Lisa Henry - Dark Space

Brady Garrett needs to go home. He’s a conscripted recruit on Defender Three, one of a network of stations designed to protect the Earth from alien attack. He's also angry, homesick, and afraid. If he doesn’t get home he’ll lose his family, but there’s no way back except in a body bag.
Cameron Rushton needs a heartbeat. Four years ago Cam was taken by the Faceless — the alien race that almost destroyed Earth. Now he’s back, and when the doctors make a mess of getting him out of stasis, Brady becomes his temporary human pacemaker. Except they’re sharing more than a heartbeat: they’re sharing thoughts, memories, and some very vivid dreams.
Not that Brady’s got time to worry about his growing attraction to another guy, especially the one guy in the universe who can read his mind. It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just biochemistry and electrical impulses. It doesn’t change the truth: Brady’s alone in the universe.
Now the Faceless are coming and there’s nothing anyone can do. You can’t stop your nightmares. Cam says everyone will live, but Cam’s probably a traitor and a liar like the military thinks. But that’s okay. Guys like Brady don’t expect happy endings.

Comment: I got interested in this book after seeing a positive review. Since I had liked other titles by the author, I decided to give this one a try.

In this sci-fi story we meet Brady Garrett, a young man who was conscripted to a space station for a mandatory set of years. Brady knows it will be a long time before he returns home, and he is worried for his father and younger sister. Things become problematic at the station when missing pilot Cameron Rushton, a hero for the population, is returned after four years of captivity by the Faceless, the alien race Earth is trying to keep away. When the officers and the doctor try to bring Cameron out of a stasis, Brady is present since he is training to be a medic, and somehow things don't go as well as they should and Brady ends up touching Cameron, synchronizing their heartbeats. From then on, Brady needs to be close by, so that Cameron doesn't loose the connection. With time, they become close and even intimate but Cameron did say the Faceless will return and want a peace treaty. But is it so?

I liked this story and had a great time reading and turning the pages. Of all the books by this author I've tried, I only wasn't a fan of one, which was in a genre I don't appreciate anyway. Therefore, I was quite happy with the way things progressed in regards to this one, a very interesting sci-fi romance, even though it's not totally original.

The world building is well done and the author creates atmosphere and settings without having to explain every single detail. Some things one can simply infer from comments and descriptions and that is a great way for the reader to feel layers are being uncovered. The alien race and the things we learn about them aren't that much, but what we do know provides enough information for the reader to understand something is going to happen, all seems to point to something not doomed or disastrous, but there is a constant niggling of suspicion about what might happen.

The story is told by Brady in first person and in this case, I didn't mind it because he was interesting on his own, but also because the situations he lived through and what he is facing now is such a novelty that his "voice" remains surprised and constantly thinking about what is happening. I liked Brady because he is clearly a good guy, with a goal which is to return to his family and I kept rooting for him to be well and to be able to deal with things as best as he could. We understand he comes from a  poor environment but he is genuinely a good person who only wants to do right by those he loves, isn't selfishly wanting to do whatever he wants.

Brady is caught by surprise as everyone else, so his perspective is always at the same pace as the reader's. This means we move along with him as he helps with Cameron's revival and all the process afterwards. They way they bond is still a bit too quick for what it should, emotionally speaking, but the details about this situation offer enough information for this to not feel as instantaneous as it seems. I suppose I could say the romance is gradual - for a story which isn't very big to begin with.

Cameron we only know from Brady's POV but he is described as someone levelheaded, caught up in an impossible situation when he was kidnapped by the aliens, and his return is both a happy one and a suspicious one, for many believe he might be a traitor. Cameron clearly comes from a wealthier background and he should act privileged but he doesn't, which means we start caring about him and his relationship with Brady too.

The plot is very basic, but the world building is quite strongly presented. Although the focus is a bit more on the romance, the surroundings and the little things we learn was we go about life in a space station, and the people Brady knows or interacts with there, as well as all the alien stuff make for a very engaging novel. It's not a big book, true, but I still read this very quickly. I will certainly read the other two full length books in what seems to be a trilogy.

Grade: 8/10