Generation Ship by Michael Mammay

  

 My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Sci-fi
Content: Strong language

 

In this riveting, stand-alone novel from Michael Mammay, author of  Planetside,  the beginning of a new human colony must face tyrannical leaders, revolution, crippling instability, and an unknown alien planet that could easily destroy them all. In 2108, Colony Ship  Voyager  departed Earth for the planet of Promissa with 18,000 of the world’s best and brightest on board. 250 years and 27 light years later, an arrival is imminent. But all is not well. The probes that they’ve sent ahead to gather the data needed to establish any kind of settlement aren’t responding, and the information they have received has presented more questions than answers. It’s a time when the entire crew should be coming together to solve the problem, but science officer Sheila Jackson can’t get people to listen. With the finish line in sight, a group of crew members want an end to the draconian rules that their fore bearers put in place generations before. However, security force officer Mark Rector and his department have different plans. As alliances form and fall, Governor Jared Pantel sees only one way to bring  Voyager ’s citizens together and secure his own a full-scale colonization effort. Yet, he may have underestimated the passion of those working for the other side... Meanwhile, a harsh alien planet awaits that might have its own ideas about being colonized. A battle for control brews, and victory for one group could mean death for them all. 

I've read and enjoyed Michael Mammay's Planetside books so I was looking forward to trying something different from him. Initially, I thought a book about a generation ship and all its inner workings would be an interesting and compelling read. I've read a couple of other things with generation ships that I enjoyed, but I'm sorry to say, unlike the description says, I did not find this riveting. For the most part, I found this to be a slow-moving story that didn't compel me to pick it up and read it. There were a lot of political machinations in this book. That in itself wasn't a bad thing, but I ended up wanting more danger, action and intrigue along with the political machinations than it gave me. I also wanted characters I could care about. I really wanted to like at least some of the characters in this book, and at times I almost did like Sheila and Eddie, but in the end I didn't find any of them very likeable.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for providing me with an ARC of this book.