The Space Between the Stars

Feb 19, 2017 Sh3lly ✨ Bring on the Weird ✨ rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

DNF. Good premise, but the main character was irritating, whiny, and insufferable. I could not connect to her at all. There is more about her obsessing over her past (failed marriage and miscarriage from years ago) than any sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, dystopian vibe the blurb alluded to. The only thing sci-fi about this is that they somehow are able to travel the stars and populate other planets. It's sometime in the future, but the MC is still wearing denim skirts.

Too much time spent on idle chi ...more

flag 56 likes · Like · see review

May 08, 2017 Michael rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, science-fiction, post-apocalyptic, netgalley

A thoughtful consideration of what survivors of a near total apocalypse of humanity might go through to get their heads and souls set right in order to move forward with living. The main character, Jamie, is a veterinarian whose personal disappointments and trauma in her life have led her to a remote colony world, Solitaire, populated by about 10 thousand people. She revives from illness to find herself a rare survivor of an epidemic that was projected to kill 99.9999% of humans. Which means a f A thoughtful consideration of what survivors of a near total apocalypse of humanity might go through to get their heads and souls set right in order to move forward with living. The main character, Jamie, is a veterinarian whose personal disappointments and trauma in her life have led her to a remote colony world, Solitaire, populated by about 10 thousand people. She revives from illness to find herself a rare survivor of an epidemic that was projected to kill 99.9999% of humans. Which means a few dozen left alive on most of the 300 or so settled planets and a few thousand on Earth. As a woman of action and not one to wallow in grief, she sets out to find other survivors and build a sustainable community.

When she gets to the largest town, she is surprised to find two survivors, a male priest named Lowry and bioengineering scientist Rena, both middle-aged. While he is spiritual and dedicated to helping others, he doesn’t believe in a vengeful god or a divine purpose to life. However, Rena does live by those precepts, putting her on Jamie’s shitlist for the duration of this tale. Lowry’s dedication to helping her is based on their long history together and the kind of compassion owed to the insane.

Sending out a distress beacon gets them picked up by a military pilot of a small spaceship, Callan, a can-do, hunky guy. Jamie bonds with him, but resists the easy path to romance. His one crew member, an engineer named Gracie, is an antisocial misanthrope and an enigma, but her competence and courage will save the group’s bacon in hazardous times to come. They travel to other planets and space stations seeking fuel and looking to help other groups of survivors. Sadly, the living communities they find have quickly adopted the dog-eat-dog human response to adversity, with a few elite taking power and shaping others to their agenda by force. They pick up one more shipmate in a tense escape situation, an uneducated young woman named Mila, who had to resort to prostitution to survive tough times in one urban site of a colony world but doesn’t deserve to be part of one group’s forced breeding scenario.

Jamie persuades their group to head for Earth. Despite having split from her husband of 13 years, she feels compelled to seek him out where her last message from him led her to believe he was travelling, the Northumberland region of England where they once lived. The overpopulation and pollution of Earth which had led to a massive forced emigration of the disenfranchised to the colony worlds will be gone, and hopefully the few thousand people likely to be still alive will provide to best chance to build a future. For Jamie, survival is not enough. They have a chance to build a better society. Unfortunately, Rena thinks the same way, with the difference that only true believers should be in control.

I enjoyed this story in the same way as Mandel’s “Station Eleven” and Heller’s “The Dog Stars”, which are similar explorations of relatively ordinary people trying to find meaning in their survival after a near-total apocalypse. For me, it wasn’t quite as engaging or stimulating with respect to the depth of the key personalities and their philosophical delving. This story has an uphill struggle for success among the vast number of post-apocalyptic tales spawned by our pessimistic view of the future of humanity. The implausible spread of such a deadly virus among all human societies has to be taken as an arbitrary premise, not much different from many other novels. I was more disappointed in how the space travel was so painless that the sense of the vast magnitude of space implied by the book’s title didn’t really sink in for me. I didn’t mind the nonexistent attention to the technology of fast-than-light travel, but the refueling of the ship by pumping of ersatz gas at various landing sites went too far in disregard of tech trappings.

This book was provided for review by the publisher through the Netgalley program.
...more

flag 22 likes · Like · see review

Apr 06, 2017 Carlos rated it liked it

Shelves: adult-fiction-btw

3 1/2 stars for me. The premise of this book was one of the best ones I had heard in quite a while , so my expectations were pretty high , but I'm sorry to say that while there were some parts of the book that did meet my expectations, the big majority did not , I mean the author had a huge opportunity to remade the world (literally, since a virus had killed almost all population) , that in itself gives the author such a plethora of options to write a book about , and she chose to go with such a ...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Mar 26, 2017 Katie Lumsden rated it it was amazing

