Floating Hotel

January 1, 2024

The Grand Abeona Hotel, a luxury cruise ship traveling the spacelanes, serves as the only home its ragtag crew of runaways, stowaways, and castaways have ever known, as well as a temporary refuge for its guests, from both the humdrum of everyday and the maw of an oppressive intergalactic empire. But the Grand Abeona is hiding a sea of red ink in her balance sheets and more than one potentially galaxy-shattering secret. The sharks are closing in on her last slightly tattered but still glorious cruise among the stars. Readers experience the mysteries aboard the Grand Abeona through the shifting perspectives of its crew and guests, and the story moves through a myriad of characters, each presenting their own slice of life on the ship and a tiny piece of the big picture. VERDICT Readers who loved the combination of shipboard mystery, secrecy, and entertainment featured in recent novels (such as The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal, You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo, and The Sol Majestic by Ferrett Steinmetz) will be happy to board the Grand Abeona and share her final journey in the latest book from Curtis (Frontier).--Marlene Harris

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 22, 2024
Curtis (Frontier) spins a cozy and compulsively readable sci-fi adventure set aboard the Grand Abeona Hotel, a luxurious resort starship locked in a perpetual tour of the galaxy. Though the ship has seen better days, it’s still a choice setting, offering the finest amenities for its myriad guests as they travel between the stars. The subtle plot chronicles the experiences of the hotel’s staff and guests as they delve into the Grand Abeona’s many mysteries. From amiable manager Carl, crusty chief technician Sasha, and new employee Daphne to an enigmatic pair of newlywed guests, each perspective adds another layer of complexity and suspense to the question of the hotel’s eventual fate. With clever prose and lush descriptions, Curtis captures the spirit of the worn down yet still glamorous starship as it dutifully follows its routine, exploring the backstory of its staff while throwing ever escalating complications in their way, including a potentially eventful academic conference onboard and a murder in one of the guest rooms. Even when the stakes are high, Curtis has a knack for keeping things intimate and understated, peeling back the layers of the novel’s scrappy found family. Centering optimism in the face of an increasingly dark universe, this feel-good saga lingers long after it’s finished. Agent: Zoë Plant, Plant Agency.

March 1, 2024
Political and personal dramas unfold at a traveling space hotel. The Grand Abeona Hotel--essentially a cruise ship in space--trundles from planet to planet. It's not nearly as glamorous as it used to be, but it's a welcome refuge to regular guests and to staffers who have escaped poverty, military service, criminal prosecution, and/or the crushing fist of the autocratic government to make it their home. Now, their settled existences are on the verge of catastrophic change. The attendees of an academic conference held onboard every year, which is usually a boondoggle, are urgently tasked with decoding a mysterious message. Spies have sneaked onship in search of a mysterious figure known as the Lamplighter, who issues seditious dispatches about the 500-year-old Emperor and the corrupt aristocrats of his court. If the Lamplighter isn't found by the time the ship exits deep space, imperial authorities will arrest the entire hotel staff. What is the message? Who and where is the Lamplighter? And is hotel manager Carl really as kind--and as oblivious--as he appears to be? Initially this looks like a cozy SF story about found family, set among the colorfully rendered staff and guests of a large establishment in the vein of many British period dramas. But the narrative rapidly turns toward thriller, and some of the secrets that these characters hold are very dark. That swerve is both intriguing and entertaining, but unfortunately, it doesn't quite pay off. The resolution to the central conflict comes across as rushed, not appropriately cathartic, and doesn't resolve much other than the immediate situation. It's unclear whether this book is a stand-alone or the first in a series. If the former, the author leaves a great deal of plot threads and budding relationships dangling; if the latter, even the promise of future installments would not entirely compensate for these lacks. In particular, a more detailed backstory for the Lamplighter (in contrast to the beautifully detailed pasts of the other characters) would have been appreciated, especially as a large political crisis still looms. The journey is great; the destination somewhat disappointing.

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