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Lockstep
351 pages
A sweeping, time-dilated space adventure where family drama plays out across millennia and the fate of civilization hangs in the balance.
What it feels like
This briskly paced science fiction adventure plunges the reader into an expansive, awe-inspiring universe governed by the cold mechanics of deep time and hibernation. The mood shifts from the chilling dread of isolation to the tense, high-stakes thrill of a galactic rebellion. It feels imaginative and urgent, blending grand-scale world-building with deeply personal family betrayal. The prose focuses on delivering mind-bending temporal concepts alongside a propulsive survival narrative, keeping the stakes intensely high as a displaced protagonist navigates a transformed reality. It is perfect for readers who devour space operas where unique scientific premises collide with tyrannical empires, offering a sweeping emotional journey from lost despair to the determined fight to save human civilization.
- Mood
- awe-inspiring
- tense
- expansive
- chilling
- Tone
- adventurous
- urgent
- imaginative
- earnest
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- family betrayal · survival against the odds · the weight of time · legacy and inheritance · adapting to a changed world
- The writing
- Action-oriented and world-building focused, delivering grand science fiction concepts alongside urgent stakes.
- The arc
- From the despair of isolation and certain death to the shock of a transformed future, culminating in a determined fight for survival.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love grand-scale space operas centered on family drama, unique temporal mechanics, and high-stakes survival.
Content notes
- family conflict
- isolation
- tyranny
About the book
"When seventeen-year-old Toby McGonigal finds himself lost in space, separated from his family, he expects his next drift into cold sleep to be his last. After all, the planet he's orbiting is frozen and sunless, and the cities are dead. But when Toby wakes again, he's surprised to discover a thriving planet, a strange and prosperous galaxy, and something stranger still--that he's been asleep for 14,000 years. Welcome to the Lockstep Empire, where civilization is kept alive by careful hibernation. Here cold sleeps can last decades and waking moments mere weeks. Its citizens survive for millenia, traveling asleep on long voyages between worlds. Not only is Lockstep the new center of the galaxy, but Toby is shocked to learn that the Empire is still ruled by its founding family: his own. Toby's brother Peter has become a terrible tyrant. Suspicious of the return of his long-lost brother, whose rightful inheritance also controls the lockstep hibernation cycles, Peter sees Toby as a threat to his regime. Now, with the help of a lockstep girl named Corva, Toby must survive the forces of this new Empire, outwit his siblings, and save human civilization"--
Description from Open Library.
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