I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Ancestral Night by Elizabeth BearSeries: White Space #1
Published by Gollancz on March 5, 2019
Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction
Pages: 512
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
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Haimey Dz thinks she knows what she wants.
She thinks she knows who she is.
She is wrong.
A routine salvage mission uncovers evidence of a terrible crime and relics of powerful ancient technology. Haimey and her small crew run afoul of pirates at the outer limits of the Milky Way, and find themselves on the run and in possession of universe-changing information.
When authorities prove corrupt, Haimey realizes that she is the only one who can protect her galaxy-spanning civilization from the implications of this ancient technology—and the revolutionaries who want to use it for terror and war. Her quest will take her careening from the event horizon of the supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s core to the infinite, empty spaces at its edge.
To save everything that matters, she will need to uncover the secrets of ancient intelligences lost to time—and her own lost secrets, which she will wish had remained hidden from her forever.
Ancestral Night is a space opera that just doesn’t quite manage to hit the high notes. All the elements are there to make this a fantastic read, however there is a lot that detracts from the story.
If you love info dumps, internal dialogue and phisological debate then this is the book for you. However, for me this slowed down the pace and drama of the book.
I did want to love this book, the cover is beautiful, the premise exciting and I was in the mood for a great si-fi read. Perhaps this wasn’t quite the right book for me at the time, perhaps I allowed my expectations to get the better of me which is why I’m slightly disappointed.
Whatever the reason, let me assure you, I honestly wanted to love this book, instead I was left floundering with vague disappointment.
Ther was honestly nothing wrong with this book, perhaps if it had been two hundred pages lighter I could have loved it. Maybe even adored it.
However, let’s end on a positive note. If you love your space opera, and are ready for a new adventure, then Ancestral Night will be a fantastic read. It has all the elements. And despite my negative ramblings I honestly cannot wait to see what is up next for this author.
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