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!

Dark, disturbing, cerebral; a meditation on class and wealth gaps set in the vastness of space.

Unfortunately, the pace and multi POV left for a disjointed narrative that never really gelled. I think either one of the plot lines would have been interesting, but the subplot just took away from the compelling main storyline. It would have made a very entertaining dual timeline murder mystery otherwise.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

Victor Manibo’s second novel Escape Velocity is an odd mix of genres it has the vibe of a classic crime novel meeting a kind of Downtown Abbey/Upstairs Downstairs narrative together with a fall of Rome view of the 0.1% all in a science fiction context. Some of this works, some of it doesn’t, and not all of it sits well together, except possibly in a broad thematic way. But for the most part the mystery works and the scenario that Manibo presents engaging.
The present day action of Escape Velocity takes place on a luxury space station called Altaire which is hosting the twenty-fifth reunion for a class from the Rochford Institute an exclusive private school. Most of the alumni of that class, already children of the 0.1%, have themselves gone on to run the companies that essentially run the world. The narrative focusses on four of these – Henry Gallagher, Tom ‘Laz’ Lazarro, Charles Sloane and Ava Khan – four friends from that high schools who all have ulterior motives for being at the event. Sitting beneath all of this is the death of Ava’s abusive brother at the school, a death that Ava was blamed for and that the other three were involved in. The rest of the passengers are members of the ultra-wealthy elite, all of whom are jockeying for a place in a mew settlement on Mars as the Earth dies beneath them. The application for being part of the Mars settlement is as rigged as everything else, and they all know it. Meanwhile, trouble is brewing among the huge numbers of service staff - underpaid, overlooked and fed up with the institutional injustice that they experience and witness.
From its cold open which has Henry waking to find himself thrown overboard in a failing space suit, it feels like Escape Velocity is going to be some sort of Agatha Christie-style country estate mystery (set in space). But by the time the narrative comes back to Henry it is clear that Manibo has other things on his mind. The decades old mystery is a bit of a driver for some of the action but really just ends up providing some colour and backstory to the characters. And to show that these people did not become selfish with age- that they were always selfish and self serving.
And in the end, that is the underlying vibe of Escape Velocity. It is a novel about class warfare. About the people who sit on the top of the pile and manipulate the rules to their own benefit. About the fact that even with all of this privilege it is never enough, that they always want more. And it is about those who have to stand servile in the background. Which is not surprising given Manibo’s author bio which lists him as a ‘queer [Filipino] immigrant (many of the characters in Escape Velocity, both rich and poor, are Filipino) and a person of colour. That is not to say that this is a staid lecture on class politics but with scenes like an orgy in a lunar-inspired bathhouse or everyone getting dressed up for an opera in a faux-Venetian opera house in space, it is also not particularly subtle either.
So in many respects Escape Velocity is a bait and switch – come for the murder mystery (such as it is) and stay for the social commentary. Which allows for plenty of revelation, action and wish fulfilment in the final act even while it does not make a whole lot of sense.

Escape Velocity was described as “Knives Out in space with a Parasite twist”, which ended up being a perfect description. Combining all the best parts of a mystery and a thriller, with conspiracy and multiple timelines, it’s a great space mystery story.

Escape Velocity is the second novel by Filipino author Victor Manibo whose prior novel The Sleepless was an anti-capitalist sci-fi Noir exploring a world where some people no longer had to sleep. It was a really interesting debut and made me very intrigued to see what Manibo would do for an encore. Escape Velocity is the result: a novel that takes the anti-capitalist themes up a notch, as the novel is centered around an elite prep school reunion for the ultra rich and powerful on a state of the art luxury space station....above an Earth those same rich and powerful have left devastated, such that the average person is barely able to survive a constantly changing for the worse climate.

The book is marketed as a thriller and contains elements of a mystery and yet...isn't really either of those things and yet it's still very interesting and very good. Most of the book is centered around the past and present stories of the 1% main characters, who you will very much wish will get their comeuppance very soon into the book as they are largely assholes, even if they have some sympathetic moments (Ava, the trans girl who was abused by her murdered brother and whose poor lover was blamed for the murder, is the most sympathetic but even still). And then there's the workers on the station whose perspectives show them scheming in some fashion underneath it all, whom you will hope more and more to succeed. The result is really an interesting exploration of class and anti capitalist themes that is also kind of a commentary on other books which center such rich protagonists - I'll try to explain better after the jump.

Plot Summary:
It's the 25th year reunion for the Rochford Institute - the elite high school that teaches the elite of the elite and prepares them to essentially rule the world from the government or corporate positions their families have passed down from generation to generation. These reunions are known for being filled with orgies and scheming, and games of power and sex conducted there have massively changed the world. So what better place to host this reunion than the Space Habitat Altaire, the brand new ultra luxury space station orbiting their dying Earth....especially as just going to the Altaire will give each reunion member extra credit towards their application to leave that Earth and join the new colonies being set up on Mars.

For former teenage friends Ava, Sloane, Henry, and Laz, this reunion comes with its own particular opportunities. For Sloane, that's the ability to supplement his income, reduced by his family's ruin, by serving as in person Dom to one of the richer guests, even as he has a distaste for it all. For Henry, it's the chance to blackmail his way to Mars, in spite of a secret health ailment that should disqualify him. For Laz, it's the possibility of getting another chance to romance Ava, the childhood love who got away. And for Ava, it's the chance to figure out which of the three of the others was responsible for murdering her abusive twin brother Ashwin and who let Ava's poor drug dealing lover take the fall for the crime.

