Jal hasn't had anything to eat in over a day. He is on the run under a false identity and is looking for anyone who could use a laborer in exchange for a meal. By sheer accident, Jal is picked up by Ambit, a special little spacecraft with two things on board that are of particular interest to Jal:

1. Fresh apples,
2. A broody lad named Saint, with whom Jal shares a pretty complicated history.

Although the Ambit's crew puts Jal in handcuffs for the first few pages of his on-board presence, he integrates into the team remarkably quickly. When a distress call leads the crew to a remote planet, the unfamiliar world is eerily quiet. The barbed wire on a fence points the wrong way. The lock on a heavy door still has the key sticking out of it. What happened on the planet sends the characters on an adventure that might be more fit for television than a novel.

This is a strange blend of Annihilation and an ensemble sitcom, intermingled with some interpersonal baggage. Unfortunately, it didn't come together cohesively enough for my enjoyment. Largely, this comes down to poor character development. The novel makes the mistake of sending the characters on a big and scary mission without setting up what going on the mission means for any of them.

Cascade Failure is written in third-person point of view with the narration giving us insight into the thoughts of multiple different characters. The head-hopping feels unfocused and doesn't make for a very insightful look at any given character. I think the novel would benefit greatly from limiting the narration to the inner world of a single protagonist. But ensemble casts are trendy, and who am I to argue with trends.

The characters read like too-cute clichés rather than real people. Whenever the text over-explained their personalities, I felt patronized. There are too many declarations about things that are either obvious from the existing dialogue or should be written as dialogue or actions instead.

Many reviews say that this is a 'found family' story. But I feel like if that term applies here, then it must have lost all meaning. Cascade Failure has an ensemble cast with sitcom vibes, but it lacks the emotional complexity, evolution, and impact that would earn the title "family" for a group of unrelated characters who are on an adventure together.

--

Audiobook narrated by Torian Brackett:

In this narration, women sound like badly depicted silly creatures with inflated emotions. It does not help the existing issues with character development.

Thank you, Macmillan Audio and Tor, for a free Netgalley audio ARC of Cascade Failure.

4.25 stars

This was delightful!

Secrets? Check. Misfit crew? Check. Getting sucked into a big save the universe style plot? Check. I like a good range of scifi, and this combo of tropes ranks high on my list, so I was very excited to read it.

The characters here were well developed, had clear voices, and were very lovable. Listening to this on audiobook really brought them to life well. Definitely would recommend if you can! I’d be interested in knowing a bit more backstory here, which connects with my desire for a bit more world building info, but I’m still satisfied with what we got here.

I would like to know more about the world here. hyper capitalism in space is always a fun premise, but I’d like to understand the guild vs trust vs union situation. I’m most curious about the AI situation. Owan is a wonderful character but I want to understand the whole AI situation in a broader context. They struggle a lot with their identity, so I’m not sure if they’re like the only AI in the universe? Or maybe they’re unique in that perspective?

But all that to say, my desire to know more is stemming from the fact that I enjoyed this and just want to dig deeper in future books.

Maybe my one ding is the pacing. It does feel a bit slow at times - even mid action sequence there’s a lot of pausing to have an internal monologue and it diminishes the tension perhaps a bit.

Definitely picking up a physical copy when it releases! Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy!

I devoured this book. I think sci-fi is generally my least read genre but something about this description just promised a good time. It did not disappoint. I was listening at lunch, on breaks, really any chance I could just because I couldn't pull myself away from the crew of the Ambit. I can't help it, I am a sucker for found families, especially broken misfit found families. Torian Brackett is an exceptionally compelling narrator who struck just the perfect tone for all of the scenes. The characters are great and the writing makes each point of view very distinct but the narration amplifies that x1000 to make for a hellava good audiobook experience. This book has so much heart while also being action packed. Some beats were downright cinematic and gave me goosebumps. I guess my only complaint is that there were some moments where the description may have gotten a bit extra but I think that is just the eagerness of a debut writer pouring out their vision. I will absolutely recommend this book - I will shout it from the rooftops. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Jal, branded as a Guild deserter, accidentally sneaks aboard the Ambit (a Guild ship) only to get stuck along for the ride. The Ambit is captained by Eoan (an AI), and crewed by Saint (the executive officer, who knew Jal before), and Nash (ship's engineer and medic). Before they can turn Jal in, they respond to a distress call leading to an abandoned planet, a mass grave, one live programmer, and a looming threat.

This is a great sci-fi adventure debut and I'm excited to see a sequel has a release date set for later this year. What a group of misfits: Jal, Eoan, Saint, and Nash are an excellent found family. There's a fair bit of snark and quips, some drama, and I chuckled several times. Thoroughly enjoyed this audio book and narrator! A good narrator makes such a difference.

Thank you to @Macmillan.Audio for an advanced audio book on @NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

DNF @ 44%. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio. I am rating the book in NetGalley, but am shelving the book in my “quit” folder in Goodreads with a shorter version of this review and without a star rating. If someone is looking for an easy to read, action, space crew sci-fi, I could *maybe* recommend this. This is compared in the blurb to Becky Chambers and Firefly, the latter I can see it, the premise is pretty similar. But the book didn’t manage the charm and heart you have with found-families. I could see the attempts, but there was no magic there for me. The captain and Nash were the most interesting characters, but Jal was very lackluster as the star. I didn’t particularly care for the writing (I also downloaded the sneak peek on Kindle to see if the narration was skewing my opinion, it wasn’t the audiobook), so I was hoping the story would be fine enough (it just wasn’t). Last, I was largely not a fan of the narrator’s narration voice (mildly pitchy and monotone) nor of how he voice acted Jal and Saint, Eoan and Nash were voice acted perfectly. So between everything I thought it was time to accept this is not a book for me. Thank you again for the opportunity to review.

