Tag: Mur Lafferty

Infinite Archive by Mur Lafferty (Sci Fi / Mystery)

The third in Lafferty’s Midsolar Murder series starring Mallory Viridian — one of the few human inhabitants of a sentient space station. Human murders tend to occur when Mallory is around (the reason explained in book one or two), which is why she made such an extreme relocation. Turns out that Mal is very good at *solving* the murders that occur and that provides a nice story to show off the fantastically quirky world Lafferty has created teeming with creative alien cultures, sentient mechanisms, and the “fun” everyone has trying to get along.

Each book adds more to the world — while I would recommend reading books one and two first, the author does a decent job of giving you the info you might need if you don’t. In this installment, a one-of-a-kind ship is making its way to the station with massive holodeck like capabilities and the physical embodiment of the entire Internet (including fan fiction sites — this is important!). And it is carrying … a mystery fan convention. What could go wrong?

I like Lafferty’s world building — more focus on alien cultures than alien tech which I find much more interesting. The mystery is a nice excuse to roam around meeting strange beings. I really like the bonding between sentient ships and stations with (often human) hosts. Plenty of action, but not the super stressful kind. Lots of fun to read — I always look forward to the next one, and I’m happy to say that she writes quickly!

Thank you to Ace and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on July 1st, 2025.

Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty (SciFi)

An entertaining sequel to Station Eternity which was one of my favorite reads last year.

In truth, while I enjoyed this book, and appreciated the twists and the personal development of some favorite characters, it was a little disappointing when compared with book number one (or Lafferty’s other offering Six Wakes). No new alien cultures to explore, new characters (all human) whom I already can’t remember, and a basic mystery that kept me reading, but didn’t have any shocking twists. It was fine and I’ll probably read the next one when (if) it comes out, but I hope Lafferty will get back to the (IMHO) really good stuff in her next release.

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty (Sci Fi)

Plot: 5/5 Writing: 4.5/5 Characters: 4/5

Loved this action filled science fiction story whose premise is the exploration of the ethical dilemmas present in a world that has the tech (and the desire) to clone people for (greatly) extended life. The book opens with a description of the International Law Regarding the Codicils to Govern the Existence of Clones which include a whole array of rules that don’t seem to make anybody particularly happy.

A crew of six has embarked on a journey to a new planet that will take hundreds of years. They carry with them thousands of cryogenically frozen humans and clones who will be wakened once they arrive. However, something must have gone drastically wrong because the opening scene sees all six awakening suddenly in gooey clone vats with no memory of the last 25 years and no understanding of why they are all dead. They are all “criminals” who have been promised full pardons and an erasure of all sins for completing the mission, but none of them have shared with each other what those sins were. Thus ensues a completely engrossing space opera of sorts as they work to try to figure out which of them attacked (and brutally killed) the others, who to trust, and exactly why they had been brought together in this way.

Includes some pretty rich cogitation on clones and AIs and how relationships, vengeance, jealousy, and general morality is impacted at both the individual and societal level. Clean writing and good characters (except for the super rich, super powerful, egoist who is the “bad guy” — those types never seem to have depth in fiction — probably because no author actually knows anybody like that to study, or because we don’t want our bad guys to have depth!)

Really enjoyed this. Now if I can only get the publisher to give me early access to her upcoming book, I will be one happy puppy!

Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty (Science Fiction)

Writing: 4/5 Plot: 5/5 Characters: 4.5/5
Mallory Viridian appears to be cursed. Murders tend to occur whenever she is around. She solves them — quickly and well (much to the irritation of the local police) — but it would be much better if they didn’t happen in the first place! After the latest murder, wanting to be as far from perishable humans as she can get, she makes her way onto Eternity — a sentient space station — where bizarre coincidences tend to happen even more often.

The story is a great mix of action, cultural exploration, and personal growth with an impressive cast of characters (human and not, multi colored, of various sexual proclivities — checks all the right boxes but does not beat the point to death). One step further in the diversity collection — experiments with symbiotic pairings between beings becomes somewhat central to the plot(s). These include sentient hardware, hive minds, giant vegetarian rock people and the “moist races” like humans. Honestly the disgust felt by some of the aliens at the thought of all the “liquid” in humans just cracked me up. The plot often veers at crazy angles with multiple surprises, inducing a pleasurable ADD experience in me (I’m normally more of a linear planner type). Lots of banter and a very cool ending where countless loose end were tied up in highly satisfying ways.

I absolutely loved this book and can’t imagine how I missed it when it first came out. It’s my kind of science fiction — full of aliens, but with fully fleshed out (and imaginative) cultures and individual personalities (alienalities?). No all-hands-on-deck to kill the bug-eyed monsters thread!

Perfect for fans of Ann Leckie or early Becky Chambers (the Monk & Robot series do nothing for me). The best news — book two is coming out shortly (November 7th), and if I’m lucky I’ll get an early copy!