Chaos Terminal

Last updated
Chaos Terminal
Chaos Terminal.jpg
1st edition cover
Author Mur Lafferty
LanguageEnglish
SeriesThe Midsolar Murders
Genre Science fiction
Publisher Ace Books
Publication date
2023
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages384
ISBN 978-0-593-09813-4
Preceded by Station Eternity  

Chaos Terminal is a science fiction mystery novel by Mur Lafferty, sequel to her earlier novel Station Eternity and the second novel in the Midsolar Murders series. It was first published in trade paperback by Ace Books in November 2023. [1]

Contents

Summary

Mallory Viridian, now settled in on space station Eternity as an amateur detective, is faced with a new major mystery when more visitors from her native planet Earth arrive, including three people she is personall acquainted with—and one of them is murdered. Complications include new troubles with the Sundry, the alien wasp species whose connections with Mallory are the source of her deductive genius, and erratic behavior from Eternity itself.

Reception

Publishers Weekly gave the novel an enthusiastic review, calling it a "rip-roaring second Midsolar Murders mystery" and noting that "Lafferty does a solid job blending sci-fi worldbuilding and homicide investigation, though the plot feels a bit padded with flashbacks to Mallory's past. Still, the colorful cast delights, replete with irresistible aliens who are mostly mystified by human behaviors, self-doubting AI space vehicles, and quirky human scientists, diplomats, and CIA agents. This whirlwind adventure is good fun." [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Patterns of Chaos</i> 1972 novel by Colin Kapp

The Patterns of Chaos is a 1972 science fiction novel by British writer Colin Kapp. It originally appeared in If magazine, serialized in three parts.

<i>Chasm City</i> 2001 novel by Alastair Reynolds

Chasm City is a 2001 science fiction novel by British writer Alastair Reynolds, set in the Revelation Space universe. It deals with themes of identity, memory, and immortality, and many of its scenes are concerned primarily with describing the unusual societal and physical structure of the titular city, a major nexus of Reynolds's universe. It won the 2002 British Science Fiction Association award.

<i>The Saga of Seven Suns</i> Series of novels

The Saga of Seven Suns is a series of seven space opera novels by American writer Kevin J. Anderson, published between 2002 and 2008. The books are set in a not-too-distant future where humans have colonized a number of other planets across the galaxy, thanks in part to technological assistance from an ancient alien race, the Ildirans. The series chronicles the universe-spanning war that erupts when humans inadvertently ignite the fury of a hidden empire of elemental aliens known as the hydrogues. Internal conflict is sparked within both the human and Ildiran empires as other ancient elemental races reappear to renew their own ancient war with the hydrogues.

<i>Space</i> (Baxter novel) 2000 novel by Stephen Baxter

Manifold: Space is a science fiction book by British author Stephen Baxter, first published in the United Kingdom in 2000, then released in the United States in 2001. It is the second book of the Manifold series and examines another possible solution to the Fermi paradox. Although it is in no sense a sequel to the first book it contains a number of the same characters, notably protagonist Reid Malenfant, and similar artefacts. The Manifold series contains four books, Manifold: Time, Manifold: Space, Manifold: Origin, and Phase Space.

<i>Drowning World</i> 2003 novel by Alan Dean Foster

Drowning World (2003) is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster.

<i>Forge of Heaven</i> 2004 novel by C. J. Cherryh

Forge of Heaven is a science fiction novel by American science fiction and fantasy author C. J. Cherryh. It was first published in June 2004 in the United States by HarperCollins under its Eos Books imprint.

<i>The Ganymede Club</i> 1995 novel by Charles Sheffield

The Ganymede Club is a science fiction novel by American writer Charles Sheffield, published in 1995. A mystery and a thriller, the story unravels in the same universe that Sheffield imagined in Cold as Ice. Shortly after humanity begins colonisation of the Solar System, a trade war sets off vicious civil war that kills billions. The book received favorable reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews, as well as in the science-fiction press. It was ranked #14 in SF novels in the 1996 Locus awards. The novel has been translated into Italian and was published as Memoria impossibile in 1998 in the magazine Urania. In 2009 Bastei Lübbe published a German language edition in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mur Lafferty</span> American podcaster and writer

Mur Lafferty is an American podcaster and writer based in Durham, North Carolina. She was the editor and host of Escape Pod from 2010, when she took over from Steve Eley, until 2012, when she was replaced by Norm Sherman. She is also the host and creator of the podcast I Should Be Writing. Until July 2007, she was host and co-editor of Pseudopod. She was the Editor-in-Chief of the Escape Artists short fiction magazine Mothership Zeta until it went on hiatus in 2016.

