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Murder on the Interstellar Express
Bell’s lifelong wish was to leave her colony world. She should have been more specific.
In the face of an existential threat to her world—an impending alien invasion—Bell Beauregard does something her job. She's rewarded by being labeled a traitor, sentenced to indentured servitude, and shipped off-world on a half-built colony ship being used as an escape hatch for the rich and powerful. Bell is woken from cryosleep as part of an emergency maintenance crew, but before she even has a chance to shirk her duties or flirt with the enticing Tas, things go full "oh, f#*$ me!" when a fellow prisoner is brutally murdered and Bell is the most obvious suspect. To have any chance with Tas—and, like, clear her name and stuff—Bell must begrudgingly solve the murder. But false accusations, unrequited romance, and having to make an effort are the least of Bell's concerns. Because the killer isn't content to stop at one victim. And if Bell can't unravel the mystery, the only way to prove her innocence may be to turn up dead.
In the face of an existential threat to her world—an impending alien invasion—Bell Beauregard does something her job. She's rewarded by being labeled a traitor, sentenced to indentured servitude, and shipped off-world on a half-built colony ship being used as an escape hatch for the rich and powerful. Bell is woken from cryosleep as part of an emergency maintenance crew, but before she even has a chance to shirk her duties or flirt with the enticing Tas, things go full "oh, f#*$ me!" when a fellow prisoner is brutally murdered and Bell is the most obvious suspect. To have any chance with Tas—and, like, clear her name and stuff—Bell must begrudgingly solve the murder. But false accusations, unrequited romance, and having to make an effort are the least of Bell's concerns. Because the killer isn't content to stop at one victim. And if Bell can't unravel the mystery, the only way to prove her innocence may be to turn up dead.
- GenresScience FictionMystery
324 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 13, 2024
3 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Gregory D. Little
17 books16 followersGregory D. Little is the author of the Unwilling Souls, Mutagen Deception, and the forthcoming Bell Begrudgingly Solves It series. As a writer, you would think he could find a better way to sugarcoat the following statement, but you'd be wrong. So, just to say it straight, he really enjoys tricking people. As such, one of his greatest joys in life is laughing maniacally whenever he senses a reader has reached That Part in one of his books. Fantasy, sci-fi, horror, it doesn't matter. They all have That Part. You'll know it when you get to it, promise. Or will you? He lives in Virginia with his wife, and he is uncommonly fond of spiders.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
July 9, 2024
So murder mystery in space is my thing, and this also leaned into humour. The main character is a very mechanized human and when we meet her is on trial for crimes against humanity and about to be shipped off-world to serve a life sentence. After being pulled out of cry0-sleep 27 years later, the rollercoaster takes off. That Christie-esque title pulled me in too and this didn't disappoint. I really liked that Bell was in a totally different place by the end than where she began. The other characters were well done and I found this to be a pretty immersive read even though it was pretty quick. The chapter titles were witty too. I can see how another book would be needed and I would likely read it.
The blurb says this is for fans of Murderbot (of which I am one) but a wise-cracking human is a wise-cracking human no matter how much tech she's added to herself. So, not really that wry wit of Murderbot but still a good laugh to be had here.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the Advance Reader's Copy.
The blurb says this is for fans of Murderbot (of which I am one) but a wise-cracking human is a wise-cracking human no matter how much tech she's added to herself. So, not really that wry wit of Murderbot but still a good laugh to be had here.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the Advance Reader's Copy.
August 3, 2024
Sometimes I had to come up for breath while reading this, because things happen at an extraordinary speed. I liked the fact that Bell, who is not a real human anymore (except she still remembers how it was to be one) deals with everything that’s thrown at her during her unexpected and unwanted stay on a colony ship.
And of course, I liked the tile of this book and it was very well chosen, as turns out. On the other hand, I would have like to read more about Bell’s background, and about the background of the several colonies as well. Not to mention the aliens, because the aliens aboard the ship are very interesting but still they lack a bit of depth.
I can only hope that this story will get a second or even more parts, now we got to know Bell rather well. It’s space opera in optima forma!
Thanks to Cursed Ship Dragon Publising and Netgalley for this review copy.
And of course, I liked the tile of this book and it was very well chosen, as turns out. On the other hand, I would have like to read more about Bell’s background, and about the background of the several colonies as well. Not to mention the aliens, because the aliens aboard the ship are very interesting but still they lack a bit of depth.
I can only hope that this story will get a second or even more parts, now we got to know Bell rather well. It’s space opera in optima forma!
Thanks to Cursed Ship Dragon Publising and Netgalley for this review copy.
June 19, 2024
Okay, so I've been dipping my toes in scifi lately, so I've only read books from a few different authors. I knew going in that this was different from the other books by this author. But as I didn't know this author to begin with I had no idea what that equated to. Anyway, I was entertained by the female lead and her reluctance in solving the murder mystery after being designated investigator by the spaceships computer. And boy, I did not see that plot twist(s) coming.
While reading this book I figured out I shouldn't become a detective because I totally didn't predict who the murder was. And the ending was a great setup for a continuation of our lesbian, dark-humored, profanity and innuendo spouting cyborg.
In the beginning it was a really interesting read, when it was a female main character that was spouting profanity and innuendo left and right, but it did get a bit annoying after the midway point. It decreased somewhat at that point so it didn't get to the point where I had to take a break from the book because it got to be too much, but the shine wasn't quite as bright by then. But that's the only negative I have to say about the book.
Definitely a female Deadpool in space. And I'm here for the next one book starring Bell Beauregard!
4 stars
Thanks to Netgalley, Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing, and Gregory D. Little for the free arc in exchange for an honest opinion.
While reading this book I figured out I shouldn't become a detective because I totally didn't predict who the murder was. And the ending was a great setup for a continuation of our lesbian, dark-humored, profanity and innuendo spouting cyborg.
In the beginning it was a really interesting read, when it was a female main character that was spouting profanity and innuendo left and right, but it did get a bit annoying after the midway point. It decreased somewhat at that point so it didn't get to the point where I had to take a break from the book because it got to be too much, but the shine wasn't quite as bright by then. But that's the only negative I have to say about the book.
Definitely a female Deadpool in space. And I'm here for the next one book starring Bell Beauregard!
4 stars
Thanks to Netgalley, Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing, and Gregory D. Little for the free arc in exchange for an honest opinion.
August 16, 2024
2.5 rounded up
Things I liked
-the humor, there were times when I enjoyed the humor and it made me smile more than a few times. It was hit or miss though.
-the main character was a fun protagonist. She was your typical hothead but I like that she didn't always have to charge in or make a scene. The synthetic additions to her body were cool and made for some interesting situations and humor
-the setup of the mystery drew me in and was interesting at the beginning.
Things I didn't like
-the humor, there were times when I just rolled my eyes or sighed at the jokes being made. If you like the humor of a 13 year old boy, you'll probably like this.
-the side characters were underutilized and underdeveloped. I wanted to spend more time with each of them, especially the aliens. I did like Loopy though!
-the mystery got less engaging as the story went on and I'm not sure how I feel about the resolution of the mystery. I didn't see it coming and while there was a little foreshadowing, I think the clues could've been better.
