Liquid Crystal Nightingale

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Liquid Crystal Nightingale defied my expectations, doing something I hadn’t expected: being utterly unique. I am often bothered by the repetitive nature of science fiction, and while some of the tropes were familiar the backdrop of the story was cutting-edge (yes, Geology pun intended).

Most of my difficulties stem from the rapid pace of the world-building and the amount of trust in the author required of the reader early on. The worldbuilding was fantastic but dense, and requires the reader to be comfortable being confused. I can foresee people becoming frustrated with the lack of information presented at the beginning, but things become clear over time. While I was comfortable puzzling things out, I do admit that trying to piece together the world took me out of the story at times. Furthermore, the perspective jumped around to suit the plot and less so to develop character. I felt like I got to know Pleo, Marsh, and Dumorier, but the rest of the perspectives felt hazy, including Saurebaras’, which was a shame because she had a lot to offer when she did control the narrative.

Still, despite my occasional frustration, overall I thought the novel was absolutely singular, and a refreshing breath of fresh air that stood out as compared to much of contemporary science fiction. The worldbuilding was unparalleled, and I was instantly immersed, wanting to know as much as possible about the city and the characters. The meld of geology and political space opera—two things I would have never connected— made for a unique backdrop for the world.

One of my regrets was that the relationships were not developed more thoroughly. While the characters were well rounded and introspective, there was a significant lack of connection between them. While our principal characters brushed up against each they didn’t form meaningful connections, which surprised me. The exception to this was the relationship between Marsh and Setona, which I loved, employer and employee evolving into a kind of friendship and kinship. Also, THE DISPLAY LEOPARD!!!! Absolutely what could be better than that.

A thrilling space opera ride, Liquid Crystal Nightingale follows Pleo Tanza as she attempts to clear her name of murder. With vivid world building and atmospheric writing, this novel is a wild ride from start to finish! Pleo is a sympathetic protagonist, and I was constantly on the edge of my seat throughout her race against time. I highly recommend this novel for fans of epic sci-fi such as The Expanse series.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was an interesting murder mystery set in the future. I enjoyed the unique setting and plot. The characters were interesting and pulled you into novel.

Wow - reading Liquid Crystal Nightingale feels a little bit like the first time you read Snow Crash or Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - things are happening, you're doing your best to keep up, you start to understand that you won't understand everything, and by the time you realize how invested you are the finale, it's over. Lee does a remarkable job at tossing you into a fully formed world, where bits and pieces of the history of Chatoyance and the Tanza family come at you in fleeting comments, and everyone has a history and backstory. I enjoyed how Lee was able to create a story that felt complete without needing to answer every question she posed; not everything needs to be tied up in a bow. I look forward to seeing what else Lee writes, especially if she continues to explore the universe she has masterfully created.

Liquid Crystal Nightingale sounded interesting enough; it's basically a murder mystery with political underpinnings set in a space colony in the future. I wanted to devour it but found myself struggling to anchor myself in the story and the world. It didn't help that besides the very carefully structured and described advanced future on Chatoyance that hinged heavily on gemology (something I have no idea about), it also flipped back and forth in time with rampant flashbacks and scarce signposts of whether the thing happening was in the present or the recent past or actually a few years back by now.

This makes it sound like I hated the book. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. It just required too much effort at the initial level. I admit, I am a very lazy reader. I was planning to review this according to my normal schedule on Wednesday (I DID finish it by then), but decided bagi chance la and did a re-read. The second read-through flowed much better when I could orient myself properly.

The world-building is well done. Chatoyance and its related space colonies feel fully-formed with interesting histories and backstories; the Tiers, the mining industries, the Artisans, the underworld and their religions. There are so many layers to the world that it has a life of its own--though that might have been its own downfall; the multi-layered complexity may have been what confused me (I don't do very well following real-life political intrigue either). I think it would appeal very much to more science-y types (or actual gemologists!) and those who like layers upon layers of political conspiracy.

The ending feels a little like an Inspector Rebus book: the mystery has been solved and the perpetrators caught, but the actual conclusion is still slightly vague. You have to read between the lines (a few times) to figure out what the perpetrators have admitted to and are being arrested for. There's a sort-of satisfaction to this, I guess.

This is quite good. Interesting setting and characters. along with some mystery. The story kept me engaged and is written in a nice style. Recommended for space opera fans.

Thanks very much for the review copy!!