LoveReading Says
A Maxim Jakubowski selected title.
Both a spy story and a splendid space opera, this strong science fiction debut by a young British author is mighty impressive. Highly praised by no other than Joanne Harris it is mostly set on the remote heavy gravity and storm-covered colony planet of Magenta. Mourning the death of his own wife, agent Keon Rouse, returns to his native home only to find himself accused of theft and becomes involved in investigating a new, deadly drug. Helping him along is a simulacrum of his late wife, who was also an intelligence operative. As the plot explodes into all sorts of tantalising tangents, the odd couple strengthen their bond and face a series of machinations and conspiracies that soon become a threat to everything they knew about their past marriage. All the rigour of a tightly plotted classic crime story with all the technicolour thrills of SF at its most gaudy. Wonderful. ~ Maxim Jakubowski
Maxim Jakubowski
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Fiction
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From Darkest Skies Synopsis
After a five year sabbatical following the tragic death of his wife and fellow agent Alysha, Keon Rause returns to the distant colony world of Magenta to resume service with the Magentan Intelligence Service. With him he brings an artificial recreation of his wife's personality, a simulacrum built from every digital trace she left behind. She has been constructed with one purpose - to discover the truth behind her own death - but Keon's relationship with her has grown into something more, something frighteningly dependent, something that verges on love.
Cashing in old favours, Keon uses his return to the Service to take on a series of cases that allow him and the artificial Alysha to piece together his wife's last days. His investigations lead him inexorably along the same paths Alysha followed five years earlier, to a sinister and deadly group with an unhealthy fascination for the unknowable alien Masters; but as the wider world of Magenta is threatened with an imminent crisis, Keon finds himself in a dilemma: do his duty and stand with his team to expose a villainous crime, or sacrifice them all for the truth about his wife?
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781473214767 |
| Publication date: |
8th February 2018 |
| Author: |
Sam Peters |
| Publisher: |
Gollancz an imprint of Orion |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
328 pages |
| Series: |
From Darkest Skies |
| Primary Genre |
Fiction
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Sam Peters Press Reviews
'A first class SF thriller. Even though Peters wrapped up the case, I still wanted to know more about the universe of Magenta.' Peter F. Hamilton
'A masterly piece of writing and plotting that manages to merge classy space-opera with a police procedural as twisty as a Christie' Joanne Harris
'Immersive SF, full of world-building detail, with a twisted love story at its heart.' Financial Times
'Interesting and powerful' SFX
'It's easy to see why From Darkest Skies has already been optioned for TV, what with its cinematic action and fast-paced plot, but the real strength lies in the humanity of its characters.' SciFiNow
'Peters convincing world-building and a tense plot mean that this is a debut destined to make waves.' The Morning Star
'It reminded me... of Peter F Hamilton's work... I thoroughly enjoyed it and with two more sequels due, it's a solid and promising start.' Fantasy Book Review
'Crime noir in the style of Blade Runner.' The Book Bag
About Sam Peters
Sam Peters is a mathematician, part-time gentle-person adventurer and occasional screenwriter who has seen faces glaze over at the words 'science fiction' once too often. Inspirations include Dennis Potter, Mary Doria Russell, Lynda La Plante, Neal Stephenson, and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Has more hopes than regrets, more cats than children, watches a lot of violent contact sport and is an unrepentant closet goth.
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