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From Darkest Skies #2
From Distant Stars
Inspector Keon has finally got over the death of his wife Alysha in a terrorist attack five years ago. The illegal AI copy of her - Liss - that he created to help him mourn has vanished, presumed destroyed. His life is back on track. But a deadly shooting in a police-guarded room in a high-security hospital threatens to ruin everything. Who got past the defences? Why did they kill the seemingly unimportant military officer who had been in a coma for weeks? And why did the scanners pick up the deceased man the next day on the other side of the planet, seemingly alive and well?
As Keon digs into the mysteries he begins to realise that the death was connected to a mysterious object, potentially alien, discovered buried in ice under the north pole. Someone has worked out what is hidden there, and what its discovery will mean for mankind. Someone who is willing to kill.
And another player has entered the game. Someone who seems to know more about Keon than is possible.
Someone who might be using Liss's information against him.
Or who might be Alysha, back from the dead.
As Keon digs into the mysteries he begins to realise that the death was connected to a mysterious object, potentially alien, discovered buried in ice under the north pole. Someone has worked out what is hidden there, and what its discovery will mean for mankind. Someone who is willing to kill.
And another player has entered the game. Someone who seems to know more about Keon than is possible.
Someone who might be using Liss's information against him.
Or who might be Alysha, back from the dead.
448 pages, Paperback
Published June 4, 2019
3 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 6, 2018
What we have here is a satisfying detective thriller with lashings of juicy conspiracy theory, all set in a future colony where a selection of humans had been dumped many decades before by mysterious alien invaders. Although it is a sequel to Sam Peters' From Darkest Skies, there was no problem coming to From Distant Stars as I did without having read the previous title - in fact there's enough back story here that it might seem overdone if you come to this second.
The great thing about this book is that there are big underlying themes and the reader is presented with a real mystery about what is going on, as to begin with problems and onslaughts pile into the team of detectives. The hospital became a regular location, given the pounding some characters take. Peters makes good use of the tech, which via a built-in 'servant' provides a kind of super Siri service that feeds information to lenses in the eyes, so quite often a character can be talking to someone and simultaneously receiving a second feed of information.
The only downside to this is that during complex scenes, particularly the three or four all-out battles, it gets very difficult to follow the flow of where information is coming from and who is doing what to whom. It was a combination of this confusion and the fact that I guessed the main twist in the ending about halfway through what is a quite lengthy book that prevented me from giving From Distant Stars a five star rating. (It's a very minor moan, but it was also amusing that the cover proclaims 'His wife died. Her digital copy has been erased. So who is using her name?' But I can't recall anywhere in the plot that features someone using his wife's name.)
As Peters gets into top gear in the last fifty pages or so it becomes a true un-put-downable page turner, and though there are clear hooks being set up for a sequel, the ending (unlike some series books) is satisfying enough to make this feel like a good stand-alone read. There's no sense of being let down at the end.
All in all, Peters had made an impressive contribution to the thriving 'detectives in space' sub genre, and I look forward to more.
The great thing about this book is that there are big underlying themes and the reader is presented with a real mystery about what is going on, as to begin with problems and onslaughts pile into the team of detectives. The hospital became a regular location, given the pounding some characters take. Peters makes good use of the tech, which via a built-in 'servant' provides a kind of super Siri service that feeds information to lenses in the eyes, so quite often a character can be talking to someone and simultaneously receiving a second feed of information.
The only downside to this is that during complex scenes, particularly the three or four all-out battles, it gets very difficult to follow the flow of where information is coming from and who is doing what to whom. It was a combination of this confusion and the fact that I guessed the main twist in the ending about halfway through what is a quite lengthy book that prevented me from giving From Distant Stars a five star rating. (It's a very minor moan, but it was also amusing that the cover proclaims 'His wife died. Her digital copy has been erased. So who is using her name?' But I can't recall anywhere in the plot that features someone using his wife's name.)