-the end of the book felt a bit rushed and the author included some stuff that I didn't really feel was necessary to the story.
Things I liked
-the humor, there were times when I enjoyed the humor and it made me smile more than a few times. It was hit or miss though.
-the main character was a fun protagonist. She was your typical hothead but I like that she didn't always have to charge in or make a scene. The synthetic additions to her body were cool and made for some interesting situations and humor
-the setup of the mystery drew me in and was interesting at the beginning.
Things I didn't like
-the humor, there were times when I just rolled my eyes or sighed at the jokes being made. If you like the humor of a 13 year old boy, you'll probably like this.
-the side characters were underutilized and underdeveloped. I wanted to spend more time with each of them, especially the aliens. I did like Loopy though!
-the mystery got less engaging as the story went on and I'm not sure how I feel about the resolution of the mystery. I didn't see it coming and while there was a little foreshadowing, I think the clues could've been better.
-the end of the book felt a bit rushed and the author included some stuff that I didn't really feel was necessary to the story.
dnf
August 15, 2024DNF at 20%
Disclaimer: Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for free. All the thoughts and opinions here are my own.
I saw this book pitched as Deadpool humour paired with the obvious reference to Murder on the Orient Express, and I was so ready to see a funny murder mystery set in space. Sadly, nothing worked out for me.
This is not Deadpool humour. Just because the F word is used a lot, there are innuendos and some sarcastic remarks, it doesn't mean it's like Deadpool's. There are other subtleties that make it work that I didn't see present here. For starters, the third-person narrative wasn't a good choice. This turned innuendos and sexual jokes that should have come from the character into the narrator sexualizing the character. I felt I wasn't laughing with the character but instead laughing at the character. Deadpool narrates his own story so any sexual jokes are about himself or, if they are about others, they are never in a demeaning or judgemental way.
This brings me to another point, the protagonist is a female character. In the early chapters, there is a joke about the character being versatile in linguistics and referring to her talent to use her tongue in other ways... if you know what I mean. Wink, wink. And this joke would be fine if it wasn't told by the narrator. When I read it, all I could think of was every time I listen to teenage boys and even grown men and women, making this sort of remark implying the female in question was a slut. So the main character, the one I should root for, laugh with and accompany in this book and in the ones that will come after, was reduced to an object, sexualized, judged and disrespected. And this was not what I signed up for.
The humour really missed the mark for me. And about the murder mystery part, it was only about 20% of the story when the murder happened. I can't speak of how good or bad the mystery will be. I wasn't enjoying the narration, I didn't connect with the characters and there wasn't anything to keep me going. Forcing myself to continue reading this book wouldn't turn it into a favourite despite how good the mystery might be. I would only get more upset. So the best thing to do is close the book and move on.
Disclaimer: Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for free. All the thoughts and opinions here are my own.
I saw this book pitched as Deadpool humour paired with the obvious reference to Murder on the Orient Express, and I was so ready to see a funny murder mystery set in space. Sadly, nothing worked out for me.
This is not Deadpool humour. Just because the F word is used a lot, there are innuendos and some sarcastic remarks, it doesn't mean it's like Deadpool's. There are other subtleties that make it work that I didn't see present here. For starters, the third-person narrative wasn't a good choice. This turned innuendos and sexual jokes that should have come from the character into the narrator sexualizing the character. I felt I wasn't laughing with the character but instead laughing at the character. Deadpool narrates his own story so any sexual jokes are about himself or, if they are about others, they are never in a demeaning or judgemental way.
This brings me to another point, the protagonist is a female character. In the early chapters, there is a joke about the character being versatile in linguistics and referring to her talent to use her tongue in other ways... if you know what I mean. Wink, wink. And this joke would be fine if it wasn't told by the narrator. When I read it, all I could think of was every time I listen to teenage boys and even grown men and women, making this sort of remark implying the female in question was a slut. So the main character, the one I should root for, laugh with and accompany in this book and in the ones that will come after, was reduced to an object, sexualized, judged and disrespected. And this was not what I signed up for.
The humour really missed the mark for me. And about the murder mystery part, it was only about 20% of the story when the murder happened. I can't speak of how good or bad the mystery will be. I wasn't enjoying the narration, I didn't connect with the characters and there wasn't anything to keep me going. Forcing myself to continue reading this book wouldn't turn it into a favourite despite how good the mystery might be. I would only get more upset. So the best thing to do is close the book and move on.
October 15, 2024
The title suggests a sci-fi Agatha Christie pastiche, which it very much isn't. But it does try, for at least three-quarters of the book, to be a murder mystery. That, and a bit of a scabrous comedy, until it finally morphs into something resembling a conventional if breathless sci-fi adventure. Maybe because mysteries are hard, and comedy is harder, the return to some kind of comfort zone is required to stick the landing. It just about works.
The comedy is mainly centred in our lead character Bell Beauregard, a shirking factotum who carries out an aspect of her job on her alien hating planet and in the process is called a traitor, and is discovered to be cybernetically enhanced, strictly against the rules (indeed it seems that every part of her bar her brain has been replaced at some point). Denied an appeal she wakes up as maintenance crew on a spaceship full of cryogenically stored kids for colonization, and a few fellow maintenance prisoners, and aliens, just in time to be the prime suspect in a murder. Co-operating with the ship's artificial intelligence (whose systems conveniently drop out whenever a murder takes place) she has to solve the murder to clear her name, and save the ship full of kids that she isn't really that invested in.
Belle is a fun character, though there are points where Little seems to be pushing too hard for an edgy, dislikable protagonist which he slowly undoes through the book. The alien designs are fun, and there's some decent cross-cultural stuff during the investigation, But by the nature of science fiction, and the aliens themselves, the book can easily not play fair with its investigation, pulling out sci-fi reasons for the impossible to be possible. The interactions with the AI - which Bell names Loopy for annoying reasons - do end up being a little too cute too. And the eventual resolution, and shift into world-saving mode seemed a little out of context with the previous narrative (there's a real sense Bell wouldn't bother if it wasn't kids, which is not quite satisfying heroism). Nevertheless it is a solid stab at a sci-fi comedy mystery whose sci-fi bones are much stronger than the other bits.
The comedy is mainly centred in our lead character Bell Beauregard, a shirking factotum who carries out an aspect of her job on her alien hating planet and in the process is called a traitor, and is discovered to be cybernetically enhanced, strictly against the rules (indeed it seems that every part of her bar her brain has been replaced at some point). Denied an appeal she wakes up as maintenance crew on a spaceship full of cryogenically stored kids for colonization, and a few fellow maintenance prisoners, and aliens, just in time to be the prime suspect in a murder. Co-operating with the ship's artificial intelligence (whose systems conveniently drop out whenever a murder takes place) she has to solve the murder to clear her name, and save the ship full of kids that she isn't really that invested in.