Jalsen Red (nickname Jal pronounced “Hall” in the audiobook) has been tagged as a deserter by the Trust (aka big corporate) and has spent a long time on the run, bumming under-the-table jobs on various spacecraft. One day, he comes aboard the Ambit looking for a job and is shocked to find his old mentor, Saint, is one of the tiny crew. The others are Nash, the temperamental mechanical genius, and Owan (that’s how it’s pronounced in the audiobook; don’t know the real spelling), the nonbinary AI captain.

Saint isn’t about to let Jal leave, and the issue becomes moot anyway when the Ambit receives a distress signal. On a planet that had been under development, the crew finds a whole lot of dead people and one live programmer, Anneke (nicknamed Anki), who they rescue. With severe complications along the way, the Ambit’s crew is off to find and disable the people and software behind a “deadworld” code that acts as a mass-murderous but cost-efficient way for Trust corporations to shut down unprofitable operations.

I wondered how much this book might resemble the Murderbot setup. Superficially, it does, what with the AI running the ship, and a main character who is different to the point of being almost an outcast. But Owan is more camp than ART’s snarky, and Jal, while he’s augmented, is human, not a bot (though Murderbot is way more than a bot). Author Sagas does aspire to the same sort of snappy dialogue, but this is a debut author so it’s not surprising that this isn’t as well executed. To me, this has more of a flavor of YA lit, with a lot more histrionic emotional content. (Though part of "histrionic" might be because of the narrator, who makes Anki sound like she's nearly in hysterics much of the time.) It’s not really to my taste, but that’s because of my age more than anything else. I think the book will find an enthusiastic readership.

Cascade Failure reads like a lost spin-off of Firefly, a small crew on an old but steady ship reconnect with a friend from the past and get pulled in to a dangerous conspiracy. In this universe, known as the Spiral, there are three real powers: the corporations (The Trust), the labor (Union) and the militaristic guild. The good ship Ambit is captained by a colorfully philosophic AI, Eoan. Nash is doctor/engineer with a passion for tools, knitting and tea. Saint is the chief officer and former ranger. There is also a ship cat forever seeking treats and samples of the crew's meals. The story begins with their reunion with Jal Red, an augmented former miner who has been labelled a deserter from the rangers, but is an old battle buddy of Saint.

The goal is to take Jal before the Guild to state his case, but as they head out they detour to answer an SOS that brings them to a planet suffering a catastrophic terraforming failure. Ambit's crew arrive just in time to save Anke, the apparent sole survivor, they are a coder who wants to stop what they call the "deadworld code" from propagated and killing millions.

It's a fun romp that is based on strong interpersonal relationships. Some of the characters are familiar archetypes, but they are far from one note or trapped in those roles. They care for each other, but there are no romantic entanglements.

The beginning to a fun space opera series that shows the power of working together and asks the reader about what makes a film or how trust is earned.

I really enjoyed this! The narrator was great and made unique voices for for each character that made it easy to understand who was talking
A very fun space adventure with compelling characters and interesting twists!

I knew this book was going to be a fun ride right from the get go. I enjoyed all of the character development and the action this story provided. There were parts that were super funny, super deep and a little sad and I don't have any negative thoughts to share. If you like stories that have a lot of action in a world in distant but maybe not too distant futures, like a band of misfits and fk ups and can enjoy good times and bad times during a story this is perfect!

A chaotic but fun and interesting tale with many twists and turns to keep the reader interested, I enjoyed the plot and characters. The dialogue was witty and the action was fun.

This was really a 4.5 star read for me. I loved the characters - I am a sucker for a found family in space, so these characters really won my heart. The plot was also very intriguing and kept me on my toes. I felt like the relationships developed a little quickly for my taste, which is why I am taking off a half star. We went from strangers to family in .5 seconds with some of these people, and I just didn't find that very realistic. That being said, this was everything I want in a sci-fi found family romp. I highly recommend!

This was a fun Sci fi romp. It features a group of likable misfits. It has witty banter, and a fun Sci fi adventure and the characters are so funny that you just can't help but like them. Looking forward to more in the series.

If you like fast-paced space adventures with found family and fun barre, then this is story absolutely delivers. It was a quick and entertaining time and I’m looking forward to the next installment though if you are one to shy away from series, just know that this one could be standalone story wise. There is just side stuff open for the next book.

This was a great sci-fi book! It was non stop action, and filled with so much that I went through so many emotions. I loved the witty banter, and the misfit family feeling! I look forward to the next!

I really do not understand the incredibly high rating for this book on Goodreads (although reading some of them, if you told me they were ringers written by the publisher and/or the author's friends, I'd understand that). They're just ridiculously over the top and glowing. Comparing it to Firefly and The Expanse (two of the most wildly popular scifi shows of the past 20 years) and talking about "unabashed awe"... Firefly and The Expanse had grit, they had characters you cried over, and it was a world where a main character could suddenly get killed or the captain could get his ear sliced off. This book has all its sharp edges sanded off to the point where I cannot understand where the comparisons are coming from, unless it's as simple as "This book also has a group of characters in a spaceship." I'm glad the author has such a strong support system, but *wow* do I feel it's unwarranted with this book.

It's fine. There's nothing wrong with fine. Becky Chambers fans might find a lot to appreciate here. But the characters don't have heart, and I'm positive I won't remember them by the time the second book comes out (not that I'll be bothering with it when it does). A more honest rating would probably be two stars, but rounding up for people who go in expecting Becky Chambers coziness instead of anything resembling The Expanse.