TLDR: A lovely feel good sci book I really really enjoyed. Recommended to fans of A long way to small angry planet and the likes even though the books are very different plot wise and world building wise.
The Last Dance ([Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42976281-the-last-dance) link) is a sci fi novel set in near future. Inspector Park is assigned to the case of Captin Nick Aames who is being charged with treason (or whatever the sci-fi word for it is), and on the long journey from Earth to Mars, it is Park’s job to find why Nick did what he did and what punishment he deserves. Most of the book is Park going and talking to various crew members, hearing their stories of their captain to figure out who this man is that apparently everyone else hates, while constantly fending off various very powerful people who want her to hurry up and punish the captain already. The book is practically an anthology. The entire book is set on the ship Adrin, that goes from Earth to Mars constantly.
Gosh darn I loved it. Does it have flaws? Many. Each short story is narrated by a different character, but the short stories don’t feel like narration, they feel like standard novel stuff (like they remember every dialogue, say objectively what happened instead of coloring the dialogues with their prejudice etc). The pacing is a little off, especially in one of the short stories in the first half, and one of the chapters in the end felt like it should have been at the start. The book also doesn’t make it clear that this is going to be a series of flashbacks, so I feel like a lot of people are going to be turned off by it because they don’t go in with the right set of expectations.
Despite the flaws though, the book has a lot of heart. All the characters are so likeable even though they have different personalities. Nick Aames in particular is a fascinating character to read about and as different short stories peel more and more of his layers, you can’t help but like him and root for him too. The writing has a lot of charm. One of the short stories is clearly a parody of murder on the orient express and I found that jolly fun. Another is a Martian inspired fun adventure that I was very fascinated by. Most of all though, even though it doesn’t feel that way at the start, the book is feel good. Each short story made me feel warm and happy inside. Even though the plot is pretty basic outside of the short stories, I was drawn into it and every invested into it because I liked the characters a lot, and the author made sure that I am invested into their lives. Hell even Inspector Park, who is mostly a vessel for us through which we hear the stories of other characters, gets moments of badassery that will make you love her.
If you’ve read A long way to small angry planet by Becky Chambers, this book gave me similar feels. Sci-fi, feel good, and oddly cozy. There’s some death, but it is a very comforting book and I recommend it to everyone, just go in with the right set of expectations. I have no idea how I got to know about this book, it was just in my goodreads list and since it was on kindle unlimited I decided to give it a chance. But I’m so glad I did.
by cant-find-user-name
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Thanks for the review, discovered a book that I’d like to read! Surprised I’ve never heard of it, I follow what’s being published in science-fiction quite closely, this novel has quite positive reviews