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    A Pale Light in the Black: A NeoG Novel
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    A Pale Light in the Black: A NeoG Novel
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    A Pale Light in the Black: A NeoG Novel
    Ebook513 pages9 hours

    A Pale Light in the Black: A NeoG Novel

    By K. B. Wagers

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    The Expanse meets the Battle Room in Ender's Game as K. B. Wagers brings us the rollicking first entry in a unique science fiction series that introduces the Near-Earth Orbital Guard—NeoG—a military force patrolling and protecting space inspired by the real-life mission of the U.S. Coast Guard.

    For the past year, their close loss in the annual Boarding Games has haunted Interceptor Team: Zuma’s Ghost. With this year’s competition looming, they’re looking forward to some payback—until an unexpected personnel change leaves them reeling. Their best swordsman has been transferred, and a new lieutenant has been assigned in his place.

    Maxine Carmichael is trying to carve a place in the world on her own—away from the pressure and influence of her powerful family. The last thing she wants is to cause trouble at her command on Jupiter Station. With her new team in turmoil, Max must overcome her self-doubt and win their trust if she’s going to succeed. Failing is not an option—and would only prove her parents right.

    But Max and the team must learn to work together quickly. A routine mission to retrieve a missing ship has suddenly turned dangerous, and now their lives are on the line. Someone is targeting members of Zuma’s Ghost, a mysterious opponent willing to kill to safeguard a secret that could shake society to its core . . . a secret that could lead to their deaths and kill thousands more unless Max and her new team stop them.

    Rescue those in danger, find the bad guys, win the Games. It’s all in a day’s work at the NeoG.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMar 3, 2020
    ISBN9780062887801
    Author

    K. B. Wagers

    K. B. Wagers is the author of the NeoG Adventures from Harper Voyager and the Indranan and Farian War trilogies from Orbit Books. They are a fan of whiskey and cats, Jupiter Ascending, and the Muppets. You can find them on various social media sites by going to kbwagers.com, where they engage in political commentary, plant photos, and video game playthroughs.

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    Reviews for A Pale Light in the Black

