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. 

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 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.