Belle is a fun character, though there are points where Little seems to be pushing too hard for an edgy, dislikable protagonist which he slowly undoes through the book. The alien designs are fun, and there's some decent cross-cultural stuff during the investigation, But by the nature of science fiction, and the aliens themselves, the book can easily not play fair with its investigation, pulling out sci-fi reasons for the impossible to be possible. The interactions with the AI - which Bell names Loopy for annoying reasons - do end up being a little too cute too. And the eventual resolution, and shift into world-saving mode seemed a little out of context with the previous narrative (there's a real sense Bell wouldn't bother if it wasn't kids, which is not quite satisfying heroism). Nevertheless it is a solid stab at a sci-fi comedy mystery whose sci-fi bones are much stronger than the other bits.
September 20, 2024
I’ve been dreading this day since I started posting these reviews… but today I have to post my first mostly negative review. As a writer myself this hurts a little because I know how much time, passion, and heart goes into creating a story. But, as we all know, this business is subjective. Little’s book is traditionally published and currently has a 3.92 rating on Goodreads, so I’m hopeful this won’t come across as too harsh. I’m not trying to be mean, just give my honest thoughts on the book, because how else will you be able to trust my reviews?
These are, obviously, just my opinions, and clearly a publishing house, and dozens of other readers disagree with me.
That being said… buckle up kids, because this review is a little bit all over the place… much like how I found the book.
I signed up for this as an ARC on NetGalley, but due to me signing up for WAY TOO MANY ARCs I am a bit behind and the book has already been released. So… Good News Everyone! After reading this review you can, if you desire, flock to your favourite book-buying thing-a-ma-jig and get your own copy.
I’ll start with what drew me to the book. 1. The title, and 2. The cover.
The title evokes the feeling of the all-time classic Murder on the Orient Express, except it’s sci-fi so I feel like I’m being promised a classic whodunnit in space. Sounds like a fun ride, right? I thought so too but… it doesn’t deliver on that promise. Not at all. True, we are in space, and yes murders do happen, but there is no solid sleuthing, no tricky red herrings, no secret clues, no questioning of suspects. Murders happen and chaos starts to ensue.
So, an okay storyline to be sure, but not what I expected from the title.
The cover… speaks for itself: oooooooooo!
This book was listed under the “humour” section on NetGalley, and while there is a lot of profanity (I approve) and some little dirty jokes (I also approve), I didn’t find the overall experience to be one I would dub “humour.” There are some truly dark elements in this book, and not a lot of fun romping, which I would usually… ahem… expect… from a humourous sci-fi. Or at least a lot more satire.
It is much more like a sci-fi story with some humorous elements and swearing. Again, that’s fine, it’s just… you guessed it, not what I expected!
The storyline morphs from one of the murders on the ship to a whole other love story across time, to sticking it to the evil man in a way that felt like I was reading two stories mushed together. The murders felt like an unnecessary buildup to the real meat of the story. I’d be interested in both stories, by the way, I just didn’t quite dig they way they were mashed together in this particular book.
When I started this story I was not drawn in, kids, I did not connect with Bell as much as I wanted to in order to take this project on it was a close DNF for me. If it hadn’t been an ARC copy I might’ve just stopped reading. This story simply starts in the wrong place. The opening is slow and does nothing to get me into the interiority of Bell and there is also no action to dig into. It starts with a court scene. I felt like once I was 10% in and she’s on the ship… that’s where the story starts. There was too much exposition and description in that first 10%, and little to hint at what the main conflict of this story would be. Little could’ve easily sprinkled in the tidbits about the world as the story went on, building intrigue into who the heck this Bell person (main character) is, and what on not earth is she doing up there on the ship.
The pacing was also problematic for me. It felt long. It’s not overly long on page count, but I think it’s just that I didn’t really care about the characters at all until we got past the murders and into the real reason they were there. I admit I did a lot of skimming to get to where the action starts.
Bell is a synthetic character, but with the mind of a human. So I get she’s pretty invincible, but I needed some vulnerability from her that I just didn’t get. I enjoy her snarkiness. I like that she’s not overly feminine. I am a fan of female characters that swear and don’t shrivel up and can kick ass. But I still felt I needed something more to her. She was all flash and no substance. No doubts, no big plots or dreams, no real worries (despite the situation she finds herself in), no sorrow, just a lot of horniness and angriness. I’m also a fan of those last two, by the way. There was also a lot of filtering, which removed me further from Bell, and I craved some sensory details. What does it feel like to be in that kind of body? When she touches the cryopod, what do her fingers feel? Don’t tell me it’s cold. Show me.
When Little revealed her true past that’s when I cared about her. So at the last 90% of the book I was really turning the pages, but it took a lot of time to get there.
The writing didn’t flow for me at first. As the story progressed it got better. I feel like a strong edit would really make the prose shine, removing crutch words, some of those pesky adverbs, adding a lot more sensory details, deleting a lot of filtering, and focusing in on showing vs. telling a lot more.
All in all, there was nothing truly horrible about this book, it just didn’t hook me, and perhaps that’s just a case of expectations letting me down. Objectively this should be all up my alley: Murder? Check. Sci-fi plus humour? Check. Snarky badass female MC? Check. But somehow none of it quite landed for me.
But maybe it will for you. Go on, give it a look-see and maybe you can write your own compelling counter-review that proves all of my points wrong.
These are, obviously, just my opinions, and clearly a publishing house, and dozens of other readers disagree with me.
That being said… buckle up kids, because this review is a little bit all over the place… much like how I found the book.
I signed up for this as an ARC on NetGalley, but due to me signing up for WAY TOO MANY ARCs I am a bit behind and the book has already been released. So… Good News Everyone! After reading this review you can, if you desire, flock to your favourite book-buying thing-a-ma-jig and get your own copy.
I’ll start with what drew me to the book. 1. The title, and 2. The cover.
The title evokes the feeling of the all-time classic Murder on the Orient Express, except it’s sci-fi so I feel like I’m being promised a classic whodunnit in space. Sounds like a fun ride, right? I thought so too but… it doesn’t deliver on that promise. Not at all. True, we are in space, and yes murders do happen, but there is no solid sleuthing, no tricky red herrings, no secret clues, no questioning of suspects. Murders happen and chaos starts to ensue.
So, an okay storyline to be sure, but not what I expected from the title.
The cover… speaks for itself: oooooooooo!
This book was listed under the “humour” section on NetGalley, and while there is a lot of profanity (I approve) and some little dirty jokes (I also approve), I didn’t find the overall experience to be one I would dub “humour.” There are some truly dark elements in this book, and not a lot of fun romping, which I would usually… ahem… expect… from a humourous sci-fi. Or at least a lot more satire.
It is much more like a sci-fi story with some humorous elements and swearing. Again, that’s fine, it’s just… you guessed it, not what I expected!
The storyline morphs from one of the murders on the ship to a whole other love story across time, to sticking it to the evil man in a way that felt like I was reading two stories mushed together. The murders felt like an unnecessary buildup to the real meat of the story. I’d be interested in both stories, by the way, I just didn’t quite dig they way they were mashed together in this particular book.
