2018 NEBULA AWARD FINALIST: BEST NOVELLAFloribeth Salinas O’Shea Dalisay is an Off-Planet Worker, employed as an exploration pilot by the giant corporation, Hamdani Brothers. Sent on a routine mission to analyze one of the millions of systems in the galaxy, she stumbles across something that could threaten humanity’s very existence. She barely escapes with her life, but in the process, has to … process, has to shut down her scout’s AI.
As with all OPWs, she has few rights, and instead of being lauded as a hero, the corporation thinks she is lying. Her managers believe she found something valuable and shut down her AI in an attempt to hide that fact, hoping she can sell that information to the highest bidder. Grounded, and with a huge debt now over her head, Beth has to convince the powers that be that a very real danger to humanity is lying in wait out there in deep space.
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Very original and entertaining. I read the first two books and will be reading the rest of the series. Recommended for futureristic sci-if readers of all ages
I actually finished the first book. It’s not actually -bad-, just not worth a second look. The spelling and grammar are OK; the characters, their problems and solutions are reasonable. But I decided that the series is not worth reading. The writing is not multivalent enough. e.g. great fiction is not about just one thing. Every great story has at least a grand political problem, a great romance, a soap opera, a comedy, a mystery and action, interwoven. Great science-fiction adds a great imagined society, with a realistic history and tech, usually startling in some interesting way, ideally, driving many of the conflicts of the story. Great characters drive them all, because no character has just one interest, drive or skill, and none of them are omniscient, and the best have subtle flaws. People’s limits lead naturally to mysteries. Silly goals cause comedies. Great characters are embedded in a web of interacting problems, personal, social, environmental and situational. And, I just didn’t get any of that from this book. For comparison, read “A Civil Campaign” by Lois McMasters-Bujold, The only work I’ve seen that might be more multivalent is an anime, ‘Spirited Away’ by Hayao Miyazaki, and a comparison is not remotely fair, because Miyazaki made fantasy, in a different art, and SA is so multivalent that it’s hard to understand and critique.
Good typical science fiction. H is s small female in a mans world so she is called “ant” by her fellow space marines. She constantly has to prove herself to her fellow space marines plus she has trouble following orders which does not endear herself to her squad leader.
Each individual fighter space ship is named by the call signal from the commander and her ship is named “ ant” after her marine name. At the end, after a vicious space battle against aliens, her ship is now named “fire ant” as a tribute to her heroism.
The saga continues in another book but I do give the author credit that the story just doesn’t drop in mid- plot like some other series books. You will be quite pleased with the ending, while not completely resolved it brings this particular problem to an end in that she is finally accepted as a “space marine”.
Book 2 goes on telling of her exploits dealing with the alien enemy
I like his writing and his major characters. They DO things and don’t spend too much time talking about doing stuff. I read science fiction to enjoy myself for a while, if I wanted a philosophy or physics lesson, I will get the appropriate book. I read SF for a little down time.
Amusing main character. Good scene setting. All too believable opening section. Would an irreverent ‘rebel’ actually be headhunted ? Overall good enough that I will be looking forward to the next in the series.
good space opera
A really exciting book, wonderful heroine, couldn’t put the book down, looking forward to the next book in the series.
Classic Space Opera
NOt q book I would typically bother with but after the first page I was hoooked on a crazy character in a totally unexpected location and interesting role.
I bought book two right away.
A great read! You get to explore the Beth’s character and motivation while the fast paced storylines develop. For the first book of the series so many events are unfolding and characters are introduced. I certainly was left wanting to read more.
I tried this book out because I loved Jonathan Brazee’s United Federation Marine Corps series. I’m glad I did. This is fantastic stuff. Well developed characters that grow as the story does, a great plot with a really interesting universe built for it, a kick-a** heroine in the making (early stages still but I can see what’s coming), lots of thrilling action and tons of fun. This is easy to highly recommend.