I adored author Kali Wallace's SALVATION DAY, so was ecstatic to receive an ARC of DEAD SPACE (March 2 2021 release)! [Thank you, NetGalley!] I remain totally delighted with this exceptional author; like SALVATION DAY, DEAD SPACE is out-of-the-ball-park superb. Combining some of my favorite themes: Space, Artificial Intelligence, Augmentation of Humans by Machines, Kickin' Female Protagonist, and the Philosophical Constraints and Ramifications of Artificial Intelligence, this Science Fiction treasure ramps up tension and Suspense from page one. I don't think I stopped to breathe all the way through. If you like exploring the future, considering what the face of Artificial Intelligence might become, and how humans may evolve because of AI, you're going to adore DEAD SPACE!

Alright, we are HERE for this! Ostensibly, the plot is your pretty standard murder investigation. In space. But it unravels brilliantly to encompass: the pitfalls of capitalism and the privatization of planets/space exploration, chronic pain/disability (particularly as it pertains to "visible" disability and how that's viewed), AI plot that doesn't suck (this is key because I'm really picky about my AI plots, being a software engineer who's studied AI), trauma and the aftermath of traumatic events (including things like "false memories").

There's more of course but we'll start here. I devoured the book in three large bites (life got in the way of me reading it in one, unfortunately). The pacing was superb. When something big was revealed at 60% I was like "omg that's so early" but Wallace did her best Billy Mayes impression: "But wait - there's more!" And oh, dear reader, was there more. As all the threads unraveled and things got more complicated instead of being simpler, I was so here for it.

It's a good thing I have Wallace's 2019 release Salvation Day ready and waiting on my shelf.

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2021/02/26/dead-space-by-kali-wallace/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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<i>Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

4.5 hearts

There were so many things st in <strong>Dead Space.  </strong>Our main character, Hester,  is an investigator after being on a space ship which was hit by terrorists, and the rescuing company has her in a work contract to pay for her life-saving but mediocre medical treatments.  She is a talented builder of artificial intelligence but  her work was lost in the attack.  The company doesn't seem to want her to work for them in her field.

The world is rich with different planets and their cultures and histories.  There have been wars,  politics of cultural and political origin,  and the corporations focusing on profit adding to the politics of any situation.  I was comfortable with the depth of information but would certainly be interested in learning more.

One of the other engineers who was on her team, and also in the attack,  is out working more in her field of expertise. She has not heard from David since the attack, but now she gets an odd message.  Next thing she knows he is dead.  She requests to be on the team investigating his death and surprisingly, she is allowed to go with the team.

I loved Hester's strength and intelligence.  She works hard and does her job even though she is getting the bad end of the deal.  The investigation is fraught with oddities, lies and pretty quickly more deaths.  It's a struggle to keep the investigative team and the suspects alive.  There are only 12 people on this station when they start.

The solution is partly what I hoped and expected.  There is plenty of action and lots to engage my mind during their gathering of data and evidence.  Wow!  What an exciting and absorbing read.  I really recommend it highly.  I hope the author writes more in this world but I think it is standalone. I'll look forward to whatever comes next from Kali Wallace.

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YES this book! Disabled queer sci fi detective! Tragedy and intrigue! Government machinations! AI! Dead Space has all my favorites, and felt like a mix of Becky Chambers' To be taught if fortunate and Corey's Leviathan Wakes.

Hester Marley, former top AI scientist and now an indentured analyst/detective in a company colony, works to uncover the truth of what happened to her old friend and colleague. Digging through layers of company cover up and never quite sure who she can trust, Hester she is forced to confront a past she's tried to forget in order to uncover the truth.

I feel like it can be difficult to properly execute a space adventure mystery because the plot & the world building can find themselves at odds with one or the other taking up too much space and leaving the entirety unbalanced. Dead Space does not fall victim to this, however, and instead ends up with an excellent balance of fast paced intrigue and environment/history such that both seem to blend with and support each other.

Character development was also very on point, which is a big thing for me (I pick characters over plot every time if I have to). I am not usually a fan of flashbacks as a plot device but in this case I felt it was the perfect way to contrast the current Hester Marley with who she was before the accident, and it made certain events so much more emotional and poignant. Add to that, the rest of the side characters are given just enough intriguing background that I am left very much hoping Kali Wallace makes this into a series so I can learn more about them, where they came from, and how they know each other (and yes... I specifically mean Mohammed).