As Peters gets into top gear in the last fifty pages or so it becomes a true un-put-downable page turner, and though there are clear hooks being set up for a sequel, the ending (unlike some series books) is satisfying enough to make this feel like a good stand-alone read. There's no sense of being let down at the end.
All in all, Peters had made an impressive contribution to the thriving 'detectives in space' sub genre, and I look forward to more.
April 28, 2018
Enjoyable sequel to the excellent From Darkest Skies, although perhaps a little repetitive and overlong. Magenta is a fantastically described planet and I loved the mystery of what it is that may be buried under one of Magenta's poles. Our hero Keon goes through quite a time of it... 3.5 stars. Review to follow shortly on For Winter Nights.
March 22, 2020
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, so I was keen to see what happened in the sequel. Author Sam Peters didn't disappoint. Keon is the sort of officer who is determined to get to the truth of an incident. In this book, he gradually realises how big the powers he's trying to disagree with and look into are, and then what the significance of the things he's learning might be. It also seems like there's still more to the story of his wife's death than he uncovered in book one. He's wrestling more with the big question of 'where did we come from' and 'what happened to life on earth to push us out to these planets'. It seems like there might be more to things than what everyone has always been told.
In its simplest view, this book is a police procedural in space, with a tight-knit group at the centre. But From Distant Stars has intricate twists and turns, and needs you to be paying attention. I know that when I read the next book in the series, I'll need to come back to this one first to properly refresh my memory!
It's a really exciting book, and I couldn't put it down. If you love science fiction or crime novels, I think you'll really enjoy this book. Overall, I'm giving it 8/10. Thank you Gollancz for the review copy! [Review first posted on my book blog; link in my profile.]
In its simplest view, this book is a police procedural in space, with a tight-knit group at the centre. But From Distant Stars has intricate twists and turns, and needs you to be paying attention. I know that when I read the next book in the series, I'll need to come back to this one first to properly refresh my memory!
It's a really exciting book, and I couldn't put it down. If you love science fiction or crime novels, I think you'll really enjoy this book. Overall, I'm giving it 8/10. Thank you Gollancz for the review copy! [Review first posted on my book blog; link in my profile.]
October 6, 2018
His wife died six years ago - blown up by a bomb on a train. Everybody knew she was a traitor. Then her husband goes back to work as an investigator on the planet Magenta. When his latest investigation keeps pointing back to people who had some kind of contact or interaction with his wife before her death, it really starts getting good. Throw in enough twists and turns to sate even the most jaded reader and you've got this book.
I thought this book was great! Sam Peters just made my list of authors to read!
I thought this book was great! Sam Peters just made my list of authors to read!
February 1, 2022
I cant believe its taken me this long to read the 2nd in the series. While I remembered the gist of the first book, there was a lot of detail that I had forgotten, but thankfully there was enough information along the way to prompt my memory.
In this, Keon investigates the murder a man recently returned from Earth and the 3 Fleet agents who were in his hospital room. That spirals into a series of murders, a conspiracy involving the Fleet and the Tesseract, and the revelation of the excavation of a Masters ship under the ice. This all comes together in a really interesting (and intriguing) way. Liss is generally kept at a distance in this book, coming in to help at needed moments and disappearing again. I couldnt decide if I liked that or not. My one gripe was that there were times when three strands were being woven together- Keys would be talking to someone, pinging Liss and checking some vid on his servant, and sometimes it was a little confusing, though this sometimes worked nicely to effect like in shootouts. Like last time, I thought the worldbuilding was excellent.
Overall, I really enjoyed this. It was a twisty crime story that kept me guessing. And there was more about the Masters, or at least, societal reaction and views of them, in this book. I dont plan to wait another 5 years to finish the series- I've already started book 3.