When I started this story I was not drawn in, kids, I did not connect with Bell as much as I wanted to in order to take this project on it was a close DNF for me. If it hadn’t been an ARC copy I might’ve just stopped reading. This story simply starts in the wrong place. The opening is slow and does nothing to get me into the interiority of Bell and there is also no action to dig into. It starts with a court scene. I felt like once I was 10% in and she’s on the ship… that’s where the story starts. There was too much exposition and description in that first 10%, and little to hint at what the main conflict of this story would be. Little could’ve easily sprinkled in the tidbits about the world as the story went on, building intrigue into who the heck this Bell person (main character) is, and what on not earth is she doing up there on the ship.
The pacing was also problematic for me. It felt long. It’s not overly long on page count, but I think it’s just that I didn’t really care about the characters at all until we got past the murders and into the real reason they were there. I admit I did a lot of skimming to get to where the action starts.
Bell is a synthetic character, but with the mind of a human. So I get she’s pretty invincible, but I needed some vulnerability from her that I just didn’t get. I enjoy her snarkiness. I like that she’s not overly feminine. I am a fan of female characters that swear and don’t shrivel up and can kick ass. But I still felt I needed something more to her. She was all flash and no substance. No doubts, no big plots or dreams, no real worries (despite the situation she finds herself in), no sorrow, just a lot of horniness and angriness. I’m also a fan of those last two, by the way. There was also a lot of filtering, which removed me further from Bell, and I craved some sensory details. What does it feel like to be in that kind of body? When she touches the cryopod, what do her fingers feel? Don’t tell me it’s cold. Show me.
When Little revealed her true past that’s when I cared about her. So at the last 90% of the book I was really turning the pages, but it took a lot of time to get there.
The writing didn’t flow for me at first. As the story progressed it got better. I feel like a strong edit would really make the prose shine, removing crutch words, some of those pesky adverbs, adding a lot more sensory details, deleting a lot of filtering, and focusing in on showing vs. telling a lot more.
All in all, there was nothing truly horrible about this book, it just didn’t hook me, and perhaps that’s just a case of expectations letting me down. Objectively this should be all up my alley: Murder? Check. Sci-fi plus humour? Check. Snarky badass female MC? Check. But somehow none of it quite landed for me.
But maybe it will for you. Go on, give it a look-see and maybe you can write your own compelling counter-review that proves all of my points wrong.
August 9, 2024
This was fun - wicked, profane and irreverent but with a soft heart at the center of the prickly story
This Agatha Christie-sque in space, lives & dies with its lead character who is profane, vulgar & sarcastic all the way through this entertaining, hilarious and “loopy” novel
MCU in their Phase 2 and 3 became popular for prefacing their release by juxtaposing the comic book movie in a different genre movie - like The Winter Soldier was a comic book movie as a political thriller, and Ant-Man was a comic book movie in a heist. Increasingly, SFF books also have juxtaposed murder scenarios in a fantasy or an SF setting. One of the most entertaining books of the year was The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett featured murder in a Pacific Rim-like Leviathan-dominated environment. Murder on the Interstellar Express sets the murder on a half-built colony ship and has our narrator, Bell Beauregard serviced to indenture on this ship, being woken up halfway through the journey as part of the emergency maintenance crew and finds herself enmeshed in a murder investigation immediately. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.
“You are like a little kernel of disruption, Bell Beauregard. Everywhere you go, smooth currents are cast into turbulence, focus becomes distraction, order yields to chaos”
This is a book that will live or die basis how much you love and relate to Bell. Bell is easy to root for in some ways because she is super snarky and humorous (intentionally and unintentionally). She isn’t always easy to root as a lot of her humour is significantly inappropriate. Bell hasn’t met a dirty joke that she couldn’t sully further as a defense mechanism. Throughout the book, Bell displays a healthy disdain for authority and a cynicism that befits someone bred in relatively high society. She is also someone who is only part human - having converted significant parts of her body into cybernetic augmentations. And she is super horny to boot for most of the book - all of which make for a character providing immense entertainment even as she is the prime suspect for the murder on board. She also got the immense hots for another member of the crew, Tas who isn’t enhanced in any way and that adds a level of intrigue and mystique for Bell.
“The truth is I have trouble staying on task with things I find unpleasant. I tend to default to whatever I find most comfortable” “And that would be hitting on me?”
There are other crew members that have been woken up for the emergency maintenance that the colony ship needs, both human and non-human species, and the sentient AI, that Bell christens Loopy. The half-constructed nature of the colony ship adds to the sense of malfunction pervading through the ship even as systems conveniently go off-track as the body count starts to pile up. Every suspect seems to have an alibi and Bell is literally cast as the default suspect by everyone else (entirely due to her big mouth). All this even as systems begin to fail across the ship leading to a sense of urgency overall
“It was perhaps the first time in history where both members of a romantic partnership were punching above their weight class and could do better simultaneously”
As said before, this is a super fun book depending on your enjoyment but what is undeniable is the propulsive nature of the narrative. The start of the book is a bit confusing and Bell’s motives aren’t fully explained but once she is woken aboard the ship, it is tremendously entertaining. What the book does rather well even as it is set significantly in the future is to comment on the very human nature that hasn’t changed even in the future. The humor element is present throughout the book but as things go down to the serious end, other things start to pop up - some of the backstories start to become important and the book ultimately becomes about names, masks, and memories and the false nature associated with them.
“The power, the stakes. I guess when you are that rich and you know no one dares hold you to account, you have to go way, way beyond the pale to find anything resembling a thrill”
There are a few twists that appear towards the back end of the story and escalate the stakes - things that seem unconnected come together at the end, but not very smoothly. I believe that was a part that should have been less clunky and telegraphed better throughout the book. It also tries to tie things back to events happening eons ago - while I wasn’t fully on board with the events and the emotions, the writing in that part of the book was particularly strong. The book ultimately builds up to something bigger than just the murder mystery and those sequences, if a bit on the petty side, are a commentary on human nature more than anything. That said, the ending presents an interesting conflict for Bell and her actions and choices at the end do remain consistent with who Bell is - impulsive, snarky, cynical but still soft at her very core.
Murder on the Interstellar Express is a fascinating, funny, and entertaining murder mystery that does keep you guessing on the perpetrator and the motivation - the murder mystery is quite well done while the overarching mystery and tension needed some finesse and heft to really make it count. Bell is a fun character and narrator who drives the story forward and ultimately is the barometer of your enjoyment of the story.
Rating - 3.5 Colony Ships on 5
This Agatha Christie-sque in space, lives & dies with its lead character who is profane, vulgar & sarcastic all the way through this entertaining, hilarious and “loopy” novel
MCU in their Phase 2 and 3 became popular for prefacing their release by juxtaposing the comic book movie in a different genre movie - like The Winter Soldier was a comic book movie as a political thriller, and Ant-Man was a comic book movie in a heist. Increasingly, SFF books also have juxtaposed murder scenarios in a fantasy or an SF setting. One of the most entertaining books of the year was The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett featured murder in a Pacific Rim-like Leviathan-dominated environment. Murder on the Interstellar Express sets the murder on a half-built colony ship and has our narrator, Bell Beauregard serviced to indenture on this ship, being woken up halfway through the journey as part of the emergency maintenance crew and finds herself enmeshed in a murder investigation immediately. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.
