Dead Space

By: Kali Wallace

Narrated by: Abby Craden

Length: 9 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award

An investigator must solve a brutal murder on a claustrophobic space station in this tense science fiction thriller from the author of Salvation Day.

Hester Marley used to have a plan for her life. But when a catastrophic attack left her injured, indebted, and stranded far from home, she was forced to take a dead-end security job with a powerful mining company in the asteroid belt. Now she spends her days investigating petty crimes to help her employer maximize its profits. She's surprised to hear from an old friend and fellow victim of the terrorist attack that ruined her life—and that surprise quickly turns to suspicion when he claims to have discovered something shocking about their shared history and the tragedy that neither of them can leave behind.

Before Hester can learn more, her friend is violently murdered at a remote asteroid mine. Hester joins the investigation to find the truth, both about her friend's death and the information he believed he had uncovered. But catching a killer is only the beginning of Hester's worries, and she soon realizes that everything she learns about her friend, his fellow miners, and the outpost they call home brings her closer to revealing secrets that very powerful and very dangerous people would rather keep hidden in the depths of space.

©2021 Kali Wallace (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“With propulsive action and twists that keep the reader guessing…this tense sprint through a future dominated by profit-driven amorality makes for a gripping, cinematic sci-fi thriller that readers won’t want to put down.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

A pretty good detective story.

fast paced detective story with a satisfying ending. I am required to write at least fifteen words to submit this review.

I'd probably give this a 3.5 if I could.

This was a fine audiobook. I don't regret the purchase at all. The author is a good writer which strong prose and good creativity. I really enjoyed the first half or 2/3, but by the end of the book my interest started to wane a lot. And it's not a long book. My disinterest and the heavy exposition at the end led me to not I following the intricacies of mystery that well, which is probably my fault. Or maybe I do understand the mystery and it just wasn't that good? I'd love to give this a 4 because I liked the effort, but I just don't think I'd refer this book to my friends, so I just can't give it a better score. It's good enough that I may check out the author's other stuff though.

Also if you're looking for a sci-fi horror book then you'll be disappointed. It's more mystery thriller.

Good sci to thriller

Good plot.....twists made it more interesting.....enjoyed it. Could have made main character more well rounded.

Good Sci-fi Fun!

Great storytelling and really well narrated!
Anyone who's interested in A. I. will find this book satisfying.

A Decent Story

I enjoyed this for what it was, a deep space sci-fi thriller, not horror. This was really not horror in any aspect, **SPOILER AHEAD**, as the concept of artificial intelligence has been done to death. The title brought me in because the video game of the same title has terrified me, and I was hoping this would too. Alas, nothing to do with the video game, but still a promising premise, though done already. The narrator is was kept me engrossed the most, I think. Worth a listen.

interesting ideas, dragging plot

the world building in this story makes me want to spend more time with these characters, perhaps even in a sequel that shows the unintended consequences of the plot. The murder mystery and corporate machinations pull you into the story, but it always seems like not much is going on. The main character oftentimes is having stuff happen to her, but not doing much herself. This is a strange choice, since the author goes into great detail about the main character's great intelligence and knowledge of AI. Lots of setup that doesn't pay off in a satisfactory way. worth the listen if you enjoy science fiction and investigation dramas.

not the dead space you might have thought.

i bought this thinking it would be a novelization of the dead space game. I was mad as heck once I realized that wasn't the case after a bit. sure, i could have read the synopsis, but the title and it being on an asteroid made me think I didn't have to. I stuck with it and am glad i did. it has a very predictable arc but that doesn't make it any less fun. i thought the narration was top notch. give it a shot

SO GOOD

It was hard to turn off lol. Space opera meets thriller. Would buy again for sure.

No, it’s not the video game

I saw this title for a while and kept coming back to see if someone would confirm if this was written as a plot about the video game by the same name because I couldn’t tell by the picture or description. I never got confirmation but just purchased it anyway. It is definitely not written in the Dead Space video game universe, but it definitely is a good book and good narrator. More of a sci-fi space detective mystery. I will purchase any follow ups the writer puts out for sure.

Wow!

Story, characters, narration all excellent. A gripping, well plotted mystery in space. Kali Wallace is now on my must read list.