I thoroughly loved this. A brilliant, engagingly written story of survival and the search for meaning after most of the human population has been wiped out. I loved how the novel combined small, personal tragedies with disaster on a larger scale, and how it explored the need not just to survive but to turn survival into something meaningful. The book explores family, human relationships, religion and hope in fascinating ways. The plot is engaging and full of unexpected turns and the characters a ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Apr 20, 2017 Faith rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, dnf, publisher

My disappointment in this book is probably my own fault. I didn't pay close enough attention to the blurb. This is not post apocalyptic science-fiction, although it is set in outer space. A virus has cut down the overpopulation by killing almost all humans on earth and the settlements in space. The people are reduced to piles of grey ash. Jamie is one of the few survivors but she very quickly meets up with a few other survivors. You'd think this situation would provide interesting challenges, bu ...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Jun 04, 2017 Erin Sky rated it it was amazing

An Excellent, Unexpected Read

If you go into this book expecting the usual dystopian fodder (one terrifying attempt after another just to stay alive... or to find other survivors... or to save what's left of humanity), then you're not going to like this book. And I'll admit, that's how I started out, based on the novel's premise. But then something interesting happened...

I found myself on a parallel journey to that of the protagonist herself--letting go of the past; letting go of expectations; li An Excellent, Unexpected Read

If you go into this book expecting the usual dystopian fodder (one terrifying attempt after another just to stay alive... or to find other survivors... or to save what's left of humanity), then you're not going to like this book. And I'll admit, that's how I started out, based on the novel's premise. But then something interesting happened...

I found myself on a parallel journey to that of the protagonist herself--letting go of the past; letting go of expectations; living from one breath (or one paragraph) to the next; letting the characters be who they were, instead of who I wanted them to be.

And then I became fascinated by the story in a whole new way.

It's really a story about loss, and about living with that loss, on so many levels. It isn't about stopping the plague. It's about when the plague wins. And what comes after. It's a human story about surviving the unthinkable, and then trying to re-imagine life as something different--not as a step backward, and maybe not as a step forward either...

In a way, it's a book about learning how to step through life without making that kind of judgment in the first place. Without being tormented by what was, or by what might have been.

In fact, this book is so much about that, that it gets a bit heavy-handed in the moral-of-the-story department here and there, but I'm giving it five stars anyway because the theme is one that the protagonist is genuinely dealing with. Her thoughts are true to her character, so the real problem was not that I didn't like the story, but that I didn't like the character sometimes.

She's broken inside, and not just by the plague. She struggles with her past. Like a real person. Sometimes she overcomes it, and sometimes she doesn't. Like a real person. And sometimes she ends up in uncomfortable situations that she can't quite figure her way out of. Like a real person.

In essence, Corlett has created a character so real that I actively disliked her from time to time--before remembering the things I did like about her, forgiving her for being human, and moving on. I related to the character as though she were a real person. Which is, in my opinion, the book's greatest draw.

So don't go into this story expecting dystopian fiction. It is a story about survival--but it's more about emotional survival than physical survival. Read it for what it is--read it for that--and you will love this novel. ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Jun 15, 2017 Sheila {ShesGoingBookCrazy.com} rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: top-picks-for-2017, 2017-completed-reads, sci-fi, dystopia, arc, netgalley, 2017-jun-releases, adult-fiction, contemplative, scenes-of-sexy-time

See this full review on my blog along with others at: shesgoingbookcrazy.com

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I think I've let this book ferment for long enough. My thoughts have been stirring over the past week about it, and I think it's finally time to sit down and write a review.

I will warn you: this review is going to be longer (maybe less organized) and more honest than most. Some of my personal beliefs and views will be included, so if ...more

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

May 01, 2017 ❀Eryn❀ added it · review of another edition

Shelves: did-not-finish, net-galley, cover-love

I received a copy off of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not persuade my actual opinion of the novel.

DNF at 25%

I'm going to be straightforward and say: this was not a book for me. It wasn't my type of genre (whatever this was), the story didn't grasp my attention, and the writing was too choppy/dull(?). But I really tried to finish it with an open mind - I truly did - sadly, my mind kept screaming at me to stop reading since I wasn't enjoying myself one bit.

As a result of ...more

flag 13 likes · Like · see review

May 28, 2017 Crazy4Books rated it it was ok

Shelves: review-books

When a virus hits 99% of the population dies leaving the 1% spread out on many different planets all across the universe. Some alone and desprately searching for other survivors. This is a very character driven book with people trying to figure what to do now that they've survived the end of the world. Wanting to make it better than it was. The practical captain Callan decides to pick up a few survivors on the way to the capital planets, one of them being our main protagonist Jamie.

Jamie has a l When a virus hits 99% of the population dies leaving the 1% spread out on many different planets all across the universe. Some alone and desprately searching for other survivors. This is a very character driven book with people trying to figure what to do now that they've survived the end of the world. Wanting to make it better than it was. The practical captain Callan decides to pick up a few survivors on the way to the capital planets, one of them being our main protagonist Jamie.

