Review by Booklist Review
Most of those attending this year's Rochford High School reunion on the super-luxury space station Altaire are there angling for MERIT points--points required to apply for a place on the newly built civilian Mars colonies. There's plenty of deal brokering going on alongside the debauchery of people reliving their youth, which serves to distract attendees from what's happening under their noses--the crew, whose work in space doesn't give them any MERIT points, are planning something to even the playing field. The specter of Ava Khan's murdered twin brother hangs over the proceedings; she, her closest friends, and Cielo Mallari, the head of guest relations, provide the narration. There is a thread of frustration over the ways the rich and powerful have given up on Earth while there are still people with no hope of leaving, overshadowed by the past, when Ashwin Khan was murdered and his body found by Ava's friends Sloane, Henry, and Laz. Partially a thriller, partially a reflection on the consequences of climate catastrophe, Escape Velocity is an ambitious sophomore outing from Manibo (The Sleepless, 2022).
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Manibo (The Sleepless) ingeniously melds genres in this suspenseful sci-fi mystery set in 2089. The opening chapter offers a tantalizing hook: Henry Gallagher wakes up to find himself tumbling in space, barely able to spot his previous location, Space Habitat Altaire, and unsure of how he got there. After initially calming himself with the thought that the Altaire's orbit will eventually bring it near enough for him to reach, Gallagher panics when he realizes his space suit is out of propellant, leading him to suspect that someone deliberately tossed him off the space station. Just as his entire body is consumed with a burning pain, Manibo flashes back to Gallagher's arrival on the Altaire for his 25th high school reunion, introducing classmates, such as Tom Lazaro III, an American ambassador, whom readers will immediately view as suspects. The whodunit plot is enhanced by careful and plausible worldbuilding that digs into the intricacies of an era when the UN's Mars Settlement Agency is mere months away from accepting applications for civilian settlers. As in the best mysteries, Manibo never allows his plot twists to come at the expense of character development. Jack McDevitt fans will be especially pleased. (May)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Ava, Laz, Henry, and Sloane all have their own agendas for their 25th reunion, as do their former classmates. The Rochford Institute is an elite academy that prepares students for running their planet, whether that planet the dying Earth or the new Mars colony. When the rest of the alumni arrive at the Space Habitat Altaire, a luxury resort in low Earth orbit, most of them are hoping to earn points toward their Mars application, but the four friends are looking for more. Ava searches for the truth about her brother's murder during their senior year, Laz hopes to win Ava's affection after years of pining, Henry is looking to subvert the Mars application process altogether, and Sloane is trying to regain his reputation after his father's arrest and bankruptcy. And as the ultra-rich work toward their goals, the barely noticed employees of the Altaire have their own scheme that may trump all other machinations. VERDICT Manibo (The Sleepless) pens a novel full of twists and turns, with broad appeal. Sci-fi, dystopian, and mystery fans will all find something to enjoy, while the posh setting and elite players give an unexpected air of palace intrigue that could rival Game of Thrones.--Portia Kapraun
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A space cruise takes a dangerous turn as a handful of old school chums reunite after 25 years apart. Hobnobbing is the name of the game aboard the Prestige-Class Space Habitat Altaire, but the stakes are higher for some people than for others. Husbands Henry and Nick Gallagher yearn for life in the brand-new civilian colonies on Mars but need to earn more MERIT points--a sociopolitical currency of sorts--than their straight peers to get their hands on a piece of the pie; being wealthy and attractive can't help them overcome the "gay penalty," which punishes infertile couples with lower MERIT scores. Mirroring the men's plight, the Altaire's majority-Filipino staff find themselves catering to people who, though undeserving of their status, enjoy a higher caliber of living solely by virtue of their birth. The cast list soon swells, with a broad conglomerate of wealthy characters rehashing a friend's death some 25 years on. Unfortunately, the novel swiftly begins to lose focus, making it impossible to distinguish between important characters and extraneous ones. Whose story is this, really, and why does that question grow increasingly difficult to answer? While this collection of red herrings might have made for an intriguing premise, Manibo jumps from one character to the next too quickly for the reader to forge any sort of lasting interest in them. The dialogue is sometimes stilted, and the exposition almost always reads like a dry recitation of events, further dampening what might have been an exciting tale of near-space intrigue. A forgettable novel of high-stakes interpersonal conflicts. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
