Grave of the Waiting
FROM DARKNESS THEY CALLED. FROM RUIN WE ANSWERED.
Humanity's extinction is just around the corner, Ada Bryce is sure of it. But when the virtual world is indistinguishable from reality and anything is possible in the Chain, why not choose to remain shackled? It's easy to put Earth's slow decay out of mind when hedonic simulations are available with no more than a thought. As contemptible as her situation is, Ada is powerless to correct human folly. All she can do is make sure her own family's energy needs are taken care of until death inevitably claims everyone she loves.
Only, she's failing as a mathematician, she's already failed as a mother, and she's given up trying to escape the tragic memories that haunt her. So when she's offered the chance to leave Earth while ensuring her family has the resources they need to survive, Ada seizes it and embarks on a dangerous mission. She travels to a rogue planet with four other an Energy War veteran, a zealous psychonaut, a pragmatic scientist, and the world-renowned founder of the Unity, the organization sponsoring the mission.
However, the Unity's founder is far from trustworthy, the rest of Ada's crew are unaware of the true purpose of their mission, and on this journey, they will learn that Earth is far from the worst place in the solar system. As firmly as Ada believes her home planet is beyond saving, it may be worth fighting for after all, for when she and her fellow crewmates step foot on a new planet, their presence awakens old life.
Life that calls out and seeks to reconfigure the Earth for itself.
-Goodreads
Title: Grave of the Waiting
Series: Standalone
Author: Joshua Scott Edwards
Page Count: 574
Genre: Science Fiction, Horror, Suspense
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Date Read: February 12th, 2025
Opening
I've been following Joshua Scott Edwards work since his entry into SPFBO-9 with An Ocean of Others. I'm caught up with that series and trying to patiently wait for the third installment. In the meantime though he released his first Science Fiction Horror book Grave of the Waiting.
Interestingly enough he released this entire story through his website initially before releasing the full book in a more published version. If you haven't already checked out his website (joshse.com) and signed up to his Archfire Newsletter you've been missing out. It's one of my favorite sites and newsletters from any authors that I follow. Not only does it allow us readers to keep up with his writing efforts but he also covers other topics regarding writing and helps promote other author work as well. It's well worth your time, trust me on that!
So back to Grave of the Waiting. This is by no means anywhere near my usual reading genres but being familiar with Josh's work in the fantasy sector, I figured I'd give this one a go. This was my first full read for February and I wasn't disappointed one bit. A reading friend of mine in the community was asking for feedback on how scary it was as she was interested in it as well. I personally wouldn't define it as scary at all. I'll try and explain this more as I progress through my review.
Pacing
The pacing through Grave of the Waiting was fairly smooth. This was a full visual read for me. Even though I had an electronic copy I think I got through Josh's newsletter or signed up for an eARC, I opted to go ahead and purchase a copy through Kindle as well. This is always easier for me to keep my progress synced between devices, and of course it helps to support the authors just a little bit more at the same time. Lord knows Josh has spent plenty of money on me with winning several of his giveaways through his newsletter/website over the past year. Did I mention how great his website and newsletter are?
But I digress. Even though I was tiptoeing into this read not sure what to expect from the horror side of things, I felt this was a very suspenseful read. Grave of the Waiting kept me pushing through while sitting on the edge of my seat wondering what was around the corner or in the dark. Again, I don't find this type of entertainment scary, just exciting. The only real knock I had on the pacing was getting tripped up a handful of times from what I believe were some missed editing opportunities. I did reach out to Josh regarding this as I know sometimes I end up with a version of a book that wasn't the ideal copy an author thought was available to the public. I began highlighting some of these and will be getting them over to Josh for review. This never really ruined the story for me, it just got my brain twisted a few times and took me a moment to carry on again.
World Building
The world building was extremely creative in my opinion. The setting was a very intriguing, speculative and futuristic world. There is some heavy tech while also sending the human race back a bit in other aspects. The tech includes a rather unique network of the mind which seems to include the majority of the planet at this point but not everyone has joined, which was a nice touch! We also have some extraterrestrial interaction and space travel. Some readers might find connections or influence from these genres more than me but this was all very new to me in literature format. I mentioned to a buddy reading group of mine that it reminded me a lot of some older films I've watched in the past such as Interstellar, Event Horizon and Prometheus.
Character Development
The character development was certainly one of my favorite aspects which isn't much of a surprise as that seems to be one of my favorite parts of Josh's fantasy series as well. The beginning of the book introduces us to a handful of characters revolving around our protagonist Ada including her biological parents as well as adopted ones (light spoiler but this is very early in the book). It lays a solid foundation for the reader on who Ada is and why she is the way she is.
Before long though our true adventure begins and then we switch gears a bit to Ada's new crew and that's when things get even more interesting. The acceleration of events leading up to the space travel, the trip itself and the numerous events taking place on the trip provides for so much depth to all of these new characters and even though how different they are, they are the only support they can find. The growth of each of these characters as well as some others that I will refrain from mentioning was a pleasure to see unfold. Josh definitely kept me on my toes with this read. I made a few notes throughout my reading experience and each time, my theories were proven incorrect.
Closing
In the end, I really enjoyed Grave of the Waiting. Josh had quite a way with my mind in this one and I still want to pick his brain a bit regarding the very end but I feel this is the type of ending that to some extent is open to the readers interpretation which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It is not the type of ending that leaves the reader hanging, I just feel two readers may feel differently on what the meaning of the final line is and that just goes to show how different each of us are from one another.
I will definitely be getting my hands on a physical copy of this for my home library which is quite the testament as to how much I enjoyed it. My shelf space has become quite the premium and I've really cut back on physical book purchases this past year.
I would definitely recommend Grave of the Waiting to fan's of Josh's other fantasy works. Don't let the Sci-Fi Horror tag scare you off. It's a really good story and world to experience. If you haven't read any of the Dance of the Sibling Suns series but are just a fan of Science Fiction, I think this is still worth giving a try all the same.
Scoring
Pacing 4.25 / 5.0
Worldbuilding 4.75 / 5.0
Character Development 4.75 / 5.0