Jamie has a lot of complexe issues that she's trying to work through. Shes dealing with grief from a miscarriage and her aversion with being too close to anyone but also being afraid of ending up alone. The ragtag group of survivors couldnt be any more different from one another. We get two religious characters who are very different from one another. Rena being the zealous fanatic and Lowry being the calm and understanding character. We also get a wonderful character with autism named Finn. Mila and Gracie were also very different from each other.

If you have the virus than you have it. You system will fight it off or it wont. I dont understand why being around other people who have it would make it worse. Plus if the virus is mutating a lot then why didnt anyone get sick again. I also find it hard to believe they havent encountered any aliens after exploring so much of the Universe or that so many people Jamie knew were still alive. I almost quit reading this book multiple times. I rarely love character driven books and this one was no exception but I did enjoy reading about more mature characters for a change.

I think this would have gotten a higher rating from reviewers if it had been catergorized as literary fiction on Netgalley instead of Fantasy/Scifi, but what do I know about marketing. I just know that I want the intended reader for this but if you're looking for a literary fiction with a scifi twist than I think you might enjoy this more than I did. Once I knew what to expect I did enjoyed a bit more but honestly its just not my type of book. I found lots of parts to be really boring. I personally need more action in my books. However I do see a lot of people loving it.

*received in exchange for honest review ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Feb 03, 2017 Rachael (RedRchlReads) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017-reads

Expected publication: June 13th 2017

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars

I finished The Space Between the Stars just over two months ago and I've had a hard time sitting down to write a review because I'm really not sure what I think. Overall, it's a solid book, but I had some rather large issues with it. The story starts with the main character, Jamie, waking up after a virus literally burned the majority of the people in the universe to cinders. The virus Expected publication: June 13th 2017

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars

I finished The Space Between the Stars just over two months ago and I've had a hard time sitting down to write a review because I'm really not sure what I think. Overall, it's a solid book, but I had some rather large issues with it. The story starts with the main character, Jamie, waking up after a virus literally burned the majority of the people in the universe to cinders. The virus has a 99.9999% fatality rate and Jamie shouldn't have survived, but somehow she did. She quickly meets up with two other people on her rural planet and they are soon picked up by a spaceship, bringing their party to 5. They shortly pick up two more strays, and run into a few more people, which makes it abundantly clear that more than .0001% of the universe's population survived.

One major thing that I need to get out of the way is the similarity to Firefly. Covering with a spoiler tag to be safe! (view spoiler)

Jamie's sole goal throughout the first half of the story is to get back to Earth and her former lover, who she is convinced will be waiting for her. I struggled with Jamie's character quite a bit. She was incredibly selfish, whiny, and downright obnoxious most of the time. Even when she got what she thought she wanted, she wasn't happy and couldn't articulate what it was she did want. She came across as really indecisive and not knowing herself, which is fine, but it makes characters difficult to engage with and relate to.

The writing and the plot were both fairly good. Several major plot points/twists did end up being a bit predictable, but overall I did enjoy the story. I felt that the story really gained its footing in the second half of the novel and I did enjoy it a lot more once things really got moving. I would have liked a bit more of the sci-fi aspects to come through - the characters might as well have been travelling by train or boat instead of travelling through space - but it was still a solid story.

Overall this was a good debut novel for readers looking for a light sci-fi/post-apocolyptic novel. I would definitely read more books written by Anne Corlett in the future.

Review originally posted on RedRchl Reads. ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Apr 26, 2017 imyril rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: review-copies

This is probably my favourite book of the year so far - I read it cover to cover on a transatlantic flight, tears running down my face (THE FEELINGS. THE FLAILING. AAAAAAH). Like Station Eleven, this is a story that uses a SF conceit to explore human nature rather than a story that is interested in its SF trappings. As such, some SF readers may feel sold short. But not this SF reader. This SF reader is in resonant bits.

Jamie is trapped on a remote planet when the human race is wiped out. The inc ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Apr 18, 2017 Jackie rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs

Such a lovely read with a great ending!

*I received a free ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion in any way!*

The Space Between The Stars is an Adult Fiction novel set in a world that has been infected with a virus that is bound to wipe out all of humanity and quite literally turn them into dust. Jamie has seeked space from people all her life and found a new workplace on an almost deserted planet. When she wakes up and finds herself Such a lovely read with a great ending!

*I received a free ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion in any way!*

The Space Between The Stars is an Adult Fiction novel set in a world that has been infected with a virus that is bound to wipe out all of humanity and quite literally turn them into dust. Jamie has seeked space from people all her life and found a new workplace on an almost deserted planet. When she wakes up and finds herself all alone after the virus hit, she panics as she thinks she is all alone in the world and this wasn’t how she imagined it to be. Soon enough she meets other survivors and together they travel in a spaceship and make their way to Earth for the chance of a new beginning.