Kali Wallace is an author who refuses to be pigeon-holed and jumps at whim from one genre to another, writing for various age groups from dark YA fantasy novels to whimsical middle grade fantasy to adult sci-fi horror. Her first offering in the latter category was the phenomenal Salvation Day in 2019 and she has returned to that well in the upcoming Dead Space.

Set in the distant future where humanity has established colonies beyond Earth, our protagonist Hester Marley is a jaded, worn-down shell of the person she used to be. As an AI expert, she was part of a science expedition heading to form a research colony on Titan before being targeted by a disastrous terrorist attack that killed most of those on board. You might think that surviving such a disaster would make Hester one of the lucky ones, but she suffered such extensive injuries that doctors from the Parthenope Enterprises ship who treated survivors ended up replacing half her body with metal prosthetics, thereby racking up an enormous debt that effectively placed her into indentured servitude.

We meet Hester working as a security officer in a thankless role that squanders her brilliance when an unexpected message from one of her former colleagues jars Hester out of her dreary routine. His shocking murder soon after drives her to join the investigation on a remote asteroid, and what should have been an open-and-shut case becomes anything but standard as she discovers impossible system failures, baffling inconsistencies and the threads of a convoluted conspiracy that will force her to face the demons of her past as she uncovers a devastating threat in the present that people will kill to keep secret.

Dead Space is first and foremost a riveting sci-fi thriller that starts off with a slow-burn mystery that develops into an increasingly exciting and frantic race against time. I came into this expecting the entertainment of a locked room mystery in space with all the scope for horror that remote claustrophobic setting entails and the author provided that in spades! There are a number of genuinely chilling, spooky moments that will unnerve readers and leave their hearts pounding frantically while turning the pages.

But the story also offers a nuanced, thought-provoking contemplation of timely issues we face in today’s society with racism and intolerance, with exploitation of workers lacking in sufficient rights and with governments that fail to properly regulate corporations but are instead swayed into protecting business interests rather than human interests. The measured, methodical pace of the opening chapters serves to acquaint readers with the bleak reality of this future where megacorporations rule the stars and ruthlessly churn up the downtrodden, underprivileged members of society in their hunger for profit, free from the oversight of government bodies. Even as the body count rises and danger skyrockets, the political intrigue continues to play a vital role in shaping the plot and with Hester’s personal experience as a victim of the heartless corporation grinding mill, it furthers her character development and heightens the personal stakes.

The reader’s enjoyment factor will have a lot to do with how you feel about Hester. While there are important secondary characters such as a past fling, a by-the-book inspector and snooty lawyer, Dead Space is largely a one-woman show and succeeds based on the strength of Hester’s characterisation. She may be cynical and morose, but she doesn’t wallow in self-pity, merely focuses on her end goal and gets on with the job. Her predicament is monstrously unfair so it’s easy to sympathise with her right from the start, and her acerbic manner and snarky inner monologue is entertaining to read. The author has a physics background and applies this to provide convincing world-building without overdoing the technobabble, and Hester reliably breaks down any complicated concepts in a droll, matter-of-fact way to help us keep up.

A casually diverse read that centers on LGBT+ characters without making queerness the source of drama, Dead Space offers a suspenseful, tightly plotted sci-fi horror experience sure to please fans of the genre and ensure that new readers will be left wanting more.

Well written, interesting and sympathetic lead character. Trapped in space with all her dreams ruined after a disaster destroyed her mission, she’s got a lot of artificial parts and is trapped in a debt servitude to pay for her treatment. She’s stuck as a corporate investigator as her assigned job and has to find out why another survivor of her mission is dead. Not a bright and cheerful sci-fi novel but a well written grim mystery sci-fi book!

Trigger Warning: claustrophobia, murder, PTSD

We always had a choice. It was just that the companies we worked for were very good at making sure all of our choices were bad ones.


