Void - Veronica Roth - ★★★.¾

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AUTHOR: Veronica Roth
SERIES: The Far Reaches, #2
GENRE: Sci-fi Short Story
PUBLICATION DATE: June 27, 2023
RATING: 3.75 stars.


In a Nutshell: A murder investigation… on an intergalactic spacecraft! I liked the investigation more than the revelation, but a good short story nonetheless.


Plot Preview:
Ace works as a “janitor” on the intergalatic luxury cruise craft called Redundancy. Travelling faster than light, Redundancy transports its passengers within and across solar systems. During the journey through the void, it is effectively cut off from communication and external resources. So when a dead body is discovered in the ship’s “garden”, the upper deck concierge Tertio Polaris takes over the investigation. But Ace knows that she has to get involved. After all, she knew the passenger – a sweet old man; she knows much about murder investigation thanks to binge-watching her favourite detective show; and she doesn’t trust Tertio.
The story comes to us in Ace’s limited third person perspective.


This is the second standalone story in 'The Far Reaches’ series, described on Amazon as “a collection of science-fiction stories that stretch the imagination and open the heart.”

The story has a good balance between science fiction and murder mystery, but rather than being restricted to these alone, it also offers an interesting insight into human beings and their emotions.

The sci-fi elements are stunning, whether talking about the spacecraft or the various destinations or the impact of trans-galactic travel on the human body, or even the titular “void” – the dark part of space with limited galaxies or stars.

The murder mystery aspect is also mostly great, considering the constraints of length. We have only a few suspects because of the limited number of characters, but the investigation angle, though straightforward, holds attention.

The only part of the story I didn’t like was the resolution of the mystery, which turned out to be more typical than I expected from such an “stellar” setting. Regardless, I am not a mystery fan anyway, so I am not surprised at this outcome.

What makes the story more interesting is the characters. Right from a main character such as Ace to a minor character such as Abid, the humans on board have complicated personae. This is surprising for a short fiction work, where character detailing usually gets sidelined in favour of plot.

In short, I loved the sci-fi, liked the characters, found the mystery okay. A nice quick read at just 50 pages. Recommended to sci-fi fans, and those scifi-resistant mystery fans who might want to check out an unusual setting for their favourite genre.

This standalone story is a part of the 'The Far Reaches’ collection, and is currently available free to Amazon Prime subscribers.

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