We Have Always Been Here

DNF at 23%, couldn't take anymore of the clunky dialogues.

Stopped after Ch 4, 20% was bored.
I didn't find any of the characters interesting and feel like I should by 20%.
Several unexpected things happening but no real mystery or tension. 
They way this company plans and runs the expedition often left me asking why? Kind of like decisions from the higher ups at my day job. 

This is a fascinating book about consciousness and what exactly it means to be human. Good and bad.

As much as I love optimistic sci-fi, this book paints a fascinating and bleak vision of the future, where Earth is barely habitable and getting into space to the many extrasolar colonies requires literally selling your soul and body to an organization called the ISF. It's a mix of conscription and near-sevitude (there are mentions of prison planets for people who dissent).

There are humanoid robots and the book explores the complications and inevitable human prejudices that come with that. Park's relationship with Glenn and, later, Jimex really reflects her soul and the conclusion of the book.

The human characters are fairly diverse with their own complex motives. They're struggling under the chaos of the mission and the looming threat of the ISF. I didn't really like her “relationship” with Fulbreech (thankfully there is no true romance here), but the ending is vague enough that there may never be anything truly there with all that happened.

I will say that I really wish there was more focus on the Fold and less on the boring mutiny stuff. I was kinda hoping that we'd get some really mind-blowing stuff that didn't pan out how I'd hoped. Like, I expected something from Solaris and/or Alien instead of what little we did get. Still a fan of the unity rain and all that, I just wanted more.

A solid debut. I liked the space-horror elements best, the world-building the least.

This book didn't make a big splash in 2021 (so far) but it turns out to be one of my favorites. An interesting mash up of the paranoid closed space vehicle (think: Alien, Solaris) with the creepy mysterious android theme (I thought of ‘Creation of the Humanoids'). There are a few head scratchers some of which are resolved in the reveals (e.g. why does the main character relate better to androids than people, why was she chosen for this mission). There were small and inconsequential nit picks too (gamma rays won't change your mood, probably will give you cancer; how can a misanthrope fare as a psychotherapist?) But, regardless, this is very classic space opera, notably the ending which, in prototype space opera form, has cosmic philosophical significance to the universe and the future of everything. I especially found the flashback narratives thoroughly engrossing, as much as the main narrative. It's probably a matter of taste, but I found the ‘laid back' manner of the narrative to be refreshing and extremely well written (sorry, I've had enough of purple prose horror) - and I think the narration was in-line with the main character's neuro-atypicality and misanthropy - it worked for me. All through the book I was imagining how this would look as a movie.

I liked it. It was trippy and weird, and with so many characters I had to jump back to the first few pages a few times to look up people but I really enjoyed it. Helped me beat the heat wave this weekend.

I'm happy that I didn't really clue into what was going on most of the time. By the second half things started to fall into place, but nothing at the start was obvious blatent for shadowing.

Def recommend to others.

Full Video Review to come!
This was a great and engaging debut from a new author. It had all the right creepy and deteriorating beats of something strange happening to the crew and I was really intrigued from the get-go. I really enjoyed the timelines and the video transcripts that added a really cool layer as well as the stream-of-consciousness writing style when in Park's head. I like the different discoveries made that kept the book going and really tough to disengage from. It was a thriller through and through with a wonderfully executed scifi feel.

Pros: interesting protagonist, tense action, compelling mystery

Cons: somewhat frustrating opening

Grace Park is the Orbiter on the spaceship Deucalion, a psychologist sent to monitor the crew on their mission to scout out a newly discovered planet and prepare it for colonization. Her role, her standoffishness and the fact that she not a conscripted member of ISF makes her something of an outsider among the crew, fitting in more with the androids on board. Things immediately start going wrong when they arrive at the planet. Facing mistrust and paranoia, Park has to figure out what's going on before it's too late.

The opening's a bit slow as you're introduced to a lot of characters, settings, and history. It's also frustrating as you've only got the information that Park is privy to (with the exception of some emails at the start of some chapters), so it takes quite a while before you both begin to understand what's going on. That slow opening pays off at the half way point when the tension ramps up and it becomes very hard to put the book down.

The book begins with a mystery but parts in the middle felt very much like a horror novel. The action is fast and explanations limited (though eventually you do learn enough to understand what's really going on).

Park is a challenging protagonist as she has a limited range of emotions. It's easy to understand why she's ostracized by her peers, but seeing her actions from the inside helps the reader empathize with her. I did find it a little strange that a 13 member human crew could make a 3 floor ship feel crowded and full of ‘cliques', but those early complaints faded as the action ramped up. I enjoyed seeing Park's friendship with various androids as the book progressed.

It's an interesting book. Definitely worth pushing past the opening to see where the book goes. The ending felt right, though it left unanswered questions.

We Have Always Been Here is a gripping sci-fi thriller that twisted in unexpected directions and kept me hooked all the way to the end. There's a real palpable tension and delirium infused into Nguyen's writing that enhances what could have been a straightforward thriller into something much deeper, sharper, and stranger. I'm excited to see what Nguyen writes next, as this was an excellent debut.

See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.