Assassin's Orbit

Now that tagline dragged me in...

This was absolutely fantastic. It was space opera at its finest and I loved it.
The story moved along at a great pace, meaning this was a un-put-downable and the action was effortless and a credit to the writer as I really visualised what was happening.. I just kept thinking 'one more page' and before I knew it, I was finished! (I travel a lot for work). I love wormholes, space, snark, wit, and tech-light scifi so absolutely brilliant for me.

The characterisation was a little light, but I felt that suited the novel and the pace. If I wanted heavily nuanced characters I would look to read something that wasn't Golden Girls meets The Expanse with a side of Babylon Five!!! All three of those shows had great characters, but they were so much more: politics, communities, worlds, social issues, grit, the works and I felt that this book offered everything in an easy-to-digest format.

This is unique. The older main cast of characters is just so refreshing and I want more.

Thank you Netgalley/John/Rebellion

This is a really great book, absolutely loved it! Delightful that most of the main characters are in their 60s, with all the baggage and wisdom that can come with that. Even the younger characters are mature. This starts out as a murder investigation set on a space station, but evolves into a very complicated political situation involving three different governments and an insurgent group. There are a lot of viewpoints to follow, and each is presented with a lot of sophistication and nuance. There are police, military, government, criminal, and private citizen viewpoints to keep straight. Just about every person in a position of authority or power is a woman or non-binary person, but in a very matter-of-fact way. I can't think of a single character described as white. There's a reason for this, several centuries prior a limited number of people having escaped Earth via space elevators at various points along the equator. The conflict that led to that is explored enough to not be a gaping hole, but as this story evolves it becomes clear it's not over yet, which opens the door to a sequel I hope is in the works!

Golden Girls meets The Expanse with a side of Babylon Five.

So that's the tag line that grabbed my attention on Netgalley and I think it delivered. That it's set on a space station was what sealed the deal for my wanting to read this.

I won't give any spoilers but I can say that between the murder mystery thread and the wider political conspiracy intrigue, I don't know which part I enjoyed most. I don't think I've ever read a story that had the main protagonists in this circumstance as what we now consider senior citizens. I liked that perspective and found it very cool. That the main investigators were working with decades of experience and life behind them seemed to inform their actions and made for a richer telling. I also liked that the young one was in her forties and she was the one who while, strong and very good at her job (she totally held her own and I quite liked her), sometimes chaffed running up against the experience of those ahead of her.

The station was described in vivid detail and I really enjoyed that aspect of the story. That there are other stations mentioned had me hoping this is a series or duology so that maybe some time can be spent on those as there are said to be differences. I enjoyed reading about the technology and none of it seemed impossible and made this feel grounded in the possible world we inhabit. I'm interested. The political tensions and the larger Commonwealth situation seemed to open the story to more as well.

I'd read another by Appel and hopefully in this universe.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy.

This was a space opera extravaganza that gripped me. I needed something light following my previous read and this filled the gap nicely.

The characters are unique and refreshing. It's brilliant seeing a cast of mature sleuths in action and I loved the camaraderie and dialogue.

I hope we come back to this world as it's clear by the end ,(no spoilers) that there's room for sequels, which I warmly welcome!!

A fantastic space opera that left me wanting more!

I absolutely loved this book! The characters, the plot and the writing pulled me in and didn't let go until the final page. I love sci-fi so this was right up my alley. It's always hard finding the right mix of space shenanigans and action, and this book fulfilled that hole in my heart.

Assassin's Orbit is a must read for sci-fi fans who want to take an action-packed trip through space!

This space opera starts off with a murder mystery, and widens into a political situations with increasingly important stakes. The pacing is brisk to fast, with plenty of action--and at the heart of pretty much all the action are a bunch of ass-kicking seniors in their sixties. The main villain was obvious from the gitgo, but there is plenty of space for shades of gray, and a couple of surprises. (No spoilers--it's so much more fun not to know what's ahead.)

I really, really enjoyed this book. The narrative voice is fun and vivid, the diversity is awesome, and there is enough resolution to be satisfying, while leaving very, very tempting threads for what I really hope will be future volumes.

This is a very clever and engaging mystery story, set in a space opera-type future. The plot revolves around discovering who was behind an assassination, but as we learn more about this scifi universe, it becomes clear that there are even greater mysteries to be solved. There is plenty of action, and some political intrigue to add different layers to the story.

I really liked the main characters in the story, even though there really wasn't a ton of time spent on character development. The main characters are in their 60s, and it was a nice touch to see their years of experience and wisdom proving to be so valuable.

Overall I really enjoyed this book more than I expected to, and I hope there will eventually be a sequel!

The tagline for the book intrigued me and made me request an advanced reader copy. The book immediately started out with a murder mystery that delves into a deeper political conspiracy all taking place on a space station. Fast paced with many memorable characters, most of which are middle aged and older, but total badasses.

The plot and character development were fantastic. The story had very few lulls and continued to snowball throughout the story. There were multiple POVs and a few times I forgot who characters were or mixed them up. Overall, though it sort itself out quickly. This was a fantastic summer sci-fi read and I look forward to reading more fron thsi author in the future!

ARC copy was provided by Netgalley

Representation: Main characters are senior citizens and all women. Full BIPOC cast, multiple queer characters, use of neopronouns.

The planet Ileri is planning to vote on joining the Commonwealth, but a government minister is assassinated, which threatens everything that people have worked for. Private investigator Noo Okereke, spy Meiko Ogawa, and police chief Toiwa are forced to work together on the investigation. They discover a wide-spread political conspiracy, something that was thought to have been left behind in the past civilization, and tensions running through everything. What these three discover could spark a whole interplanetary war if the mystery isn’t solved.

Rating: 5/5 There is SOOOO much that I left out, because I don’t want to spoil anything, and I wouldn’t do it justice. This takes place mostly on a space station, with one brief trip planetside. All of our main characters are women and what we would consider senior citizens, which is great! This definitely changed how the story was told, because each of these characters have decades of experience and knowledge with them. This is basically a space opera, and damn, I loved it! There’s multiple queer characters, neopronouns are used, and all of them are BIPOC from what I can figure. One bit of note, there are a lot of characters, so it can sometimes be hard to keep track of who’s who, especially when the perspective’s changed between chapters. Just be aware of that going into this, but apart from this, I loved this book and would absolutely recommend for those who enjoy sci-fi, mysteries, thrillers, political intrigue.