June 29, 2017
I first heard of Mur Lafferty when the Shambling Guide to New York was released a few years back, and I passed on reading it. I was burned out on the zombie thing and did not need a New York guidebook in my life—or so I thought.
Then she appeared as one of the authors of Bookburners, a shared world novel edited and partly authored by Max Gladstone. Max is a recent personal favorite of mine and a frequent guest at the store. Mur’s work was so impressive in Bookburners that when her novel Six Wakes came out a few weeks later, I snapped it up instantly. Of course, I buy a book a day on average, so it sat on the pile for a month before I picked it up.
Then she appeared as one of the authors of Bookburners, a shared world novel edited and partly authored by Max Gladstone. Max is a recent personal favorite of mine and a frequent guest at the store. Mur’s work was so impressive in Bookburners that when her novel Six Wakes came out a few weeks later, I snapped it up instantly. Of course, I buy a book a day on average, so it sat on the pile for a month before I picked it up.
I regret waiting. I devoured it in a single sitting. The book begins with an excerpt from the laws and regulations regarding the use of clones and moves right into a high stakes, high octane, and well-crafted murder mystery and action-packed thrill ride. A killer living with and stalking a small crew of a ship traveling through the infinite blackness of space adds a certain amount of drama. It is not like you can just say, "I know I'm not the killer so I will just leave and save myself," because you're in space and you have a job to do—or no one will survive.
Mur Lafferty gives us some of the obvious things and then turns enough of them sideways to keep things very interesting. She also takes the time to get some of the science right, because things really are different in zero-G environments.
I am certain to read her work in the future, because Six Wakes blew me away.
Mur Lafferty gives us some of the obvious things and then turns enough of them sideways to keep things very interesting. She also takes the time to get some of the science right, because things really are different in zero-G environments.
I am certain to read her work in the future, because Six Wakes blew me away.