder reads.
April 3, 2018
Revenge saga; with cute sidekick. The moral here is don't experiment on children and let them reach adulthood. Just saying...
August 5, 2018
Received to review via Netgalley
Wow, it took me far too long to pick up the threads of the story again from the previous novella. I think this is probably my fault more than the novella itself, though, and it’s not as though a novella series has a lot of space to keep reiterating things in between installments. Void Black Shadow as a whole is… rather dark, really. The first book was already like that, of course, but it gets worse, with Mars heading into a high security prison where people are tortured in order to rescue someone who was endangered thanks to her.
The ending is particularly wrenching, with Mookie’s reactions to what’s happened to him hitting that perfect note of complicated devastation. I hope we’ll see more of Mookie and the rest of that crew, though I’ll also welcome more characterisation for Pale. (And a proper name would be good, too.)
A good read, if rather dark… as, I suppose, the title already suggests.
Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.
Wow, it took me far too long to pick up the threads of the story again from the previous novella. I think this is probably my fault more than the novella itself, though, and it’s not as though a novella series has a lot of space to keep reiterating things in between installments. Void Black Shadow as a whole is… rather dark, really. The first book was already like that, of course, but it gets worse, with Mars heading into a high security prison where people are tortured in order to rescue someone who was endangered thanks to her.
The ending is particularly wrenching, with Mookie’s reactions to what’s happened to him hitting that perfect note of complicated devastation. I hope we’ll see more of Mookie and the rest of that crew, though I’ll also welcome more characterisation for Pale. (And a proper name would be good, too.)
A good read, if rather dark… as, I suppose, the title already suggests.
Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.
September 24, 2020
This one feels more emotionally hollow than the first one. The bad guys are rather dumb, and never developed beyond being eeeeviiiil. The horrible events never feel horrible, because the protagonist does not react beyond mentioning how things are horrible. Nor is she stoic, willing to accept horrible things by the strength of her sheer stubbornness. Finally, all other characters are beyond flat and seem to only be there to press buttons and pilot ships that Mars cannot physically reach.
So this will be the last book of the series I read. I was hoping it would get better. Hoping some of the wrinkles would get smoothed out. Unfortunately that didn't happened.
PS: the covers are very pretty and I wish the books were as great as they are.
So this will be the last book of the series I read. I was hoping it would get better. Hoping some of the wrinkles would get smoothed out. Unfortunately that didn't happened.
PS: the covers are very pretty and I wish the books were as great as they are.
January 14, 2019
Mary Sue, err- Mars takes on a galactic empire's Black ops space prison all on her own with no plans and destroys literally everything in her path including some of her "friends"
She still has no weaknesses, but this story gave her a slightly human element that was lacking from the first book. I do mean slightly too.
Not the greatest plot... easily predictable... but I really just needed something easy to kick me back into the reading habit again after getting sucked into Fallout 4 for last few months.
I think I'm ready for the next reading binge this year.
She still has no weaknesses, but this story gave her a slightly human element that was lacking from the first book. I do mean slightly too.
Not the greatest plot... easily predictable... but I really just needed something easy to kick me back into the reading habit again after getting sucked into Fallout 4 for last few months.
I think I'm ready for the next reading binge this year.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2018
Holy crap this series got dark fast.
'Killing Gravity' was a fast paced adventurous romp with fantastic world building and brilliantly diverse characters who were fun to cheer on. There is very little cheering in 'Void Black Shadow'. Instead of whacky adventures, we spend the majority of the book in a really really bad space prison. Where really really bad things happen.
The tone shift is huge, especially reading these two books back to back.
The protagonist in the first book was just coming into her super spacey powers, and here they have become fully realised; unfortunately at the same time her moral compass has degraded from wobbling a bit back and forth to completely spinning around out of control. Events conspire to test her already nebulous sense of right and wrong, and though Mars recognises in herself her increasing ability to brush aside the value of a human life, she doesn't really do anything to mitigate it - if anything she starts to embrace it.
The body count for this one is off the charts people!
I can't help but wonder how different the outcome for Mars would have been if my fav character from the first book - Squid, who is the best you guys - had been able to feature more prominently in the events leading up to climax of the novel.
Not the light-hearted romp I signed up for based on the first Voidwitch book, but I still can't wait to see what's going to happen when the dust settles.
'Killing Gravity' was a fast paced adventurous romp with fantastic world building and brilliantly diverse characters who were fun to cheer on. There is very little cheering in 'Void Black Shadow'. Instead of whacky adventures, we spend the majority of the book in a really really bad space prison. Where really really bad things happen.
The tone shift is huge, especially reading these two books back to back.
The protagonist in the first book was just coming into her super spacey powers, and here they have become fully realised; unfortunately at the same time her moral compass has degraded from wobbling a bit back and forth to completely spinning around out of control. Events conspire to test her already nebulous sense of right and wrong, and though Mars recognises in herself her increasing ability to brush aside the value of a human life, she doesn't really do anything to mitigate it - if anything she starts to embrace it.
The body count for this one is off the charts people!
I can't help but wonder how different the outcome for Mars would have been if my fav character from the first book - Squid, who is the best you guys - had been able to feature more prominently in the events leading up to climax of the novel.
Not the light-hearted romp I signed up for based on the first Voidwitch book, but I still can't wait to see what's going to happen when the dust settles.
February 5, 2021
Oof, this definitely managed to be more drastic, brutal and high-stakes than Killing Gravity.
Content warnings include: character death, mass murder (like, A LOT), violence, graphic gore, graphic invasive surgery, unconsensual surgery, torture, imprisonment; mentions of sexual assault and coercion, bullying.
It's probably better for me to not think too deply about the events of this book. It could be argued that Mars is forced to commit a lot of the (literally thousands) of murders she committs, except... uuuh, yeah, it was still a deliberate decision to write her as killing entire cities.
Mars is far from a villain, she cares deeply about the people closest to her, she has a sense of duty and justice, but following her fate is bleak. And her story is far from over.
I'm definitely enjoying the series, but dwelling too long on what happens in it would probably put a bit of a damper on that enjoyment. Nevertheless, some things made me laugh, and I love the casual inclusion of nonbinary people in the worldbuilding.
Speaking of worldbuilding, it definitely gets expanded in the second novella of the series.
If you enjoy action-heavy SciFi with overpowered protagonists trying to keep their friends save, and don't mind the various content warnings, you will enjoy this!
Content warnings include: character death, mass murder (like, A LOT), violence, graphic gore, graphic invasive surgery, unconsensual surgery, torture, imprisonment; mentions of sexual assault and coercion, bullying.
It's probably better for me to not think too deply about the events of this book. It could be argued that Mars is forced to commit a lot of the (literally thousands) of murders she committs, except... uuuh, yeah, it was still a deliberate decision to write her as killing entire cities.
Mars is far from a villain, she cares deeply about the people closest to her, she has a sense of duty and justice, but following her fate is bleak. And her story is far from over.
I'm definitely enjoying the series, but dwelling too long on what happens in it would probably put a bit of a damper on that enjoyment. Nevertheless, some things made me laugh, and I love the casual inclusion of nonbinary people in the worldbuilding.
Speaking of worldbuilding, it definitely gets expanded in the second novella of the series.
If you enjoy action-heavy SciFi with overpowered protagonists trying to keep their friends save, and don't mind the various content warnings, you will enjoy this!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews