Beyond the Hallowed Sky

Lightspeed Trilogy, Book 1

De: Ken MacLeod

Narrado por: Elliot Chapman

Mathematician Lakshmi Nayak receives a letter from her future self about faster-than-light travel. The equations work, and the letter itself seems to prove the possibility will someday be realized. But her paper on the topic is fiercely criticized, and she's warned away by a sinister Alliance agent. After defecting to the Union, she gets an unexpected offer: "I can build your ship." Shipbuilder John Grant learns of a secret project, which unknown to the world has been traveling to the stars for decades: Black Horizon.

Biologist Emma Hazeldene works for Black Horizon on an alien world, Apis, whose life has clearly come from Earth, investigating rock formations that are thought to be an alien, crystal-like intelligence. But refugees exiled to a hard life in the wilds of Apis already know more than the scientists have ever suspected. Everything changes when the rocks wake up, with dire results. As secrets emerge and rival powers seize advantage, three worlds are shaken to their foundations—and all involved have to fight for their lives, and their futures.

Science fiction legend Ken MacLeod begins a new space opera trilogy by imagining humankind on the precipice of discovery—the invention of faster-than-light travel unlocks a universe of new possibilities, and new dangers.

©2023 Ken MacLeod (P)2023 Tantor

Loved how it came together

....in the climax of the book. Seeing the various different storylines finally intersect, and Grant's part at the end were great!

fast ship build timelines seemed a stretch.

fun scottish accents. international co-operation of crews. fast paced story. sequel coming and might be worth a listen.

Nearly unbearable, mostly insufferable

Poor plot evolution, flat dialogue, and uninteresting characters. There are decent sci-fi concepts in this, but only about a quarter of the way through, I was already thoroughly disenchanted with this story - somehow I did finish it.

Painful to follow

The story jumps around a lot without references and it’s hard to keep track of where/when the story is at any moment.