I didn’t do a “Just Arrived” post for Zero World because I bought it as a gift for my partner when I visited Sydney’s Galaxy Bookshop back in June.

It came recommended, too, by both Courtney Schafer (of the Shattered Sigil series fame) and Adrian Collins of Grimdark Magazine—and shortly afterward my partner was also urging me to read it. 🙂

The short version is that I really enjoyed it, too.

Here, for the slightly longer version, is why. Zero World is what I would call a SF thriller, in the sense that the concept is science fictional, i.e. space travel, wormholes, and mirror worlds, but the essence of the story within that is a thriller, with espionage-style maneuverings, a mystery to be resolved, cross-world pursuits, and plenty of action.

Jason M Hough delivers on both these aspects of the story really well in Zero World. He also gives the reader a suitably enigmatic and reasonably conflicted (in the best thriller style), but intelligent and more-than-capable hero (Peter Caswell) and an equally intelligent and capable, but more straightforward, motivationally speaking,  heroine (Melni). I really liked the partnership that develops between them.

The story is focused almost exclusively around Peter and Melni, so this is the focus of the character development as well. I still felt that the supporting characters were satisfactorily three-dimensional, although readers who like a large cast of characters might have preferred more nuanced attention given to some of them.

I was also impressed by the plot, which has layers and several clever and unexpected twists at the end, all the while managing to deliver interesting SF angles and action that drives the story forward.

In short, I recommend Zero World to anyone who enjoys action-packed space opera and/or a good thriller that also does not stint on character development and storytelling. I think it will also appeal to readers who like Neuromancer by William Gibson, Hardwired by Walter Jon Williams, the Greg Mandel trilogy (Mindstar Rising) by Peter F Hamilton, or the Psion (Cat) series by Joan Vinge.

Additional Information:

I read the mass market paperback edition of Zero World (Titan Books, 2015, 488 pp.)