“You are like a little kernel of disruption, Bell Beauregard. Everywhere you go, smooth currents are cast into turbulence, focus becomes distraction, order yields to chaos”
This is a book that will live or die basis how much you love and relate to Bell. Bell is easy to root for in some ways because she is super snarky and humorous (intentionally and unintentionally). She isn’t always easy to root as a lot of her humour is significantly inappropriate. Bell hasn’t met a dirty joke that she couldn’t sully further as a defense mechanism. Throughout the book, Bell displays a healthy disdain for authority and a cynicism that befits someone bred in relatively high society. She is also someone who is only part human - having converted significant parts of her body into cybernetic augmentations. And she is super horny to boot for most of the book - all of which make for a character providing immense entertainment even as she is the prime suspect for the murder on board. She also got the immense hots for another member of the crew, Tas who isn’t enhanced in any way and that adds a level of intrigue and mystique for Bell.
“The truth is I have trouble staying on task with things I find unpleasant. I tend to default to whatever I find most comfortable” “And that would be hitting on me?”
There are other crew members that have been woken up for the emergency maintenance that the colony ship needs, both human and non-human species, and the sentient AI, that Bell christens Loopy. The half-constructed nature of the colony ship adds to the sense of malfunction pervading through the ship even as systems conveniently go off-track as the body count starts to pile up. Every suspect seems to have an alibi and Bell is literally cast as the default suspect by everyone else (entirely due to her big mouth). All this even as systems begin to fail across the ship leading to a sense of urgency overall
“It was perhaps the first time in history where both members of a romantic partnership were punching above their weight class and could do better simultaneously”
As said before, this is a super fun book depending on your enjoyment but what is undeniable is the propulsive nature of the narrative. The start of the book is a bit confusing and Bell’s motives aren’t fully explained but once she is woken aboard the ship, it is tremendously entertaining. What the book does rather well even as it is set significantly in the future is to comment on the very human nature that hasn’t changed even in the future. The humor element is present throughout the book but as things go down to the serious end, other things start to pop up - some of the backstories start to become important and the book ultimately becomes about names, masks, and memories and the false nature associated with them.
“The power, the stakes. I guess when you are that rich and you know no one dares hold you to account, you have to go way, way beyond the pale to find anything resembling a thrill”
There are a few twists that appear towards the back end of the story and escalate the stakes - things that seem unconnected come together at the end, but not very smoothly. I believe that was a part that should have been less clunky and telegraphed better throughout the book. It also tries to tie things back to events happening eons ago - while I wasn’t fully on board with the events and the emotions, the writing in that part of the book was particularly strong. The book ultimately builds up to something bigger than just the murder mystery and those sequences, if a bit on the petty side, are a commentary on human nature more than anything. That said, the ending presents an interesting conflict for Bell and her actions and choices at the end do remain consistent with who Bell is - impulsive, snarky, cynical but still soft at her very core.
Murder on the Interstellar Express is a fascinating, funny, and entertaining murder mystery that does keep you guessing on the perpetrator and the motivation - the murder mystery is quite well done while the overarching mystery and tension needed some finesse and heft to really make it count. Bell is a fun character and narrator who drives the story forward and ultimately is the barometer of your enjoyment of the story.
Rating - 3.5 Colony Ships on 5
August 7, 2024
I was a couple of pages into this book when I decided that I didn’t like it. The tone felt a bit all over the place and the sci-fi buzzwords and clumsy tech-talk were kicking around in abundance. I’m glad I stuck it out, though. I didn’t care for the opening, wherein the main character is introduced and she is given a reason for being on the ship. Once we get onto the ship, however, things pick up hugely.
It’s not the first book with an offputting opening. One of my favourite novels is the Scottish classic, Sunset Song, and it has an introduction that I recommend people skip and then return to later. The opening pages of To Kill a Mockingbird aren’t great either, and that book goes on to soar. Sometimes these stories take a bit of setting up, or are slow to get off the ground.
Once we’re on the ship, the Ultima Thule, we are immediately a claustrophobic world of intrigue, murder, and humour; all delivered via compelling, interesting, and distinct characters. The characters are the real strength of this novel. Our no-nonsense protagonist, Bell, is sentenced to indentured servitude aboard the hastily-built Ultima Thule colony ship and the subsequent colony that will follow. Her dry humour and determination make her relatable, as she jokes and flirts her way through the story. Whilst the characters of Tas, Fault, and Xian are also very interesting to me, my favourite secondary character is the Ultima Thule itself, or rather the ship’s biological brain. Given that the ship launched early, it wasn’t quite ready and so has a quirky personality that seems to flip between coy and arch at a moment’s notice. I’ll come back to that.
The central mystery of the novel is well constructed. Regular readers know I like a good investigation, and have written at length about structuring them for investigative roleplay. The pacing of the investigation feels spot-on and escalation and progress, when they occur, feel earned.
Dialogue is very well done, and characters have their own clear, unique personalities. Interactions between characters feel genuine, and take those personalities into account. The interactions with the ship’s brain are the most interesting ones, especially as it starts to show signs of strain and the faults in the ship become more apparent. I did say I’d return to this character. This is a blog that is primarily about tabletop gaming, and in this character, I see elements of a more adolescent version of Paranoia’s Friend Computer. I’d love to run a game of Paranoia based on this book. I think it would work really well as a solid Paranoia one-shot.
The ending is a little drawn out and perhaps a little much. I think that things could have ended a little more simply, or a little sooner and the book would have been better for it. Still, I see what the author wants to do, and it does work, even if it’s a little Altered Carbon.
If you’d told me at the start of this novel that I’d have been rating it 4 stars, I wouldn’t have believed you, but I had a lot of fun with this book, and I didn’t want to leave the Ultima Thule by the end. I didn’t realise when reading it that it was going to be a series. I’m happy to see that.
It’s not the first book with an offputting opening. One of my favourite novels is the Scottish classic, Sunset Song, and it has an introduction that I recommend people skip and then return to later. The opening pages of To Kill a Mockingbird aren’t great either, and that book goes on to soar. Sometimes these stories take a bit of setting up, or are slow to get off the ground.
Once we’re on the ship, the Ultima Thule, we are immediately a claustrophobic world of intrigue, murder, and humour; all delivered via compelling, interesting, and distinct characters. The characters are the real strength of this novel. Our no-nonsense protagonist, Bell, is sentenced to indentured servitude aboard the hastily-built Ultima Thule colony ship and the subsequent colony that will follow. Her dry humour and determination make her relatable, as she jokes and flirts her way through the story. Whilst the characters of Tas, Fault, and Xian are also very interesting to me, my favourite secondary character is the Ultima Thule itself, or rather the ship’s biological brain. Given that the ship launched early, it wasn’t quite ready and so has a quirky personality that seems to flip between coy and arch at a moment’s notice. I’ll come back to that.
The central mystery of the novel is well constructed. Regular readers know I like a good investigation, and have written at length about structuring them for investigative roleplay. The pacing of the investigation feels spot-on and escalation and progress, when they occur, feel earned.