In this, Keon investigates the murder a man recently returned from Earth and the 3 Fleet agents who were in his hospital room. That spirals into a series of murders, a conspiracy involving the Fleet and the Tesseract, and the revelation of the excavation of a Masters ship under the ice. This all comes together in a really interesting (and intriguing) way. Liss is generally kept at a distance in this book, coming in to help at needed moments and disappearing again. I couldnt decide if I liked that or not. My one gripe was that there were times when three strands were being woven together- Keys would be talking to someone, pinging Liss and checking some vid on his servant, and sometimes it was a little confusing, though this sometimes worked nicely to effect like in shootouts. Like last time, I thought the worldbuilding was excellent.
Overall, I really enjoyed this. It was a twisty crime story that kept me guessing. And there was more about the Masters, or at least, societal reaction and views of them, in this book. I dont plan to wait another 5 years to finish the series- I've already started book 3.
December 16, 2018
Normally I enjoy science fiction novels but this one left me confused and scratching my head. The plot was unnecessarily convoluted and it was difficult to keep track of who was doing what to whom.
All too often the characters carry out duel conversations with someone in real life and another entity (a bit like trying to talk to someone on the phone whilst having a conversation with someone else in person). Trying to follow these sequences was exceptionally difficult and made parts of the book almost impenetrable.
There was plenty of action but most of it was messy and too hard to follow. I'm not sure why I bothered to read this one all the way to the end but the initial premise was interesting enough that finding out the conclusion seemed like a good idea at the time. Now I'm not so sure.
If you are not an expert in multi-tasking maybe give this one a miss.
All too often the characters carry out duel conversations with someone in real life and another entity (a bit like trying to talk to someone on the phone whilst having a conversation with someone else in person). Trying to follow these sequences was exceptionally difficult and made parts of the book almost impenetrable.
There was plenty of action but most of it was messy and too hard to follow. I'm not sure why I bothered to read this one all the way to the end but the initial premise was interesting enough that finding out the conclusion seemed like a good idea at the time. Now I'm not so sure.
If you are not an expert in multi-tasking maybe give this one a miss.
July 16, 2022
I've just finished reading the trilogy, of which this is the second part. All three books are page-turners. The action - and there is plenty of that - centers around Agent Rause and his search for the truth about his wife's death. Was she really a traitor? Or was she set up? This thread continues through each book, wrapped around political intrigue, complex plots (in more ways that one) and totally engaging characters. The majority of the story takes place on Magenta, a colony world; the other two major players are Earth and Fleet (Fleet being an autonomous organisation). It's tense, involving and at times emotional reading. The writing is tight, the world building evocative and the characters empathetic.
Action, intrigue and emotional depth. What more could you ask for?
Action, intrigue and emotional depth. What more could you ask for?
May 25, 2018
Good book, but the dialogue is confusing. Not a surprise when every character is permanently angry at everyone else.
July 19, 2018
Superb Follow Up
Excellent blend of Sci Fi and detective novel. Fast paced, great characters, intriguing story. Can’t wait for the next installment.
Excellent blend of Sci Fi and detective novel. Fast paced, great characters, intriguing story. Can’t wait for the next installment.
July 29, 2018
This book was cool! Easy, unputdownable sci fi detective story with fun characters. Now to read the first book in the series, then wait for the third.
March 2, 2019
About 5 chapters too long but a rattling good read nonetheless
April 6, 2019
Redundant with first book
October 22, 2019
Yeahhhh ! A bunch of stuff going on here. Thumbs up .
September 1, 2020
As with the first book in the series, I liked much of what this book offers but there are just too many damn shoot-outs. Oh, for a bit more sleuthing and a little less gun play.
December 23, 2020
Good continuation of thriller with Investigator with cyber copy of dead wife.
October 11, 2022
Outstanding. More than just another "sci-fi" book.
Highly recommended
Highly recommended
February 22, 2023
this was fucking fantastic. while the first book took a long time to get going, this is engaging from the first page and never let up. i'm so glad i decided to take the plunge, i read through this in two days. very excited to read the next one
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews