A Quickie Review of Saga, Volume 2, by Brian K. Vauhan

It's probably obvious by now that I'm not as comfortable reviewing graphic novels as I am with standard novels. It's more or less an entirely different medium, and my ability to criticize it is just not very well developed. I can't, for example, effectively comment on are style or layout because my experience is simply inadequate. However, my mission on this blog is to share good stories when I find them and warn against the bad ones. This is a good story.

Saga was a weird little reading detour for me. I'm not sure why I picked it up, considering the fact that the only graphic novel series I've bothered to invest time and money in (Fables and Sandman), were ones I chose because they have legitimacy and history and dozens of great reviews to recommend them. Saga, on the other hand, is fairly new. This volume only marks issues 7-12, but every single issue is a larger than life demonstration of the upper limits of what graphic novels can do when it comes to the weird and the wonderful.

Story-wise, we are still following newborn Hazel and her family, and this volume introduces us to her paternal grandparents. What has impressed me most about the series so far is the layer of sincere emotion laying right alongside the bizarre-creepy-gross. Alana and Marco fell in love, not entirely by accident--you kind of get the sense that they really wanted to. Irrational and impulsive though they might be, they really just want to hold their family together. When that means being honest with Marco's parents, and when they seem to react badly, Marco and Alana are prepared to stand their ground.

The dialogue is the best thing about this book. It's funny without being too silly. Whenever you're in danger of taking this book too seriously, the characters are there, hanging out right on the edge of ridiculous. I particularly enjoyed meeting the author of the trashy novel that changed Alana's life. He offers this sneaky little commentary on author intention vs. reader interpretation, while never tipping us off as to what his real leanings are. This, in the same book that has robot alien sex and monster penises. It's a raunchy book, but the sex and unapologetic nudity pretty much work in context. It's not a book for children, but again, the weirdness is part of the charm.

 In any case, I fully recommend that this is not a book for everyone. It is explicit and it is violent and it is easily the strangest thing I've read this year. At the same time, if that warning doesn't put you off, I encourage you to at least give the first twelve issues of Saga a try. It's worth experiencing. 4.5 stars

On Lunars: A Review of Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Cinder was my favorite book of 2013. I loved the sci-fi world, loved the very original style of fairy tale retelling. I was beyond eager to read Scarlet, and the bar was set very high.

This book alternates focus alternates between Cinder and the newly introduced Scarlet. Scarlet's grandmother has been taken by a mysterious gang, who believe she knows something about the Princess Selene. Scarlet is determined to get her back, so when former gang member Wolf offers to lead her to them, she goes with him willingly. Meanwhile, Cinder must escape from prison with Thorne,  a fellow convict who offers her a way out on his spaceship. She must decide where to go first--to Africa to find the doctor who provided her means of escape, or to find Scarlet's grandmother, who might have answers about the past Cinder can't remember.

What I liked about the first book, I continued to love about the second. The world building is brilliant, fun, and easy to immerse yourself in. It's the kind of science fiction that would appeal to readers that don't normally like science fiction. It's very accessible.

Cinder is an appealing character, with her intelligence, guts, and unusual skill set. In this book her Lunar powers start to grow in ways that even she doesn't fully understand. Thorne is a fun addition, sort of a wannabe bad boy with a great sense of humor. He and Cinder have great report, and they're entertaining, although I became nervous that the author would try to make him the third point in a love triangle. Please, God, no. But, as of now, that's not the case. Scarlet, meanwhile, is a farm girl with no remarkable talents to speak of. She's likeable, though, because of her determination to find her grandmother and her willingness to see Wolf's best side. I liked Wolf, a lot. He's less predictable than the other characters, in both personality and nature. I found myself very curious about what he actually is, as well as what his motivations were.

One of my disappointments with this book was how little time we spent with Emperor Kai. We mostly just experience his stress over ruling and dealing with Queen Levina, plus his conflicted feelings for Cinder. Not a lot in terms of insight or character development.

But the main issue with this story is the fact that the larger arc of the story does not progress as much as it could have. That's not to say that nothing happens, but...not as much as I would have though or liked. I got the impression that the big action was being saved for future books, and that this is just a bridge book. That's fine, I guess, I just wanted more--I'm greedy like that.

