Book Review: Thoughtless by Pat Luther
Genre(s): Science Fiction
Content warning: There are a number of fight scenes in this book and references to death/murder.
Delokita (Del) is an Enforcer with BeltSec, a security team whose duty is to monitor the asteroid belt and mediate disagreements between various corporations. When she responds to a distress call and arrives in time to eliminate a terrorist, she’s inadvertently placed on the radar of a powerful and dangerous criminal—and he wants her dead.
The universe painted in Thoughtless is a future vision of our solar system. Humans have colonized Mars and Venus, as well as the asteroid belt, where much of the story takes place. The effects of gravity on humans in the different environments is taken into account throughout the book, including means of simulating gravity. Transportation and distances were considered, as well—delays in communications were even mentioned. There was enough real-world science involved to make the story believable, but not so much that the narrative was bogged down. It was a nice blend.
There was a good amount of action, in addition to a couple big mysteries that needed to be solved. Both aspects kept the story engaging throughout. There were a number of twists and turns in the plot as well, which I enjoyed.
Del has a tendency to act before thinking, which lands her in trouble more often than not. As a main character, she had a few interesting aspects (the big one being a spoiler, so you’ll have to read it for yourself to find out the details.) Her backstory held some intrigue, and I wish we could have learned a little more about it, but as it was, it served the story well.
She has a couple close friends, Bilan and Jie. Although Bilan seemed to have more page time, I liked Jie’s character more. His reactions to Del were more believable, particularly toward the end of the book. Bilan is the classic best friend who supports the main character no matter what – even when certain events happen that should have made her question their friendship.
The only piece I struggled with in this book was the dialogue. Sometimes there was no issue, but at others, it was difficult to know which character was speaking. I had to reread a few passages to figure out who was saying what. This is a minor point, and may just be a quirk of mine. As a whole, I liked the book.
Overall, this was a fun and action-packed read with an interesting story. If you like plot-driven science fiction, give Thoughtless a read.
Author website: pluther.us
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