Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of Escape Velocity!

This is a book that held great promise and truly excited me when I first read the summary. It is an intriguing concept of a maybe not so far off reality were the rich vacation in space and are actively trying to compete and go to Mars. Overall I did like the book and once it picked up speed in later chapters the book was a much more enjoyable.

The parts of the book that held it back from achieving the greatness that I thought it would achieve, were few things.
My first and biggest gripe with the novel was that there was too many character POV's. I understand the desire to see all angles and to get multiple character experiences and perspectives on an event, but this got confusing quickly. The next problem I had with the novels was that it felt almost like two novels mushed together into one. The first novel was clearly a murder mystery who done it. The second novel was a dystopian commentary on social inequality, the rich getting richer, our climate, and racism. Both books could be great on there own but not together.

I felt like the book lost site of what it wanted to be, which made the ending feel unexpected, truly it was a plot twist that I did not expect until I was almost done with a book. I'm not angry at the ending, I still enjoyed my overall reading experience with the novel, but it definitely is not a novel for everyone.

If I could summarize the book in one sentence it would be eat the rich.

Objectively, Escape Velocity is a totally competent and well crafted mystery in a thoughtfully rendered sci-fi future setting. It just did not enthrall me, and often dragged something fierce. It was around chapter 4, when Manibo spends pages describing a grain of rices journey from the dirt all the way into space, that my patience with his style began to wane. Not a great sign when you’re roughly 1/8 through a novel. Certainly not a bad book, just not one I’d ever read again.

A fun space romp ,with engaging characters and plot. The book is well written and will be of interest to folks that like hard sci fi.

Thank You NetGalley, Erewhon Books, and Victor Manibo for the electronic copy. I tandem read with the Audio from Libby. I enjoyed both. This was literally a mystery-thriller. A class reunion on the luxury space Altaire ship equals drama, secrets, and answers. We follow several characters and learn their real natures, feeling like a reality episode. The mystery solved just when the thriller was taking control.

1 star. I really didn’t like this. However, I partly blame the marketing for that! I expected to read an entirely different book!

I thought I was getting "Knives Out in space." A fun thriller or mystery about rich people behaving badly, with secrets going back to their boarding school days. Just instead of an island, manor house or academic setting, it would be set on a space station! And while you can find elements of those things in the story, that is not this book! It’s not fun, it’s not juicy, it’s not a mystery or thriller.

The book is simply using hints of those genres and tropes to get the thematic content across, but it's doing it in a very clumsy and annoyingly heavy-handed way! It’s also incredibly repetitive. The same points get made over and over again while introducing barely any plot or characterisation! The writing style was also not to my liking and I found the dialogue especially awkward. On top of all of that, it was just very boring and made very little sense!

I didn’t think this was well-written or well-executed for my tastes, but what really bothers me is that it seems to me as if the author wanted to write a book about social and political struggles, but sadly, that book was marketed as a murder mystery in space, which it most certainly is not!

I’m never drawn to books that put the focus on social commentary. I much prefer a more subtle approach of lightly incorporating themes into genre fiction and letting the reader’s experience with a book determine their interpretation and impact. But I know there are a lot of people who appreciate reading on-page discussions of important topics and it's unfortunate and sad that the marketing strategy for Escape Velocity may be putting this book into the wrong hands.

This book started well and the mystery was very interesting.
<spoiler>I had mixed feelings from the middle to the rushed and shocking end of the book though. I understand that the book's ending was perhaps somehow logical if these people had as a goal to kill the richest 1% of the population, but to destroy all facilities in space seemed somehow short sighted and a huge throwaway of resources.</spoiler>

I want to apologize that this review came so late after publishing. I can partially fault myself and crazy work life for that, but also was not as enthralled with the book as I had hoped I would be at first glance.
This is a case of "the cover was neat and made me want to read it". Unfortunately the story itself did not live up to the expectations I had for it. I was hoping for more of a sci-fi focused plot but was surprised at how much political and social class structures information was woven into the story. Those topics aren't typically my cup of tea, so I wish it was a bit more focused on the science fiction.
I will say that I did enjoy the authors writing style, and feel that potentially in the future I may try out another book and see how I like it.
I want to thank the author and NetGalley for providing me this digital ARC to review.

**Warning small spoilers may be larger than they appear**

Thank you Kensington Books and Victor Manibo (Via Netgalley) for the advance reading copy of Escape Velocity in exchange for an honest review.

I was really attracted to the cover art of Escape Velocity, and was equally attracted by the blurb. Part Sci-fi, part mystery, part dystopia, part action, this book packs a lot of genres into its 368 pages.