But there are non Rochford people on the Altaire with their own agenda - an agenda to take advantage of the fact that the most powerful people in the world, the ones who have ruined the planet for the rest of them, are all onboard and at their mercy.....

Escape Velocity starts in media res to heighten tension before flashing back to the main plot (and then occasionally flashing back further 25 years to what happened with Ashwin) and following a series of main characters - Rochford grads Ava, Sloane, Henry, and Laz as well as Cielo Mallari, the Head of Guest Relations....and also one of the heads of a plot with the rest of the workers of the Altaire to do...something. Notably, the book does a pretty good job getting you to generaly hate its biggest protagonists Henry, Laz, and Sloane (although Sloane is kind of self hating) and their ilk among their class. Ava, as the trans woman abused by her brother physically and emotionally abused by her family (and whose lover was killed because of it), is treated a bit more sympathetically, as she has faced genuine abuse and trauma....but even there, the book very clearly doesn't want you to really sympathize with its most frequent points of view.

The story takes place in a future Earth where the planet is getting hotter and more wrecked by climate change caused of course by capitalism and the rich. The poorer people have had to desperately scramble to find land that is livable as their older lands became too flooded, too hot, or too otherwise uninhabitable, while the rich have seized the best land for themselves and created luxury space stations to live decadently...and now are planning to leave the dying planet for Mars, where they've managed to set up what seem like self sustaining colonies. And they've limited immigration to Mars via a point-based "MERIT" system which is supposedly meant to ensure only the most useful people can go to Mars but really means only the most rich and connected can go....and said system is biased in other prejudiced ways - for example, Ava's father was so offended by her existence that he imposed a penalty for couples being unable to procreate...and thus a "gay tax" is part of the system. Meanwhile of course, the most useful people to any actual new colony would be those actually used to labor...but those people are of course excluded.

It's this setting that allows Manibo to contrast our asshole main characters with the help staff on the station who are plotting to upstage them. Adding to this is the flashback mystery of what happened to Ava's abusive brother Ashwin and who murdered him and how what happened back then shows just how selfish the other main characters - Laz, Sloane, and Henry - really are. They may claim to love others or to do things for others, but they really care about themselves, with Laz perfectly being willing to dominate in an orgy, even to the extent of making an actress remove her head covering when she doesn't want to, or Henry being willing to commit desperate actions to hide his illness to get to Mars, or Sloane being absolutely willing to blackmail and to be a hypocrite even as he recognizes how awful they all are. And while Ava is the best of them, she hasn't broken free from the system and remains absolutely a part of it, even as she knows how utterly broken it is and how her father and others like him have caused such tremendous damage. Manibo even throws in a seemingly random incident in which a satellite with ties to an oppressive government ignores calls for rescue from a person overboard to instead fire missiles at a political enemy down on the Earth below, so as to make it clear how hypocritical and awful those who rule the Earth really are.

And so we Manibo shows us everything getting more and more decadent and elite until the plot of the workers on the Altaire, led by Cielo, finally takes center stage in the book's final act. Those who are looking to see a clear and happy final result shouldn't expect one here, but this book does end on a kind of hopeful note with those we hate getting their comeuppance, so it is satisfying in the end. There really isn't a full plot to this novel but that doesn't stop it from being a very interesting second novel.

I enjoyed this. I usually don't love movies as comp titles for books but I totally get it here, this really did feel like Knives Out (possibly Glass Onion?) in space with a Parasite twist. That is the correct vibe.

What I liked: I loved the various plot lines and how they all twisted together. I am a person who is not often surprised at surprise twists but this one definitely got me a few times. I think the multiple parallel mysteries kept things interesting, and I appreciated how every person had their own secret and motivation. I like the backdrop of climate disaster and how they are all kind of dancing around the idea that earth will be unlivable soon even though that's clearly the motivation for a lot of this.

What I didn't like: some of the mustache-twirling evil of the rich in this book was a bit overdone. Like, why are they having business orgies?? Such a weird concept and scene. I also thought some of the discussions of the evils of wealth could have been more subtle, but it didn't particularly bother me.

CW for transphobia (not by the author, by characters who are presented negatively), some homophobia, murder (not overly graphic), violence, & sex (not spice scene sex, more like, wow this is happening?? sex).

The second that I saw "Knives out with a Parasite twist" I knew that I needed this book i m m e d i a t e l y. My favorite genre is anything set on a space-ship, space hotel, etc. I love space horror, generation ships, and I will never say no to a Knives-Out-esque space hotel mystery. I really liked this story. I enjoyed all of the different perspectives, as I found it made the story really fast-paced because you were constantly moving on to new things and new people. I enjoyed getting to explore the world and immediate setting through the characters, and I found the through line of the mystery to be pretty interesting--I definitely wished for it to be a little faster paced in that aspect, with clues and murders and space hotel hijinks, but it was okay.
Ultimately, I really loved the idea and the atmosphere, and the story was fast paced. However, I do wish that the mystery aspect was fleshed out a little more, because I definitely think the one aspect of the story that I didn't like as much as the others was the fact that all the threads were both laid too bare and not woven together in a twisty-turny way.