The Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis
The Abeona is described as a "Floating Hotel", but it surely is basically a luxury cruise space ship. Once a travelling 'hotel', the Abeona now loops in a circular itinerary. This is but one of the signs that she has seen better days.
In this era, the apex of swankiness is pure analog. Not just human servants (robots—no!), but analog displays (screens—no!), natural materials, and even a pneumatic tube messaging system! Hey, in flight between systems, there is no network connectivity anyway, so why not.
Beyond the mouthwatering luxury (except for the food, which sounds ghastly), Abeona is a very strange ship. The staff is a very odd group of oddballs. Everybody has a backstory, and everybody has a secret.
The story is set in the decadent days of 'the Empire', which is ruled by an inbred aristocracy and a centuries old Emperor. The Emperor has been cloned, to assure that he remains in office forever. I guess that's one way to deal with succession problems.
No points awarded for guessing that something is afoot on the Abeona. The annual meeting of the very strange "Problem Solver's Conference" is stranger than usual. And there are quite a few suspicious characters aboard, who appear to be agents of resistance and the imperial police and who knows what else.
It's all very mysterious and menacing. What's going on? Who is who? And who is in danger from whom?
This is a pretty good story, with lots of decadently eccentric characters, which are rather likable no matter how messed up they are. The spaceship itself is lovingly imagined. Curtis herself is vague about her biography, but her background creating video games shows. (And I suspect that she has worked in hospitality at some time. : - ) )
I'll be looking for more from her.
- Grace Curtis, The Floating Hotel, New York, Daw, 2024.
Sunday Book Reviews
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