I enjoyed the writing style in the book. I loved the concept of a working class revolt against an upper class elite in an effort to secure an exclusive place in the new Mars settlement, safe from the dying Earth. I also liked the concept of the merit system designed to benefit the upper 1% who have the means and resources to accrue points from elitist experiences. I would have loved a deeper dive into this system, and more description on the dire state on Earth, giving further weight to the desperation of the situation unfolding. Similarly, I would have loved more background into the hospitality staff personalities and history, and how they had organized themselves into revolution.

Whilst the mystery was an enjoyable addition, at times it felt a little removed from the story unfolding on the Altaire Space Habitat, and at times detracted from the tension mounting on board between staff and guests.

Overall this was an enjoyable and interesting read, however it did leave me wanting more detail to flesh out the politics driving the story.

** I received an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**

Victor Manibo's newest novel is a murder mystery set on board Space Habitat Altaire, a luxury resort playing host to the Rochford Institute class reunion. When this particular class was in their graduating year 25 years ago, Ava Khan's twin, Ashwin, was murdered. Though Ava was accused and Daniela took the fall, Ava knows that neither of them are guilty and she is determined to find out what happened. Everyone else has their own motivations for attending the reunion as well, first and foremost looking to jockey for a guaranteed spot in the Mars colony. With the abundance of wealth, corruption, and secrets, every person aboard the Altaire is sure to have their own agenda and it is easy for secrets to turn deadly.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should have DNFed this book. I am a fast reader. Genuinely, a multiple book per day is not unheard of or uncommon type of reader. It took me 12 days to get to 38% in this 368 page book. I'm not sure whether it was something about the writing, something about the slow pace with unfolding detail but very little action, or just knowing that every character involved in this story is genuinely living in morally grey zone and are not people to root for. I was able to finish the rest of the book in a single day due to borrowing the audiobook on Everand.

I liked the casual queerness and various types of queer relationships and representation of various ethnicities. In theory, this really should have been a story for me. Unfortunately, it just wasn't. Finishing the book actually brought the rating down for me as the pacing and choice of the ending was just completely dissatisfying for me.

I fully recognize there wasn't anything inherently wrong with this story, but I think it was likely a mismatch with me as a reader. I hope this book finds its target audience.

Escape Velocity deftly combines the tropes of a golden-age, closed-circle-of-suspects mystery with a creative vision of our future — all set aboard an Instagram-worthy posh space station hotel. The story starts with a sort of reverse cliffhanger: One of the characters is adrift in space, inexplicably wearing a tuxedo under his spacesuit, and desperately trying to figure out how to attract the attention of someone — anyone! — who can rescue him. From there, we meet the rest of the (shady) cast of characters at the 25th reunion of the posh Rochford Institute. Meanwhile, below decks, the staff is beginning to bristle against the privileged guests above. Author Victor Manibo does a good job juggling multiple plot lines and histories that keep the plot pulsing forward to its very dramatic conclusion. This is a fun, fast homage to 'And Then There Were None' set in space — an entertaining summer read with teeth.

Not what I expected, based on the blurb.

It's the end of the 21st century. A class reunion on a luxury space station. There are two ensembles of characters, the ones "below stairs" and the ones "above stairs".

The rich people "above stairs" have rich-people-problems. Foremost, how to outwit the MERIT system that could get them to Mars. They have known each other since school. They have drifted apart, but are happy to reconnect, again mostly to exploit their connections to their own advantage.

The crew "below stairs" is fed up with being invisible, having less value than the rich people. They work on the luxury space station to fund their families' lives down on Earth, which becomes less habitable by the minute.

This could have worked, but it was packed with a bit too much of everything, in my opinion:
- too many POV
- so many plot angles: dying Earth, "Capitalism is bad!", exploited workforce is enraged, murder mystery?, MERIT system benefits the rich straight population, another murder mystery in the past timeline, ...
- not a single like-able character
- why all the kinky stuff?

dnf @ 50%

This wasn't an issue with the book, I'm just in a serious reading slump right now.

I loved the premise, loved the complexity of all of the characters, and loved the combination of science fiction and mystery story telling. I think fans of cozy mystery, genre bending science fiction, near future science fiction, and stories with complex and not always likable characters will really enjoy this book. It just wasn't the right moment for me to read it.

This story was overstuffed and had so many characters that I didn't connect with any of them.

The first chapter opens with a bang so I was very invested. I love sci-fi, I love a little space politics, and a nice murder mystery is fun, however this book tries to do it all. We are consistently shifting back and forth in time, while also shifting between the 'upstairs' (rich space tourists) and the 'downstairs' (spaceship staff). There's also a light orgy scene, which left me wondering why it was included.

I love the idea but there were too many characters, too many time and setting shifts and too much political background for me to keep up. DNF'd at 50%.

I liked both major parts of this novel (the interpersonal drama of a high-school reunion that is also a murder mystery, and the action suspensey anti-capitalist revolt), however, I didn't think they worked very well together at all. Neither was given the space needed to really get into the tale, in depth, or to get a fully fleshed out ending.