<i>Eifelheim</i> 2006 science fiction novel by Michael Flynn

Eifelheim is a science fiction novel by American author Michael Flynn, published in 2006. The story first appeared as a novella in the November 1986 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact, which was a nominee for the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1987. The full novel was similarly nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2007.

<i>Legion of the Damned</i> (novel) 1993 novel by William C. Dietz

Legion of the Damned is the first novel in the Legion of the Damned series by William C. Dietz. Legion of the Damned is a science fiction novel, first published by Ace Books in 1993. This is the first novel in the nine book Legion of the Damned series. The final novel was released in November 2011. Subsequent to A Fighting Chance, Dietz published a Legion of the Damned prequel series that includes Andromeda’s Fall, which was released in late 2012, Andromeda’s Choice which was published in 2013, and Andromeda’s War--which came out in late 2014.

<i>Alien Secrets</i> 1993 novel by Annette Curtis Klause

Alien Secrets is a children's science fiction novel by Annette Curtis Klause. It was first published in 1993. The book is in over 1400 libraries, according to WorldCat.

<i>Engine City</i> (novel) 2002 novel by Ken MacLeod

Engine City is a science fiction novel by Scottish writer Ken MacLeod, published in 2002. It is the third novel in the Engines of Light Trilogy.

<i>The Saga of Shadows</i> Book by Kevin J. Anderson

The Saga of Shadows is a trilogy of space opera novels written by Kevin J. Anderson. First announced in 2011, it is a sequel to Anderson's seven-book series, The Saga of Seven Suns (2002–2008). The first novel, The Dark Between the Stars, was released by Tor Books on June 3, 2014. The second book in the series, Blood of the Cosmos, was published on June 2, 2015. The third novel, called Eternity's Mind, was released on September 13, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mette Ivie Harrison</span> American novelist

Mette Ivie Harrison is an American novelist. She writes young adult fiction and in 2014 began publishing an adult mystery series. Her background as a Mormon has influenced her topics of interest as a writer, especially in the A Linda Wallheim Mystery series which focuses on a Mormon woman within her religious community. Her novel, Mira, Mirror won the Utah Letters About Literature award in 2006, and three other novels were finalists for the AML Awards in 2007, 2014 and 2015.

<i>The Flight Engineer</i> Trilogy of science fiction novels by S. M. Stirling and James Doohan

The Flight Engineer is a trilogy of science fiction novels, which can be defined as space opera, by S. M. Stirling and James Doohan and published by Baen Books. It consists of The Rising, The Privateer (1999) and The Independent Command (2000).

<i>Six Wakes</i> Book by Mur Lafferty

Six Wakes is a science fiction mystery novel by Mur Lafferty. It was first published in trade paperback and ebook by Orbit Books in January 2017.

<i>Fools Run</i> 1987 novel written by Patricia A. McKillip

Fool's Run is a science fiction novel by Patricia A. McKillip. It was first published in hardcover by Warner Books in April 1987, with a paperback edition issued by Questar/Popular Library in February 1988. The first British edition was published in paperback by Orbit in June 1987, with a hardcover edition following from Macdonald in August of the same year. The novel has also been translated into Italian.

S. B. Divya is the pen name of Divya Srinivasan Breed, who writes speculative fiction. She is also an engineer and was the co-editor for Escape Pod, along with Mur Lafferty, through April 8, 2022.

<i>Station Eternity</i> Book by Mur Lafferty

Station Eternity is a science fiction mystery novel by Mur Lafferty. It was first published in trade paperback by Ace Books in October 2022. The novel is subtitled "The Midsolar Murders" indicating that it is part of a projected series. A sequel, Chaos Terminal, was published in 2023.

<i>The Wall Around Eden</i> 1989 science fiction novel by Joan Slonczewski

The Wall Around Eden is a 1989 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by American microbiologist and science fiction writer Joan Slonczewski. It was first published in the United States in September 1989 by William Morrow and Company, and in the United Kingdom by The Women's Press in March 1991. It was translated into Italian and published by Editrice Nord as Le mura dell'Eden in May 1991.

References

  1. Chaos Terminal title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
  2. "Review of Chaos Terminal". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 30 November 2023.