This book as earned a place on my favorites shelf after reading through the more that 400 pages in one sitting.

In the near future (approx. 200 years), the world has changed in profound ways as it struggles under increasing human population until a global pandemic kills off enough to give us some time to plan. The current hegemonies were reorganized with China ascendent on earth with an aggressive American Union that had lost its way and devolved into a quasi Christian theocracy in all but name, while the powerful elites escape to space orbitals owned and run by competing business conglomerates. The advent of Chinese interstellar engines, a closely guarded monopoly, enables earth to attempt colonizing worlds in other start systems, so the Americans, with Chinese help, build and launch several colonies ships, leveraging cryogenic tech to help the crew through the decades long journeys and keep resources manageable for such a voyage. The first colony at Bethesda landed and seemed to be doing well when it suddenly goes silent. Quickly finding out what happened to the 5000 colonists may hold the key to the success of the remaining colony ships, so an international “rescue” is launched to find out.

The world building here was absolutely fantastic, with a hard science feel without the typically long, and potentially boring, tech descriptions that gave everything a natural feel. That said, this story is almost completely character driven, with just enough action to maintain the dramatic tension. The main character is an orbital pilot that was recruited at the last minute to replace the second in command for the rescue mission. As a Canadian, with a Russian brother-in-law, working at the top of a Chinese space elevator in Kenya Africa, she quickly finds her “neutrality” the key to keeping the paranoid, multination crew of the rescue mission together after the captain dies enroute in a “suspicious” compartment fire. Everybody is keeping secrets and trying to figure out each mystery is really what drives this story forward … what happened to the colonists on Bethesda … who “sabotaged” the cryogenic chamber where 7 of the crew died and why … what are the secretive Chinese engineers (the only team allowed to maintain the interstellar drive) hiding … and who is the mysterious spy watching over everything. Each character is broken in some way and this is hinted at or revealed through crew interaction (reminiscent of a good murder mystery). Some of the secrets are progressively revealed through flashbacks as we get the backstory of what the MC volunteered for the trip where everybody she knows will likely gorget all about her before she returns (if they are even still alive by then). Some become red herrings and feints that totally pulled my in (well done) with some great twists at the end that I didn’t see coming. There is a light touch on a few philosophical questions on capitalism, human nature, and environmental depredation that, for me, added a lot to the story but are easily skimmed over if that is not your bag.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#Augmented #NetGalley

Starts at an intergalactic travel novel and turns into a whirlwind mystery of sabotage and colony collapse. Despite the large cast of characters everyone was well fleshed out and had their own (generally understandable) motivations and prejudices. Truly surprising twists and turns and a satisfying conclusion. What more could you ask for? Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Eh, this book was okay.

The basic premise was interesting enough. A crew was sent to investigate a colony light years away that went silent. During the trip, there was a fire the kills the captain and some other members of the crew. Now, the main character is the new captain and has to hold the crew together as tensions and suspicions rise. Neat.

Unfortunately, rather than spending time focussing on the colony, the entire story is about the crew and their racist paranoia. A lot of their behavior was over the top ridiculous. It was exhausting.

Some people might be into that, but I’m not one of them.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

I did not know this was a sequel BUT it was well written and the plot was a lot of fun. That said, the characters were wooden and odd. I don't think the author knows how to write compelling characters.

Intergalactic travel, a rescue mission, and mystery? Count me in! I love space opera tales, and this book didn't disappoint. "Refractions" by M V Melcer is a page-turning space opera and one of the best novels I've read in a long time.

The book follows Nathalie Hart, a Canadian space pilot who lives in Kenya. When all communication with Bethesda, humanity's first extra-solar colony, stops, an interstellar rescue expedition is set. Nathalie volunteers to join the mission to escape a painful past and a guilty conscience. A few years into the voyage, she’s rudely woken out of cryo-sleep to find smoke and chaos. She finds out that, as the second in command, she is now in charge of the ship and crew, who consist of different nationalities. She isn't over-enthusiastic about it, but she is the only one the different factions will accept.

The plot thickens when she finds a message on her cryo-pod with one word: "sabotage." She doesn't know who she can trust, but she must buckle down and face the music. It appears someone will go to great lengths to keep Bethesda’s secrets, and it's up to her to unravel the mystery. If she fails, many innocent lives will be lost.

Thus starts an exciting adventure chock-full of commentary on climate change, politics, and corruption. With themes of friendship, trust, community, fallible human nature, environmental concerns, deceit, and moral conflicts, the author has woven a tale that I enjoyed reading.

The setup was interesting, and it was a fascinating way of seeing the way human nature does or doesn’t change. There’s a large cast in "Refractions," and the author did a great job of fleshing them all out. The characters are amazingly written, coming across as very genuine and fallible.

I didn't find the technical jargon too technical and found it an easy read. It wasn't preachy despite the references to the human impact on the environment and potentially scary scenarios. The narrative jumps smoothly around from the present to the past and has excellent backstories and interesting world-building. I enjoyed the present sections more than the past sections, but I still found the book to be a highly engaging read

Overall, I was very impressed with the story. It's complex, multifaceted, and thought-provoking. As with most really good science fiction novels, the true point of the story is the exploration of human nature by showing how different people act when faced with difficult choices and moral dilemmas. It certainly deserved full stars! I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. It's epic science fiction and engaging character-driven storytelling, which will appeal to devotees of the genre or just fans of excellent story-telling. Highly recommended!

* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this, even though it felt a little wordy and ponderous at times. I'm not a science guy, so I have to take at face value that the concepts described in the book are possible and likely. The whole concept was quite interesting, and the focus on characters and character development in addition to building the fictional world was refreshing. Moral dilemma after moral dilemma. I like that.

