#139 Echoes Of Gravity

 Echoes of Gravity (Tapache's Promise Trilogy) by James Murdo

• Page count: 337
• Genre: Sci-fi
• Publisher: Cranthorpe Millner 
• Release Date: 29th June 2021(UK) 

Blurb: Ancient machine intelligences. Resurrected species with no memories of the past. Creatures composed of gravity strings. What is hidden in the void between galaxies? Tapache, a machine intelligence with great power, has revived the Roranian people from their derelict remains. It has gifted them the Great Ship to voyage through space, and given them a purpose: to discover the truth about a weapon capable of unthinkable devastation. An unexpected attack, followed by hundreds of years in stasis, scuppers those plans. Hope seems lost for a small group of Roranian survivors, until something far greater draws them in: a megastructure beyond comprehension. The megastructure is far from safe. There are incumbent species that already lay their claim, all with secrets of their own, and a strangely smart information network that exists where it has no right. Was Tapache lying?

The lovely author James reached out to me over on instagram asking if i would like a copy of his upcoming sci-fi novel in exchange for an honest review and promotion over on instagram. I get a lot of these requests over on my bookstagram (@rach_the_reader) but this one was different as James had actually taken the time to look through some of my posts and had noticed that i had recently reviewed an arc of 'Shards of Earth' by the amazing Adrian Tchaikovsky (@aptshadow) and loved it, it meant a lot to me that James had taken the time to look through my posts and check out one of my recent reviews to see if i would be the right kind of reader for his new book and let me tell you i devoured this book in 2 days! I dont want to go into too much of what the book is about or the plot as i think its one of those books where its best to go in blind. All i will say is that we follow Diyun who is a member of the humanoid alien race, he wakes up from a period of stasis and finds himself in an unfamiliar place. This sets into motion Diyun trying to save his friends whilst questioning everything he thought to be true with some political conflicts thrown in. 

Echoes of Gravity is phenomenal, i wasnt sure what to expect going into it but my mind was blown with every chapter i read it was a tiny bit of a slow start and it does feel like a lot of information all at once but once you get over that bit its all smooth sailing. James does a wonderful job with the world building, its so expansive and vast. The descriptions used allow you to paint an amazing picture of this universe, i would put it up there with some of the best world building ive ever read! Im still in awe everytime i think about it. It also has a glossery which was so so helpful! Not every fantasy or sci-fi book includes that and it can sometimes be the downfall of the book if the reader cant follow what you are saying, i didnt have this problem with this book but did enjoy referring back to it sort of like bonus material. 

This book reminded me of so many other sci-fi books i love and deserves a worthy space amongst them. I must say it had a different feel to it than a typical sci-fi novel, there were so many twists and turns in the story that i honestly couldnt put it down! Im hoping and praying that James does a bit of a Sanderson/Tolkien/Martin/Hobb (take your pick) and writes multiple books in his Wanderer Universe. I loved this book and its 4 main characters but kept thinking throughout just how much potential the world has to follow so many different characters in different settings. 

*edited to add* So silly me, James has already become a Sanderson/Tolkien/Martin/Hobb as this book is one of many set in the same universe (facepalm) haha

Thank you to both the author and the publisher for yet another great blog tour and for reaching out to me! This book is currently also £1.99 on kindle, a total bargain that you should snap up quick!

Thanks for reading :)