DNF at 11%. It just wasn't grabbing me, and I didn't have strong feelings for any of the characters. The constant pausing in the middle of a scene to delve into someone's thoughts and memories was frustrating to me.

I devoured this book in 2 days! Cascade Failure is a heartfelt, snarky, found family scifi ROMP that felt like the best bits of Firefly/The Expanse/Wayfarers/Murderbot blended together into something wholly unique and wonderful. There were tears (more than once), there were gasps, there were explosions, there were beat-up old spaceships and characters with hearts of gold and itchy trigger fingers -- really, this is everything I want in my scifi. CANNOT WAIT for the sequel!

Cascade Failure by L. M. Sagas

Pros: fun and interesting characters, tight plot, some thought provoking moments, good fight scenes

Cons:

Here’s the back cover blurb, which is simply perfect.

"There are only three real powers in the Spiral: the corporate power of the Trust versus the Union's labor's leverage. Between them the Guild tries to keep everyone's hands above the table. It ain't easy.

Branded a Guild deserter, Jal "accidentally" lands a ride on a Guild ship. Helmed by an AI, with a ship's engineer/medic who doesn't see much of a difference between the two jobs, and a "don't make me shoot you" XO, the Guild crew of the Ambit is a little . . . different.

They're also in over their heads. Responding to a distress call from an abandoned planet, they find a mass grave, and a live programmer who knows how it happened. The Trust has plans. This isn't the first dead planet, and it's not going to be the last.

Unless the crew of the Ambit can stop it."

The characters are so much fun. They’re all neurotic in complementary ways. Surly and snipey at times, talkative and playful at others. Eoan’s curiosity about everything was a real joy. Despite their arguments it’s clear Nash and Saint are a tight knit crew. Seeing Jal and Anke dropped into the crew’s dynamic made for some great interactions.

The plot is tight with enough down time to get to know all of the characters between chase scenes and fights. There are some real tense moments.

The politics of this future are suitably complex without taking over the story. There are a few decent questions about morality and whether it’s better to focus on the needs of society at large vs saving your personal friends and family. And who should make the necessary sacrifices.

It’s a book about the choices we make and how we deal with the consequences of the bad decisions of our past. Of working as a team to complete a goal. Of betrayal and redemption.

It’s a delightful story that, though it dealt with heavy issues at times, left me feeling hopeful about the future.

thank you to netgalley and tor for the arc in exchange for a review!!

this was one of my most anticipated books for 2024 and it did not disappoint! space found family is immaculate (i mean, how could it not be) and whatever strange second chance thing is happening between jal and saint has definitely got my attention. almost cried during the scene where they all watched the video.

also, i had a weird dislike of eoan at the very start but i really grew to like them by the end of the book. their perspective is way goofier than i'd expected it to be and they just have this deep caring even though they can't really express it the way everyone else does, and that's one of the things i liked most in this book---all these characters care SO MUCH but literally none of them care in the same way. and by the end that kind of understanding is what makes them a team, underneath it all.

crews of space ships that are bonded together forever by not only their experiences but their love for each other >>>>>>

The oddity of the writing of this book just didn't quite do it for me. There's little to no world-building and we seem to jump right into the action but without a good back story to understand what's going on. All of the scenes are trying too hard to be both cutesy and quirky and unique but still have a lot of action at the same time. It just overall felt very disjointed to me and didn't flow well.

Cascade Failure had a lot of potential, but ultimately left me feeling unfulfilled.

The good: A great cast of characters. An interesting AI character who considered the implications of being human. Some really beautiful writing, particularly when it came to the characters. Some fun action sequences (even if some of them didn't make a lot of sense, see below).

The bad: The plot seemed largely to justify putting these characters together and then having them come together for a particular high-stakes event at the end. The betrayals that happened along the way often didn't make any sense at all (why did Jal leave Saint to get badly beaten only to come back? Unclear. Why did Anke betray them in such a violent way when their goals still largely aligned? Confusing.) The AI character's consideration of their "humanity" was at one point completely undercut by another character without consequence (despite some really lovely early passages on this topic). Often I found myself confused about the POV characters - very little seemed to distinguish them in tone or perspective. (This may have been a book that would have been served by a single narrator/perspective.) The political system was a mess - the Trust, the Guild, the Union - are they all the same? If not, is one more corrupt than the other? Is this a matter of everyone being bad? Are we on anyone's side? The answer seems to be "no" but that's never really explored, either.