Hester Marley used to have a plan for her life. She was going to be a colonist on Jupiter's Moon Titan. She had created the most advanced explorer AI the universe had ever seen. And then, in a tragic accident, it was all gone. Mired in debt from the company that rescued her and still recovering from her injuries, she's stuck in a dead-end job pulling security. Until one of her fellow survivors sends her a cryptic email—and is murdered. Hester finagles her way onto the investigation, and discovers not everything is as it seems...

WHY IS NO ONE ELSE TALKING ABOUT THIS?!?!

I need everyone else to get on this!!!

Seriously!

People who lived under constant surveillance either forgot or stopped caring that they were being watched at all times.

This book takes the issues of unchecked capitalism and fucking goes with the natural progression (deprogression?) of life in space moderated by companies and corporations.

It's several centuries into the future. Earth exists, but many have migrated to the solar system—although after the brutal war with Mars (which was more of an unequal battle called a war that was instead a massacre and massive violation of human rights), the solar system is mainly ruled by the leaders of the moon and the mega corporations who rule the mining and extraction operations within the asteroid belt.
Hygiea was very much a company town: company owned, company operated, company surveilled and secured.

Each mining station is run by the corporation, with Overseer AIs in charge of ensuring their human inhabitants are kept alive and the equipment kept operating (except certain life support functions, because the AIs are growing smarter despite the checks and balances and limitations).

Think about the old mining towns of the not-so-distant past, which were fairly deregulated and owned and operated by the company, which had carte blanche authority in their area (kinda like what the state of Nevada is proposing for some of their areas in order to entice business). The companies have full reign of everything that happens within their territories, and keep their employees under as much debt and contracting as possible in order to secure talent.

Because that's the natural progression of things with capitalism—there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Hester is experiencing the full weight of that. Parthenope was the company who rescued her and performed all of the (expensive, experimental and unconsented) repairs on her body, and charged her for the cost. But instead of placing her where her skills are most needed—as in, putting one of the most experienced AI programmers with the Overseer AIs—she plonked into security. She does her job, same as everyone else, despite the stares at her metal prosthetics and the pain they cause.
Sigrah knew the rules for succeeding as a Parthenope foreperson: everything good that happened on the station was her doing, whereas everything bad was the fault of troublemaking crew.

Enter the murder.

Hester gets a weird message from one of her former colleagues, and is mulling about how to respond to it—because David got a lot of the details of the memories he shared wrong—when she learns he's been killed on the tiny mining station of Nimue.

She arranges to get on the investigation team, and it should be a simple thing of looking at the security data and picking up whoever of the remaining eleven members did it, because that's how murders are investigated now, when she discovers that the data for the entire hour surrounding the murder are gone. They never existed.

And the Overseer AI is acting strange.

Soon, Hester is struggling to keep herself alive while trying to figure out who killed David—she's surrounded by reticent miners, an aggressively unforthcoming foreperson, and a killer among them.

Until she begins to think someone else is aboard Nimue.

But how?
Whatever usual parameters defined friendships, relationships, or friendly but distant exes, those rules didn't apply anymore, not in the asteroid belt, where everybody was counting the dollars in their personal debt and the days on their corporate contracts, and information was more valuable than human life.

There's not much more of the plot I can reveal without massive spoilers, but there are so many twists and turns and foreshadowing and red herrings that it's a wild ride throughout.

Plus, there is a super duper scary scene in the warehouse, which captures my fears of being along but not really alone perfectly.

And there's the idea that Hester is holding back—despite the flashbacks, despite the first person POV, despite everything she is not laying all of her cards on the table. She's been through so much and learned to suppress her scientist's mind and mourn the loss of everything, including her AI Vanguard (her interactions with Vanguard are so fucking precious—she literally is just like make me proud, kid and her little baby does just that), that she doesn't see the point of moving forward or having dreams of anything else. Her dream has been violently exploded, and she feels responsible (she been on the hiring panel for one of the terrorists), and there is nothing left for her beyond debt and death.

Plus, she's dealing with her disabilities, which never go away or stop paining her. Same with her PTSD. Additional rep is that she's a lesbian, and one of the investigators on the team is her something-ex, although she's got too much baggage and too much grief to be able to move forward with someone. There is more rep in the book as well, with LGBTQ+ characters aplenty, and people of color, and an interesting display of classism and intelligence. The lead investigator is a Martian, and has a very interesting background I wish had been explored a lot more—along with the dynamics of who settled Mars (based on his name it makes the ensuing atrocities that much more insidious, and the prison ships and other concentration camps were that much more terrifying), the lawyer is a close relative of the Parthenope owners, and another Nimue crew member is a daughter of the rulers of the Lunar Colony.

