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Four Bodies in Space

(New Voyages #1)

Luna Harlow (Goodreads Author)

3.80 · Rating details · 15 ratings · 14 reviews

Set on the space ships and space stations of the Union of Allied Planets, Four Bodies in Space follows Commander Solaris, a scientific officer on a small ship that just wants to be left alone to check her experiments in peace. A peace threatened first by the murder of an ambassador and then by the friendly overtures of his emotionally volatile widow. With her ship in ...more

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Kindle Edition, 82 pages

Published September 23rd 2019

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· 15 ratings · 14 reviews

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Oct 21, 2019 Empress Reece (Hooked on Books) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2019-releases, 2019-read, arc, crime, first-in-series, mystery, netgalley-read, novella, aliens, sci-fi

I'm usually not a big fan of novellas or short stories because I never feel quite satisfied when I read them but my love for space operas and mysteries outweighed by ambivalence when I requested this novella. I'm glad I did too. It was really good! The story is basically a murder mystery set aboard a spaceship that's transporting an ambassador and his wife and several other diplomats to another space station. There was a lot of material, and diverse characters, packed into 82 pages. I can ...more

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Nov 11, 2019 JulesGP rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Good, solid opening to a series. Weve seen it before, a cool, calm second in command (pointy ears anyone?) whos got powers of psychometry and a smooth talking, blue blood captain about to take over a beautiful state of the art spaceship. The story feels a little choppy in the beginning as life falls apart on the original ship, off camera murders and political intrigue involving alien and humanoid species but the main characters are strong and the story quickly recovers. Its a very short read ...more

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Oct 11, 2019 Megan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019-reads, mystery-suspense-crime, sf, spec-fic-sf-fantasy-horror, novella

This was a pretty quick but really enjoyable read. For a novella,this one racks up an impressive number of bodies as well as setting the stage for a continuing series. There's a lot in it and with all that Harlow has to accomplish in 82 pages, some things are a bit superficial but she deftly moves the story along at a pretty brisk pace and seeds enough hints and inferences that hooks the reader in.

There's definitely a Star Trek (original) feel to it which I particularly liked - fun and This was a pretty quick but really enjoyable read. For a novella,this one racks up an impressive number of bodies as well as setting the stage for a continuing series. There's a lot in it and with all that Harlow has to accomplish in 82 pages, some things are a bit superficial but she deftly moves the story along at a pretty brisk pace and seeds enough hints and inferences that hooks the reader in.

There's definitely a Star Trek (original) feel to it which I particularly liked - fun and just a bit campy. A science vessel is ferrying diplomats to a space station and during a reception, the lights go out and one of the ambassadors is murdered. Things move forward at pretty breakneck speed with Commander Solaris unofficially investigating and applying her logic and reason to determine how, why and who while more bodies pile up. I was a bit doubtful that with all the murder and mayhem, things wouldn't have been a bit more paranoid and chaotic on the ship - it's not like there was any doubt that the murder was among them - but what the hell. I was enjoying it. Once the ship docks at a space station, the investigation continues with the addition of newly promoted Captain Jennifer Li getting involved. Although the who, why, how are answered so you won't be throwing the book across the room, there are more questions than answers . I fully expect that the events of Four Bodies in Space will be expanded in the larger series. In fact I'm looking forward to it.

Solaris definitely has the feel of a Spock-like character - logical, unemotional and separated from the rest of the crew due to her alien ancestry. Harlow has added a bit more to the reserved science officer - hinting at a complicated past and redacted personnel record as well as some interesting psychometric abilities. I rather enjoyed her as the main character and look forward to how Harlow will start peeling back the layers as the series progresses. We don't get as much of Li in this book as she isn't introduced until halfway through the story, but you can tell that she'll be a perfect foil for Solaris and she has her own mysterious backstory.

My only quibble with this one is the run on sentences and naming convention for the ships. They were a bit odd and off-putting at first, but I got dragged into the story pretty fast, so either I got used to them or the sentence structure improved.

Four Bodies in Space is book one of the New Voyages series and I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next installment to see where Harlow's taking us next.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy for review. ...more

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Sep 30, 2019 Mildred Digby rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: aliens, demisexual, ff, whodunnit

A murder mystery in space with an aloof but intriguing MC who snaps out zingers with surgical accuracy? And *get this* is either ace or the demi-est demi who ever lived? Sign me up!

I wasnt sure what to expect from this Australian author. Her other works fall more on the paranormal spectrum and feature MF and MM relationships, but I was hooked from the start! I really think this author needs more exposure.

This novella is set in space, first on a ship and then on a hotel-like station but the focus A murder mystery in space with an aloof but intriguing MC who snaps out zingers with surgical accuracy? And *get this* is either ace or the demi-est demi who ever lived? Sign me up!

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this Australian author. Her other works fall more on the paranormal spectrum and feature MF and MM relationships, but I was hooked from the start! I really think this author needs more exposure.

This novella is set in space, first on a ship and then on a hotel-like station but the focus is on the characters and their actions as the murder investigation unfolds. The story is light on the technical side, which is fine given the length. We get glimpses into the history leading up to the murders, which are targeting a squidlike race that have bad history with humans. There is no infodumping and each piece of the puzzle emerges in a natural way, woven into the dialogue and storyline along with tantalizing tidbits of information about the MC herself.