The ugly: A wholly unsatisfying ending. I was on the fence about how much I liked this, and the ending completely soured the rest of the book for me (and I was already finding it less-than-sweet). Both of the relationships that were being set up ended up not going anywhere, and in a very upsetting way. I'm certain that this is to set up a second book or a series, but ultimately I was left frustrated enough that I won't be picking up the next one.

2.5 stars (rounded up because people less bothered by motivational inconsistenties from characters might find something to like here).

I read CASCADE FAILURE in January 2024 and already know it's going on my favorite books of the year list.

Found family. Space adventure. Action. Intrigue. Betrayal. Forgiveness. Snarky humor. Corporate malfeasance. Perfect world-building. Fully-developed, fully lovable, fully-relatable characters, including an AI ship's captain you want to hug (kind of like Murderbot's ART, but way less of an asshole), a mechanic/medic who crochets and knits little friends, a traumatized but deeply caring and competent (and at least in my head very, very hot) XO, an old friend who reappears and makes everything complicated, and a smart AF programmer who maybe has the answers to everything. It's got real FIREFLY vibes in all of the ways I love but is also entirely unique.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH AND AM DYYYYYYYYYING TO READ BOOK TWO IMMEDIATELY (and anything else Sagas ever writes).

DNF @ 50%

This is so… clunky. The characters are too Much, to the point where they’re basically constantly crashing into each other and all but bleeding together, except for Anke. Nash’s entire personality appears to be “must keep hands busy” + creative cursing (I mean, I don’t hate it, but I think she could have been more). Jal is wildly inconsistent from one page to the next, especially when he’s the POV - to the point where I wished he didn’t have a POV because it muddied everything up so much that his character stopped making any sense at all.

The writing is wordy without the benefit of any worldbuilding. The Union, the Trust, the Guild… no idea who any of them are except that they get Capital Letters and are all probably corrupt. There’s no sense of scale, the pacing is off because we have 5 POVs trying not to step on each other even when there’s not much happening…

The action sequences are solid, but as soon as the characters have room to think, the story screeches to a halt and couldn’t keep my attention.

I was so excited about this one that I put down my current read and started on it immediately. Cascade Failure is a sci fi with a whole lot of action and adventure. I loved the witty characters and their banter. It definitely made me chuckle. For me, this novel checked all the boxes.

3.5. A very cool, unique sci fi book. Really liked this and enjoyed the writing. I was very much enraptured and I'm keen to read more by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.
I had a little trouble connecting to the characters at first in this one. I then decided I liked a few and there was plenty of action and stuff. It looks like it is setting up to be a series, although it seemed questionable at the end if the character I liked would be returning to the ship.
I feel it's a little trite of a trope--the found family who tease and torture each other but really love each other underneath but the AI shipcaptain and the two "new" temporary crew make it seem more fresh. The pace was a little uneven--sometimes it seemed to take forever on a short moment, but then sometimes people that seemed just a page ago to hate each other suddenly made up and liked each other? Seemed a little rushed to me in a few places.
But this was entertaining, with lots of action and characters who grow to mean something to each other and hopefully to the reader. Good debut.

From the publisher: A high-octane, sci-fi adventure featuring a fierce, messy, chaotic space family, vibrant worlds, and an exploration of the many ways to be—and not to be—human.

Cascade Failure is a debut novel and the planned first book in a series set in space. A ragtag found family crews a wonky but space worthy vessel known as the Ambit. The beings aboard include Eoan, a sentient AI who captains the ship; Saint, a Guild member who has been around the block more than a few times; Nash, a handy engineer who can fix (and shoot) anything; a Guild deserter named Jal with body modifications and long history with Saint; and Anke, a brilliant hacker who is a complete unknown to the crew after they rescue her from a dead planet.

There’s nothing particularly original here, but if you like the TV series Firefly and works by Becky Chambers, you may enjoy Cascade Failure. This is about action, shooting, regrets, space, politics, computers, and not worrying too much that anyone important will die in the end. It was a fun read, and the kind of “first in a series” that might be better on a reread after a few more books have been added and I’ve gotten to know the world and the characters better.

