Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

Quick wits and loyalty confront high-tech crime in space

Welcome to the Scilly Isles, a handful of asteroids bunched together in space, well beyond the orbit of Mars. This remote and isolated habitat is home to a diverse group of human settlers, and a whole flock of parakeets. But earth-based financial regulator ECRB suspects that it’s also home to serious large scale fraud, and the reputation of the islands comes under threat.

Enter Mitnash Thakur and his virtual partner Slate, sent out from Earth to investigate. Their ECRB colleagues are several weeks away at their ship’s best speed, and even message signals take an hour for the round trip. Slate and Mitnash are on their own, until they can work out who on Scilly to trust. How will they cope when the threat gets personal?

Izdevniecība/Publisher: Matteh Publications

Kā tiku pie šīs grāmatas?/How I got this book?

Laimēju Goodreads izlozē.

Vērtējums/Rating: 4.5/5

Mana recenzija (pārdomas)/My (thoughts) review

Mitnašs jeb vienkārši Mits strāda ECRB (Economic Crime Review Board) labā. Kopā ar viņu ir mākslīgā intelekta persona Sleita – vada kosmosa kuģi u.c. tehniskas lietas, kā arī laba sarunu biedre un draugs. Nosūtīti abi tiek uz Scilly salām, asteroīdu grupa labi tālu aiz Marsa orbītas, kur ik pa laikam notiek aizdomīgi finanšu zaudējumi, kas potenciāli varētu iziet ārpus kontroles.

Tā kā jo tālāk no Zemes esi, jo lielāks laiks ir nepieciešams, lai jebkādi signāli un informācija no Zemes tiktu līdz attiecīgai vietai un atpakaļ, tad vairāk vai mazāk tālāk par Mēnesi varasiestādēm no Zemes autoritātes un lielu ietekmes iespēju nav. Tāpēc Mita cīņa un pielietotās metodes pret krāpniekiem atšķiras no ierastajām, tas piešķir gan ierobežojumus, gan paver citas iespējas. Mits aizsegā uzdodas par programmētāju (iemaņu bez šaubām ir), kas ar jaunām un aizmirstām metodēm cer atrast neatklātus retus Zemes metālus. Interesantus momentus stāstam piešķirs fakts, ka uz salām pastāv tikai 1/50 no normālas Zemes gravitācijas.

Izmeklēšana ienes savu daļu nepatīkamu pārsteigumu un satraucošu brīžu. Par laimi, Mitam un Sleitai uz salām diezgan ātri izdodas iegūt sabiedrotos gan cīņai pret shēmotājiem, gan reto metālu projektā, kas varētu nest labu peļņu.

Nevarētu teikt, ka Far from the Spaceports ir ierastais sci-fi, bet to var teikt labā nozīmē. Brīnišķīga atmosfēra, lieliska dinamika starp tēliem un ir arī laba mistērija/prātošana par vainīgajiem. Gadskaitļi par darbības laiku netiek doti, bet nav nekas pārāk traks tehnoloģiski un pieļauju, ka ar laiku noteikti droši paveicams.

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Mitnash Thakur or just Mit works at ERCB (Economic Crime Review Board). Together with him is an AI/artificial personality which controls the ship and do other technical stuff and also can be a good friend and conversation partner. Together they are sent to Scilly Isles, way beyond the orbit of Mars where some suspicious financial losses are happening that potentially might go out of control.

Because the farther you are from Earth the longer it takes for any signal and information to travel somewhere and back which means that the government and other institutions have little power farther than Moon. That’s why Mit’s approach and fight against schemers are a bit different, that makes some things more difficult but also opens up new opportunities. Mit pretends to be coder (although he does have some skills) and that with new and also forgotten techniques he hopes to find rear earth metals. The fact that on Scilly Isles there’s only 1/50 of gravity on Earth creates some interesting moments in the story.

The investigation process brings in some unpleasant and alarming moments. Luckily for Mit and Slate they quite quickly are able to find local allies not only to unmask the criminals but also to their rare earth metal side project with possibly good future profit.

You can’t say that this is your usual sci-fi book but that would be in a good way. Wonderful atmosphere, great dynamics between characters and good mystery about the financial case. The exact year when the story happens isn’t mentioned but from a technological aspect nothing impossible and with time definitely possible.