One of the most notorious assassins in the galaxy, Gage accepts an assignment that begins opening old wounds and raising the past and promises he made but has yet to fulfill. When he returns home, a betrayal by an old girlfriend and a rescue by a military buddy, Kenny -- the only other man to survive the same massacre that resulted in Gage's career change from military man to killer -- sets him on the path to find the truth of what happened that night and to bring justice for the men that died that night -- men he commanded. With the help of Joanna, the sister of one of the men who died, and Jak, a street rat, Gage follows a thin, often scattered, trail of memory and information acquired through Kenny's numerous contacts and officials within the highest levels of the military and government. With security forces out to recapture him and his father and Joanna in tow, Gage unearths betrayal and manipulation and sets in motion events that will change the course of an entire planet.
Impression: I have to admit it, I love The Assassin Journals: Hunter. I was one of the early readers years ago when the author was first developing it, and fell in love with Gage even back then. A killer who has tried to turn off his sense of right and wrong, he's still at the mercy of a moral compass that will no longer allow him to ignore a promise made in a much more innocent time. He must come to terms with why he became an assassin and make the choice to regain control of his life. The only way he can do that is to find out the truth of the massacre that was the first step to becoming what he is now. It's his story, and he never let's you forget it. Some of the turns in the plot are not unexpected. Which is not to say they are foreseen, only that the story turns into them nicely...you can't see things happening any other way. And for me the ending was more sad than shocking, but it is a well-played ending none the less.
I do have some issues with the book, but they are mostly with the editing (or lack of it) and the formatting (what's with the extra spacing between paragraphs?) that are bothersome for a visual reader. If there's any issue at all with the story itself, it's that a few places in the middle seem too simplistic, but these still do not diminish my enjoyment of the book. And really, since I am not much of a SF reader, that really is high praise for me. Partington does the one thing that will keep me in a SF story: she focuses on the characters and the events and keeps the "science" in the background -- it's necessary to the story, but kept to being an important part of the setting rather than a focal point that requires a lot of scientific explanation.
While not graphic in detail, there is violence and a sex scene, so I wouldn’t recommend it for younger readers, but for younger adults on up, I find it to be an excellent read. I'm looking forward to Partington's next novel in the series. (And, yes, I know she's writing one! ;))
Dr. Cherijo Torin has been taken captive by the Hsktskt, the lizard slavers who had raided the planet she was on at the invitation of her husband. Angry, hated by both captives and captors alike, with enemieis who would do anything to see her dead in both groups, Cherijo must survive to aide her fellow slaves with all the medical training she has. Even her nursing crew stands against her. As she struggles to aide those she can and come to terms with her traitorous husband, she becomes involved in a plot to free as many as possible without becoming a permanent part of the Hsktskt experiments on the races they enslave.
Impression: This is my first Stardoc novel, and usually diving into a series in the middle can leave a reader feeling like they are missing something. Not so with Endurance. Viehl makes sure to quickly catch any new readers up on what has gone before without boring them with huge chunks of exposition that have no bearing on the current story. She works the past in right when the reader needs to know it as quickly as possible. It slows the pace of the story itself a little, but not badly enough to bore the reader or even make the reader start skimming. The plot itself is pretty straightforward, but the ending has a nice little twist that works despite the being a little puzzling. The book itself isn’t all that deep, but the characters are and the setting and cultures are quite believable. There's no fat in this book--it's well written. I'm not much of a science fiction reader, and I prefer soft SF to hard, but this is one of those books that makes you think you just might be able to change that. Highly recommended.
Thosha-Tol was born with the powers that are the province of the female Keepers of his people and, by the decree of the goddesses, should be destroyed. Instead the Keeper who midwifed his birth smuggled him away and raised him to use those powers as a Keeper until it's time to release him to those who would teach him to fight.
Then the monsters of legend begin to appear, not only on Thosha's world, but on all the worlds of the Aknivarian Cycle. And thus begins Thosa's journey to find those responsible for bringing these creatures back from the dead and destroying them by any means possible. Along the way he discovers new cultures, makes new allies, and learns a new magic that will forever separate him from his people and cost him everything.
Impression: This version of Thosha-Tol was an unedited, unrevised rough draft, and I still enjoyed it immensely. The story carried me along despite the problems associated with a first draft. The characters are intriguing, and I came to care for them despite the need for a little more depth (which is expected in the early draft stages). The setting was the weakest part of the story and even it was interesting. And there were places where the emotion just bowls you over. The ending is both astounding and logical, the deception revealed both expected and heartbreaking. Once the kinks are worked out, the novel will be a powerful statement on the cost of faith and doing what's right just because it needs to be done.
I look forward to this one hitting the shelves one day, and I plan on picking up at least 2 copies when it does--one to get signed and one to read. Thosha-Tol is one of the best novels I've read, which is amazing since it was a rough draft and I tend to be one of the pickiest readers I know. I expect it will only get better from here.
Between 1587 and 1591, the "lost" colony of Roanoke, Virginia disappeared. They were taken...somewhere. And now their descendants are about to go to war with the Wiyr, the satyr-like creatures they have lived in peace with for years. The Wiyr work with and for the humans, living in their own communities, keeping to their traditions, while the humans spread across the land.
Jack is one of the descendants of the Roanoke village, and becomes aware of the tensions while hunting a dragon. He meets his cousin, Ed, who has killed and cropped the tail of a young Wiyr Jack knows. Angered by the betrayal of the woman he loves, Ed has joined the forces that want to rid Dare of the Wiyr. Forced into silence by his cousin, Jack can't even tell R'li, Wuv's sister and a Siren of the Wiyr.
As Jack falls for the Siren, the quiet move for war becomes an open hostility and humans are forced to choose sides or suffer the same fate as the Wiyr. Pressed into military service, the nearby Wiyr colony that serves his father destroyed, Jack and R'li are forced to separate for both their own and their families' survival. Just as the end looks certain, a new force in Dare is heralded by the arrival of a spaceship.
Impression:Dare is one of the books that originally influenced my enjoyment of science fiction and fantasy. It's soft SF, so there's no focus on the science, and this one's mixed with quite a bit of fantasy.
The writing itself is not elegant, but the story itself carries you. There's less description in the novel than I generally like, but it seems to work for this novel. The one major problem is that it's unfinished. The spaceship comes down, people meet and talk, plans are made, and then...nothing. No resolution to everything the story has been building up to. Even so, I do recommend it as good reading. It's a book that defies many of the "rules" of writing, and is interesting none the less.
I should add, that MY copy of this is so old, the cover is totally different from what's on Amazon (in the one place where there is a cover) and there's only a 1079 copy listed at B&N. It shows a pretty naked Siren with hair (from her head and her tail) covering the appropriate places. ;)
Unless otherwise noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by me.
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I will no longer be linking to Amazon and no longer recommending Amazon as a place to purchase books I review. Amazon has repeatedly used bully tactics to reinforce its policies, even if those tactics cause harm to authors or limit customer choices. Amazon usually apologizes for the events after the fact, but that they continue to use the same methods makes those apologies hollow. I will not purchase from or encourage others to purchase from a business that chooses to take from the pockets of authors (who as a whole earn a lot less than general public realizes) and decide what the public should and should not read.
