Empty Between the Stars: Modern Science Fiction Classics

by Stephen Hunt

It is the far future. The artificial intelligences created by humanity are now gods, and mankind mere ants who scrabble in their shadows across a million worlds. The Lords of the Great Houses on the ever-night Moon of Hexator are suspected of the murder of one of their own. And merchant William Roxley, once a magistrate-priest, is unwillingly coopted to uncover the truth behind the killings. With only the help of his naive young assistant and a brutish robot bodyguard, the man they call 'Sweet William' digs into the Moon's eerie existence. A collapsing society where many strange, terrible things are happening under night's unsettling cover. Hexator is a place where nothing is what it seems, perhaps not even William Roxley himself!--------------------------------ABOUT THE AUTHOR Stephen Hunt is the creator of the much-loved 'Far-called' series (Gollancz/Hachette), as well as the 'Jackelian' series, published across the world via HarperCollins alongside their other science fiction authors, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, PhilipK. Dick and Ray Bradbury.--------------------------------REVIEWS Praise for Stephen Hunt's ‘Mr. Hunt takes off at racing speed.’— THE WALL STREET JOURNAL‘Hunt's imagination is probably visible from space. He scatters concepts that other writers would mine for a trilogy like chocolate-bar wrappers.’ - TOM HOLT ‘All manner of bizarre and fantastical extravagance.’ - DAILY MAIL ‘Compulsive reading for all ages.’ - GUARDIAN ‘An inventive, ambitious work, full of wonders and marvels.’ - THE TIMES ‘Studded with invention.’ -THE INDEPENDENT ‘To say this book is action packed is almost an understatement… a wonderful escapist yarn!’ - INTERZONE ‘Hunt has packed the story full of intriguing gimmicks… affecting and original.’ - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ‘A rip-roaring Indiana Jones-style adventure.’ —RT BOOK REVIEWS ‘A curious part-future blend.’ - KIRKUS REVIEWS ‘Hunt knows what his audience like and gives it to them with a sardonic wit and carefully developed tension.’ - TIME OUT ‘A ripping yarn … the story pounds along… constant inventiveness keeps the reader hooked… the finale is a cracking succession of cliffhangers and surprise comebacks. Great fun.’ - SFX MAGAZINE ‘Put on your seatbelts for a frenetic cat and mouse encounter... an exciting tale.’ - SF REVU --------------------------------FORMAT Full novel - a stand-alone adventure. --------------------------------READ THIS BOOK IF YOU LIKE THESE AUTHORS... Frank HerbertNeal Asher Iain M. Banks Jack Campbell Orson Scott Card James S.A. Corey Evan Currie Peter F. Hamilton Ric Locke Dan Simmons Charles Stross David Weber --------------------------------GENRES Science fiction (space opera) Adventure (scifi) Mystery (science fiction)

Genres: Science Fiction

234 pages, Hardcover

Published February 18, 2022

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Stephen Hunt is a British writer living in London. His first fantasy novel, For the Crown and the Dragon, was published in 1994, and introduced a young officer, Taliesin, fighting for the Queen of England in a Napoleonic period alternative reality where the wars of Europe were being fought with sorcery and steampunk weapons (airships, clockwork machine guns, and steam-driven trucks called kettle-blacks). The novel won the 1994 WH Smith Award, and the book reviewer Andrew Darlington used Hunt's novel to coin the phrase Flintlock Fantasy to describe the sub-genre of fantasy set in a Regency or Napoleonic-era period.

Reviews

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

So. That was a thing. The world building was interesting, the AIs as gods, technology so advanced it's practically magic, reasoning behind advanced technology combined with primitive... all that stuff, good. I really liked it. Kept me interested.

But. Buuuuuuuut.

OMG the main character. He constantly talks about himself in the third person. And what kind of asshole calls themselves "Sweet William" anyways? Stop it. STOP. IT. And the dialog, I kept wondering if the strange word choices were the author trying to make him sound weird because "He's a future space man, he should talk weird" or if it was just the author being... weird. Either way it came off annoying. Example: The word "Aggro". Which, I'm a gamer. I get the meaning of the word but... it feels super out of place. This is probably a nit-pick on my part, and if the MC didn't talk so strangely all the time I'd probably not have fixed on this... Also he has a penchant for what I think are older cockney/English phrases and swearing. it just comes across like it's "trying to be cool" or something as opposed to a natural flow of how the character talks.

And the author could do better with his depiction of women. Like... here's a woman, she is POWERFUL and HOT because she has genetic enhancements and they have the SEX and it is AWESOME BECAUSE OF GENETIC ENHANCEMENTS! And also he is now in love with her... for reasons... And then this second woman oh she's a red head and HOT and all business so they don't have the sex, alas. (No I'm joking the do have the sex but it's later on AND IT'S AWESOME AND HE RUINS HER FOR SEX WITH LESSER MEN) Oh, and then the third woman who is EXOTIC and super athletic and powerful and he is resisting all the sex pheromones because he has a job to do... oh no, I lied, he turns off his pheromone blockers after she makes it clear she won't take no for an answer and they have sex on the ruined hut and dead body of the person he was investigating as part of the actual plot. No, seriously, that is what happens. Also, he uses the "VIAGRA ALGORITHM". WTF? And then there is the old woman who is super smart (smarter than him even!) and they don't have the sex, but his computer brain tells him that a couple of decades ago she was hot and he'd totally bone her if it had been awhile back. And the Innkeeper is a woman, I think... but she isn't given a hotness rating so they don't have sex. And then there is the disembodied AI representation of his dead ex wife that shows up in a messenger ball to hen peck him. So... yeah...

So, again, this is one of those books with interesting ideas and things in it that is was not really implemented super well. It's supposed to be a murder mystery, I think... the ending is kind of... I dunno. perfunctory. Like, I read it and went "Oh, I see... I'm not surprised by these turn of events because they are kind of cliche but they aren't really foreshadowed very well."

Oh oh, I forgot the one other woman. She is a trader that shows up in one scene and is actually treated like a normal character, with her own motivations and everything. They kind of bond over both being independents in the auctions that are going on. I totally expected them to have sex later on but they didn't. So, that was a refreshing surprise.

[Christopher Sparks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not empty at all!

Stephen Hunt weaves a divine mix of humor, science fiction, and dystopian future in this novel. It is a beautifully written idea of a future where the machines have evolved and man has come along for the ride. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves sci fi

[Simon Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not what I expected

I loved the characters and the ideas brought me in mind to iain banks in some way. Thanks good read.

[Aviar Savijon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Empty between the Stars

A sci fi masterpiece. Mixed with a bit of folklore and other mixes of religions to help the magnificent story move forward. I loved it!!!

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first enjoyed Stephen Hunt through his early Steampunk series. Here he gets back close to those complexities am I'm glad for that.

[FargleSpeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely world building

You can only record yourpersonal feelings in a review and this I absolutely loved. Will it suit everybody.? Probably not. I'm looking for the sequel.