Dialogue is very well done, and characters have their own clear, unique personalities. Interactions between characters feel genuine, and take those personalities into account. The interactions with the ship’s brain are the most interesting ones, especially as it starts to show signs of strain and the faults in the ship become more apparent. I did say I’d return to this character. This is a blog that is primarily about tabletop gaming, and in this character, I see elements of a more adolescent version of Paranoia’s Friend Computer. I’d love to run a game of Paranoia based on this book. I think it would work really well as a solid Paranoia one-shot.
The ending is a little drawn out and perhaps a little much. I think that things could have ended a little more simply, or a little sooner and the book would have been better for it. Still, I see what the author wants to do, and it does work, even if it’s a little Altered Carbon.
If you’d told me at the start of this novel that I’d have been rating it 4 stars, I wouldn’t have believed you, but I had a lot of fun with this book, and I didn’t want to leave the Ultima Thule by the end. I didn’t realise when reading it that it was going to be a series. I’m happy to see that.
July 24, 2024
3.5 stars
Thanks to NetGalley and the Editor. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion
The idea of this book is brilliant! To be honest, it had me at the title, really. How could you resist that? And when you read the synopsis things get even better. Because yeah, this book is a murder in space, with a ton of humor in it too. And it turns out that things are even more complicated than what we expected in the beginning.
I think that the plot, with all the twists and the mysteries, was the best part.
The characters are intriguing, even more so because we have aliens, and humans that are not really humans as we intend it now, and it was fascinating to see all of these differences play out before our eyes. Bell is a good MC to follow, even if she is quite the clichè, and her interactions with the other characters are an abundance of cliches. But it is not bad, it works well in the book.
What didn't work so well for me was the humor. Mind me, I appreciated it, but from time to time it was like the author was trying too hard to be funny. But still, I had some laughs here and there, and humor is a highly personal thing, it is always hit or miss, because it is not a fixed thing. And maybe you would find that this is exactly your kind of humor, and you would have a blast out of it.
To me, it was the weakest point, but it still worked, so it is not all bad!
All in all, I think that this is a good book to spend some hours with. It is an original take on a pretty classic trope, and it is well done. It is also funny and highly readable!
Thanks to NetGalley and the Editor. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion
The idea of this book is brilliant! To be honest, it had me at the title, really. How could you resist that? And when you read the synopsis things get even better. Because yeah, this book is a murder in space, with a ton of humor in it too. And it turns out that things are even more complicated than what we expected in the beginning.
I think that the plot, with all the twists and the mysteries, was the best part.
The characters are intriguing, even more so because we have aliens, and humans that are not really humans as we intend it now, and it was fascinating to see all of these differences play out before our eyes. Bell is a good MC to follow, even if she is quite the clichè, and her interactions with the other characters are an abundance of cliches. But it is not bad, it works well in the book.
What didn't work so well for me was the humor. Mind me, I appreciated it, but from time to time it was like the author was trying too hard to be funny. But still, I had some laughs here and there, and humor is a highly personal thing, it is always hit or miss, because it is not a fixed thing. And maybe you would find that this is exactly your kind of humor, and you would have a blast out of it.
To me, it was the weakest point, but it still worked, so it is not all bad!
All in all, I think that this is a good book to spend some hours with. It is an original take on a pretty classic trope, and it is well done. It is also funny and highly readable!
August 13, 2024
This book caught my eye because it was described as a murder mystery in space with a comedic MC, and I agree with this 1 0 0 %.
I had SO MUCH FUN reading this book!! Bell’s inner thoughts and the characters’ dialogues made me laugh out loud, and whenever I read Bell say something I thought, “That’s so on brand for Deadpool”. The novel's cast of characters are memorable because they are unique. As someone interested in psychology and linguistics, I was fascinated by the technology and appreciated how integral it was to the plot, character designs and the mystery. The story explores the exploitation of people for the benefit of the wealthy, and what happens when inventions originally created for the good of many are put in the wrong hands. The fast pace and unexpected twists of this thrilling, high stakes sci-fi novel kept me engaged and wanting to know what could possibly happen next.
Overall, this book was such a fun mix of sci-fi, mystery, thriller, and comedy with a dash of romance! I enjoyed the sense of humor and look forward to the next instalment of Bell's story!! You will enjoy this book if you like:
🌱 books involving advanced tech and space
🌱 funny MCs and equally hilarious side characters
🌱 high stakes and fast-paced murder mysteries
A special thank you to Net Galley, Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing and Gregory D. Little for the opportunity to read this novel ahead of publication!
This book is the first of the series, "Bell Begrudgingly Solves It". Go check it out!!
I had SO MUCH FUN reading this book!! Bell’s inner thoughts and the characters’ dialogues made me laugh out loud, and whenever I read Bell say something I thought, “That’s so on brand for Deadpool”. The novel's cast of characters are memorable because they are unique. As someone interested in psychology and linguistics, I was fascinated by the technology and appreciated how integral it was to the plot, character designs and the mystery. The story explores the exploitation of people for the benefit of the wealthy, and what happens when inventions originally created for the good of many are put in the wrong hands. The fast pace and unexpected twists of this thrilling, high stakes sci-fi novel kept me engaged and wanting to know what could possibly happen next.
Overall, this book was such a fun mix of sci-fi, mystery, thriller, and comedy with a dash of romance! I enjoyed the sense of humor and look forward to the next instalment of Bell's story!! You will enjoy this book if you like:
🌱 books involving advanced tech and space
🌱 funny MCs and equally hilarious side characters
🌱 high stakes and fast-paced murder mysteries
A special thank you to Net Galley, Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing and Gregory D. Little for the opportunity to read this novel ahead of publication!
This book is the first of the series, "Bell Begrudgingly Solves It". Go check it out!!
July 25, 2024
Thank you to Netgalley and Cursed Dragon Ship publishing for this eARC!
This was generally a fun read! I really loved the first half with its mystery and good humour. Belle was a really fun character to follow and I loved her interactions with the other characters (though the constant sexual innuendos were a bit much sometimes). The aliens were really cool, as was the idea of the Anaranjadan society- I could totally see something like that being reality! However, the comedic tone did clash sometimes with the really quite horrific description of the murders so I’m not quite sure how to feel about that.
The plot was really unique and original, with really great tension that kept me guessing throughout! It was clearly really intricately thought out, with lots of little clues as to who the murderer was some of which I did notice and some of which I didn’t! Though, I did begin to feel a bit overwhelmed towards the second half when the initially slow(er) pace erupted into an avalanche of plot twists and action. While it was well written, the fast pace made it a bit difficult for me to understand the motivations of certain characters, which took away from the story a little bit for me.
It was certainly a unique read and, though some elements worked better than others for me personally, this was good fun overall and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a unique sci-fi story with a little bit of political commentary and mystery sprinkled in!
This was generally a fun read! I really loved the first half with its mystery and good humour. Belle was a really fun character to follow and I loved her interactions with the other characters (though the constant sexual innuendos were a bit much sometimes). The aliens were really cool, as was the idea of the Anaranjadan society- I could totally see something like that being reality! However, the comedic tone did clash sometimes with the really quite horrific description of the murders so I’m not quite sure how to feel about that.