And there are the different kinds of AI and what it means to have artificial intelligence running things—from the inquisitive Vanguard (destroyed) to the bland Overseer AIs (who can be...weirdly passive aggressive).

Of course, I can't talk about my two absolute favorite characters, because that would be a spoiler.

Plus there's so much more, and I could unpack all day, because Wallace does a fucking fantastic job of writing capitalism off the rails—it's all the more terrifying because it could absolutely happen, and in many of the instances has already happened.

Space and location just become a setting, albeit a terrifying one. Because who doesn't want to be trapped on an isolated rock in space with a faulty AI and a killer on the loose?

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review

Dead Space is a SciFi mystery/thriller from author Kali Wallace and a book I knew practically nothing about going in (I'd requested it on Netgalley on a whim). It turns out to be a thriller in the vein of some of the Planetfall novels (most notably After Atlas), featuring an AI expert whose career and body was blown apart by tragedy and forced to become instead an investigator of mostly petty crimes by a overly powerful corporation who owns her debt, as she investigates the mysterious death of a former colleague.

It's a solid setup, and the book doesn't try to go too deep with any themes (unlike the Planetfall novels), but the result is a pretty solid and enjoyable thriller which isn't too long to read. The character work is solid if unexceptional, and the mystery just tantalizing enough to reel you in, that if you're looking for a thriller dealing with all of these elements - AI, Powerful Corporations holding people in debt in space, a murder mystery, etc. - then this will work for you.

---------------------------------------------------Plot Summary-------------------------------------------------
Hester Marley had a plan for her life: to create a state of the art AI called Vanguard to help a project of exploration - the Titan Research Project - expand humanity's horizons. Then a terrorist attack destroyed her ship, Vanguard, and left her for dead, surviving only thanks to costly prosthetics replacing most of her limbs. But her rescuers, working for Parthenope Enterprises, are no do gooders, and until she works off the debt of her medical treatment, she's stuck with them, far from anyone she cares about. And so Hester, an AI expert, finds herself working as station security on the Parthenope asteroid settlement of Hygiea, with no hope left of finding anything else.

At least until Hester receives an unusual communication from another Project survivor, David, who used to specialize in robotics before he too was forced to work for Parthenope on one of their prize stations. But the message David sends her makes no sense, making incorrect references....and then David turns up dead not 24 hours later. Soon she finds herself investigating David's death and searching for what he was trying to tell her - for something is clearly wrong, something that threatens to overturn everything she knows and will require her to call on her old expertise one more time....
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Dead Space is a story that features a number of elements that will seem familiar to genre readers. You have a scifi setting where corporations have significant power, with people forced into debt into working for them - especially for medical debt, etc. You have a classic noir like setup with a communication from a person who turns up dead that doesn't make sense. And you have things like robotics, AI and space travel to add to it all.

Dead Space doesn't use these concepts as some other books do, to take a serious examination of themes relevant to our own world - but it does use them instead to craft a pretty solid and not too long SciFi Mystery. All of the characters are done well, even if none of them really drew me in to the point where I loved them, and a few of them don't play according to the type you'd expect (for example a lawyer from a rich and powerful family sent with the detective team....is totally on their side and not trying to interfere with them).

And its mystery plotline, even where it can be predictable (the final reveal was one I expected to come about in some way or another from early on) is intriguing enough to work, as Hester begins to realize what is truly going on and tries to figure out what to do about it. There really isn't too much to say here - unlike some similar books like After Atlas from the Planetfall series - this book doesn't appear to be making any particular points about our world beyond surface level - corporations and debt slavery are bad, as is medical debt, AI isn't magically better than humanity but can be good and useful if used properly, etc etc. But if you're looking for a dystopian sf noir-esque mystery, it's a very solid choice to pick up.

*Recieved via NetGalley for review*

I LOVED Salvation Day, and was thrilled when I saw Wallace had a new space horror/thriller. But for some reason it just isn't the same. All of the tension and political intrigue and fully realized character that were such a success in Salvation Day fall flat here.