It's a very good, very entertaining book. It would never stand on it's own, and it raises more questions than it answers. However, I found it far above average in the page-turner category, and I highly recommend it. 4.5 stars.

Review of Saga by Brian K. Vaughan

Hey, it's me! Remember me? Your friendly neighborhood reading penguin? Yeah, I'm still reading, I've just kind of let the reviews pile up in a big heap because finding time to post is a little like finding the Holy Grail these days. But oh well, here's a nice short review of a graphic novel I read recentishly.

Saga is a science fiction tale about two lovers from opposite sides of an old and bloody war, who have a baby together. The tale of their quest for survival is delightful in it's unusual tone and slightly bizarre characters. The baby, Hazael, often jumps in with points of narration and insights into her parent's tale. I found this clever, because she anchors the story and makes everything that's going on seem vital and precious.

For the parents in question, Marko and Alana, things seem extremely tenuous and it's hard to imagine how they got to the point of having a baby at all. They are hunted from all sides. And yet, in the midst of it, the dialogue and the character's attitudes toward one another gave me the very real feeling that they are a well suited couple. They have chemistry and they have affection. Marko is now a sworn pacifist, with a vow not to draw his sword. Alana is crass and somewhat reckless, and less inclined to forgo violence in the face of danger. The combination of these two, along with a cast of wholly unexpected secondary characters, made this book a winner for me.

If I had to name a flaw, it would be that this is definitely the beginning of a much larger story, rather than a self contained episode, so your going to get roped into buying more comics to finish the story...but oh well, right? The humor, hope, and fantastical science fictiony goodness is well worth it. 4.5 stars

On Politics: A Review of Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre

I feel like I've become strangely stubborn about this series. I gave book 2 (Wanderlust) a 2.5/5, which in most cases would mean I stop reading the series. Yet, here we are. My motivation is simple. I like these characters. I like the concepts. I like the world building. I want this to be a great book.

The honest to God truth is that it's a very political book. Jax is trying to broker an alliance with the Ithtorian people in order to ensure some defense against the scary spider monsters in the coming Scary Spider Monster War. I know, your thinking Scary Spider Monster War sounds pretty creepy and exciting, and I agree with you. I want to see that too. But this book is not that. It's just about politics. Oh, and March's brain is all screwed up and Jax has to try to fix it. That's this book.

Positive Comments

So, if you've surrendered yourself to the idea that this is a book of politics, you actually won't be disappointed. While it might sound boring, and does definitely drag in some places, there is a certain tension and grimness that keeps some interest. There's a very unsettling tone to the whole thing, with Jax trying desperately to leash her impulsiveness and behave diplomatically in a very hostile environment. She has to adjust to a culture and language so foreign that any move might be a misstep. I do, personally, like this sort of thing. I didn't necessarily need so much of it though.

In order to give the reader a wider view of what's going on in the wide world, there are news reports and editorial letters interspersed throughout. I really liked that. It aided in creating the sense of urgency associated with Jax's work. 

I still do really, really like these characters. There's some great character development that goes on in this book. You really see how Jax has changed in attitude and in her relationships. The process that she goes through to try to rehabilitate March is particularly touching.

Critical Comments

Pacing is everything. Pacing, and knowing how much page space each topic really needs. It's my firm opinion that the diplomatic stuff deserved 100 pages, instead of the near 300 it got. Those were pages better devoted to...something else. Literally anything else. It's not that the book ever becomes truly unreadable, but you do feel like your waiting for something to happen that ultimately doesn't.

Recommendation

 

I still cautiously recommend this series to sci-fi fans. I have a lot of hope for it.

For fans of this series...This is no doubt the slowest yet. I recommend having patience with it. There's a lot to like here, if you can get through it. 3.5 stars. 

Review+Giveaway: DiSemblance by Shanae Branham

This one surprised me a bit. When the author contacted me, asking me to read what she described as a techno-thriller, I thought I might enjoy it. I didn't really expect to get so drawn into it, though.

Jason is the son of a brilliant but misunderstood inventor. His father invented a computer that allows people to enter a virtual world and exist in whatever reality can be programmed. As the story opens, we see that Jason and his brother love the virtual world, because it allows them more freedom an opportunities than the real world. But then, their father goes missing. At the same time, evidence links their father to an ongoing investigation of a serial killer.

