Far from the Light of Heaven

By: Tade Thompson

Narrated by: Clifford Samuel

“Simultaneously brutally grounded and wildly imaginative.” —Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke Award winner

A tense and thrilling vision of humanity’s future in the chilling emptiness of space from rising giant in science fiction, Arthur C. Clarke Award winner Tade Thompson

The colony ship Ragtime docks in the Lagos system, having traveled light-years to bring one thousand sleeping souls to a new home among the stars. But when first mate Michelle Campion rouses, she discovers some of the sleepers will never wake.

Answering Campion’s distress call, investigator Rasheed Fin is tasked with finding out who is responsible for these deaths. Soon a sinister mystery unfolds aboard the gigantic vessel, one that will have repercussions for the entire system—from the scheming politicians of Lagos station, to the colony planet Bloodroot, to other far-flung systems, and indeed to Earth itself.

Praise for Far from the Light of Heaven

"Gripping and skillfully told, with an economy and freshness of approach that is all Tade Thompson''s own. The setting is interstellar, but it feels as real, immediate, and lethal as today's headlines."—Alastair Reynolds

“A gripping space opera with characters fighting for their lives aboard a dying starship. I enjoyed it so much and can't wait to see what he does next." —Martha Wells, New York Times bestselling author

For more from Tade Thompson, check out:

The Wormwood Trilogy
Rosewater
Rosewater: Insurrection
Rosewater: Redemption

Critic reviews

“Gripping and skillfully told, with an economy and freshness of approach that is all Tade Thompson''s own. The setting is interstellar, but it feels as real, immediate, and lethal as today's headlines. Whatever he does next, it's bound to be interesting.”—Alastair Reynolds

“Simultaneously brutally grounded and wildly imaginative. The twists keep on coming.”—Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke Award winner

"A real treat. It's a gripping space opera with the characters fighting for their lives aboard a dying starship. I enjoyed it so much and can't wait to see what he does next.”—Martha Wells, New York Times bestselling author

"Inventive. Thompson’s appealing take on long-distance space travel, subversion of typical AI tropes, tender characterization, and cleverly constructed suspense makes this worthwhile fare. Readers looking for a smart sci-fi mystery should snap this up."—Publishers Weekly

Previous praise for Tade Thompson:
"Smart. Gripping. Fabulous!" --- Ann Leckie, award winning-author of Ancillary Justice on Rosewater
"Mesmerising. There are echoes of Neuromancer and Arrival in here, but this astonishing debut is beholden to no one." --- M. R. Carey, bestselling author of The Girl with all the Gifts on Rosewater
"A magnificent tour de force, skillfully written and full of original and disturbing ideas." --- Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke Award winning author of Children of Time on Rosewater
"A sharply satirical, ingenious thriller about an alien invasion that's disturbing familiar. Tade Thompson has built a fascinating world that will suck you in and keep you guessing. This book will eat you alive, and you'll like it." --- Annalee Newitz, author of Autonomous on Rosewater
"Part thriller, part mystery and part phantasmagoric journey across a strange yet not-too-distant future, and reminiscent at times of both Roger Zelazny and Nnedi Okorafor, Rosewater is the hardboiled, Nigerian alien invasion story you always wanted." --- Lavie Tidhar, award winning author of Central Station

Better to Read The Physical Book Than to Listen

The story is interesting but the narration ruins it with slow, slogging pacing, weird pauses where there should be none and an unrealistic, monotonal conversational style between characters. People simply don't speak that way in real life.
I could only get a third of the way through before giving up with frustration and returning.
Disappointing because I like Tade Thompson.
You're better off reading a physical copy.

Nuanced story and ethnically relevant voice acting

I've wanted to read a Tade Thompson for some time now and am so gratified to have started with Far from the Light of Heaven. Appropriate AfroBritish voice and inflections lend verisimilitude to the heartbreaking and often off putting or even shocking revelations and developments of this SF serial murder mystery. It's a stunning work, engrossing and nuanced.

Tade takes locked room mystery into space!

This is not your average jaunt Into space opera, neither is it anything close to a typical locked room murder mystery. It most definitely IS a great story that combines the two in a most audacious way.

If you like complex murder/mystery

See review title lol. A good listen of so. 6 more words just for you😉

Disjointed

I love Tade Thompson's work normally. Really enjoyed the wormwood trilogy but perhaps this wasn't the best book for audio. The story rythym was weird. Very staccato and it seemed like maybe the storyline wasn't fully fleshed out. Still enjoyed it but wasn't on par with what I expected from his work