Night Music by Tobias Cabral was the first book I read during this round. I had originally planned on reading them in order of length with the longest one going first but the more I looked at the list, the more I wanted to read this one first.
Night Music
Author: Tobias Cabral
Pub day: November 14. 2010
Length: 144 Pages
Available on KU and for purchase here.
Blurb
The colonization of Mars has begun.
Following a rapid expansion of the manned space program due to the discovery of a potentially catastrophic Earth-crossing comet, Zubrin Base has been established on the Red Planet to oversee the capture of the rogue object.
During final preparations for a second expedition, however, contact has been lost with the outpost. Pilot Seth Boaz finds himself re-tasked for a rescue mission, one which will force him to confront his own past, as well as otherworldly forces with profound implications for humanity’s future.
Review
Night Music had an interesting premise that I was curious to explore but upon finishing, I realized that it felt like two different people had written this book.
The first (approximately) half of the book had a lot of technical details right from the start. This definitely appeals to some readers more than others but I don’t usually let that deter me from enjoying a book. I don’t spend a ton of time on trying to understand all those technical details but do think they often add some interesting facets to a story, the way a character thinks, and/or show the kinds of things the author likes to learn about or explore with their writing. That being said, it did feel a little like the story was drowning in a little bit too much technical stuff for a little while.
The second part of the book felt a lot less technical but it did approach report level writing to a degree. The turn it took is definitely up my alley and I really enjoyed some of the decisions the author made for this story but I think it would’ve really benefited from being longer. Making it as short as it was took the heart from it, in my opinion. It felt more like an overview rather than an exploration and conclusion with feelings, goals, character growth, and all the things that make us want to follow the characters on their journeys. I think that rushing through also took a bit away from the dramatics of it. I was definitely expecting a little more of that after reading the book blurb.
I also don’t mind endings that don’t answer every little question. I think it’s good to leave some things in the dark. But this book took that a little bit to the extreme.
I did like the range of characters and their interactions. They felt realistic and were fun to follow. The group dynamic didn’t feel forced despite their circumstances and the occasional humor was appreciated. As I said above though, the closer we got to the end, the less characterization I felt like we were getting. The people are the main reason why I would’ve liked the book to be longer.
As I mentioned before, I liked where the story was heading. It reminded me slightly of Aliya Whiteley for a moment (thought that didn’t last very long), which was a fun flashback. I think the author had a really good idea for this book. I would’ve just liked to see it explored more in depth. The short length of this book was the biggest negative for me because it just didn’t allow for the level of detail I would’ve liked for this type of book. The level of detail that I think this author would actually do pretty well seeing how they handled some facets of this story.
The Shaggy Shepherd 