Positive Comments

If you like the Matrix, or things of that genre, you'll enjoy this book. It has that ongoing theme of uncertainty, where neither the characters nor the reader know what's real. The plot is highly engaging and well paced. The murder investigation blends well with the science fiction aspects to create a clever resolution.

Watching Jason discover the pitfalls and huge downsides to virtual reality made for excellent character development. He goes from preferring the imaginary world, to understanding that real life (though flawed) is preferable because it allows real contact with real people.

In addition to this, the book touches on subject like death, souls, and the possibility of the afterlife. It's a bit too subtle about it all, almost to the point of being to vague, but at least the ideas are there. 

Critical Comments

I did feel as though the character arc provided for the secondary characters--Boston (aka love interest), and Bruce (the detective), were most noticeably shafted in the story department. Boston goes from understandably distrusting Jason, to loving him completely. Bruce is struggling with a new marriage (to a woman who just doesn't get what she signed on for), and this also comes to a rather abrupt and ill explained resolution.

Recommendation

Again, if you like a little computer based sci-fi in your young adult novels, you will like this book. It's smart, fast paced, and a lot of fun. 4 stars.

Now, as an added bonus, the author has generously agreed to give away one signed copy of DiSemblance to a lucky winner! Just follow the directions on the form bellow for your chance to win. Open to all entrants.  Giveaway ends September 11, and the winner will be announced shortly thereafter. Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

On Hostages: A Review of Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan

I actually finished this a day or two ago, but I got a bit busy. I also felt in this one case that it was a good idea to let myself digest the book a bit before I try to talk about it. I was a little underwhelmed initially, but now that I've thought about it, I did still like the book.

This is the second book in the Sky Chasers trilogy, and in many ways it suffers from what we call "Second Book Syndrome". Because it has to bridge the gap between the exposition of book one and the climax of book three, it's own story is somewhat weak. In the first book, we had members of the Empyrean kidnapped and used by the members of the New Horizon. Glow touched on issues like religion, leadership, reproduction, and human nature. It wasn't a perfect book, but because it raised these issues, it set the bar high for what Spark might have to say philosophically. In reality, though, Spark is mostly about the kids on the Empyrean trying to run the ship and get their parents back. There's a great deal of politics and a lot of arguing. Waverly is torn between supporting Kieran, though she disagrees with his leadership style, and helping Seth, though she finds his dark side distasteful. Then circumstances force Waverly to see her own darker side.

Positive Comments

The book creates an effectively anxious tone, with kids trying to run a massive ship that is their only home. I liked that desperate, claustrophobic feeling.

I like that the characters are boldly imperfect. We see Seth's cruelty, but also his humanity. We know that Kieran means well, but we also see his unhealthy arrogance and lust for power. Waverly's experiences on the Empyrean gave her a bit of wisdom, even as they broke her in many ways. The character building is rich and realistic.

I like that the romance (and more importantly, the love triangle), is very much downplayed. We know how the characters feel, but we aren't made to linger on it.

Critical Comments

The plot itself is, as mentioned above, really underwhelming. In terms of action, there is some, but it doesn't last long. It's resolved quickly and predictably. In terms of social and political conflict...again, it's there, but there isn't enough tension to any of it.

The character behavior goes way off the rails more than once, and it's hard to read. Even when it's understandable, its infuriating. They make stupid choices, arrogant choices, mean choices, and it's a bit like watching a train wreck.

Recommendation

If you liked the first one: yes, you should read this one. However, if you were not a fan of Glow, I doubt Spark will win you over. It's a decent read, but the plot is a bit of a let down. 3 stars. 

On Cyborgs: A Review of Cinder by Marissa Meyer

The second I saw the cover art, I knew that Cinder was going to be a must read for me. Not only is it a fairy tale retelling, which I consider one of my personal specialties, it also happens to be a futuristic sci-fi novel. Two of my preferred genres in one? Yes, please.

The story is exactly what the cover hints at. It's the story of Cinderella, retold in a futuristic setting, in which Cinder is a cyborg. And a mechanic, among other things. She first meets the prince when he asks her to fix his android, and the two form an instant connection (not Disney instant...romance novel instant, which is a step up). The prince, Kai, is literally plagued with problems. His father is dieing, and he will soon be taking over as emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth (most of Asia, I believe). The kingdom suffers from an incurable disease, and the political threats from the Lunars. Cinder's own family is touched by the disease, and she soon becomes wrapped up in the search for a cure. Amidst all of this, a romance blossoms, and Cinder secretly wants more than anything to dance with the prince at his ball.

