Review by Booklist Review
Do the ends justify the means when it comes to the future of humanity? Hamilton answers with a resounding no in her optimistic debut sf novel. Earth's first and only attempt to launch a colony spaceship failed 20 years ago when the entire 203-person crew vanished at the moment its dark-matter engine was engaged. Attempting to solve the mystery, Cleo and her three best friends break into the abandoned ship and accidentally reactivate the engine, launching the craft on its original seven-year mission to a habitable planet. Now wielding strange new abilities to manipulate space and time and aided by a holographic replica of the ship's irascible captain, Billie (whom Cleo finds annoyingly sexy), the friends devise a plan to get back home to Earth . . . until the same forces that prevented the ship's first mission interfere. This book will appeal to readers of hopepunk by authors like Becky Chambers and to folks who will appreciate its diverse queer representation and the loving friendship dynamic at the book's center.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this tantalizing space opera debut, Hamilton weaves a thoughtful, self-aware story bursting with witty repartee and provocative romance. The year is 2061, more than 20 years after the failed launch of the Providence, a spaceship that promised to save humanity from a dying Earth by using a newly developed dark matter engine to bring colonists to a habitable exoplanet in only seven years. Unfortunately, an unknown error caused the entire crew to vanish without explanation when the engine switched on. Still, the fervor surrounding the launch inspired a new generation of scientists and historians. Four such rambunctious young professionals--Cleo, a computer engineer; Ros, a doctor; Abe, a historian; and Kaleisha, a botanist--break into the Providence and accidentally start the engine, lifting off. Even after activating the ship's computer--a hologram with the uploaded consciousness of its former captain, Wilhelmina Lucas--they're not able to reverse course. They also find that the dark matter engine has altered their bodies, giving them superpowers. Captain Lucas--"Billie" to her friends--and Cleo investigate the source of their newfound abilities, while also agonizing over their growing feelings for each other. This Star Trek-inspired space adventure has something for everyone--heartwarming romantic comedy, cosmic superpowers, and humanity's future at stake. It should win plenty of fans. Agent: Roma Panganiban, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (June)
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Review by Library Journal Review
DEBUT Twenty years ago, the world watched as the 203 crew members of the spaceship Providence I disappeared at launch. Today, Cleo McQueary and her best friends just want to know the truth about what happened. Breaking into the abandoned industry building where Providence I now sits was easy for these young people; dealing with a dark-matter engine starting on its own was not. Now the four friends are on their way to Proxima Centauri B and cannot turn around. Cleo always wanted to be an astronaut, and Earth is on its decline, so why not enjoy the ride? But strange things begin to happen the further into space they get, and decades-old secrets are revealed along the way. Also, the ship's hologram holds the face, mind, and acerbic attitude of the missing Captain Billie Lucas, including the emotions that neither Cleo nor Billie wants to admit to. The found family of the friends is at the heart of the characters' actions, and Hamilton deftly keeps the story moving through action and emotion. VERDICT This delightful debut is a space odyssey with just enough mystery and romance to keep readers thoroughly entertained.--Kristi Chadwick
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
When a group of friends sneak into an abandoned spaceship, it inexplicably roars to life and takes them on a journey to another solar system. It's the year 2061. Cleo McQueary, Abe Yang, Kaleisha Reid, and Ros Wheeler are now young adults, but they were children at the time of the infamous Providence I disaster. The Providence I was a feat of human engineering, featuring the top-secret dark matter engine that would take a group of 203 colonists to another solar system. But when the dark matter engine fired up for the first time, every last one of them vanished. The corporation that built Providence I never discovered what happened to them, and the world was so traumatized by the mass disappearance that they left the spaceship to sit on the launchpad, fully abandoned. Cleo and her friends, all trained scientists with various specialties, sneak onto the neglected ship with the goal of finding evidence that might help explain the colonists' disappearance. But simply touching the dark matter engine brings it to life, and soon they're soaring through space on their way to a far-off planet, with no hope of rescue. The mystery of the Providence I colonists is a tantalizing start to what soon becomes more of a romance and friendship-focused story than an SF mystery. If some readers find that change a little disappointing, they still have a compelling SF action plot to look forward to, as well as an engaging discussion of artificial intelligence from the surprising form taken by the onboard computer. Love finds you in the least expected places, even in other galaxies. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
