Friday Face Off : In space nobody can hear you scream

FFO

Here we are again with the Friday Face Off meme created by Books by Proxy .  This is a great opportunity to feature some of your favourite book covers.  The rules are fairly simple each week, following a predetermined theme (list below) choose a book (this doesn’t have to be a book that you’ve read), compare a couple of the different covers available for that particular book and choose your favourite.   Future’s themes are listed below – if you have a cover in mind that you’re really wanting to share then feel free to leave a comment about a future suggested theme.  I’ve also listed events that take place during the year, that I’m aware of, so you can link up your covers – if you’re aware of any events that you think I should include then give me a shout.

I’ve added themes in below. For information, I’m trying out some new ideas so along with coming up with particular items for book covers I thought we could also look for certain elements contained within the book or that play a large part in the story – this really broadens things out because I have plenty of more ideas with this – I’ve gone for a few of the Tough Travel Themes (so a book with that theme – just choose any book – the theme isn’t necessarily on the cover, then compare covers), also, I’ve thrown in some genres and some colours.  Hopefully this will open things out a little and give us some more freedom to come up with new books.

This week’s theme:

In space nobody can hear you scream – murder mystery in space

If you know of an event that’s coming up let me know and I’ll try and include covers that work for the event itself so that you can link up to the Friday Face Off and, as always, if you wish to submit an idea then leave me a comment – or if you’d like to host a week then simply let me know.  Also, I would just mention that it’s very possible that some of these might be repeats from previous FFOs although I have tried to invent more ‘open ended’ prompt that can be interpreted differently and also prompts that relate to emotions.  Finally, don’t struggle with any of these, this is meant to be a fun way of highlighting books.  If you can’t come up with a book you think fits for a particular week use a freebie – perhaps a recent read for example:

Next Week  – brooding and dull like a cloudy sky – a cover that is grey

2022

Feb The month of romance
4th  brooding and dull like a cloudy sky – a cover that is grey
11th Sealed with a kiss – lips, or the impression left by a kiss
18th Tough Travel Tropes – Hate to Love
25th Made for each other – interpret this any way you please
March
4th Genre – Gadgets and airships – a book that is ’steampunk
11th The most recent book you’ve read that has covers to compare
18th – Somewhere over the rainbow – a very colourful book cover
25th – A book of few words – a one word title
Apr
1st Spring forward – compare the covers for two books you’re excited about
8th – Fresh and Green – a cover that is predominantly green
15th Genre – a book or series that is urban fantasy
22nd – Tough Travel Tropes – unknown magical ability
29th – Long/pointed ears
May the Month of Wyrd and Wonder
6th All about the women – kickass moms, daughters, grans, etc
13th A favourite book to film
20th Sunny and bright  – a cover that is predominantly yellow
27th Books with ‘You’ in the title
Jun
3rd  Under the Sea – anything you like
10th Sparkling like the sea – a cover that is turquoise
17th So pretty – exactly what it says
24th Daddy Dearest – a book with a strong father role
Jul  
1st Genre – epic – any book that fits into the genre
8th Hazy and hot – a cover that is predominantly orange
15th Tough Travel Tropes – Snarky sidekick
22nd Off the TBR
29th Gigantic – monsters, giants, buildings,insects – anything at all
August
5th Tough Travel Tropes – out for summer – school or academic setting
12th Dark/sky/navy  – a cover that is blue
19th Scantily Dressed
26th Tough Travel Tropes – Vacation time – the quest
September RIP
2nd Fallen leaves – covers that are brown
9th Armour/Protection
16th Rage against the machine – anything, cogs, clockwork, AI
23rd Tough Travel Tropes – Coming of Age
30th Genre – horror
October – Horror/Dark
7th Guess who’s back?  – Vampires – popular again?
14th Witches vs warlocks
21st Tough Travel Tropes – Good vs evil
28th  Covers that are black
November – Scifi Month
4th Red skies at night – Covers that are red
11th Tough Travel Tropes – The gang
18th Genre – Swords and Sorcery
25th Genre – And they all lived happily ever after – fairy tales retold
December
2nd Tough Travel Tropes – Assassins
9th Tough Travel Tropes – Darklord
16th Genre – Grimdark (most recent/favourite, etc)
23rd Decadent and rich – a cover that is purple
30th Completions – a satisfying conclusion to a book or serie