Positive Comments

Awesome characters. Cinder has a lot of the traditional Cinderella traits--the dedication to hard work, patience, kindness, and humility--but she also has a bit of an attitude. She has a barely suppressed rebellious streak. And unlike traditional Cinderella, she takes actions to try to change her lot in life. I like that. Kai is a great match for her. He's charming and caring, just as we would expect, but he also shows signs of flaws and doubts. He has a huge weight on his shoulders, and he shows that strain. He puts his country and his people first. All of this has really just made me want to see them together more.

The plots and subplots are incredibly vivid and interesting. I liked the concept of cyborgs, and the idea that people would be prejudice against them felt realistic to me. I also liked that this gave Cinder's stepmother and sister a reason to hate and mistreat her, other than "I don't like you and your father is dead, so suck it." I liked the disease plot, and the teeny bit of science that went with that. I liked the political drama. I harbor a secret fondness for political drama in novels, when delivered in small doses. I like the the politics in the Kushiel's Legacy books, for example. Moving on...

The world building is simply enthralling. I want it to be a show or a video game or for there to be about 12 more books so that I can immerse myself in this world for days on end. I want to know more about the Lunars and their abilities, I want to understand the Earthen politics, I want to know more about the plague and all of the people it's affected. I want to meet more cyborgs. I want to understand all the technology, and I want to know how it is that the robots seem to feel emotion.

Critical Comments

Ok, I know what your thinking: She's about to name something really trivial just to be contrary. Just so she doesn't have to hand out the rare and much coveted 5 star rating. Yeah that's...kind of true. But this is a real flaw, if a small one. The plot is predictable. The big reveal at the end? Not much of a reveal. I don't think the author meant it to be, though. I think we were meant to figure the mystery out long before the characters do. But the point still stands.

Recommendation

This book is a YA, so if you really hate teen oriented books I guess this one is out for you. But otherwise, I seriously recommend giving it a try. If you're a sci-fi fan, a fairy tale fan, or even a romance fan, you'll like this book. 4.5 stars.

On Procreation: A Review of Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Glow was a wild card pick for me. I really wanted to try incorporating more science fiction in my reading each month, and this was the first one I found when I went looking for them.

This YA novel focuses on Waverly and her boyfriend Kieran, members of the first generation of humans to be born in deep space. Their ship, the Empyrean, together with it's sister ship, New Horizon, serve as a kind of Noah's arc of humanity and everything they will need to survive on a New Earth after Earth as we know it has been destroyed. In a sudden and unexpected betrayal, the New Horizon attacks the Empyrean and takes all of the young girls captive. The girls are told that they're being rescued and that the Empyrean has suffered a tragic accident and all of it's inhabitants are dead. Waverly quickly sees through their lies, but is powerless to stop their plans to use the girls for their own selfish goals. Meanwhile, Kieran is left on a ship with no able bodied adults, responsible for dozens of depressed and hopeless boys. Seth, his rival, is eager to seize control, but his cruelty makes him an unfit leader and puts all of the boys in jeopardy.

Positive Comments

This is a smart book. It deals with quite a few dark and difficult topics, and does so without becoming dull or predictable. We see teens dealing with power, abuse, duty, grief, hope, and religion. I especially enjoyed Kieran's journey, in which you see him struggling to become a fit leader who provides hope and purpose, in a journey that may take him down a very dark path. This idea of whether or not it's okay to use religion and the concept of God as a leadership tool is fascinating to me, and I liked that this book looked at the issue from multiple angles.

The character development and character building is rich and detailed. Waverly was an accurately written teenage girl, struggling with enormous responsibilities that are often in opposition with her emotions. I enjoyed seeing Kieran, who was initially regarded as perfect, find chinks in his own armor and attempt to overcome them. I liked the contrast between he and Seth. I liked Seth's dark back story, and the fact that he is a dark but not necessarily evil character. I even felt that the villains were well written and, from a certain point of view, sympathetic.