I went into this story not knowing or expecting anything and I was pleasantly surprised at how great of a read this was!

I usually read Young Adult novels so I felt it was very refreshing to read this Adult novel. Most of the characters we meet in this book are around 30+ and it was delightful to read about these mature characters and I’ll definitely have to pick up more adult books in the future for sure! 😀

This wasn’t your typical science-fiction book and if you’re expecting action-packed spaceship fights and a plot-driven story, this isn’t the book for you!

But that wasn’t a bad thing at all! The space aspect is a very minimal part of the story as this is a more character-centered story. It’s about the journey of a mix of different people and the only thing they have in common is the fact that they survived the virus and have to try and adjust to the new world. They have the chance of a new beginning but people’s opinions are clashing and leading to conflicts.

While this isn’t your typical sci-fi story, it has some exciting and shocking plot twists, an interesting group dynamic and character developments which were done really well. It is a story about survival, new beginnings and finding yourself.

Read my full review on my blog: https://toomuchofabooknerd.wordpress.... :) ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Feb 07, 2017 ☘Tara Sheehan☘ rated it it was amazing

I found the concept of being the survivor of a post-apocalyptic event interesting particularly with the way Anne Corlett writes. It wasn’t just your basic space travel, let’s have some indepth examination of humanity, thing that is often so typical with this genre. Of course there was some of that there because if you’re a love of sci-fi you’ll expect that but there was an emotional depth to her story and characters I hadn’t expected when I began reading. I don’t often go in for this kind of thi I found the concept of being the survivor of a post-apocalyptic event interesting particularly with the way Anne Corlett writes. It wasn’t just your basic space travel, let’s have some indepth examination of humanity, thing that is often so typical with this genre. Of course there was some of that there because if you’re a love of sci-fi you’ll expect that but there was an emotional depth to her story and characters I hadn’t expected when I began reading. I don’t often go in for this kind of thing unless it’s on a big screen so I thought it’d be a refreshing change of pace which by the end I was glad I diverged from my normal go to path of genres.

When I read a book with the purpose of reviewing it I normally do it in one sitting barring unplanned interruptions so that I can have everything fresh in my mind when I write. The one however I found myself stepping away often not because it was a bad book but because it forces you to ask a lot of questions about yourself and pushes you into an emotional journey you weren’t prepared for when you opened the pages. I loved that this book pulled me in and made me feel so involved in its mesmeric story line. You will crisscross along an emotional gamut rarely found in sci-fi books to the point your thoughts become intertwined with those of the characters leaving you to wonder what happened as if their journey didn’t end when you closed the book.

Though there is some of the prototypical examination of humanity, what will the actions of the few be, will they devolve, what questions will be answered, what choices will they make, etc there is also enough romance and thrills to keep you entertained. Think the TV show Firefly but on a literary level.

The character group takes on the stereotype often found in small group space movies where nearly everyone can find someone they identify with and they end up in various situations that all come to one driving conclusion; what kind of person do you want to be when the only mirror left is yourself? It’s a bit like a space version of Lord of the Flies.

I would definitely recommend this if Sci-Fi is your normal thing and if it’s not then give it a chance because it’ll be worth it. ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Jun 28, 2017 MsArdychan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Please Note: I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence the opinion of my review in any way.

I am an emotional reader, which means if a book is well-written, I become deeply invested in the story. When a character is raging, I am raging. When a character is confused, so am I. Haunting and contemplative, The Space Between The Stars, by Anne Corlett, tugged at my soul. This book explores what it would mean for humanity i ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Feb 28, 2017 Katelyn (Lost as Alice, Mad as the Hatter) rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fantasy, contemporary, dystopia, amongst-the-stars, philosophy, katelyn-s-reviews, arcs

What would you do when you woke up to a dead planet?

Who would you become when faced with extinction?

Who history or belief matter?

People this book is NOT for: science fiction enthusiasts, those who hate (or become offended) when they find themselves listening or involved in theological discussion, people who enjoy complexity in character or plot, and those looking for a dystopian tale set in space.

Whew. Glad we got that cleared up. If you fall into any of the above categories, beware this is p ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Mar 30, 2017 Nancy rated it liked it · review of another edition

The Space Between the Stars is Anne Corlett's debut novel, combining dystopian sci-fi with a picaresque storyline, with a dose of romance and a touch of mystery added. There is a lot of eschatological table talk and a twisted thriller ending.

A virus has killed humanity across the known universe. Jamie wants to get back home to Earth. She meets up with various survivors: spaceship captain Callen and his sidekick Gracie, and ex-priest Lowry and burned-out scientist Rena, who both had been at a re ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Feb 09, 2017 NicAlba rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, books-to-buy, advance-copies, candidates-2017

This is an advanced reader's copy.

Utter beauty and excitement and peace. I love this book so much. I am utterly excited for when the book is officially published so I can buy my own copy, and I am now a new fan of this author. I want to read whatever Anne Corlett writes in the future. This book made me happy.