One Way by S J Morden

Posted On 12 April 2018

Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: ,

Comments Dropped 26 responses

oneway1One Way is a book that I was really looking forward to.  A murder mystery on Mars.  Everyone’s a suspect and there’s no way to escape.  It sounds perfect doesn’t it?  I expected to enjoy this and in fact I did.  It’s well written with plenty of detail, some may think maybe too much detail, but I enjoyed it.  A good read, not as tense as I expected, but none the less fast paced and compelling.
The book is set in a near future where plans to colonize Mars are in the final stages.  The company undertaking the work have bitten off more than they can chew and final delivery on schedule is unlikely so they come up with a new plan  To cut costs they hit on the idea of convict labour.  They look at those convicts with no chance of release, convicts with skills that can be used and adapted to build a base on Mars.  They offer them a deal which basically involves a one way ticket to Mars and although, basically, this is little more than swapping one form of prison for another it has the promise of hope.
As the book starts we meet Frank.  Frank murdered somebody and is due to stay in prison for the rest of his natural life.  Previously Frank worked as an architect with experience of project managing which means he comes up as a potential match and as such he’s offered the chance to work on Mars.  With the opportunity to undertake work that could really make a difference in the future Frank accepts the offer.
The story then moves to a training facility where all the inmates chosen undertake rigorous training.  They eventually meet the rest of the crew they will be stationed with but at the same time they find out that their choices are not as straightforward as they first expected.  It seems like there’s one ultimatum after another and the rewards for failure don’t really bear contemplation and merely serve to act as a carrot to keep everyone in line.  The training is eventually complete, or more to the point the date of departure is moved forward whether the crew are ready or not.  They’re all set to depart for a one way trip to Mars where they’ll have to work intensely to establish a base in which to live and where their only company will be convicted murderers.
I did find this story very easy to read.  I really enjoyed the attention to detail and Frank is a very easy narrator to get along with. The whole premise in fact was quite fascinating and clearly written by somebody who knows the whys and wherefores concerning space travel and the like and that knowledge and understanding is evident in the writing.  Basically, it’s impressive and very readable but I did have a few things that prevented this from becoming a book that completely bowled me over.
I think my first issue was the lack of tension.  I don’t know why but the deaths had a fairly ‘flat’ feel – which could simply be because for the main part they were made to look like accidents and it’s not until the story is fairly advanced that foul play is suspected.  Secondly, we really don’t spend very much time with the crew.  We primarily accompany Frank and whilst he’s an easy storyteller to like it does also mean that the other characters are very flimsy and consequently their deaths don’t really have an impact.  Finally, for me, what was really going on seemed obvious and so I found myself slightly irritated that the crew couldn’t see it.  Of course, as a reader, I’m privy to information that the rest of the team are unaware of and to be fair I don’t think the author was trying too hard to create a mystery as such.   I think this was more about survival and outwitting the murderer.  Basically, I think my expectations when picking this up were maybe not what they should have been.  I think I was expecting this to be a much more scary read.
Admittedly that does seem a little negative so I’m going to end with a more positive note.  This was without doubt a good read.  Very intelligent and well thought out.  I found it really gripping and could barely put it down.  If you fancy picking this up then I would simply say that I found this more to be a story of survival against the odds than a dark and scary murder story.
Not what I originally expected but a good read, well written and with an open ending that could either mean another book is in the offing or the author is letting you make up your own mind about how things conclude.
My thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy, through Netgalley.  The above is my own opinion.