There is a murder here - many murders as a matter of fact - and the survivors do spend a significant time trying to figure out which of their fellow crew members wants them all dead. Thankfully, Lafferty doesn’t make that the whole point. I don’t like overwrought, “but who can we trust? ” stories. Characters locked up and descending into increasing paranoia is definitely one of those tropes.

There are certain tropes that always get on my nerves and make me put the book down or turn the television off. And Maria isn’t the only one to die recently…ĭiscussion: While I was excited about the premise, I didn’t buy Six Wakes when it first came out. Maria’s vat is one of seven, each one holding the clone of a crew member of the starship Dormire, each clone waiting for its previous incarnation to die so it can awaken. This is new before, when she had awakened as a new clone, her first memory was of how she died. Maria Arena awakens in a cloning vat streaked with drying blood. And the crew’s newly awakened clones will have to find their killer–before he strikes again! On a space ship far from earth, someone is murdering the crew. The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key (of Escape to Witch Mountain fame). What’s not to like about that? Plus, this book’s cover art caught my eye for a really weird reason it reminded me of a book I adored as a kid. It’s a science fiction locked-room mystery that also made me think of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, just… in space. Why I Chose It: So one of my favorite genre mash-ups is SF/Mystery, and Six Wakes definitely falls into that sweet spot.

Six wakes book