SPSFC Semifinalist Review: Those Left Behind by N. C. Scrimgeour

This was a much anticipated title. I heard rave reviews even before we got it assigned so it was already on my TBR. It’s always fun when your obligation reads knock out that ole TBR at the same time. Please be aware that this review might be slightly spoilery in regards to themes and types of characters, though I did try my best to not give away any actual plot components that you wouldn’t know about from the blurb already.

Those Left Behind

Author: N. C. Scrimgeour

Pub day: November 16, 2021

Length: 405 Pages

Available on KU and for purchase here.

Blurb

A dying planet. A desperate mission. A crew facing impossible odds. Humanity’s last hope lies with them…

Time is running out for the people of New Pallas. Nobody knows that better than Alvera Renata, a tenacious captain determined to scout past the stars with nothing but a handpicked crew and a promise: to find a new home for humanity.

But when a perilous journey across dark space leads to first contact with a galactic civilisation on the brink of war, Alvera soon realises keeping her word might not be as easy as she thought.

Her only hope lies with the secrets of the ancient alien waystations scattered across the galaxy. The mysterious technology could be the key to humanity’s survival—or bring unwanted attention from the long-forgotten beings who built them.

But remaining united is a lot to ask from a crew already splintering under the weight of their differences. A jaded pilot looks for a place he can start over. A young translator searches for meaning out in the galaxy’s lawless frontier. And Alvera reckons with the aftermath of betrayal as she fights for a way to save them all.

As they break apart to forge their own paths, Alvera and her crew all face the same question: what are they willing to sacrifice to save those left behind?

Review

I was cutting it a little bit close to the end of this round with this title. I knew I wanted to read it but I also wanted to leave it for last as a reward since I was expecting to enjoy it quite a bit. Thankfully due to being able to listen to the audio as well as read the ebook, I was able to finish it on time and submit my score.

This book has the kind of beginning I love to have in a sci-fi book. The issues that need to be solved are introduced relatively early on and along with that we also already get an introduction to the ethical issues and tensions in the society at large as well as among the smaller assemble of characters. While these components have plenty added on later on in the book, this gives the story a very solid beginning foundation to build on.

There were a lot of characters to keep track of, but they were all very distinct from each other and I found myself deeply invested in all of them. The range of characters she created was also very wide, both in the sense of species as well as personality wise. I love how the majority of them seemed to be “good” or “bad” at first glance but later on revealed themselves to be scattered all across the spectrum between white and black. “Morally gray” is my favorite type of character because it often adds a lot more layers to their personality in stories. We were able to see the good and the bad in several of the characters, even those where you’d least expect it, which added a confusing sense of solidarity and compassion for all sides of the conflict.

There were only three things that I struggled with in this book but I would consider them all minor details. Nonetheless, despite being minor, I don’t really want to go into too much detail here because that would give away major plot lines that I don’t want to spoil for you. I just found one particular scene between characters somewhat unrealistic, thought it surprising for another character to have certain resources at her disposal, and one POV wasn’t quite as persuading to me as I would’ve liked because his experiences were fascinating so I would’ve loved for that to have been done a little more convincingly. Overall though, these didn’t affect my enjoyment a whole lot because there were just too many things that I absolutely adored.

Up until this round, this book has easily been my favorite in the competition. It was so well rounded, well written, and had me on the edge of my seat so many times. There is a finalist that I absolutely adore and will read for the third time to give an exact score for the competition but I expect it to be a tight race and believe that Scrimgeour has a very good chance to finish out with the top spot! I’m really looking forward to the books in this last round and how they compare to each other.