Or: Murder She Wrote…IN SPACE!
I would like to draw everyone’s attention to the subtitle on the cover “The Midsolar Murders.” A pun made it onto the cover. I’m going to like this book.
Earth has recently been contacted by aliens who are far and away technologically superior to humans. Outside a few official diplomatic missions, most of the interactions have been with joyriding alien teenagers, eager to check out this rustic planet. Meanwhile, Mallory Viridian has a rocky relationship with the special handler assigned to her by law enforcement after they gave up and accepted that wherever she goes, murder is sure to follow. Mallory’s been going to therapists, shamans and priests, doctors, whoever she can find. But no one has had an explanation for the cluster of murders.
So she takes the logical next step and applies for asylum on an alien space station. While humans commit murder around her, there’s no earthly (hah!) reason that aliens will follow suit. Her plan works just fine, until diplomatic relations improve and a shuttle of humans heads for the space station.
The book’s dedicated Douglas Adams, and the first two parts open with quotes from clipping songs. Together the two might give you an idea of the tone. It’s imaginative Sci Fi, with plenty of humorous notes, but with an edge to it.
Mur Lafferty’s greatest accomplishment is imagining aliens that aren’t humanoids. Nothing as far afield as the Hooloovoo, an alien species in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy universe*, which is described as a super-intelligent shade of blue, but not the humans-but-with-rubber-added-to-their-foreheads you get on Star Trek.
Pictured here: neither any of the aliens from Station Eternity nor the any aliens from Star Trek, unless there’s a bizarre crossover episode that I’ve missed. Yet they will never not be relevant in a discussion about alien character design.
My only complaint about Station Eternity? Apparently, there are sequels. So once again, in attempting to make a dent in my “to read” pile, I’ve accidently assigned myself homework.
* I was very pleased to contrive a situation in which I could write “galaxy universe.” It’s the little things, ya know?