Critical Comments

As far as science fiction goes, this book is light on the science. For many of us, that's a good thing. But if you really like your scifi world building to go heavy on the technical explanations, you'll be pretty out of luck with this book.

Like wise, if you're reading this for the romance, you're bound to be unimpressed. Waverly and Kieran to care greatly for one another, but they spend most of the book apart. Even when they are together, Waverly is understandably uncertain about the relationship. So I wouldn't bet any money on the staying power of that relationship.

Recommendation

This is a great book for both teen and adult scifi fans. It's creative, thoughtful, well paced, and well written. 3.5 stars.

On Space: A Review of Wanderlust by Ann Aguirre

Wanderlust is the second book in Ann Aguirre's Sirantha Jax series (the first is called Grimspace). This was a pretty bipolar reading experience for me--I loved it, and I hated it.

Following the events of book one, the universe is under new control, and Jax is asked to serve as an ambassador to a planet of potentially hostile inhabitants, and convince them to join the Conglomerate for the sake of peace. Jax is joined by the crew of characters we became familiar with in Grimspace--Dina, Vel, Jax herself, and, of course, March. They're joined by a multitude of new characters along the way--Jael (a genetically engineered human), a pilot named Hit, and many more.

Positive Comments:

I love the characters. Jax is in a rough spot throughout most of the book, and you can really feel her pain as she works through everything. March is an incredibly interesting character with a lot of unexplored depth that I can see being revealed in this and future books. The relationship between the two of them is another issue entirely, but overall I still see them as a fitting couple. The rest of the cast is great, as well. I like all of the clever little developments that Aguirre manages to work in, including Jax's little PA 245 getting it's own personality and becoming a character in its (her) own right.

I love the action. Aquirre has a talent for keeping readers in the moment during the perilous parts. Fairly early on, our characters are trapped in a small space with a bunch of man eating spider creatures, and I was afraid for them at an almost heart-pounding level. I also love the space travel, and the way that jumping through space makes Jax feel. I love that sense of adventure and urgency that you get in these books.

Critical Comments:

Jax spends a lot of the book ill and feeling sorry for herself about it. Yeah, getting sick or injured is a reality. Yes, it's absolutely permissible to have unhealthy characters in your book. But when your heroine and narrator is too ill to fight or defend herself, is vividly aware of this fact, and uses it as an excuse to 1) pity herself, and 2) push away the man she loves, it turns into a downer of a book. I had a hard time cheering Jax on as she was forced to stay hidden or stay behind the more competent fighter. Yes, I know not every character has to be a viscous, combat-ready fighter. I just prefer, in this kind of book, to see strong heroines who fight for worthy causes and, most especially, fight for their man--literally or figuratively.

This brings me to the March/Jax relationship. As I said, Jax is sick and she pushes him away because of it. Then, just when it looks as though they'll move past that, certain events lead to a forced separation. I've been reading so many forced separations between established couples lately that it's almost starting to feel like a cliche to me. And I have to ask myself at this point, why do authors feel the need to do this? I understand that it's an easy way to create conflict, and conflict leads to relationship and character development. But overall, I happen to prefer the conflict that comes from trying to stay together against the odds. So yeah, the direction that I saw their relationship going in made me just a little unhappy, but maybe it wouldn't bother other readers as much.

Bottom line? There is absolutely nothing wrong with this book. It's a full story, with a great plot and lots of subplots. It's got all of the elements of a good space opera. I happened to dislike some of the choices that the author made with her characters. But I still really like the characters, I  still like the series, and I'd still recommend it to most readers. 2.5 stars.

On Portals: A Review of Upsetting the Tides by David Englund

I know, I know, I'm supposed to be reviewing Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews. But I got stuck in a waiting room yesterday with nothing but my Kindle, and one thing lead to another....Magic Slays is coming, probably by the end of the week. In the meantime, I present you with a review of Upsetting the Tides.

Our main character is Clark, an ordinary guy who finds a portal in his backyard, which contains thousands of doors that lead to other worlds. He also finds a device designed to enable intergalactic travel. It can generate a protective shield, allow him to fly, translate alien languages...you get the drill. So, Clark merrily begins exploring worlds at random, but there's a problem: The alien (Tr'zez) that this device belongs to is demanding it back, and the only thing that he'll accept in exchange is a much better device that's found on a hostile planet. In order to keep traveling, and keep Tr'zez from attacking Earth, Clark must retrieve the device and try not to die in the process.

