“Jam-packed with weird aliens, mysterious artifacts, and lovable characters… a tremendous good time and an impressive debut.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred)A hilarious, offbeat debut space opera that skewers everything from pop culture to video games and features an irresistible foul-mouthed captain and her motley crew, strange life forms, exciting twists, and a galaxy full of fun and adventure.… forms, exciting twists, and a galaxy full of fun and adventure.
Captain Eva Innocente and the crew of La Sirena Negra cruise the galaxy delivering small cargo for even smaller profits. When her sister Mari is kidnapped by The Fridge, a shadowy syndicate that holds people hostage in cryostasis, Eva must undergo a series of unpleasant, dangerous missions to pay the ransom.
But Eva may lose her mind before she can raise the money. The ship’s hold is full of psychic cats, an amorous fish-faced emperor wants her dead after she rejects his advances, and her sweet engineer is giving her a pesky case of feelings. The worse things get, the more she lies, raising suspicions and testing her loyalty to her found family.
To free her sister, Eva will risk everything: her crew, her ship, and the life she’s built on the ashes of her past misdeeds. But when the dominoes start to fall and she finds the real threat is greater than she imagined, she must decide whether to play it cool or burn it all down.
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It was okay. I had to look up some of the foreign words, so that took me out of the story. Wish more was about the psychic cats.
Love it . Overall I do recommend the audiobook if your not familiar with spanish overall. Some of the words and idioms might get confusing. Overall was very entertaining and I recommend it . Getting the second book once it comes out.
Okay, look–I picked up the book because of I’m not made of steel. Psychic cats? YES. Funny? YES. Zany space exploits, weird aliens, and found family? SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY. That Chilling Effect is a debut novel by a Cuban American author is just an added bonus for me. There isn’t enough funny in sci fi or fantasy for my liking, so I will pounce on any offering available. I really enjoyed this book. If you like Douglas Adams, Lois McMaster Bujold, Yoss, or Terry Pratchett, I think you would enjoy Chilling Effect. It’s smart and a heck of a lot of fun.
Mass Effect meets The Expanse in this energetic space opera adventure. Eva Innocente is unforgettable starship captain and I love every member of her crew-slash-family. This book has enough twists to keep you up way past bedtime, and I can’t wait for the sequel.
Imagine if Firefly and Mass Effect got together and had a baby, and that baby were delivered by Guillermo del Toro. This book is that baby. ¡Esto fue un triunfo!
Valerie Valdes delivers a hilarious and heartwarming story of a lovably screwed-up found family pinballing through a galaxy of spies and villains. My crops are watered, my skin is clear, my shields are at full strength, and my heart is ready for Eva’s next adventure.
As soon as I saw Chilling Effect advertised as a mix of Firefly and Mass Effect, I knew I had to send a review request (Thank you, Harper Voyager!). Psychic cats, pompous alien emperors, and a mysterious villainous organization wreaking havoc sounds right up my alley. I’m a huge Mass Effect fan so while reading I was reminded of my favorite parts of the game. Captain Eva could definitely have been friends with my fem-Shep. Irreverant, kick-ass, and a bit of an anger problem, Eva was so much fun to read about. I didn’t completely jive with her but I was happy to watch her adventures and interact with her crew. I loved the sketches that were the side characters and I sincerely hope they get their chance to shine as the series continues. Chilling Effect had a great balance of humor, action, and drama that kept me engaged the entire time I read it
The characters were all older than I am (by a small amount anyway) but I found them very relatable. I had some issue with the Spanish phrases/terminology. At first I kept looking up the phrases but eventually, I gave up and I’m concerned that it took away some of the enjoyability for me. Not that the author should change it necessarily, but maybe add in footnotes for the readers that struggle so we aren’t filling in gaps and departing from the author’s intent.
I found myself wishing for more world-building. Science Fiction and Fantasy can be tough as usually, it takes a significant amount of world-building to truly immerse myself as a reader. I also frequently lost track of Varak’s various emotional scents (I loved the concept of emotional scents). I found myself wishing I had a physical copy so I could flip back to remind myself. As it was, the romance was a bit lackluster for me and the added difficulty made it tough to stay immersed in the story. The team has already been together for a significant amount of time so we miss the budding relationship, and it felt like all we were waiting for was the big reveal which is a bummer. Granted this isn’t a romance, but a space opera, so maybe my expectations are skewed a bit. Also, I need more psychic cat moments! The scenes that are there were incredibly funny and I grew awfully fond of those tiny crew members.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this romp and it is an admirable effort for a debut novel. I’m looking forward to the next installment!
**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.