    4/5

    35 ratings7 reviews

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    • 2/5
      My first DNF of the year: statistically, it was bound to happen sooner or later, but still the disappointment stings… The blurb for this book promised a space opera focused on an organization, the NeoG, labeled as the space equivalent of the Coast Guard, and on the crew of one particular ship, Zuma’s Ghost, also adding that “A routine mission to retrieve a missing ship has suddenly turned dangerous, and now their lives are on the line. Someone is targeting members of Zuma’s Ghost, a mysterious opponent willing to kill to safeguard a secret that could shake society to its core . . . a secret that could lead to their deaths and kill thousands more […]”. Quite intriguing, indeed, and the start of the novel - despite some slight info-dump concerning the characters - introduced some captivating themes, like the promotion and subsequent transfer of a beloved second in command coinciding with the arrival of a new officer, whose past history and present uncertainties would add some spice to the interpersonal mechanics aboard the ship. Given these premises I expected a lively, adventurous story peppered with some interesting character evolution, but unfortunately things did not work that way at all.From the very start the story seems focused solely on the annual Boarding Games that pit the various branches of Earth’s military against each other, with much space given to Zuma’s Ghost’s commander and crew lamenting their defeat in the previous edition of the Games, and their preparations for the upcoming session: up to the point where I stopped reading there were only a couple of instances in which the crew faced emergencies related to their actual job, and they were solved quickly, almost off-handedly, immediately going back to talk of the impending Games. From a quick online search I discovered that the more adventurous section of the story does come into play once the “Space Olympics” are over, but I could not find the strength to go through chapter after chapter of fights and simulated battles to reach what might have been the “meat” of the story.To be entirely truthful, I have to admit I don’t care for team sports of any kind, so that might very well have colored my reaction to this story, but still I don’t understand the importance of the competition in the economy of the novel (at least as it’s presented in the blurb): a passing reference seems to indicate that the winning faction would get the greater portion of the government’s funds destined to military operations, and since NeoG did not gather any wins they are forced to go into space with sub-standard and/or old equipment. If that’s how things are in this future vision of humanity, it’s a ludicrous way indeed to manage a space-faring civilization…Which brings me to the background, or rather scarcity of it: there are references to a Collapse that threatened to end civilization, but since it’s now four centuries in the past no more details are given about what it entailed, or how Earth overcame it; technology seems advanced enough - ships achieving light speed, instant communications spanning great distances with no time-lag, rejuvenating treatments keeping people young well beyond human standards, and so on - but it looks like an afterthought rather than an organic part of the whole. Then you are met with weird details like swords as onboard armament because “no one yet had the lock on a reliable handheld laser weapon”. Granted, once my inner Nasty Nitpicker is awakened, it tends to sink its teeth onto these trivial details and to never let go, but to me this speaks of poor planning, or editing, or both.When all is said and done, A Pale Light in the Black looks like the kind of book I might have read - and probably enjoyed - a few decades ago, when I began reading SF: now that I have a good number of books under my proverbial belt, and that I have hopefully honed my tastes, books like this one feel totally unsatisfying. This is not the droid… pardon me … the novel I was looking for.Moving on….
    • 4/5
      Going into this novel all I was really looking for was a military procedural set in space and that's what I got: Mission accomplished. Beyond that, if you've enjoyed the "The Expanse," John Scalzi, and Becky Chambers, I can't see why you won't enjoy this book. Beyond that, if I was going to be critical, I might have liked a bit more world building, and the book feels (if anything) a little over-stuffed with plot. We'll see how the follow-on novels go.
    • 5/5
      Lots of fun, not quite as novel or imaginative as Hail, but really very good, and an exciting start to a new series. There are many intertwined threads, people of interest, themes and plots so it's quite hard to summarise. Max(ine) is a young officer, having ducked out from the security of a comfy billet in Navy admin, she's joined the Near Earth Orbital Guard's Interceptor crew, replacing a respected Lieutenant who's been promoted to his own captaincy. Jenks is the Petty Officer who's brother has just been promoted and she's going to have to cope without him looking out for her, and not sure that the new LT can fill his place. The captain Roca has her own doubts, having narrowly failed to win the coveted inter-Forces Games last year, she didn't need her experienced LT replacing, but it wouldn't be fair to him to hinder his career, the fresh-faced LT doesn't seem very confident, but comes well recommended and seems to have some skills when pushed. The team head out on their first missions rescuing ships in difficulty around Jupiter, and start encountering an unusual amount of incidents. Meanwhile the Games get closer and they still haven't bonded as tightly as they need to. And fo course they all have families, or lack of them, causing emotional ties and pulls in many directions.It all comes together very well, the characters are great. I think KB manages to shoehorn in every possible romantic combination which is perhaps overkill, but a welcome change. The team are all massively over-trained for most of the thugs they meet, so their only real competition is the Games, but the violence is never a focus, just part of the (predictable) tension, and very well handled. There are quite a few SF books out there about a new team-member joining a crew, it's a common trope, but this brings a new spark and is much more than just a few pranks and coping with tricky situations. A very well done blend of action and camaraderie, and trust when the chips are down.One things that is missing in the acknowledgements is a shout out to the brave and bold crew of our Coast Guards who put their life on the line for us every day, whatever the weather, and on whom the NEOG are based. There's also one glaring continuity error where the team debate and decide to leave their helmets in an airlock, and in the next paragraph have them clanking by their sides. Wagers doesn't normally make these mistakes. I've read all of Wagers novels so far, and enjoyed every one. I'm glad she's started on a new series and I look forward to further adventures of the NEGO.
    • 4/5
      Max Carmichael is a new lieutenant in the NeoG, the space equivalent of the Coast Guard, who went to it against the wishes of her wealthy, life-extension-tech-controlling family. She has to fit into her new crew, help them win the big competition against the other services, and also investigate a mystery that involves her family’s company and a bunch of dead bodies. Perfectly competent military-ish sf with an interesting focus on regular games as the real major occupation of big sectors of the military, and possibly no white cis male characters with names (sometimes it was hard to tell).
    • 4/5
      This book is recommended for fans of Becky Chambers, and I can see the comparison. It's a warm, upbeat, found-family space opera with lots of queer characters. I really enjoyed the character-focused story.