And this is what sold me on this story and left me howling a Darth Vader-like NoooOOoo!! when I realized this is not a full-length novel (but it is listed as the first in a series so I do have, dare I say it: a new hope?).

Solaris absolutely stole my breath. She is tall, dark, and mysterious. She is not human and the story is mostly told from her POV. The author perfectly captures her quirky, emotionless voice in a way that is uniquely inhuman but at the same time immensely appealing. We don’t find out what she looks like until partway into the story and I have to admit I made up a picture of her in my mind that was surprisingly not far off. She has a mental ability where she touches something or someone and she can mentally download a history of that object or person which, as you might imagine, makes her hesitant to casually interact with people.

There are only hints that Solaris is attracted to women, and no romance is present in this installment, however the appearance of a certain unashamedly woman-loving Captain Jennifer Li foreshadows good things for us WLW crowd.

I really enjoyed this first installment and I hope there are more to come!

Rating: 4.5 stars

ARC received via NetGalley in return for an honest review. ...more

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Oct 18, 2019 Susie rated it really liked it

Recommended to Susie by: NetGalley

Shelves: owned, netgalley, ebooks, fiction, science-fiction, mystery, crime, fantasy, paranormal

*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

Agatha Christy in Space

This book started full of a truckload of well-worn clichés, making it read like Agatha Christy in space. The first murder, particularly. The first two chapters were just cringe worthy with their typical set up. But, instead of the infamous Hercule Poirot appearing to analyse the scene, we have the Spock-like Solaris.

Luckily this character is partly what eventually ...more

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Oct 09, 2019 Rick rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

Thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to preview this book. A novella, actually, that has interesting characters, but the plot just stops. I would suggest it needs a stronger ending. Still worthwhile.

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Oct 03, 2019 Kristian Walls rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Four Dead Bodies is an exciting start to a new series with nearly limitless potential. It is a murder mystery in space but that is just the tip of the ice berg. It has a very Star Trek feel which I am super excited about. I fell in love with Commander Solaris almost imediately, her analytical thinking and staightforward way of interacting with other characters was superb. Captain Jennifer is kind and dedicated and I can't wait to see more of her in the stories to come. The romance was minimal ...more

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Oct 04, 2019 iam rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbtqia, gays-in-space, sapphic, arc

Diverting scifi mystery novella!

Content warnings include: murder, violence, xenophobia, unconsensual kissing, mentions of: past war, PTSD, physical therapy, death of a parent.

I enjoyed this short read.
The characters were interesting and the murder mystery kept things exciting, and there were just enough aliens to satisfy me, even if I wish they had played more important roles. The plot is entirely focussed on said murder mystery with a hint of politics. There is no romantic subplot, though ...more

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Oct 10, 2019 Lainie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019-books, 2019-reading-women

This Story is a super short, super fast read!
It is more of a novella than a book IMHO.
The story centers on a psychically gifted alien character named Solaris.
Solaris is a science officer on an older, but elegant ship.
They are transporting members of another species than ar unable to communicate verbally, and mayhem ensues (no spoilers).

Solaris herself was well-written, as was maybe one or 2 other characters, however there were a lot of characters, and many of them were not well developed ...more

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Oct 08, 2019 Kelsee Evans rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was a really short and quick read that left me wanting more! It was set on a space ship and then on a space station of the Union of Allied Planets. There were major Star Trek vibes which made my inner nerd super happy! The majority of the story was focused on the murder mystery happening on the ship Moving Along Silently (I LOVE the naming convention for ships in the universe), which was sad because I really wanted to know more about the universe and worlds mentioned in the story.

The MC ...more

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Oct 13, 2019 Belle rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

I will read anything space, it's one of my most favourite genres, but unfortunately this one wasn't for me. This is a very short read with a lot happening in such a short time. I got lost in the beginning with all the different races and characters, I was having trouble remembering who was who. I'm not used to reading novellas, I need a lot of character and world building to fully immerse myself and enjoy a book. If this were a full length novel I may have felt differently but this book/series ...more

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Jan 31, 2020 Cheryl rated it liked it · review of another edition

An interesting story, short but full of plot.
The main characters were interesting but I perhaps felt the lack of their development based on the length of the novel.
I received an ARC for an honest review

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Oct 18, 2019 Paul rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is a good compact story, although I'm not a fan of leaving so many things hanging. Good mystery elements and good story telling.

I really appreciate the copy for review!!

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Oct 25, 2019 Chana Taylor rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Despite this book not being of my preference in genre, I enjoyed it. It boasts a sci-fi voyage ending too soon due to a mystery murderer who killed multiple and sabotaged the space ship.

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P. Industry rated it really liked it
Oct 06, 2019

Sep 22, 2019 Luna Harlow added it · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, space-opera

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About Luna Harlow

Luna Harlow

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Luna Harlow is the secret identity of a writer from Melbourne, Australia. By day Luna does confidential (if very boring) admin work, and by night she indulges her passions for writing and the creative arts. Her hobbies include using books as an excuse to not talk to people on the train, and singing along to every song at parties.