A disturbing and thought-provoking glimpse into the not-so-near, not-too-far future. Earth has been devasted by climate change. Soaring temperatures, rising water levels, flood and famine and drought. The rich and famous are busy trying to resettle Mars. The eligibility criteria as laid down by the Mars Settlement Authority (MSA) is based on a point-based MERIT system, intrinsically skewed to eliminate underprivileged and economically backward populations from ever having a chance to settle on Mars. The book begins with a pharma heir billionaire lost in space while he was supposed to be attending a reunion of an elite school on a super-luxury space orbital resort. The story is narrated in shifting timelines from the points of view of various characters, None of them are particularly likeable. There is a lot of detailed imagery and world-building which results in slow pacing. There is also a lot of social commentary on discrimination, capitalism and colonialism. To that end it is not a pure sci-fi genre. I am so glad I stuck to the end though because that was definitely unexpected.

Thank you Netgalley, Kensington Books and Victor Manibo for the ARC.

"Knives Out in space with a Parasite twist" is honestly such a good description for this book.

The characters are just as unlikable and self-centred as those Knives Out characters. Do not expect to be able to root for anyone. Every single one of these characters is a hot mess and I enjoyed it a lot. Just struggled a bit that a lot of them had fucked up stuff to deal with, rich assholes aside, so I kind of wanted to feel for them, but also couldn't. The struggle was real. (it covers quite a few heavy topics, get yourself a list of trigger warnings if needed!!)
And yep, definitely Parasite like too. The overall theme was A+. More Eat the Rich in space books please and thank you.

Loved how all around queer it was! So many queer identities + a trans MC. I'm here for it!

I am not one to use comps when talking about a book, but this one was just so... comparable? It's Floating Hotel meets The Girls Are All So Nice Here meets Dark Academia™, which is a pretty cool combo IMO.

The premise was very entertaining- lots of secrets and mysteries, both past and present. There were quite a few characters, but it wasn't all that hard to keep track of them, as they had well developed backstories and such. Anyway, they're all well-to-do fancy boarding school alums, here on this space cruise to have a reunion. They've various levels of privilege among them, but it's clear that everyone has an agenda. For some, it is about revisiting the past. For others, it is about securing themselves a spot on a permanent off-Earth site, as Earth is failing. For some, it's simply about debauchery and living the high life for a bit. Whatever the motivations, you'll see many sides of these characters. So too will you see a bit of the folks who are not thrilled to be catering to their every whim. If I have one big-ish qualm with this book, it's that I think it would have worked better, especially the second half, had the rebellion worker been given a larger role throughout. It would have made everything connect much better, and I think would have made the ending feel a little more palatable. (No, I am not going to tell you about the ending- some people seem to love it, some seem to hate it, I personally didn't wholly mind it, though it didn't feel as satisfying as it could have, if all parties had been better explored. There, that is all you're getting, you absolute spoiler barbarians.)


Anyway. I enjoyed it, for the most part. It was exciting and full of action and secrets and all kinds of chaos, which I am here for. I also enjoyed the commentary and the diversity, and the whole messiness of even later stage capitalism. It was exciting and I loved trying to figure out all the secrets, so it was definitely another win for me from Manibo!

Bottom Line: Ambitious, but mostly does what it sets out to do, in a really packed and entertaining novel.

3
I was excited to get to this one after reading what it was about. Once I got into it I was enjoying it however, it did not stay focused on a current mystery element and instead was of a revenge. I wanted to get into the characters but I felt like something was not developed enough to really. I got confused a little. I liked this but did not LOVE it. It could be my current mood just not letting sink into the story well. I say check it out and see what you think.

Henry Gallagher awakes floating in space with no memory of how he got there rather than aboard the space station hosting his school reunion. He suspects it might have something to do with a classmate's murder 25 years ago. What he doesn't realize is that he is just one piece in a much larger plot taking place this weekend.

An intriguing mix of boarding school murder mystery, space station class reunion, and upstairs/downstairs class conflict. The author did an excellent job of creating a plausible near-future setting that is not as egalitarian as we might hope it will be. I got a little lost in the action towards the end of the novel, but I appreciated the world-building and character development throughout the novel.

Review to be posted to Goodreads and Instagram (@goodquietkitty) on May 20, 2o24.

This book has such a great premise, but I'm not sure it delivers (but maybe it does? I'm left confused). Without spoilers, it is hard to speak to exactly what makes the book unsatisfying, because it has to do with the way the plot twist changes the focus of the book.

Essentially, if the premise of the book is that we often focus on the wrong people, it doesn't NOT deliver, but I wish it had done a better job of the twist - maybe instead of all the flashbacks to teenage years, we had a series of flashbacks to the events of the novel showing them in a slightly different light once the plot twist was reveled?

A fun idea, even if the execution is shaky and I am curious about what the author does next!