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Apr 15, 2017 Heather Duff rated it it was amazing

This was one of these books that traps you with a matter of paragraphs, literally a page in to this beautiful sci-fi I knew I was going to love the story that was unfolding before me. It also reminded me of Firefly and I LOVE Firefly!!

Jamie wakes up alone, she feels like crap but she also feels very much alive which considering the virus which has decimated the population of her known universe is a bittersweet feeling.

Alone on Soltaire, all she wants is to make her way home to Earth and to find ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Jun 03, 2017 Lynn Williams rated it liked it

3.5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2017/06/01/th...
The Space Between the Stars is a story concerning one woman’s journey, not just across the stars from A to B but also a search to find herself. As debut novels go I think this is very good. I wouldn’t say it contains much sci fi to be honest and it’s not particularly a story packed with action, it’s more a character study set against a rather grand back drop.

As the story starts we make the acquaintance of Jamie Allenby as she awakens from ill 3.5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2017/06/01/th...
The Space Between the Stars is a story concerning one woman’s journey, not just across the stars from A to B but also a search to find herself. As debut novels go I think this is very good. I wouldn’t say it contains much sci fi to be honest and it’s not particularly a story packed with action, it’s more a character study set against a rather grand back drop.

As the story starts we make the acquaintance of Jamie Allenby as she awakens from illness to find herself quite alone. Jamie lived on a pretty remote planet in the colonised universe but even though there weren’t many people there were some, on this particular day though it seems that the virus sweeping from planet to planet has turned everyone to dust. Jamie heads to the nearest port looking for survivors and just as she begins to despair she meets with a couple of characters and before long they find themselves on a ship desperately trying to return to Earth.

I liked The Space Between the Stars, it’s well written and quite thought provoking. However, before I say anything further I will point out that this is very low in terms of sci fi – in fact strictly speaking Jamie could have been travelling from one end of any country on earth to another with much the same outcome as travelling from one planet to another by spaceship. There are no aliens, no light travel, no warp speed and actually not too much by way of explanation. The universe aspect is simply the backdrop. This also isn’t a story that races away in terms of plot. Yes, of course, being an apocalypse style book there are a number of encounters but to be honest these felt a little formulaic, perhaps not if you don’t read too many books in this style but otherwise this isn’t really reinventing the wheel.

Now, I don’t really mean to sound negative with any of the above I’m simply making the point because I think it helps in terms of expectations going into a book. I got on quite well with this book, I enjoyed it, it has a mystery aspect and a little romance, although this does not dominate the plot, but, there are other elements that are skimpy. Basically, I have slightly torn feelings. In one respect, I liked this and didn’t struggle to finish it but on the other hand I had these niggles, some storylines felt very easily resolved, there was some incredibly good luck happening on a fairly frequent basis and travelling between the planets seemed incredibly quick, but, I quickly came to realise this was a certain type of read and with that in mind, once I stopped expecting an alien attack or a hoard of zombies it wasn’t a struggle any more. So, if you want something more from this than one woman, feeling very alone, embarking on a journey and having some revelations along the way then this might not be the story for you.

In terms of characters. Well, we have Jamie, and this is very much the Jamie show. Jamie has experienced certain things in her life that have led her to run to the furthest corner of the known universe where she would have the freedom to live and work without having to interact too often with other humans. She’s tetchy and I suppose she comes across as a little self centred. She certainly spends a lot of her time thinking through why her prior relationship didn’t work and mulling things over rather than maybe considering how she would survive. However, I guess she’s simply built a wall around herself to protect others from getting through and emotionally hurting her. In times of crisis though she finds she wants to return home – at first for an ideal that she holds in her mind but as the story progresses I think simply to go home – may it ever be so humble, etc. Along the way she finds her hard exterior cracking and eventually she begins to let others get beneath her skin.

On the whole, I think this is an enjoyable read. I had certain issues that prevented it being a great read but nonetheless a positive debut and I would definitely be interested in reading more work by this author.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publishers, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion. ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jun 11, 2017 Shannon (It Starts At Midnight) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, read-for-review, june-2017

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

4.5*

You know the kind of book that you cannot stop thinking about long after you've finished it? Well, that is this book for me. It's also among my favorite books so far this year, so there's that. Here's the thing: it isn't a fully action packed space adventure, so if you're looking for that, this may not be the book for you. But if you are looking for some amazing characters who have t ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jul 10, 2017 The Captain rated it did not like it

Shelves: walk-the-plank

Ahoy there mateys. It's time to walk the plank . . .

This was the author’s debut novel and has a wonderful cover but I found this to be an highly disappointing read that never lived up to its promise. The premise is that a woman named Jamie has always felt hemmed in by society and other people, so she flees to the far ends of the universe to live in a colony with few people and a lot of space. Life is working out until a virus devastatingly hits the universe. She believes herself to be the only p Ahoy there mateys. It's time to walk the plank . . .

