Review: Adrift by Rob Boffard

Adrift by Rob Boffard

Orbit, 2018

Paperback, 416 pages

I've been reading a lot of space-related science fiction lately, so I was excited to have an opportunity to read Adrift--and even more excited that it turned out be another great space book!

Adrift takes place in a futuristic world in which space travel is common and traveling through wormholes is also possible. The war between Frontier and the Colonies has been wrapped up for ten years and the two groups are working on settling a peace treaty between them to prevent future wars. The events of this story occur in a place in space known as Sigma Station, a mining station that is now largely a tourist trap where people visit from all over the world to learn about the history of the wars and to take a tour of the area.

Aboard the old clunky tourist ship the Red Panda--the place in which almost all parts of the events of this book take place--is Hannah Elliot, a young tour guide who is starting her first day on the job; Jana Volkova, the pilot who was once a Frontier pilot during the wars; the Livingstone family, featuring parents Everett and Anita  and their two boys, Malik and Corey; Jack Tennant, a reporter who would rather not be there; newlyweds Brendan and Seema who appear to have just wanted a nice vacation; and an older woman known as Lorinda whp previously worked at a different mining station before retiring. Right after they embark on their tour, however, they see Sigma Station being destroyed by an unknown ship and are left knowing that they are the only people still alive at the station.

Since the majority of this story takes place on one small aircraft, it's important that the characters all stand out and have compelling backgrounds and personalities to keep things interesting. Fortunately, I think Boffard did a great job of fleshing out each character and giving each one enough unique qualities and complex backgrounds to make them engaging to follow. Each character seems to have different types of 'secrets' in their past that are slowly revealed at key points in the story, so I can't really say too much in depth about their backgrounds, but just know that it is worth finding out. Corey, the youngest on board at age ten, is one of those characters that whether you like him or not you can't help but see how useful he is and root for his success. Malik, his older brother, was one of the only characters that I actually wanted to know more about, and I hope that in any future books more tie is spent on his character. Lorinda, Jack, Hannah, and Jana were all figures that stood out to me for their unexpected strength that appeared in similarly unexpected ways. The setup of this book forced the characters to lead the story, and Boffard executed this aspect wonderfully.

Adrift is a deceptively fast-paced book that doesn't seem fast-paced. Since the majority of the action takes place on only one fairly small ship, there is technically not a lot going on, but yet somehow there is always some sort of drama or argument occurring to keep things lively. Boffard also spends a lot of time with the background of each character and flashbacks of events that led up to each person being on the Red Panda. I thought he interspersed these well and at key moments, often grounding the story by slowing down after an intense or particularly action-heavy moment, which I thought was really well done. There is more than enough intrigue and shock in this book to keep you on your toes.

Overall, this is a really solid science fiction space book, and if that's something that you like then I encourage you to give this book a shot. I've given it four stars!

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

*I received a copy of Adrift courtesy of Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating of the book.*

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Wayfarer: AV494 by Matthew Cox

Wayfarer: AV494 by Matthew S. Cox

*Wayfarer will be released Tuesday, May 8th!*

Wayfarer: AV494 by Matthew Cox. Curiosity Quills Press, 2018. Ebook. 300 pages.

This book was... insane. I haven't been that 'on the edge of my seat' in quite a while. If you like foreign planet/space thrillers, then this one's for you.

In Wayfarer, Kerys Loring jumps headfirst for the opportunity to explore an alien ruin on a foreign planet. Once there, however, she is shocked to discover that her ex is also stationed on the planet, an issue that takes the backseat when an extreme unknown alien threat takes over and plunges the base in chaos.

Wayfarer was a little slow at the outset and I wasn't sure if it was going to pick up enough to keep me fully interested. I'm here to tell you not to worry about that because boy, does it pick up! I loved the basic premise of simply exploring a new planet for potential alien life and that is what initially hooked me. And then, for lack of a better phrase, the shit hit the fan and things went crazy. I had no idea what was going to happen in this book and I don't want to tell you anything about it other than to say things get dark... and stay dark.

One thing that I didn't love about being caught so unawares was how blindsided I was to the immense violence and gore that occurred throughout the events of this book. I don't usually have a problem with violence and gore (I mean, I love grimdark books), but this was just so unexpected for me and done in such a real and relevant way that it really shocked me and sort of threw me for a loop. If you're okay with some violence then you'll be fine, but if you're really sensitive to violence then you might want to consider that before picking this one up.

I'm not sure how much else I can really say about the plot without giving away anything important, so I'm going to jump into talking about some of the characters and the writing. Our main character is Kerys, a young woman who is beyond thrilled to have an opportunity to be a part of history and explore this new planet and newly discovered alien activity. Kerys is, overall, a very bright and interesting character, but I found it hard to connect with her at times. This doesn't really pose as a huge issue for me because I don't always need to connect with a character, but I just felt like some of her actions were a bit odd at times. For being as bright as she was said to be, I found her lack of common sense and lack of inquisitiveness about questionable things a bit annoying. There were certain things that I was surprised she didn't question more and that she brushed off too quickly and I found myself wanting to yell at Kerys on more than one occasion for different things she did or didn't do. Despite this, I was still very much captivated by her strength and determination; she has learned not to sit back and let things happen to her, but instead sticks up for herself and tries to be a stronger person everyday.

There was a decent variety of supporting characters in this book as well, though I never really felt like I got to know any of them very well so I don't really have all that much to say about them. One of the other prominent characters in this book is Kerys' ex-boyfriend, Will, someone she was horrified to find already on the base at the planet due to a previous abusive relationship and not-so-great break-up back on earth. I'll be honest an say that I did have my misgivings that this ex-boyfriend aspect would overtake the book in a negative way, but it actually didn't and instead ended up taking a very interesting turn. I felt the other characters were oddly interested in their past relationship (no one usually cares that much), but it didn't bother me too much. I wish I had known the other characters a bit more so I could separate who was who more easily, but they still added some great personality to the story.

The writing itself was pretty well done an captured the horror and suspense of the situation on the base. The only issues I had were with the dialogue itself, which just sometimes felt a bit stilted and awkward. Some of the responses and conversations people would have just felt a little bit off and pulled me slightly out of the action of story a little as well.

Overall, occasional issues with the writing and pacing aside, I definitely enjoyed reading this crazy and unpredictable book and have settled on four stars, rounded up from 3.75. If you like thrillers and space and a gripping story, then definitely pick up Wayfarer.

*I received a copy of Wayfarer courtesy of Curiosity Quills Press in exchange for an honest review.*

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