Positive Comments:

The narrative is written half in third person, half first person (in the form of Clark's thoughts). At first, I was ready to call this a negative, but it actually works really well for this type of story. You get an immediate sense of everything Clark is thinking and feeling, as he sees and does incredible things.

The story has a good tone to it. It reminds me of a comic book or a video game--undeniably fun wish fulfillment. An ordinary guy gets to experience something completely extraordinary, he tries to save the day, girls like him, the whole package.

The author obviously put some thought into the creation of cultures of the beings on other planets. The creatures themselves are not well written (I'll get to that) but at least there was an effort made to compare and contrast these non-humans to the human culture Clark is used to.

Critical Comments:

You really have to turn your brain off to deal with the pseudo-science in this one. Here are just a couple of issues I had with it.

1) The technology is not even vaguely explained. Oh, I have this invisibility/shielding/flying machine handheld device...I'll just use it with rampant abandon! No question as to how any of those things actually work and whether or not they're safe. In my mind, Clark is probably going to end up with horrifying full body cancer from using the device, and it would serve him right.

2) The portal only lets through one individual at a time, and only for about three hours. So, even if there were only 100 planets with intelligent life forms, and even if only a third of those life forms knew about the portal, you'd still have as many as 33 people trying to get in at any given time. And once one did get it, it would lock the portal up for three hours. That's a hell of a wait.

3) The evolution explanation. I might be the only one bothered by this, but it bothered me a lot. Many of the planets seem to have creatures similar to animals we have on earth (such as ants), only they've developed human-like intelligence, language, and what not. They've "evolved further" than their Earth counterparts. Later, there is talk of creatures "evolving backwards" to become more primitive. THAT IS NOT HOW NATURAL SELECTION WORKS! Populations of creatures don't evolve toward some perfect being, they just grow more suited to their environment, which tends to change. It's not about better or worse, it's not about the superiority of traits like human speech or walking up right--it's just about survival.

4) Why would there have been ants on other planets? How likely is it that a different environment would produce that exact same creature? Convergent evolution? It just doesn't make sense.

Moving on...

Clark really bugged me. He keeps the portal and everything else that he's discovered to himself. Part of the reason is his mistrust in the government, which is valid. But the bigger issue is that he wants to be the one who gets to use the portal to travel. He's selfish. A discovery like that has implications for every field of science, not to mention the cultural, philosophical, and religious implications. But hey, screw that, Clark has to have his portal-hoping mid-life crisis.

Then there are the other characters. Sarina, a woman from Clark's office, is the ostensible love interest. She's a cardboard cutout of a real person, whose traits include "nice" and "likes fashion". Then, Clark meets this alien chick, and starts to think he likes her too. A love triangle? Really? Love triangles are what authors use when they have no other way of creating romantic tension: It's cheap and it's boring.

The dialogue is awkward. It's not the worst I've seen, but it's definitely on the wooden side. Characters who don't talk like real people don't feel like real people, and it's hard to get invested in their story.

The conflict is weak. Why not just give back the device? I know Clark likes exploring, but when an alien threatens your planet and blows up several buildings in your home town, why not just give up? Why help an obviously unstable person obtain a new unknown device that for all you know may be a world destroying weapon?

So no, I didn't like this one. This type of story can work, and it needs a little more time and a lot more thought put into it. There are too many leaps in logic that make no sense. I don't recommend this one. 1.5 stars.

On Alien Erotica: A Review of Brianna by Judy Mays

As most of my followers are no doubt aware, I don't review erotica very often. I have several reasons--1) I don't read it very frequently 2) When I do read it, I usually go for the shorties and novellas which don't give me much to talk about 3) Reader reactions to erotica are really subjective, and consequently the books are hard to grade. But when I found Brianna on my "read eventually" shelf at home, picked it up, and started reading, I felt like this one might just give me something to talk about.

Because of the content of the book, the following discussion is meant for readers 18 and over only. Thanks for your discretion.

On Jumping Genes: A Review of Grimspace by Ann Aquirre

I've been interested in reading Ann Aguirre's Sirantha Jax series ever since I stumbled upon it at the local Booksamillion. I feel like there just isn't enough really good female centered sci-fi out there--although the subgenre seems to be growing. Anyway, this Grimspace really hit the spot for me.

