Luis Grenada wasn’t meant to freeze in space.
His first cruise as officer on elite space liner Balthasar was meant to be a chance to prove himself and be with his tech boyfriend Henry.
Then, twin ship Sylvester falls off-course and silent after a magnetic storm, and Luis volunteers.
Beamed across space to a slowly dying vessel, Grenada is faced with two impossible tasks.
One, work with the thinning, slowly succumbing to Void Madness Sylvester’s crew and guests.
Two, communicate with Henry to kick off a rescue operation before it’s too late.Are they doomed to a cold silent drifting end?
INFO AND TROPES/MICROTROPES
The book is around 30 000 words, which takes most people between 2,5 and 4 hours to read.
Tropes include:
- F greedy companies
- He just wants to prove himself
- The dangers of space travel
- Time is running out
- Unlikely allies (some VERY unlikely)
- Shy cinnamon roll/sassy pants couple
- ‘Don’t you dare die out there’
- Strip the rich
CONTENT WARNINGS
Click on the arrow to uncover details and locations of the main content warnings in this book.
Depiction of dead bodies
- Chapter 2: one paragraph, first section of the chapter. Only position and stilness, no details or body fluids. Paragraph before starts with ‘I absently wipe my hands.’ Paragraph after starts with ‘Even from that small opening’.
- Chapter 4: one paragraph after fourth chapter break. Contains details and bodily fluids. It starts with ‘To get to the comms room’. Paragraph before starts with ‘Indeed, Cole stops’. Paragraph after starts with ‘In my mind, a sense of frustration’. To be safest, skip from ‘Indeed, Cole stops’ until ‘If I survive.’
Depiction of vomiting
Chapter 4: brief mentions in two paragraphs after fourth chapter break. First paragraph with mention starts with ‘And Cole, unmasked Cole’. Second paragraph with mention starts is right after that and starts with ‘Indeed, Cole stops’. To be safest, skip from ‘And Cole, unmasked Cole’ to ‘into the navigation room.’
Depiction of mental health struggles
Struggles with mental health are a major theme throughout this book.
The protagonist experiences several instances of claustrophobia when in crowds.
Several characters are affected by Void madness, a made-up acute mental condition with traits of paranoia, erratic behaviour, exasperated emotions.
One character is open about being under medication for depression and anxiety.
Depiction of alcohol consumption
- Chapter 1: two paragraphs after the chapter break. The section starts with ‘My kit contains rations’ and ends with ”how’d you get here, anyway?’
- Chapter 3: one character appears and smells drunk. One paragraph after the chapter break. It starts with ‘Tobias shuffles his feet’ and ends with ‘someone jumps out’.
- Chapter 4: after second chapter break. A few paragraphs, starting with ‘ ‘Fine.’ I crouch’ and ending with ‘He leans towards me.’
Depiction of mob violence
Most of chapter 3 after the second chapter break contains scenes of conflict and mob violence. Though blood is depicted, the scenes are not overly violent. Still, if violence and threat by a group or mob makes you uncomfortable, I’d recommend skipping to chapter 4 from the second chapter break.
Mentions of off-page suicides
As with mental health struggles, the suicides are an integral part of the plot and mentions of their aftermath and causes, as well as depiction of the results (see: Depiction of dead bodies) are present in every chapter aside from the Epilogue.
Mentions of airborne flu-like epidemic
The made-up illness Martian flu is an airborne flu-like virus. No epidemics or infections are depicted in the book, but it is mentioned in every chapter aside from the Epilogue, and characters occasionally wear protective equipment.
Reader discretion is advised when dealing with challenging topics.
Magnolia Fay Writes 