Hester's been working as an actuarial investigator (basically), after a politically-motivated attack on her ship meant for Titan. It seems to be in the same world as Salvation Day, since there's mention of extremists groups blowing up ships, but I'm not sure if it's before or after - there's no mention of those particular events. When Hester's former crewmate sends her a mysterious message, she's compelled to investigate and ends up on an isolated mining colony where everyone knows more than they're telling.

I enjoyed the beginning mystery and the initial scenes on the mining colony; I could really feel Hester's frustration and anger at everybody's lack of helpfulness. But there was too much time spent finding out very little, and the corrporate plot that came in in the latter half wasn't nearly as gripping (except for the AI, which was SO INTERESTING but not explored as much as it should have been).

It's not a bad book, but it's no Salvation Day.

I enjoyed this author’s book Salvation Day, and was excited to read a second novel by her also set in space. I knew the only thing the two books had in common was the sci-fi aspect, but I was hoping for some of the same spark in this book. It tried and almost succeeded during the AI/Vanguard sections; almost. Unfortunately, that spark was quickly extinguished by an incredible lack of action until almost the end of the book.

I was intrigued by the locked room mystery aspect of the plot. That was solved quickly and without any real work on the part of the security team. After that, the story seemed corporation centered. In fact, much of the book felt like business in space combined with a long running history lesson about the war between downtrodden Martians and Earth.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

A lesbian detective investigates a murder on a remote asteroid mining station. Artificial intelligence ethics! Non-binary representation! This little space thriller has so much to offer and had me hooked from start to finish.

I have gotten so lucky with ARCs lately. Not a dud in sight, and this book is no exception. Dead Space follows Hester, an AI expert who now works as a detective via indentured servitude to a space corp. Half of her body had to be replaced with robotic prosthetics after a terrorist attack, and the corp has paid her medical bills in exchange for five years of her life. She has been in charge of solving mostly mundane crimes, until she goes to investigate the murder of a former friend on a remote asteroid mining station. She confronts her past as she uncovers the truth, which turns out to be much more sinister than it first appears.

There is lots of LGBTQ+ representation in this book! Hester is a lesbian, her love interest/colleague is non-binary, and her partner on the case is a gay man. There isn't any actual romance going on in the book, but it is always more fun for me when the characters I am reading about are queer.

I loved the AI aspect of the book as much, if not more than, the whole murder mystery thing. I want my own Bug 🥺

This book was highly entertaining and a good little break from the two longer books I am reading right now. Highly recommend to anyone who likes a good murder mystery + space!

Dead Space by Kali Wallace, I was intrigued by the description, but the book failed to pull me in or provide an overview in the beginning. I do think others will enjoy this book and thank you for giving me a chance with it.

An absolutely engrossing ride! This book is part murder mystery, part thriller and it was difficult to put down, I had to know what happened next.

Dead Space follows Hester Marley, a disillusioned AI expert who has survived a horrific tragedy and unimaginable loss and is now injured, indebted, and stranded in the far end of space. Stuck in place until she can pay off her debt, everything changes when a former friend and fellow survivor contacts her.

I’m not going to say anymore for fear of spoilers, but this book had my heart pounding and me flipping the pages long into the night. Definitely for fans of science fiction thrillers, intrigue and suspense.

Also, the main character is queer and a side character is non-binary, so you know I loved that representation.

However, as I am a white non-disabled individual, I can’t speak towards how the representation of characters of color or a person who is disabled was handled, I’m definitely hoping to read own voices reviews to see what they think..

Wallace's "locked room open to SPACE!!" murder mystery has an understandably grumpy protagonist who has survived nearly unimaginable loss, variable viewpoints on advanced AIs, and a future that contains both realized potential and some of the same old worst behaviors of humanity. Recommended.

This book started off with promise. Unfortunately I Dnf'd at 45% almost halfway through this book. While there is a murder to be solved it just feels like things are moving a little too slowly.

I don't know why but I went into this book thinking that it was a sequel to Salvation Day but it's not.

It's basically a corporation murder mystery that takes place in space. Not that there is anything wrong with that but it wasn't what I typically read. That being said I did really like the main character Hester. She was depressed about her situation but still got the job done.