Jax is a jumper, possessing a rare gene that allows her to navigate a spaceship through grimspace. This enables the ship to move through stellar pathways at faster than the speed of light. When a ship she was navigating crashes for no explained reason, the Corp (the military/government body that controls everything) is eager to pin it on her. She's rescued from their clutches by March and his crew. March wants to use Jax's unique talents to start his own school of jumpers, outside of the Corp's control.

Positive Comments:

The narrative is written in first person and present tense. At first that struck me as odd, and I worried that it would prevent me from getting into the story. Instead it worked really well, lending a sense of immediacy to everything.

Jax is a strong, confident female lead. She has a sense of humor and a smart mouth. She has flaws and quirks that bring her to life. I really enjoyed seeing the story from her perspective.

The rest of the character's are equally fascinating. March, the leader of the crew (and obviously the potential love interest) is pretty well developed. I found his motivations and his struggle believable; he wants to be a hero and complete a quest for the greater good. Then there's Saul, the doctor, who is interested in the science behind their goals. Dina the engineer, and Loras the communications savant, were equally interesting members of the crew.

The world building is very well done. Often in sci-fi, the technical babble is the stuff a reader has to wade through to get to the real story. In this case, the technical stuff is the real story--and it's intensely interesting. The idea of grimspace and jumpers is well thought out and makes sense, but isn't explained in excessive detail.

Critical Comments:

There were a few issues with plot structure and pacing. On several occasions it seemed that the story strayed from the original conflict, jumping into a different and only vaguely related conflict. There are bursts of action all over the place, which is awesome, but it makes it hard to determine what the primary climax was meant to be. There is a central story, and that story gets told, but there are a lot of other things going on. As a result, the pace is inconsistent, and there's a disorganized feeling to the novel.

The big villain of the story is obviously the Corp as a whole. As is typical when the adversary is an entire government body, the author chooses one character to sort of represent them and serve as a more targeted villain. I'm avoiding naming this person because I don't want to spoil it. I found it a little disappointing, though, that we didn't get to see more of this person. I wanted more background, development, and motivation.

Overall: This book had some flaws, but I really enjoyed it. I liked Jax and the other characters, I loved the world building details, and I loved the entire tone of the story. Aguirre has a strong storytelling voice, and I look forward to reading more of her books. 3.5 stars.

On Science and Sex: A Review of Tempting the Beast by Lora Leigh

Lora Leigh is one of those writers who many people like, and who has produced a ridiculous number of books in her lifetime. For many people her work is like crack. And if that's the case for you, awesome. I've only had one experience with her work, and it was...less than positive. Tempting the Beast was the very first book I ever read on my Kindle, and it has stuck in my mind ever since as a pretty big WTF? Here is my review: Beware the Minor Spoilers.

Science: Saving the world, one genetic abomination at a time.

So obviously this is erotica, and I realize erotica is pretty subjective and hard to grade. But to me, this was just bad.

The premise was actually somewhat promising. Callan is one of several genetically manipulated humans--he has lion DNA in his genome--who are all part of some top secret highly unethical experiment. Merinus is a journalist who is eager to expose what was done to Callan and his fellow "Breeds", and requires his cooperation. They meet, sparks fly in a big way, and we find out that they have some sort of intense biological connection. As in, they are in heat and absolutely must have sex, lots of sex, or they suffer painful consequences.

I may have actually been able to ignore the very contrived nature of the plot and all the hokey science fiction, had the characters been likeable. But they are not. Merinus is the worst--she is absolutely too stupid to live. She's understandably upset at being forced into a sexual relationship with Callan. But she uses it as an excuse for the stupidest decisions possible. She gets mad and blames him, though it's not his fault. She lashes out at those trying to help her. She runs away. She gets angry at Callan for killing rapists who would have killed him. She insists that she's tough and un-girly, but her toughest action in her moment of desperation is to call her big brother for help. And Callan isn't much better. He instantly falls into the overly possessive caveman routine so common to this sub-genre of romance. He's arrogant and sexist. While he says he admires Merinus' tough act, he continuously says things along the lines of "her brothers should have trained her better" and other things that demonstrate an utter lack of respect. This is all justified by saying that it's his nature, he can't help it, this is how all men would be were it not for that pesky feminism keeping them in check.

