Killing Gravity by Corey J. White

Killing Gravity by Corey J. White (2017), the first entry in the Voidwitch Saga, is a tight scifi novella, that is an enjoyable blend of pulp space opera action and cyberpunk aesthetics. The story is about Mariam Xi (“Mars”), who is a voidwitch, a posthuman weapon with strong telekinetic powers. She was transformed into this “weapon” by an evil militaristic lab (named MEPHISTO). She eventually escaped and has lived life on the run, trying to escape run-ins with a bounty hunter. We find her at the beginning of the novella hanging helpless in a dying spaceship, after an encounter with a bounty hunter, dependent on the mercy of any spaceship that will rescue her. When she's picked up by a small spaceship crew who befriend her it's the first in a series of events where she learns more about her past and confronts the people who are pursuing her and would use her for their own ends. With the revelations of her past, Mars story quickly becomes one of reuniting and revenge.

This is a tight story that gives the barest sketches of the Empire that these people live in while providing plenty of detail on the immediately relevant stuff. Characterization of Mars and her friends is also great and done in a very small space. The comparisons are true. Mars and her friends do remind me of the crew in Firefly. They’re all a bit eccentric, grumpy, familial - the way Mal and the good folks aboard Serenity are. Plus River Tam and Mars have a bit in common. White handles gender norms and sexuality particularly well through low-key commentary. Various forms of sexuality and gender identity appear to be ubiquitous in the universe White establishes. These sorts of lifestyles/preferences are just part of the everyday experience in this space adventure.

While the story isn’t completely fresh (villains treating humans as military experiments, protagonists with telekinetic powers, etc. are all very old sci-fi tropes), this novella, while not completely original, is still entertaining. It’s pulpy, thrilling, violent, and often touching.

And did I mention Mars has a cat-like pet named Seven? What's not to love?
( )

In one sense, this is (part one of) a non-stop action blend of hard SF and science fantasy (future body-mind-machine mucking-about for nefarious purposes that to us reads as magic). In another sense this is the beginning of a complex tale of a person mistreated who has resurrected her self and is bent on wreaking havoc on those who hurt her and hers - a hero's journey, sort of. I loved it and will read more! ( )

Killing Gravity
By Corey J. White

You know that feeling when you're looking for a book, like standing in front of the refrigerator with the door open and you are staring in and not sure what you feel like having today. Nothing looks good. Feeling like everything is boring even though you have like 40,000 ebooks. I was having one of those moments when this book caught my eye. It had everything I was hungry for!
Wow!!! Boy, this book hit the spot! What a great mix of elements. A strong female lead. Sci-fi kick @ss gal that everyone is after but the puzzle was why. Then when you find out, the book doesn't make her a whining b!tch about her past but sorrowful at times and always looking forward.
She was a loner before but meets people on a ship, a small crew, and it works out in the end that they all except each other. It didn't start that way. Lots of action, adventure, great world building, wonderful characters!
The gal also has a pet that is her only friend. It is a creature she rescued from a research lab. Seven is its name. She describes it as similar to a cat but much shorter legs and it fit in her helmet. Seven was definitely one of my favorite characters!
I definitely want to follow this series. ( )

Good for those who wants to read about stuff blowing up and people dying. ( )

This was a pretty predictable story. Teen girl has psychic powers and emotional damage because she was experimented on. Gets bloody revenge on her former captors.

I honestly never felt any tension or stakes in this story, and none of the characters interested me. It's escapism and not much more. Also kind of bloody. However, it was competently written, and I don't think it reflects poorly on the author. Just not anything special. ( )