Dust & Lightning | Rebecca Crunden

 Hello

This has been on my TBR for like ages. Ever since reading Man and Crow I have been meaning to read more of her books coz I have a few of them, and you know how it gets, things get shoved down the TBR, so I thought to myself 'Nerd! Crack on! You have been meaning to read this for ages!' 

So, I did!

About the book

In the near future, humans have gone beyond simple space travel. By the year 4054, multiple solar systems are inhabited, and taking a spaceship is as commonplace as taking an aeroplane.

Unfortunately, not everything about the future is so advanced. The central planets, led by Earth, have risen high at the expense of cheap labour on distant worlds. Dissent is widespread and arrests are common. Sometimes prisoners are released; sometimes they disappear without a trace, sent to labour camps in other solar systems.

When Ames Emerys receives a letter telling him that his brother Callum has died en route to the remote planet of Kilnin, he takes the first ship he can off Earth, desperate for answers. But the secrets Ames uncovers prove far more dangerous than he could have imagined.

And trouble isn’t far behind.

It's the year 4054, and the earth is polluted and humans have populated other worlds.

Ames Emery is searching for his brother, aid worker Cal, who after being imprisoned for unknown crimes against the ruling Democratic Planetary Alliance, is reportedly dead. However, Ames has received a communique from his cousin that Cal has turned up on a mining planet called Kilnin, despite the ship summarily disappearing.

Catching a ship to search for his brother, Ames aids Violet escape from an abusive marriage and the two become firm friends and compatriots in their search for Callum.

Throwing the reader into the action almost immediately, Rebecca Crunden writes a pretty enjoyable techno thriller that has secret government agencies, secret experiments, political tensions and a thrilling space race to find Ames's brother.

The plot is immediately engaging as we stumble into the first scenario, hooking the reader in to find out more about what is happening and subsequently find the fate of Ames's brother and what the consequences will be for the Democratic Planetary Alliance as a whole. 

Both of the main characters are engaging and it was nice to see a platonic relationship develop between the two characters rather than an insta love attraction between the two.

If  you want a fast paced short novella that's engaging and fun, then Dust and Lightning is a really good read.