      Wagers isn't as deft a storyteller as Chambers - the writing was less graceful, and the actual plot felt a bit formulaic (although the characters were anything but). The main things that knocked this from 5 stars to 4 were some narrative choices that I found disconcerting and bewildering. If one of a book's A-plots centers around a huge sports competition, not getting to see the climactic moments of that competition on the page is disappointing as a reader. Similarly, some of the early adventures that the team has are completely left off the page. This felt strange, and it threw me out of the story to start thinking about why the author would make that choice. (Book too long? Not adept at writing action? Couldn't think of a way to make it interesting?) Whatever the reason, I don't think it was the right choice, and it took away from the book for me.
    • 5/5
      A close loss in the annual boarding games has haunted the crew of Zuma's Ghost in the NeoG, or Near-Earth Orbital Guard in KB Wagers new series which starts with A Pale Light in the Black. The crew is looking forward to this year's games which they feel confident will finally result in a win for the NeoG. Unexpectedly, their best swordsman is transferred and a new lieutenant, Maxine Carmichael, is assigned to take his place. Max is faced with a daunting task, trying to prove to herself and her team that she can be an asset.While on patrol, Zuma's Ghost encounters a missing ship that has turned up and kicks off a mystery that quickly threatens the lives of the crew. They're being targeted and must figure out why and by whom before not only them but thousands more die. Solve the mystery, win the games and save the day. Just another day in the life of the NeoG.This is a tremendously fun space adventure. Wagers’ talent for writing great characters is on full display in this book. Max is so much fun to get to know, as is Jenks, the volatile ensign and the best fighter in the NeoG. They are surrounded by a talented crew and must all work together if they are going to win the games. The same teamwork is necessary to unravel the mystery that started with a missing ship and leads to a secret that could rock their society to its core.The description of the games, both as a whole and in the individual matches, is tremendously exciting. The story is largely about family. Family you are born to, family you find, and family you make. This is the heartbeat of the story which ties together all the great action pieces. A Pale Light in the Black is a lot of fun and I am definitely looking forward to more adventures with the NeoG. Highly recommended.I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.
    • 4/5
      I received this advance galley via NetGalley.I'm a huge fan of Wagers's other sci-fi series (The Indranan War and The Farian War) and I was very excited to see what they could do with space opera set closer to Earth. While this book didn't have the instant magnetism of the previous books--in part because I had a hard time keeping the large cast straight in my head--once it's gets going, it's good.The NEO-G are essentially the space coast guard. Under-funded and under-appreciated, they monitor the shipping lanes and keep travelers safe from threats foreign and domestic. There are no aliens. Humans travel space alone, and go long distances thanks to advances in extending the human life span--technology patented by Max Carmichael's family. However, she chose not to enter the company or the Navy, as dictated by tradition and her dictator parents, but to enter the NEO-G and really save people's lives. Shunned by her birth family, she finds a new family among her comrades in space as they do their day jobs and prepare for the big military rivalry reality-type show that happens once a year. However, when mischief in space points back toward Max's family and their hidden tech, she and her new friends start to dig for answers--and soon find themselves the targets of some dangerous people.Timing is weird in publishing. Another book with a similar basic concept--Coast Guard in space, with a reality show component, is also out in March 2020. Sixteenth Watch by Myke Cole, being by an author with military experience, is also much deeper into the military aspect and the Coast Guard and Navy rivalry has much, much higher stakes. In comparison, A Pale Light in the Black is a breezier, lighter book more in the mode of Firefly. Both books use the same concepts well, and have entirely different vibes and plot lines.What really shines in A Pale Light in the Black is the concept of found family. These are people who grow close, who have each other's backs, and get to zoom around in space and help others. I mean, what more can a person want?