I found the action scenes very hard to follow at times and might have enjoyed them more if I’d listened to the book on audio. So far there is no more than a hint of romance; the crew’s bond is based on friendship and shared experiences.

I read an advance reader copy of Cascade Failure. It is scheduled to be published in March and will be available through the Galesburg Public Library in print, as an ebook, and on audio.

Cascade Failure comes out March 19 and is the best thing I've read in the last few years. This book has absolutely destroyed me in the best possible way. Scifi action? Check! Misfit found family? Check! Witty banter? Check! I laughed, I cheered, I sobbed so hard that I almost vomited... It's like if Becky Chambers wrote Firefly, but amped everything up. More tension! More tragic back stories! More corporate greed! Basically, this book is everything I've ever wanted and more besides. I can't remember the last time I fell so damn hard for a book (25 floors hard). It's is a queer chaos goblin dream and I insist you all read it.

Cascade Failure by L. M. Sagas, just not for me. I tried to get into this book and it simply failed for me. Thank you for giving me a chance with this book and I do think others will enjoy it

I read a lot of SF. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. It is a story of found family and the dangers of making choices for your loved ones instead of *listening* to what they want.

Especially for a debut novel, the pacing was really good and the story was engaging. I didn't really see a lot of character development, though. I also noticed that sometimes Sagas seemed to get caught up in clever descriptions that would have been better left to the reader to notice on their own (too much "telling"). I can certainly understand why others have compared it to the Murderbot books by Wells, but it lacks the single voice of a consistent snarky narrator.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Somewhere in Jal’s file was a note from an old crewmate that read, ‘Jalsen Red will either be the reason you die, or the reason you live. Good fucking luck.’

man this book got me right in the heart. I don't really want to spoil anything (bc it was such a delight to see the way the characters came together, to witness their friendships and relationships and deep, overwhelming love for one another) so I'm gonna avoid talking about plot.

instead, I'm gonna make a little list for anyone on the fence reading this. if you like any of the below points ,,, just take a leap of faith and pick this book up. I promise, it is so lovely. it feels like a big, warm hug from a friend you haven't seen for a very long time.

- the sort of unhinged sibling banter that anyone with an actual sibling will vouch for
- an AI character with their own fully realized personality, wants, and dreams
- messy friendships and messier maybes or could've beens
- the sort of found family fans of the trope would dream about
- a snarky soldier trying to pry himself open far enough to be genuinely vulnerable
- and another soldier who should really find a way to protect his bleeding heart
- a mechanic slash engineer slash whatever she needs to be MacGyver type
- fake!space science (but the kind that's genuinely fun, so who cares)
- sassy dialogue that will make you laugh even with your heart in your throat

He [Saint] swore at a gap in the ceiling and hoped Jal had sense enough to know it was meant for him. “Jal, you hear me?”
“I hear you,” he answered in a slow, distracted drawl. Man could’ve had a gun to his head, and he still wouldn’t talk any faster than a trot. “Be with you momentarily.”


rep - nonbinary (they/them) mc, achillean mcs, sapphic mcs
thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc ✨

What a terrific book!

This science fiction story has action and adventure, and medium peril, and fun and excitement, for sure-- but what it has in spades is character building and relationships and I'm here for it!

The plotting and pacing are good, and the story moves forward at a good pace. The mysteries of the past are revealed slowly and at the appropriate times for maximum emotional effect.

The fact that this story builds so strongly on the base of characters and relationships is what makes it so good. This author reminds me of Becky Chambers in that way, and now I am adding L.M. Sagas to my list of authors that I MUST READ EVERYTHING BY!

anything that says it's similar to the TV series Firefly immediately gets put on my TBR. And this definitely fit the bill. The crew that in reality is family. They characters were so real and I felt so invested in their story. I hope the author plans to write more books about the Ambit.

A unique science fiction plot that features a diverse crew completing trade missions reminiscent of Firefly! I loved the cast of characters and the relationships between them. At times it was a little wordy and drags on a bit in areas that could be condensed.
Over all a solid addition to the sci-fi genre and will be purchased for the library collection.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor books for the eARC.

A fast paced and rollicking sci-fi read. It is indeed in the vein of Firefly which to me is a plus. Will be ordering for our library.