This was the author’s debut novel and has a wonderful cover but I found this to be an highly disappointing read that never lived up to its promise. The premise is that a woman named Jamie has always felt hemmed in by society and other people, so she flees to the far ends of the universe to live in a colony with few people and a lot of space. Life is working out until a virus devastatingly hits the universe. She believes herself to be the only person alive on her planet in that part of the solar system and suddenly finds that there is too much space in between the stars. Is she doomed to be alone?

Jamie does end up finding other survivors who aim to make it back to Earth. The rag-tag crew of misfits that Jamie ends up with go through a series of "adventures" to make it back to Earth. The introduction of Jamie recovering from the virus until she finds the first survivors was wonderful. It was suspenseful and sad and made me excited to read. But once the whole gang is gathered up the novel began to fail me.

Basically, without any spoilers, Jamie is a very annoying waffling character. The space and science elements were barely there and instead it became about Jamie fighting her feelings about her old and new love interests for basically the rest of the novel. Ugh. Also the other characters seemed to be mostly caricatures who didn't get explored nearly enough. The exception was Finn whom I found to be the most compelling and interesting character.

It's odd that while reading this, I kept wishing that we could get out of Jamie's head and actually have other point of views. I was so tired of her whining. There also was relatively little real action. What did happen also seemed rather bland and predictable. The upside, I guess, was that every time I thought I would put it down and not finish, there would be a snippet of an interesting idea that made me continue. None of the ideas panned out for me but they did keep me going. How different groups of survivors chose to live in the new world were compelling. But a lot of the connections and consequences seemed coincidental and stretched credibility.

Basically I felt this was a triangle romance from an unappealing point of view with a slight veneer of space and post-apocalyptic universe. However I would be willing to give the author's next work a chance.

Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp... ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jun 13, 2017 Meg - A Bookish Affair rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, fiction, 2017

3.5 stars. "The Space Between the Stars" is the story of Jamie, a woman who survives an illness that kills 99.9% of humans. Her almost solitary quiet existence on a distant planetary outpost is suddenly too solitary and she finds herself alone and trying to find other survivors. She teams up with a band of survivors who first travel to a planet where they may not be welcome as survivors of the outbreak and there is a plan to repopulate using forced breeding. They eventually travel back to Earth 3.5 stars. "The Space Between the Stars" is the story of Jamie, a woman who survives an illness that kills 99.9% of humans. Her almost solitary quiet existence on a distant planetary outpost is suddenly too solitary and she finds herself alone and trying to find other survivors. She teams up with a band of survivors who first travel to a planet where they may not be welcome as survivors of the outbreak and there is a plan to repopulate using forced breeding. They eventually travel back to Earth where she will have to make a choice between a new future and a grasp back to some thread of the past. This is a thought-provoking sci fi/ dystopian story that I enjoyed!

Although this story has sci-fi and dystopian elements, it is still very much a character driven story. Most of the focus is on our main character, Jamie. We find out that she is still haunted by her ex-lover and by a miscarriage. She wonders if she will ever get another chance to make amends and if she does get to make amends is it to try to go back to the way they once were or is it to make amends to find peace. Jamie will have to decide this for herself. We the readers get a good look at her thought process and how she goes about trying to figure out what she wants. To some degree, this book almost feels like a spiritual journey for Jamie.

We learn a lot about Jamie and the other survivors that include a priest and a scientist. The differences between all of the survivors were really interesting to me. We see how each of them views the new world and their place in the new world differently and the perspectives are definitely interesting.

I liked some of the concepts in the book. Yeah, the epidemic has been done before a lot but what makes this one different is the idea of interplanetary epidemics added to the very different worlds that people can choose from. For instance, Jamie comes from a place called Solitaire that doesn't really have many people before the epidemic in contrast to how Earth is at the time. I did wish for more detail on things like how the different places came to be and why they are the way that they are. More back story would have been nice but overall, this was still a satisfying character driven story. ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Apr 21, 2017 Amy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: giveaways-and-arcs

I really loved this book. As I read it - I could envision the world Anne built up. I can't imagine waking up after a horrible illness to find everyone just gone, and that eeriness and panic of being alone.
I loved that the characters - as they came together were so different and not people that would normally be friends....but they had to stick together for survival and have each others backs. I loved how the relationships developed.
I never could figure out the age differences of the pilot and o ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Apr 03, 2017 Sarah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

Review originally written for my blog

I received a copy of this from Netgalley to review based just on the "ragtag group of survivors" because I love books centered around that and I certainly wasn't disappointed. I started reading this book before going to bed, and I didn't put it down until I'd finished it because I was enjoying it so much!