That being said, I struggled a bit to finish, but I'm glad I did. Recommended, and I will certainly read more from the author.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

5 stars, Deceit and Profits

REFRACTIONS
by MV Melcer

In a confused state, Pilot Nathalie Hart, second in command, comes out of cryo-sleep, not understanding what is going on, or why. She and the crew of her spaceship are on a mission to the distant settlement of Bethesda, which was settled by American missionaries, to find out why the Earth colony stopped transmitting a decade ago. She finds out that the captain has died and she is in charge of the ship. A position that she does not want to be in. The ship is crewed by different factions, that do not trust one another, which will make her job more difficult.

Someone has left a mysterious message on Nathalie's cryo-pod, in a language that only she can decipher. The mystery deepens.

The story is told with dual timelines, the present and the past. Highly recommend it.

I received a complimentary copy of #Refractions from #StormPublishing #NetGalley I was not obligated to post a review.

#diverse #SpaceOpera #ScienceFiction #scifi #dualtimelines #Greed

When Earth's first colony abruptly stops communicating, a multi-national interstellar rescue mission is launched. Nathalie Hart joins the expedition to escape the grief of her sister's death, and after a suspicious fire kills several crew members, she is thrust into the role of Commander. She has to figure out who is trustworthy, who is a traitor, what exactly happened to the colonists, and how to keep everyone aboard her ship (and back on Earth) safe.

I *really* liked the first half of this book - the setup was really exciting and tense, and Nathalie was a smart, relatable, flawed character, especially how she had to process her grief and anger on a warped timeline (according to her body/time awake aboard the ship it had only been a few weeks since her sister died, but in Earth time it had been decades). I did lose some steam in the later parts of the book - there were some sections that felt really slow and I wish things had been shortened a bit, and I wasn't a fan of how things ended.

That said, I loved Melcer's world building, especially the technology and science-y aspects of the story -- they provided some info on how things worked, but never got bogged down in boring details and nonsense -- and this vision of a future world felt uncomfortably possible.

Overall this was an enjoyable read, and I'd absolutely recommend it to sci-fi/dystopia/thriller fans.

(3.5 rounded up)

What would you do with the ultimate power to change the world? Or even worlds?

That’s the central question Melcer dishes out in bite sized pieces. We have tech bro oligarchs, we have religious leaders, and we have Nathalie (a ship pilot trying to run from the fact that she burned the ultimate bridge before she left earth), all racing to save the human race as fast as they can - even though the stakes of that race have gotten so much more complicated light years away.

We watch Nathalie struggle to become the leader they need (definitely not want) as she tries to figure out who she can trust among a xenophobic mixed crew (she’s Canadian, the future’s ‘good guy’, ergo the only one a multi national ship can trust as captain). There’s power struggles, deadly secrets, and a maniacal plan to save the world the very worst way possible through the tipping point of climate change. There’s even a mystery plague.

The ending is satisfying and still leaves you asking what’s next, which is perfect for the start of a series. As a pretty fast read, I think this would be a great entry for new scifi readers that are curious what a space opera might be like but without all the hard science of explaining propulsion systems in excruciating detail (I still love you, Expanse!). Quick, fun, mysterious.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review!

Natalie joins a long starship journey to a new world. The planet quit communicating with earth ten years ago. The starship has multiple different competing factions. It's an interesting plot and I enjoyed the book.

M.V. Melcer is one of my new favorite authors! I loved Refractions, and it loosely reminded me of an Andy Weir-style book. I absolutely love science fiction centered around a high-stakes rescue mission. If you throw in relevant topics like climate change and shifting social dynamics, then it just makes the reading experience more real for me.

I think one of the strengths of Refractions is that it is character driven. Since this book leans more toward a hard science fiction rather than a space opera, it runs the risk of coming across as dry or overly clinical. Although I honestly do love those books as a nerdy STEM woman, I think Melcer has done a fantastic job of making this tome accessible for non-science people. Nathalie is an incredibly relatable character as she struggles with personal guilt and a difficult backstory while striving to complete her mission and step into a complex leadership role.

The fact that the story is also centered around a mystery enables the book to cast a wide net and appeal to more than hardcore science fiction fans. This book deserves 5 stars, and I cannot wait for the next release in the series! Thank you to the publishers at Storm Publishing and NetGalley for sending me this e-ARC treat!

I was given an advance release copy via NetGallery for this book.

This is a near-ish future book dealing with space travel and technology. The main character Natilie has a lot of baggage and guilt she brings into space. The book begins at the base of a space elevator in Kenya (owned and run by the Chinese Government), and then quickly moves to the main character waking up in a hibernation chamber surround by smoke and alarms. Natalie then must solve a mystery of what happend to the lost colony and who wrote mysterious cyrilic writing on her cyro-tube.

This book is excellent, I recommend it to sci-fi fans and also to people who enjoy reading about inner guilt and drama.

I don't often give 5 stars, but this book deserves it.

I can't wait to see what happens in the next book as the world is fleshed out more.

Although this book broke my “I won’t read anything related to climate change” rule, I ended up thoroughly enjoying the story. The main character was well-developed, although I did get a bit confused with some of the minor characters. I would categorize this as soft science fiction or speculative fiction because the science isn’t explained in great detail, and the story is primarily character-driven. I particularly relished the “sciency” mysteries the crew faced. I’m awarding it 5 stars purely because of how much I enjoyed the story. I made an effort not to overanalyze the character motivations.

Without giving away any spoilers, I can say that I found the ending satisfying, although there were a few moments when I feared I wouldn’t. I’m definitely open to reading more from this author. I want to express my gratitude to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book, but rest assured, it did not influence my review