"Richardson has written a diabolically delicious twisty murder mystery set on a faraway planet against a backdrop of corporate greed, racial tensions, corrupt law enforcement, and secrets that refuse to stay buried. This is Criminal Minds meets Sherlock Holmes in space, and you’re going to want to drop everything you’re doing and grab a copy now.”
—DIANA PHARAOH FRANCIS, author of the Diamond City Magic series
“Blood Orbit is crime-driven science fiction with crystal-sharp writing on a large, planetary canvas.”
—KEVIN J. ANDERSON, New York Times–bestselling author of The Dark Between the Stars
“That thing they say about a book grabbing you and just not letting go? Yeah, that’s the thing Blood Orbit does—really well.”
—JOHN SCALZI, New York Times–bestselling author
“Using a brisk pace and an engaging and exciting narrative, Richardson establishes a world full of intrigue, injustice, violence, and mystery that will no doubt be built upon in further entries in the series. Blood Orbit is recommended for those looking for an effective blend of gritty space opera and police procedural or just for a fun, page-turning read.”
—BOOKLIST
"Richardson creates a vivid world, a tense and gritty story combined with top-notch worldbuilding. A page-turner that’s hard to put down.”
—YASMINE GALENORN, New York Times–bestselling author of the Otherworld series and the Wild Hunt series
“At turns both cyber-bright and grim as old noir, Blood Orbit is a clever procedural with a killer cast of cops and robbers, on an alien world that’s somehow very, very close to home.”
—CHERIE PRIEST, Hugo Award–nominated author of Boneshaker and Maplecroft
“An intense tale of future crimes and the detectives we’ll need to solve them, deftly set in world as alien as it is familiar.”
—JASON M. HOUGH, New York Times–bestselling author of Zero World
“A clever, twisting, and savage science fiction crime story that fuses colonization fiction with genuine deep noir. The end result is original, culturally rich, and as ruthless as a novel about murder, secrets, and lies should be.”
—WARREN ELLIS, New York Times–bestselling author of Gun Machine, Normal, and Transmetropolitan
“Blade Runner meets The Big Sleep, as only K. R. Richardson could write it.”
—JACK CAMPBELL, New York Times–bestselling author of Vanguard
“Richardson successfully grafts SF tropes onto a noir framework in this fresh and convincing futuristic thriller…. the storytelling is outstanding.”
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“Richardson takes sci-fi noir to a whole new level by dropping you into the site of a massacre in the rough-and-tumble streets of Angra Dastrelas and never letting you catch your breath. Richardson paints a fascinating world with a lush and complex story of family, revolution, and politics. It is a heart-stopping rush of a story.”
—K. B. WAGNERS, author of the Indranan War trilogy
“A deeply satisfying mystery that unfolds as expertly as Richardson’s dark and secretive Gattis, a planet I can’t wait to visit again.”
—WARREN HAMMOND, author of the KOP series
"Captivating space noir in the tradition of Richard Morgan’s Altered Carbon.”
—STINE LEICHT, Campbell Award finalist and author of Of Blood and Honey
"A smooth blend of science fiction and police procedural. . . . [A setting] filled with potential, both narratively and thematically: an exotic planet fueled by corporate greed and the oppression of its native races."
—KIRKUS REVIEWS
“A heart-pounding crime novel set in a fascinating future, Blood Orbit is a tale of law enforcement protecting the underclasses. I loved the world, and, best of all, I grew to love the characters. Well done!”
—BRENDA COOPER, author of Wilders and Keepers
“‘Who am I?’ meets whodunit in a cyber-noir tangle. Philip K. Dick and Raymond Chandler would both recognize Richardson as a worthy addition to their shelves.”
—LAURA ANNE GILMAN, author of the Paranormal Scene Investigations series
2018-03-20
A smooth blend of science fiction and police procedural, this novel is set on the corporate-owned planet of Gattis and revolves around an idealistic young cop and a cybernetically enhanced inspector faced with solving a mass murder that, if left unresolved, could trigger a bloody revolution.Eric Matheson is a rookie patrolman fresh out of the academy who has been on Gattis for less than a month when he and his partner stumble across a brutal murder scene in a ghetto of one of the "tourist-trap" planet's most popular cities. Sixteen people are dead—all Dreihleen—and evidence indicates that the killer may be Ohba. Both races are native to the planet, and both sides feel like they've been systematically oppressed and disenfranchised for generations by the corporate leaders who run the world's economy. When Matheson's injured partner is replaced with Chief Investigating Forensic Officer J.P. Dillal—a half Dreihleen inspector whose capabilities have been enhanced with cutting-edge tech that has been integrated into his flesh—Matheson quickly realizes more than a few powerful factions are actively seeking to close the case, regardless of who is really behind the killings. The unlikely duo begins uncovering a conspiracy that could have grand-scale implications. While the police procedural aspect of the story is methodical and adeptly plotted, the narrative suffers from some major flaws: Matheson is woefully two-dimensional, the worldbuilding is superficial at best, the pacing drags in spots, and the tension level is conspicuously low throughout. But despite the flaws, Richardson (Revenant, 2014, etc., under the name Kat Richardson) has created a foundation filled with potential, both narratively and thematically: an exotic planet fueled by corporate greed and the oppression of its native races.This novel is powered by a focus on highly detailed police-procedural elements but lacks significant emotional connectivity.