The plot was really unique and original, with really great tension that kept me guessing throughout! It was clearly really intricately thought out, with lots of little clues as to who the murderer was some of which I did notice and some of which I didn’t! Though, I did begin to feel a bit overwhelmed towards the second half when the initially slow(er) pace erupted into an avalanche of plot twists and action. While it was well written, the fast pace made it a bit difficult for me to understand the motivations of certain characters, which took away from the story a little bit for me.
It was certainly a unique read and, though some elements worked better than others for me personally, this was good fun overall and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a unique sci-fi story with a little bit of political commentary and mystery sprinkled in!
August 13, 2024
Once again, I’ve had the absolute pleasure of ARC reading one of Little’s works and as usual, it does not fail to delight and entertain.
“Murder on the Interstellar Express” is a murder mystery set in space that blends in the perfect amount of Deadpool-esque meets Murderbot humor.
This story follows the sassy cyborg, Bell Beauregard as her accidental role in the alien invasion of her planet lands her a one way ticket onto an interstellar ship as a crew member. Woken from cryosleep along with a colorful assortment of other crew members, Bell is quickly caught up in solving a series of murders aboard the ship.
Bell is a fun and snarky MC to follow through the twists and turns of this tell. The story definitely keeps you on your toes and keeps you guessing on the culprit and motive the entire time. Overall, the mystery aspect is written with a Christie-esque finesse that is just a fun time all around. While not quite as heavy on the world building aspects as some of Little’s other works, this makes up for it in the diversity and uniqueness of his characters. Each character is unique and the dialogue reads smoothly whilst shining a light on the humanity of these less than human (in form) characters.
I highly recommend this read and cannot wait for more!
“Murder on the Interstellar Express” is a murder mystery set in space that blends in the perfect amount of Deadpool-esque meets Murderbot humor.
This story follows the sassy cyborg, Bell Beauregard as her accidental role in the alien invasion of her planet lands her a one way ticket onto an interstellar ship as a crew member. Woken from cryosleep along with a colorful assortment of other crew members, Bell is quickly caught up in solving a series of murders aboard the ship.
Bell is a fun and snarky MC to follow through the twists and turns of this tell. The story definitely keeps you on your toes and keeps you guessing on the culprit and motive the entire time. Overall, the mystery aspect is written with a Christie-esque finesse that is just a fun time all around. While not quite as heavy on the world building aspects as some of Little’s other works, this makes up for it in the diversity and uniqueness of his characters. Each character is unique and the dialogue reads smoothly whilst shining a light on the humanity of these less than human (in form) characters.
I highly recommend this read and cannot wait for more!
May 5, 2024
Wow Just wow did I enjoy this book. I finished it in 2 days because I literally could not put it down. Bell is a fantastic character and I enjoyed her story immensely. She is quirky, independent, stubborn, and has an amazing sense of humor (it's dark yet funny and very adult). Bell finds herself unwilling solving a murder on an interstellar spaceship. She must use her quick, gritty, sensible wits to stay alive aboard the ship that is quickly becoming a death trap. This book is an edge-of-your-seat, nail biting thrill ride. Greg has done it yet again, and his surprise endings (as is his style) keeps you guessing to the very last page. An outstanding thriller that nobody should miss out on. Bell is one character you will never forget. If you think you're ready for this thrill ride, strap yourselves in. Bell gives you one heck of a ride. This book is incredible. Ty to Greg and CDS for the ARC review copy. Just read this book. Or Bell will have something to say! (and if you think you know what's coming,think again). Are you ready for Bell? You just have to find out yourselves.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
June 1, 2024
A ridiculously entertaining spin-off from his "Mutagen Deception" series, "Murder on the Interstellar Express" by Gregory Little takes a much more irreverent tone than his previous work while still managing to hit you in the feels when you least expect it. Bell Beauregard, our reluctant (and mostly cybernetic) heroine, is a bit like a mashup of Eleanor Shellstrop, Murderbot, Gideon the Ninth, and Deadpool. Forced into involuntary servitude following a disastrous trial, Bell is awakened prematurely from cryosleep aboard an interstellar ship. Along with a few other crew members, she must solve a murder mystery with the "help" of a demented AI. Of course, all is not as it seems, and the story takes many twists and turns before all is revealed. Despite the humorous tone, the book is very carefully plotted (and quite dark in places) and thematically coherent. Bell is a fun, funny, flawed character to root for, and the revelations at the end will leave you eagerly awaiting her next adventure.
July 22, 2024
Being an Agatha Christie fan, the title of this book drew my attention. And being also an avid science-fiction reader, I quite liked the idea of a closed 'room' murder mystery in space. The fact that the tone of the book was humorous and the main character foul-mouthed and snarky, was icing on the proverbial cake.
After reading the book, I must say that I have mixed feelings. The plot - and its many twists, as is customary in a murder mystery - is intricate, well thought-out and never predictable. The writing style is fast and fluid, and the dialogues are often funny, with each character (especially the aliens) having their own distinctive voice.
And yet ... the characters are - to me - the weakest part of the book. The main character, Bell, and Loopy, the ship's mind, were fine, but I found that I didn't care enough for the other characters to stay engaged and excited for the unravelling of the murder mystery. There wasn't enough backstory to make them real, not enough exploration of their motives, and no 'Hercule Poirot' to investigate the murders and to reveal a number of clues and red herrings. I would have liked less 'snarkiness' and some more depth.
All in all, a quick and rather pleasant but also quite forgettable read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing for providing me with an ARC in return for an honest review.
After reading the book, I must say that I have mixed feelings. The plot - and its many twists, as is customary in a murder mystery - is intricate, well thought-out and never predictable. The writing style is fast and fluid, and the dialogues are often funny, with each character (especially the aliens) having their own distinctive voice.
And yet ... the characters are - to me - the weakest part of the book. The main character, Bell, and Loopy, the ship's mind, were fine, but I found that I didn't care enough for the other characters to stay engaged and excited for the unravelling of the murder mystery. There wasn't enough backstory to make them real, not enough exploration of their motives, and no 'Hercule Poirot' to investigate the murders and to reveal a number of clues and red herrings. I would have liked less 'snarkiness' and some more depth.
All in all, a quick and rather pleasant but also quite forgettable read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing for providing me with an ARC in return for an honest review.
August 17, 2024
Murder on the Interstellar Express offers a unique blend of sci-fi, mystery, and humor that kept me entertained, but it didn't fully win me over. The concept is intriguing, and the plot has some engaging twists, but the humor was hit or miss for me, and the protagonist, while fun, felt a bit cliché at times. The external POV might have had something to do with that, as the humor didn't land as well as it would have, had the story been written in first person POV. The side characters had potential but were underdeveloped (especially the aliens! I wanted to know more about them before . The plot moved steadily throughout the book, except in the ending. which felt really rushed - the author dropped a lot of lore all at once, in a very clear "tell, don't show" way, and that took a bit of the fun of the ending away for me.
Overall, it's a good read if you're looking for something light and quirky, but it didn't quite reach the heights I hoped for.
Overall, it's a good read if you're looking for something light and quirky, but it didn't quite reach the heights I hoped for.
