ARC Review: Light Chaser by Peter F. Hamilton and Gareth L. Powell

“Overall, hardcore fans of sci-fi will enjoy this quick read with plenty of action, space travel, futuristic societies, and a conspiracy to unravel with an endearing love story.”
~ Under the Covers

In this sci-fi novella by Peter F. Hamilton and Gareth L. Powell, we follow the Light Chaser Amahle. She, like other Light Chasers, travel through space alone with an AI, trading memories for trinkets. In these memories, a message from different voices and different times appears, seemingly from the same person. Something terrible is about to happen, and Amahle is the one to stop it.

At 176 pages, Light Chaser is a quick read for fans of the genre who are looking for something while in between books, or perhaps to finish in a day. While I enjoyed the plot, and the core message of the story, some of the jargon was hard to follow at times, and I ended up feeling a little confused about what was happening. Especially in the first chapter, where the amount of different ship parts, numbers and codes started to jumble together and left me a little lost. When the story begins to move along, it became easier to keep up with the story and the mystery that Amahle must solve.

I did appreciate that the physics of space travel between worlds was measured in the lightyears it would take to reach the different planets, which is rooted in actual science. So often space travel is sped along by some form of “warp speed”, so it was nice to see a change of pace in that regard. There is also a sweet love story at the core of this intergalactic tale, that plays an important role in Amahle’s mission to uncover the puzzle laid before her.

I found this title enjoyable, but wasn’t blown away by it. Overall the action scenes were confusing and hard to keep up, and Amahle was hard to connect to and sympathise with, however that could be by design, given the type of being she is and the job she does. I almost wish the book was longer, so I could really connect with the characters and how the world functions.

Overall, hardcore fans of sci-fi will enjoy this quick read with plenty of action, space travel, futuristic societies, and a conspiracy to unravel with an endearing love story. I only in recent years began to dive into the world of literary sci-fi, and perhaps some elements were lost on me. Again, a good story to read when you’re looking for something epic, but can be read in a day or two.