The plot follows Jamie and the group of survivors she ends up with that include a former priest, a prostitute, the captain of a ship and an autistic boy. Alo Review originally written for my blog

I received a copy of this from Netgalley to review based just on the "ragtag group of survivors" because I love books centered around that and I certainly wasn't disappointed. I started reading this book before going to bed, and I didn't put it down until I'd finished it because I was enjoying it so much!

The plot follows Jamie and the group of survivors she ends up with that include a former priest, a prostitute, the captain of a ship and an autistic boy. Along their travels they meet other groups of survivors until they eventually reach their final destination.

Obviously, in a book like this, the main focus is going to be on the characterisation and the interactions between the characters. They were all fantastic and I really enjoyed the tensions between them at times. However, the character I'm going to focus on for this review is Finn. Finn is an autistic boy and I adore him. He is written very well and at no point is he ever treated as a joke, most of the characters accept him the way he is (one doesn't, but she's not happy with most of the survivors). I was just so happy to see a positive representation, and see how the crew were just so accepting. At one point, Jamie gets very upset because he's wandered off without telling her but she doesn't yell or shout at him and the captain just calmly goes "Hey, tell us next time okay?". Another survivor that we meet briefly is also very likely to be Aromantic and Asexual based on the conversation she had with Jamie and again, she was portrayed in a positive manner, perfectly happy the way she was and the situation she was in. These positive representations just made me love the novel even more and just made me feel so happy to read.
The worldbuilding is something that we don't see much of, because it's focusing mostly on the characters. We get a small glimpse at the history that involves forced emigration from Earth based on social classes and we see a couple different planets. What we do see is certainly very interesting and because of the nature of the book, it's something that isn't as important. One thing the book doesn't address is how they travel through space, other than a mention of needing fuel, but as it's a very character-based novel this lack of information isn't that important as it doesn't relate to the plot.

I don't want to say too much more, because part of the enjoyment was just being along for the journey and so it's best to go in knowing as little as possible.

I would highly, highly recommend this novel as I was just so charmed by it and any book that keeps me up until 3am reading deserves to be recommended! I enjoyed this book so much I'm planning on buying a physical copy when it comes out so I can force my friends to read it. ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

May 14, 2017 Billiebumblebee rated it liked it

Even though this book is set in space, and it is classified as a sci-fi novel, this doesn't feel like one at all. A fact that I, to begin with, found disappointing. So do not pick up this book expecting a full on space adventure, but do pick it up to experience an surprisingly philosophical book about trying to find meaning and understanding in a large and vast universe.

Even though I found the book at times to be cliché and a bit repetitive, I felt strongly for Jamie and her inner struggles. She ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Jun 16, 2017 Marvin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

Three and a half stars.

Anne Corlett's The Space Between the Stars is full of some beautiful writing. The challenge is figuring out what type of beautiful writing it is.

Jamie is one of the very few people left alive after a space-wide pandemic. She may be the only person alive in her space colony of ten thousand people and she has no idea if anyone else has survived. Earth in the past has been over-populated and the colonies were mainly populated by those who were compelled to resettle. Jamie was Three and a half stars.

Anne Corlett's The Space Between the Stars is full of some beautiful writing. The challenge is figuring out what type of beautiful writing it is.

Jamie is one of the very few people left alive after a space-wide pandemic. She may be the only person alive in her space colony of ten thousand people and she has no idea if anyone else has survived. Earth in the past has been over-populated and the colonies were mainly populated by those who were compelled to resettle. Jamie was one of the few who volunteered, wanting to leave an unfulfilling relationship and looking for her own "space". Now her only thought is to return to Earth and hope against hope the man she left is still alive.

As it turns out, there are other survivors and they make a plan to return to earth. The small crew makes up a microcosm of reasons for returning. There are also others who do not want the survivors to return to Earth for their own reasons ranging from the political to social to personal. The trip to earth and what they find is pretty much the vehicle for the novel but the meat of the plot is found in the motives and expectation of Jamie and the others on the journey.

This all make for a rather introverted space journey. there are several discussions of a philosophical nature on whether expectations of a future are futile or not and basically about what the heck they are doing anyways.. Jamie gets a surprise that causes her to rethink her reasons for going back to earth then strengthens and re-frames them. Jamie is a big "if" in this novel. She embodies a will and purpose yet some may think that purpose as rather selfish and naive. She wavers between selfish and wise and I believe that is how the author wants her to be seen. There are no real heroes and villains here just a group of people struggling physically and psychologically in a Homeric journey through space.

And like most Homeric journeys, the author is portraying and exploring a few existential struggles in life along with it. But perhaps the venue is a bit wrong. Or maybe it's the marketing. The Space Between the Stars isn't really that much of either a science fiction novel or post-apocalyptic one although it is hyped as both in the promotional spin. Science fiction fans are bound to be disappointed in the simplicity of the idea and a distinct lack of world-building. Those who would like the literary drama of the story, which I feel is its strength, will be off put by the space adventure aspects. Essentially the epidemic and the colony aspects is a McGuffin and in that, some readers may feel a bit cheated. To add on to that, The other characters do not really flesh out all that well feeling like bit players in a B-science fiction movie when you want Ibsen.

