Sophia's Reviews > Station Eternity

Audiobook Review Re-read
I enjoyed reading this one, but not half so much as I enjoyed listening in to Sarah Mollo-Christensen do a stellar narration job. Sarah Mollo-Christensen brought the world of the book, the characters even the unique aliens to life. I was engaged from the get-go by her storytelling and didn't even mind Malory's issues so much because of her narration. I love how she interpreted the tone and emotion, pacing and voices of the story.

But, I didn't feel much different about the story as a whole- that is to say, I loved it and want more- so I'll let my original review stand below.

Resisting a murder mystery set on a sentient, alien space station was well-nigh impossible. I had to snatch up the book and follow along as a murder magnet woman who left earth to get away from murder happening every which way she turned, a man with a mysterious reason for hiding on station, and their odd assortment of alien buddies work against the clock to get answers before Eternity solves the problem permanently.

Station Eternity presents one of my favorite genre mash-ups with sci-fi and mystery. New to me author, Mur Lafferty didn’t chintz on the backdrop and details of the unique alien environment and alien characters she created. The feel of the book made it easy for a reader to engage with the story and the worldbuilding even when the book took its sweet time getting to the good stuff.

The story opens with Mallory discovering that the station she has made her home has decided to bring more humans aboard. And, Mal is in a dither because the whole point to moving to Eternity was to get away from people. Since her childhood, she has been around when people are murdered and when she was old enough to pay attention, she’s had a gift for solving the murders though, like the Greek mythological Cassandra, the authorities that be don’t take her seriously or they do and don’t want her solving crimes because they half-way suspect she perpetrated them. So, when she got the chance to get away, she did and now she wants to run again, but her human friend Xan who is also one of the three humans aboard Eternity won’t take her in a ship and get her away. He’s acting mysterious and even moreso when all hell breaks loose because Eternity’s symbiont is killed and the inbound earth shuttle is attacked. Mallory is the only one with the special skills to get answers before Eternity takes matters in hand- and nobody wants that to happen.

Station Eternity grabbed my attention from the get-go with the writing style, descriptions of station life, aliens living there, and even how the humans came to be involved. I was intrigued by Mallory’s murder issue and Xan’s mysteries. However, it took me a fair bit of time to warm up to Mallory. She’s fixated on her past and her ‘murder’ problem so much that it’s a weary repeated thing in her head and her conversation. This is why the way the book did flashbacks to bring the reader up to speed on each new character and mingled it with the present situation was a relief rather than a distraction.

But, before I make you think I hated it, there was so much about this one to enjoy. Xan gave Mallory a proverbial boot up the bum and she resented it even though it did get her off herself and on track. Okay, I found the flashbacks distracting, but I can’t argue that they were needed to give the reader a chance to see what was really going on. This one story was complex with several moving parts. As Mal noted, she and Xan had many connections on the inbound shuttle and each of those needed to be explored along with their existing connections already on the station before the mysteries all started to come together and make sense.

By the time it concluded, I wanted more. I was happy to realize this is a first in series and she has a backlist. It was a slow-build thriller and a complex sci-fi world that jived well together and I can definitely recommend it as a gateway book for sci-fi fans to mystery or vice versa, but definitely for those who already loved the combo.

I rec'd an eARC from Berkley via NetGalley to read in exchange for an honest review.
My full review will post at The Reading Frenzy Oct 13.