Outer space isn’t something you’d generally call cozy. Hanging around in the vacuum way up there requires a lot of complicated machines to keep you from dying. Comfort is a low priority for today’s astronauts; the word “cozy” is typically used sarcastically.
Murder in a Carry-On Bag
“Infinite Archive” is the third book in Lafferty’s series, which began with the rather successful “Station Eternity” in 2022. The books star Mallory Viridian, a 22-year-old college dropout with an extraordinary and terrifying curse. She might be considered the Typhoid Mary of murders, having been in close proximity to about 20 unrelated murders throughout her short life.This strange affliction has earned her lots of suspicion from law enforcement, despite never being charged. Why does this happen to her? Well, it’s complicated and partially resolved in “Station Eternity.” Luckily, Mallory also possesses an uncanny ability to spot crucial clues and solve cases in record time.
This dual curse/ability has kept her out of jail but devastated her personal and professional life. Family members either fear her or think she’s mentally ill. Friendships have withered and romantic relationships end in tragedy when someone close to her partner inevitably dies. Her only income comes from writing murder mystery novels, which are fictionalized versions of her actual cases.
A Living Space Station
Station Eternity itself (sorry, herself) is a massive sentient creature that serves as a galactic transportation hub for multiple alien species. The station is literally alive and conscious, able to communicate through a symbiotic bond with other aliens who act as her host-administrator. Most aliens, it turns out, can create a symbiotic relationship with different species, which makes mankind a bit of an outlier.Eternity features diverse environments. These include parklike common areas with restaurants and shops, a complex tram system with translucent cars that zip around marble tracks, shuttle bays for visiting ships, and residential quarters of varying sizes. Various alien species live aboard, from human-sized beings to towering 8-foot rock creatures called the Gneiss.
Other alien species on board include the Phantasmagore, which are chameleon-like humanoids with plant symbionts, and the Gurudev, stick insect-like beings who often bond with places like Eternity. One of Mallory’s only human companions is Xan Morgan, a former U.S. Army soldier who knew Mallory from college. He originally came to Eternity seeking sanctuary as an AWOL soldier and murder suspect.
Mallory is intelligent and observant with a knack for reading people and situations, but her bizarre condition makes her temperamental and distrusting at times. She hopes the limited number of humans aboard reduces the chance of another murder happening. Alas, she’s wrong, which ultimately drives the plot for each book.
Navigating the Sci-Fi Curse
There’s a common challenge for most sci-fi authors: How do you explain the world your characters live in? Speculative stories often range from futuristic tweaks in technology to complex world-building (think of Frank Herbert’s “Dune”). The Midsolar series is a little of both: an alternative version of today’s Earth that has been contacted by E.T. intelligence.Many authors fall into the trap of “info dumps,” that is, writing many contextual explanations that often lead to dry, boring reading. But authors like Lafferty gradually reveal what’s going on and trust the reader to piece it all together. This choice is almost always the better one, but it often creates another tricky situation.
The Midsolar series is a rich and complex scenario, with creative character backstories and well-thought-out aliens. That’s good, because shallow world-building tends to fizzle out quickly. Lafferty’s writing style is very engaging and conversational, but there’s a heck of a lot going on in these stories that doesn’t always jive with this technique.
Readers might need to work a little harder to grasp all the subtleties and moving pieces here, and I’d strongly suggest starting with the first book before tackling later ones.
For science fiction fans, Midsolar’s inherent complexity is exactly the element that can keep them coming back for more. Lafferty’s series is a smart, funny, charming, richly detailed place to enjoy and even “geek out” in.