It's unfortunate since Corlett has a story to tell here and the climatic ending brings much of it together emotionally . If The Space Between the Stars finds its audience they should be quite pleased with it. I'm just not sure who that is.

...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

May 22, 2017 Bonnie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 1-reviews-to-complete, sci-fi-futuristic, adult, plagues-and-pandemics, arcs-netgalley, 1-read-2017

Review to come.

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

May 11, 2017 Jessie (Ageless Pages Reviews) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, netgalley-arc, arc, faint-praise-award, 2017-reviews, 2017-reads

Two stars, according to GR, means "it was ok." That's.... pretty much how I feel about The Space Between the Stars.

RTC.

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Apr 18, 2017 S.E. Anderson rated it it was amazing

I received an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This novel was nothing what I expected, and yet it is now stuck in my mind like an idea that just won't go away. It's one of those books that's so breathtaking, so gorgeous, it becomes unforgettable. Fair warning, scifi fans: this is not hard scifi, this is not a space opera: it is something different, something more.

The virus hits, and humanity as we know it is gone. Less than a dozen or so survivors per planet. The vir I received an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This novel was nothing what I expected, and yet it is now stuck in my mind like an idea that just won't go away. It's one of those books that's so breathtaking, so gorgeous, it becomes unforgettable. Fair warning, scifi fans: this is not hard scifi, this is not a space opera: it is something different, something more.

The virus hits, and humanity as we know it is gone. Less than a dozen or so survivors per planet. The virus has consumed so entirely that the dead are nothing but dust in sunbeams. Jamie is one of the survivors, seemingly alone on a frontier planet, so she finds hope by clinging to one idea: she needs to find her ex-husband on Earth, as they promised they would do so long ago. She's not alone: soon, she finds a religious man with a troubled past; a woman slowly losing her mind; a pilot with a cold exterior, and his engineer; a young prostitute, and a mentally challenged boy. Strays. Stragglers. Survivors. Together, they decide to head to Earth.

The surprising thing about this novel is just how... calm it is. Not so say that the plot isn't gripping, it's just that you can almost feel the voices snuffed out. The author juxtaposes small, personal loses (or quite large ones) with the wide scale loss of your entire species. Jamie's loss of her siamese twin, then unborn child, then the crumbling of her relationship with Daniel are poignant pains that are still valid in front of the collapse of mankind.

It's really a book about philosophies, and personal beliefs around hope and religion. Some turn towards a god in this apocalypse; others turn away. And some try to take god's place. Although some might try to take control, believing they know best, the truth is, all in all, there is no right answer to dealing with loss and grief. There's no one sobbing in the street and mourning the dead - since this is a massive, collective loss, the hundred or so left might remain in shock forever.

I found that the plot was predictable, BUT, it was the philosophies that kept me hooked. Yes, the 'twist' at the end (or big reveal) is evident from about half way through, but I didn't mind that since the rest of the book was so beautiful. It was very odd that out of the survivors (A little over a hundred out of the billions the human race used to be made up of) the protagonist knew or was related to two of them. The coincidences did feel heavy handed.

The novel really did manage to speak about today, about how our fear of 'others' can destroy us all. We hear bits and pieces about the forced emigration when Earth became over crowded; about the protest ships; about the echelons that make up our future society, where our fingers are branded with our class. I would have loved to know more about that, even if that world is now gone.

For fans of Station Eleven and Firefly, this seems to be the perfect combination of 'ragtag space team' and the burden of loss and survival. It's an exploration of grief and hope, and, above all, belief. It's an exploration of our humanity, what it means to be human when humankind is lost.

And it's gorgeous. ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Mar 25, 2017 Rebecca rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2017

I loved this psychologically-focused take on the future apocalypse. The question of how people respond emotionally and spiritually to 'the end of the world' is an interesting one and is explored well here. And there was still enough current, what's-going-to-happen action to keep the plot moving, with complicated characters driving that action.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reading copy.

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

title link	preview: The Space Between the Stars
avg rating	preview: The Space Between the Stars Goodreads rating: 3.54 (496 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30981910-the-space-between-the-stars?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1478814404l/30981910.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30981910-the-space-between-the-stars?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Space Between the Stars by Anne Corlett[/url]

See a Problem?

Preview — The Space Between the Stars by Anne Corlett

The Space Between the Stars

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Genres

Books by Anne Corlett

Share This Book

Share on your website

Trivia About The Space Between...

Quotes from The Space Between...

See a Problem?

Preview — The Space Between the Stars by Anne Corlett

The Space Between the Stars

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

Genres

Books by Anne Corlett

Share This Book

Share on your website

Trivia About The Space Between...

Quotes from The Space Between...

new topic
Discuss This Book