Read
October 14, 2024Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
The idea of a murder mystery story set in space has always intrigued me. However, I have yet to find a novel where I find the premise to be well executed. This book wasn’t bad, and I can definitely see other people really enjoying it, but not me. Part of it is the writing style, which just wasn’t my thing at all. Another is the pacing, which just seems so off, at 20% into the book the murder still has not happened, which is rather odd for a murder mystery story. I understand that in a sci-fi book we need to worldbuild, but I think it would have been much better to have the murder happen in the first ~3 chapters and then intersperse the worldbuilding and introducing of characters throughout the investigation process. The horniness also just wasn’t my thing, and felt rather superfluous, but that is definitely up to personal preference.
The idea of a murder mystery story set in space has always intrigued me. However, I have yet to find a novel where I find the premise to be well executed. This book wasn’t bad, and I can definitely see other people really enjoying it, but not me. Part of it is the writing style, which just wasn’t my thing at all. Another is the pacing, which just seems so off, at 20% into the book the murder still has not happened, which is rather odd for a murder mystery story. I understand that in a sci-fi book we need to worldbuild, but I think it would have been much better to have the murder happen in the first ~3 chapters and then intersperse the worldbuilding and introducing of characters throughout the investigation process. The horniness also just wasn’t my thing, and felt rather superfluous, but that is definitely up to personal preference.
August 15, 2024
Review based on ARC via NetGalley.
What drew me in was the first line of the description: "Deadpool’s sarcastic potty mouth meets a closed room murder mystery in space." Unfortunately, I couldn't find Deadpool's sarcastic potty mouth. The book is written in third person narration and that makes any sarcastic remark a commentary on the people in the scene and by that less funny than a first person potty mouth remark à la Deadpool. This is why I had a hard time sticking to the book and eventually DNF'ing at about 30%. It just didn't work for me based on that Deadpool premise. I might have stuck with the book had there not been that marketing parallel.
What drew me in was the first line of the description: "Deadpool’s sarcastic potty mouth meets a closed room murder mystery in space." Unfortunately, I couldn't find Deadpool's sarcastic potty mouth. The book is written in third person narration and that makes any sarcastic remark a commentary on the people in the scene and by that less funny than a first person potty mouth remark à la Deadpool. This is why I had a hard time sticking to the book and eventually DNF'ing at about 30%. It just didn't work for me based on that Deadpool premise. I might have stuck with the book had there not been that marketing parallel.
January 20, 2025
This was a very uneven read for me.
The beginning puts you straight into the story, which I liked, the middle felt very slow to me, and the last third went very fast.
It is also not a murder mystery, contrary to the expectation from the title (probably why I found the middle part so slow). Yes we have murder, but neither Bell nor the rest of the crew really try to solve the murder. They mostly fumble around waiting to see who's going to be next. The resolution came out of nowhere with an out of nowhere switch to a space version of
And yet, I didn't have a bad time, and I'll be curious to check the next book.
The beginning puts you straight into the story, which I liked, the middle felt very slow to me, and the last third went very fast.
It is also not a murder mystery, contrary to the expectation from the title (probably why I found the middle part so slow). Yes we have murder, but neither Bell nor the rest of the crew really try to solve the murder. They mostly fumble around waiting to see who's going to be next. The resolution came out of nowhere with an out of nowhere switch to a space version of
And yet, I didn't have a bad time, and I'll be curious to check the next book.
June 17, 2024
I got a copy of this book from Net Galley in return for a review.
This reminded me of The Stainless Steel Rat with the humour running through the book, add to that a murder mystery in space and you have a recipe for success.
A sci-fi murder mystery that takes you for a fast ride, and always leaves you guessing at who the murderer is. I didn't see the end coming, and without spoiling it, what an ending, definitely didn't see, or feel, that coming.
This is the first book I've read of Mr Little, it won't be the last.
This reminded me of The Stainless Steel Rat with the humour running through the book, add to that a murder mystery in space and you have a recipe for success.
A sci-fi murder mystery that takes you for a fast ride, and always leaves you guessing at who the murderer is. I didn't see the end coming, and without spoiling it, what an ending, definitely didn't see, or feel, that coming.
This is the first book I've read of Mr Little, it won't be the last.
June 18, 2024
I dunno about this novel. The interchanges and inner-dialogue are lengthy and rarely funny. Yeah Bell is OTT in personality and you get pounded with it, page after page. A lesbian cyborg might do for others, but me, not so much.
The aliens are drawn well and the conclusion is open-ended. Not sure I would follow this smart ass down another novel hole with constant inuendo trailing along. Still, faintly entertaining.
2.6/5
The aliens are drawn well and the conclusion is open-ended. Not sure I would follow this smart ass down another novel hole with constant inuendo trailing along. Still, faintly entertaining.
2.6/5
August 15, 2024
Knives Out + The Stainless Steel Rat
A little slow to start but an absolute joyride. Bell is my new spirit animal. Gives LitRPG vibes with the intro having an organic brain computer program as a sidekick.
A spectacular who-dun-it that’ll keep you guessing. The scifi is hard but not crunchy or over baked. The FF romance element I could’ve done without but then again I’m a fairly cis straight female myself.
A little slow to start but an absolute joyride. Bell is my new spirit animal. Gives LitRPG vibes with the intro having an organic brain computer program as a sidekick.
A spectacular who-dun-it that’ll keep you guessing. The scifi is hard but not crunchy or over baked. The FF romance element I could’ve done without but then again I’m a fairly cis straight female myself.
June 10, 2024
This one is so different to any of the other books I have read by Greg. Loved it. It is a lighter read than the Mutagen series but still retains the mystery aspect.
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August 14, 2024
This was *fun*.. A thrilling space mystery/whodunit, with a heck of an ending.
August 13, 2024
I'm certain that this is the most interesting and entertaining novel I've read in many years. Much of its humor comes from the strikingly-unique narrative voice that Little employs, as well as his brash, outrageous, consistently-entertaining protagonist and the interplay between these two elements. At the same time, it's more than just funny, as there are characters, a world, and a story here that could easily have carried the novel even if all of the humor was removed. It's a mystery story with many familiar elements - signaled, of course, by the book's title - yet Little's highly-original characters and setting combine with his relentless need to innovate at the level of plot to produce something unanticipated, a thoroughly new take on this classic form. And if you're inclined to go there, Little has, as in his other novels, embedded some substantial ideas within this story: for instance, the behavior of the elites in Little's world makes us consider the effect that social position has on individual behavior, the extent to which individual morality and immorality determine larger social outcomes, and the implications these issues have for questions of judgement and punishment. Little certainly doesn't shy away from staking out his own position, as these themes culminate in a moment near the end of the novel that seems certain to elicit discussion and controversy.
It's fun, suspenseful, raunchy, consistently hilarious, and clever-as-hell - you've got to read it!
It's fun, suspenseful, raunchy, consistently hilarious, and clever-as-hell - you've got to read it!
August 7, 2024
Murder on the Interstellar Express felt to me like a mixture of Among Us, Agatha Christie, and a sprinkle of the 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. The characters were SO fun and different, and the pace kept me buckled up and ready for the next chapter. I can’t wait to see what Bell begrudgingly solves next!
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