As stated above the plot is contrived entirely to get the main couple to boink a lot. In erotica, that's to be expected. I know a lot of women like the whole fated mate concept--you see it in Christine Feehan, J.R Ward, Kresley Cole, and Eileen Wilks. I don't have a problem with it if it's handled well. By that I mean, if it isn't used as a substitute for real emotional relationship building and depth of feeling that is only gained with time. Well, this book doesn't have much relationship building outside of the sex, so that was a problem for me.

Also, the plot is kind of...gross. There's a doctor and several assistants helping to figure out what's going on with Callan and Merinus. And the research process involves a lot of swabbing and sample taking before and after they have sex. And the doctor comes up with some kind of  birth control, but just as soon figures out that it probably won't work long term. This medical/science drama really took me out of the sexy moments and were just plain creepy.

I was told by people who have gone ahead and read this entire series that this isn't the best book to judge by. I may attempt book two at some point to see if it improves, but probably not soon. I'm giving this book 1.5 stars.

The Romance of Spaceships: A Review of Gabriel's Ghost by Linnea Sinclair

Space Penguins!

Gabriel's Ghost by Linnea Sinclair was a book that I picked up as part of my quest to diversify my romance library. "Scifi romance" only just came to my attention, though why that is and why there aren't more of them out there mystifies me. The last things I read that can be honestly categorized as scifi were the Young Jedi Knights books back when I was a preteen. That's embarrassing to admit, and leads me to to my disclaimer: I am in no way an expert on the science fiction genre. Now on to my review.

This book was an oddly satisfying blend of seemingly dissimilar elements, rather like a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Mmm. Chaz was a career military space captain until she was falsely accused of killing a large number of her crew. She is sent to Moabar, a prison planet, to live out the remainder of her years. The book opens up to her being rescued by Sully, a space pirate of sorts who Chaz tangled with in the past. Sully (Gabriel Ross Sullivan) offers Chaz her freedom if she will agree to help him with a mission which involves shutting down a gen lab breeding jukors (horrible killing monsters).

Right from the start you get the sense that Chaz and Sully have some history. This is conveyed in the way that they banter and tease. It's slightly cheesy, but extremely effective not only in establishing what their relationship is and what it's going to build to, but the unspoken longing that has existed between them. I was really impressed by how Sinclair built three dimensional characters and a three dimensional romantic relationship in very little time. I completely bought into the love story.

Chaz is the narrator as well as the heroine, and she goes through the most in terms of development. Readers are informed that Chaz was a fairly by-the-book officer in her military career. But when it's brought to her attention that the government is doing something very wrong (breeding jukors) she agrees to risk a great deal to help because she genuinely believes it's the right thing to do. In her journey she must also confront a certain prejudice against people or creatures with psychic abilities.

Psychic talents are despised by the empire, and all children (Chaz included) are raised to hate and fear them. I really liked this take on a classic prejudice story line--mainly because I think psychic talents, if they existed, would be pretty frightening. Imagine if your significant other, your boss, your most loathed enemy, whoever, was able to read your thoughts or manipulate your mind. That's frightening to me. And yet, so often when these talents are utilized, in paranormal romance for example, people are very casual about it. In Christine Feehen's Carpathian books, or Marjorie Liu's Dirk and Steele series, everyone has crazy mind talents and they form deep psychic connections to one another, and it's all just part of their world and nothing special. Nobody runs from the guy with telekinesis or the chick who can read minds. So yes, I really liked that Sinclair made psychic abilities an issue and used Chaz's point of view and character arc to address that issue from multiple angles.

The scifi elements were great. Sinclair introduces only the details necessary to the story, without any extraneous flashy world building. You don't need to learn an entire futuristic vocabulary or the names of a hundred alien species. As a result, even a novice sci-fi reader like myself is comfortable with this book.

My criticisms are pretty minor. The narrative gets a touch cheesy and repetitive. I lost count of the number of times readers are reminded that Sully has "obsidian" eyes. I was also a little bummed that the ending was a "happy for now" instead of a "happily ever after".  I can forgive this since I know there's a sequel.

This is a fantastic book, and I highly recommend it. 4.5 stars.