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Escape Velocity
Escape Velocity | Victor Manibo
5 posts | 2 read | 2 to read
A twisty new near-future genre-bending thriller: Knives Out in space with a Parasite twist. A decades-old murder looms over the glamorous clientele of a high-end space hotel . . . while an unforeseen threat percolates in the service corridors. The guests are about to experience the hospitality they deserve. Space Habitat Altaire is the premier luxury resort in low Earth orbit, playground of the privileged and the perfect location to host reunions for the Rochford Institute. Rochford boasts only the best: the wealthiest, most promising students with the most impressive pedigrees. Complete with space walks, these lavish reunions are a prime opportunity for alumni to jockey for power with old friends and rivalsand crucially, to advance their applications to live in an exclusive Mars settlement. Earth is dying, and only the best deserve to save themselves. Aboard the Altaire for their 25th reunion, finance magnate Ava pursues the truth about her brothers murder during their senior year, which cast a dark shadow over their time at Rochford. Laz, ambassador and political scion, hopes to finally win Avas heart. Sloane, collecting secrets to conceal his familys decline, angles for a key client. And Henry, heir to a healthcare empire, creates an unorthodox opportunity to get to Mars in a last-ditch effort to outrun a childhood secret. While these erstwhile friends settle scores and rack up points, they fail to notice that other agendas are afoot at the Space Habitat Altaire, and their own futures arent the only ones at stakethe best will soon regret underestimating those they would leave behind on Earth.
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blurb
TheSpineView
Escape Velocity | Victor Manibo
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#LSFBC #LitsySciFiBookClub
Discussion is now open for this month's selection, Escape Velocity. I have presented a few questions to get us started; however, you are welcome to discuss anything. Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the tag list.

@Larkken @Deblovestoread @bnp @Johanna414 @BookmarkTavern @julesG @sebrittainclark @BookBelle84 @Readergrrl @CSeydel @Roary47 @Lizpixie @AmandaBlaze @psalva @rretzler

TheSpineView 1. I thought there were too many POVs. I felt it diluted the story. 2. My favorite plot line was the murder mystery. I also think the story would have been much better if it had focused on that and no more than one subplot. 3. My biggest takeaway is not about the story per se, it is that this could have been two separate books. One about the murder mystery and the other about the class struggles. 3w
See All 12 Comments
The_Literary_Jedi Multi POV would‘ve been better if there was less about social class; I was intrigued by the murder/mystery and wish it were the focus; I also think this would be better as 2 separate stories (edited) 3w
Ruthiella @The_Literary_Jedi @TheSpineView I agree that this could easily been two novels, one that focused on the murder mystery and one about the class division and unrest. It was too packed with ideas for any of them to really be dealt with satisfactorily. 3w
Ruthiella Annalee Newitz blurbed this book and I did think of her book The Terraformers, which we read last year, in how Manibo shows a gender queer friendly future. I appreciated this aspect of the book. (edited) 3w
TheSpineView @Ruthiella "Satisfactorily" Yes! This story left me with a feeling of want. 3w
Larkken Maybe the multiple povs would be ok if they weren‘t all so unlikeable 😆 3w
Larkken @Ruthiella @TheSpineView yes, a bit overpacked and I didn‘t fully connect with anything as a result 3w
kwmg40 I did not manage to read this book in time. I'm still waiting for a library copy, but based on the mixed reviews I'm seeing, I'm not sure if will get around to it. If someone says, “Yes, this is an absolute must-read“, then I will keep it on the TBR list. 3w
RamsFan1963 I didn't care for any of the characters, they all seemed so shallow and self service, I couldn't find myself rooting for any of them. There were a number of things that annoyed me about the book, I felt Ava being transgender was used as a gimmick and she was never filled developed as a character. I did get into the mystery of who killed Ava's brother (and why), but then the conclusion kind of made the whole mystery kind of a moot point. 3w
TheSpineView @RamsFan1963 I agree with you on the characters. They were rather two-dimensional. It was a gimmick. 3w
36 likes12 comments
review
RamsFan1963
Escape Velocity | Victor Manibo
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Mehso-so

103/150 I was ready to give this a low pick, because I was invested in finding out what happened to Ava's brother back when they were in school, but then came the absolutely ridiculous ending that botched the whole book IMO. The author always seemed to be wanting to say more, but the book, like most of the characters, remained shallow and underdeveloped. 3 ⭐⭐⭐ #LitsySciFiBookClub

Ruthiella I agree with your take. I finished it today and I think he tried to get too much into one novel. But he also didn‘t pull punches in killing people off, which I appreciated. 4w
RamsFan1963 @Ruthiella Yes none of his characters were safe, and the author was creative in his kills. I'm glad we found out who killed the brother and why, even though the ending made it kind of anticlimactic 4w
Lesliereadsalot Not rushing to finish this one! 4w
57 likes3 comments
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Ruthiella
Escape Velocity | Victor Manibo
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#whereareyoumonday

This Monday finds me in outer space again with this month‘s #LitsySciFiBookclub pick. I am orbiting Earth in 2086 on a luxury space station (think a cruise ship turned up to 11). The guests are all there for a high school class reunion with all the emotions and drama that brings. Plus an unsolved murder, lower decks tension, a race for Mars… there‘s a lot going on!

Lesliereadsalot I‘ve gotta get to this one! 1mo
BarbaraBB You‘re out of space again! (edited) 1mo
Ruthiella @Lesliereadsalot It‘s very busy…not sure I‘m keeping it all straight. 1mo
Ruthiella @BarbaraBB I know! With reading at least two sci-fi books a month , it happens a lot. 😆 1mo
BarbaraBB I had no idea you read that much SF. Cool! 1mo
58 likes5 comments
blurb
TheSpineView
Escape Velocity | Victor Manibo
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So sorry I am running behind. No internet still and spotty cell coverage has put a wrench in things.
The votes are in and October's selection is Escape Velocity by Victor Manibo. I found it at my library as both a physical book and ebook. I see that Amazon has the audio book. Happy Reading! ❤️📖🚀

@Larkken @Deblovestoread @bnp @Johanna414 @BookmarkTavern @julesG @sebrittainclark @BookBelle84 @Readergrrl @CSeydel @Roary47 @Lizpixie @Ruthiella

BookmarkTavern My library‘s got a copy too! 2mo
See All 10 Comments
Deblovestoread Placed my Libby hold. Only a 2 week wait so 🤞🏼 enough time to read before end of month. 2mo
julesG I read the ARC, but will chime in with the discussion. 2mo
TheSpineView @Deblovestoread 👍❤️📖 2mo
TheSpineView @julesG Great plan! 2mo
Ruthiella Library availability is great! Hoopla audio along with the paper copy! 👍🚀 2mo
53 likes10 comments
review
julesG
Escape Velocity | Victor Manibo
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Mehso-so

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 ⬇️

#NetGalley #ARC

julesG 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

⬇️
6mo
julesG - 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?
6mo
TieDyeDude Thanks for the review! I was interested when I heard about it, but I've seen a couple similar reviews, so I'll likely pass. 6mo
julesG @TieDyeDude You can easily skip this one and spend your precious reading time with another book 6mo
51 likes4 comments