Welp, I did that Book Booty for 2024 post way back of 22 January and so far haven’t posted a single reading report: O-o!

I’ve been pretty busy, of course, mostly with the Great Revision, but I have sneaked in a bit of reading along the way. So today is that report-back day for Station Eternity, penned by the (mighty) Mur Lafferty.

Station Eternity is subtitled The Midsolar Murders (how cool is that?), which provides quite a nice “key” into the tale, which is space opera that features several human characters along with a raft of alien cultures on an entrepot space station. It’s also a whodunit, and if not quite a “cosy” mystery, it has many of the hallmarks of that genre. (No, the butler didn’t do it, but there is a band of fellow travelers that provide a comparable ensemble to the country-house party etc.)

The central character is Mallory Viridian (great name!) who is a catalyst for murder, a characteristic that has driven her away from Earth and human society to dwell on the largely alien (space) station, Eternity. She is somewhere between a remittance person and political refugee, but there is some contact between human society and the races that frequent Eternity. So when an incoming Earth shuttle has an accident and the deaths start piling up, it’s time for Mallory to do some sleuthing.

The story is fastpaced with plenty of story action—i.e. events, not necessarily guns-a-blazing, although with enough derring-do to add a touch of thriller to the mystery—but there’s also a fine of characters, both human and and alien, not excluding the sentient space station itself, to keep the reader engaged by the players as well as the whodunit aspects.

So-o, tis a good story and well told, but standout elements included the worldbuilding, particularly the range and distinctiveness of the alien species. These are not just human analogues: their behaviors and motivations do feel alien, adding to the shoals and rapids, as well as the mysteries, that Mallory must navigate.

I also enjoyed the banter and repartee, which helps keep the story, despite genuinely interesting mystery-thriller elements, at the lighter end of the space opera genre.

I’m not a big reader in either the whodunnit or cosy murder genres but I think if you like either, there is a good chance you’ll appreciate Station Eternity. On the science fiction side, I think fans of Babylon 5 or Deep Space Nine may find much to like. Book-wise, if you’ve enjoyed Patricia McKillip’s Fool’s Run, Stina Leicht’s Persephone Station, or A Quantum Murder by Peter F Hamilton then you may also like Station Eternity.

Station Eternity was published by ACE (Penguin Random House) in 2022. I read a paperback edition, 453 pages, that – disclosure time – I purchased at the wonderful Scorpio bookshop.

Also by way of disclosure, the reason I know Mur Lafferty is mighty is because she interviewed me away back in 2016: You Should Be Writing (The interview is around 25 minutes into the podcast.)