0 Comments

Fighting Shadows by JC Steel

J.C. Steel’s second novel in her Cortii series takes everything that made Through the Hostage good and improves on it: pacing, characters, everything. Through the Hostage was a good book, but Fighting Shadows shines.

The story returns to Khyria Ilan and Wildcat Cortia. Now no longer trainees, Khyria has to rebuild her depleted unit while still fending off her enemies both political and physical. The political machinations of the various Cortii and their ruling body is a little impenetrable at first, but everything starts falling into place quickly. The story itself divides into 3 points of view: Khyria and her subordinates Anst and Taiva, each with their own quirks of personality and flavor. Doing this always creates the risk that one storyline will rise above the others, but that didn’t happen here. Each line is personal enough to be unique, but none outshine any of the others.

The relationships between the characters are brought into more focus with this entry. The seeds sown in Through the Hostage start bearing fruit here. We get some more glimpses into Khyria’s past, her relationships with her subordinates and her rivals, and fellow POV characters Taiva and Anst get similar building. There are a few foibles: I personally found Taiva’s hard-headedness more irritating than endearing (admittedly this is just my opinion and to each their own) and somewhere Khyria developed a Batman-like ability to always be standing in shadows before stepping into the light. I personally found Anst’s more espionage-esque story the most engaging, but I was never bored with any of them.

Between the main story arc and the individual arcs of the characters, Fighting Shadows weaves a very good story. I heartily recommend taking a look if you’re in the market for some new sci-fi.

0 Comments

The Unravelling by Sarah Northwood

A mystery tale with a number of twists, Unravelled takes you into the point of view of just about everyone involved: the victim, the stalker, a brief glimpse into the police, everyone. It’s a welcome change from stories that just focus on one or the other even if it can be difficult to get into the shoes of some of the parties.

The perfect life of the story’s victim felt a little oversold at times, but that will vary from reader to reader. But it does help to drive home just how much Jennifer has lost as the stalking takes hold.

The early part of the story is somewhat slow, but the story really finds its legs at around the halfway point. The motivations of all the characters start to crystallize there, and we can see where the story is going and just why things are developing the way they are. That’s where all the seeds of this story start to come together into one and things start getting very interesting.

While the text could’ve used another polishing run to smooth things out, the story kept me guessing and the twists and turns kept things very interesting.

0 Comments

Through the Hostage by JC Steel

Overall, I enjoyed Through the Hostage, but it occasionally suffers from a lack of context. The story hangs together very well, and it creates an interesting look into at this group of mercenaries during the long stretches of story that deal with a single plot element, like the Cortia’s first mission and their final training mission. But in the in-between, things don’t always seem to click together quite like they should. There were times when I found myself asking why this event or that one was important. I knew why the event was happening, but found myself wondering where these people came from and in one or two instances why they cared so much.

The characters were well-developed and interesting to follow, though I would have liked a little more background on the main character. She starts off the story self-destructive, but we’re only given glimpses of how she got there and we’re left to puzzle out the rest.

The setting is richly detailed with constant glimpses at a galaxy full of entities and peoples often at odds with one another. It’s great incentive to explore more. Overall the story has its ups and downs, but with markedly more ups. It’s a worthwhile read for someone looking for a quick sci-fi jaunt and or for delving into a new series. And I’m interested to see where Steel takes Book 2.

0 Comments

Nite Fire: Flash Point by C.L. Schneider

Where to start? Hmm. I loved the characters in this book. Not only were they believable (and for a half dragon shapeshifter from another world, that’s always a good thing), but they were fun. The dynamic being developed between the “superhero and her sidekick” shows a lot of promise, and it’s fun to see Dahlia get pulled in directions she is convinced she shouldn’t go. I like the non-traditional heroine, and I’m intrigued to see how the series and Dahlia’s new life unfolds from here. Though a part of me wonders just how much of Dahlia’s pseudo-fond memories of Drimera are real and how much is rose-colored glasses.

I did feel that perhaps it was a little heavy on the sheer number of species and new terminology, but I can understand it–we are talking about alternative worlds after all. But if that’s the biggest criticism I have, that says a lot.

I’m definitely looking forward to the next one!