Black Smoke

By: Mckayla Eaton

Narrated by: Becci Martin

Length: 2 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future - except maybe the crew on board the St. Laurentia.

Earth is divided between the allure of a spiritual resurgence and the out-of-this-world high of an alien drug. When the spaceship carrying Celestine the VI, the new Pope, is commandeered by a drug lord, he find's himself facing possibly the shortest papcy in history.

Isi Hudson, a young nun on board the ship, is hoping the new planet ahead of her will bring more promise than the one she's leaving behind, but the mutiny has her facing things about herself she was sure she'd managed to leave behind on Earth.

Being a Knights Hospitaller, life and death situations are nothing new for Srgt. Edmund Hope, but when he's woken early from cryogenic sleep he expects to be punished for war crimes not tasked with saving the very man destined to excomunicate him. He has to decide quickly whether or not to save the Pope or join in the mutiny.

©2021 Mckayla Eaton (P)2021 Mckayla Eaton

Well crafted novella

I really enjoyed this. When I heard it was Christian s I-fi, I wasn’t expecting this. But it was brilliantly crafted, gritty, and just dark enough to make me want to continue listening. I want more from the characters- especially Issy(I only heard the name, so I don’t know how to spell it) the characters where complex. The “bad” guy had a legit reason for what he did. The “good” guys had flaws. I really enjoyed this book’

captivating sci-fi story

When I recieved the audiobook for Black Smoke, I was initially a little worried. I literally never listen to audiobooks, so I was worried it would be hard for me to focus. Thankfully, the narrator was wonderful, and it took me no time at all to get sucked into the story! I've only ever read a few sci-fi books, but it's a genre I've been meaning to explore more, so I was super excited for this!
An alien drug? War crimes? A plot to assassinate the new Pope? And it's all in SPACE? If that premise doesn't interest you, I don't know what will. Black Smoke is a Space Opera novella, coming in at 2 hours and 40 minutes, making it a quick read, or listen in this case. Despite the short amount of time, Eaton manages to pack so much detail in without making the story feel bogged down. Given how so many things are unnessarily long nowadays, I admire anyone who can tell such a captivating story in the most concise way possible. The plot is fascinating, but what really sold the book to me was the characters.
The story focuses on three characters: the new Pope Celestine the VI, the nun with a complicated past Isi, and the soldier facing the threat of excommunication Edmund. All three characters were flawed in the best possible ways (Isi was my personal favorite). I would go more into this, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read. It felt like a breath of fresh air to have Christian characters (Catholic in this case) who weren't perfect. You need to check this book out if you like sci-fi, or even if you don't! Definitely one of my favorites of the year so far. A much needed book in the world of "Christian" fiction.
(FYI, you 100% do not need to be Christian to appreciate this book. It really is just a good story that happens to have Christian characters.)