Sci-fi thriller. Set in a ship that has been sent by the monopolistic corporation that claims all non-Earth space to explore a world for possible settlement. The main character is a psychologist of sorts, but one that specializes not in talk therapy but in observing people’s secret tells to figure out what they won’t talk about. In part because the crew suspects she is a spy for the company, in part because of how she engages socially – she reads as neurodivergent in some way, though this is not named – and in part because she seems to have more connection to the androids on the ship than to the other humans, she is largely disliked by her crewmates. And when they reach the planet they are supposed to explore, things both bad and inexplicable start to happen, and it is clear that there is a great deal that the protagonist at least was not told about the mission.
Didn’t love this one. I think the premise was good and the world could have been interesting, but the storytelling just didn’t hook me until relatively late in the book. It was kind of like the flow of emotion and action didn’t quite make sense to me, not in that it was factually confusing, it just read as a series of things that were happening and for far too long didn’t cohere into a lively whole. I was somewhat more engaged by the end, but it was too little, too late. Also, it felt like the protagonist’s ostensible capacity to read people was underutilized – a why-mention-the-gun-if-it-isn’t-going-to-be-used sort of thing – and the big reveals re. the underlying weirdness of what was going on were fine but not as impactful or satisfying as such things are supposed to be. Anyway, I’m sure there’s an extent to which my response was a personal one, and I don’t tend to gravitate towards thrillers in general, but I just wasn’t a big fan.
Originally posted by Scott on Goodreads.