In defiance of NASA, Jane Holloway, the linguist of the Providence expedition, commandeers the alien ship that her crew explored. She sets off to return that ship’s marooned navigator to his home world, determined to discover who was behind the genocide that destroyed his original crew.But when she gets there, she finds his world devastated by the same plague. The remaining members of his race, … his race, uniquely gifted at navigating the stars, are stranded across the galaxy. And someone, it seems, doesn’t want those lost navigators to be found.
As Jane unravels the mystery of the plague and works to ensure the survival of Ei’Brai’s race, she discovers that the life of every sentient being in the galaxy may be in jeopardy…and the clock is ticking.
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee 2016, the only major book awards decided by readers.
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Just finished this one! Loved it! Going to buy the whole set in paperback because I like to reread my faves.
I found this book to be slow and the story like just did not grab me at all. I did finish it and started the second book which I never finished. Just could not get through it
I picked up Fluency book 1 of the Confluence series by Jennifer Foehner Wells on a BookBub deal. I liked it so much I immediately went on to Remanence Book 2 in the series.
Reading Remanence was like hanging out with a new friend that you really click with. Reading Fluency book 1 was meeting that friend. Reading Remanence was hanging out with that friend.
The writing style of Wells is smooth, with a direct story line, interesting characters, engaging plot and just a pinch of romance. I’m not a romance fan but Wells adds just the right amount for people who like and also dislike romance in books.
I recommend The Confluence series to anyone who likes light sci-fi. I will read the whole series.
I am happy I chose to read on from the cliff hanger ending of the first book…but, *spoiler alert* there is a cliff hanger ending here too. The author warns that the next book in the series detours to another scene and different characters inhabiting the same time/space which will not resolve until book 6 in the series, so one must accept the premise or opt out. The romance between the 2 main humans is developed but often rings falsely. The relationship between Jane and Alan moves forward but you sometimes wonder why…or how. The relationship between Jane and Brai is much better developed and the qualities of humanness are defined through challenges to empathy and openness. Good and evil exist in a variety of beings and love may conquer all in the end but we need to read 4 more books to find out!
I’m disappointed in this book compared to the first one. While I was interested enough to read it in a single day. The same issues remain and it doesn’t really improve very much. In fact I feel like was let me down in more ways now.
The terrible romance gets more time, and it still isn’t interesting. I just don’t care about this romance, I feel the characters haven’t shown enough love or attraction, and it all comes off feeling really superficial. Just not enough time is given to it at all to really work well. Relationships in general also disappointed, including a strange relationship between two squids that happens in the last couple pages without warning or buildup.
Writing and editing is in the same place as the first book, the major difference is the amount of science she has packed into the book. It starts to make it feel dull and uninteresting at times when I just start skimming a paragraph because what is being discussed isn’t interesting. Enough came up she had to include definitions at the end so you could remember all the various names and meanings for what she created.
Now my biggest issue is the pacing of the story, and the way it comes off. The book starts oddly with a rather large time skip, just glossing over the way the previous book ended. And wrapping that up in a kinda overview of events, but it isn’t satisfying and felt like she didn’t know how to wrap it up. And as the book goes on, I get a feeling this book exists just to set up the rest of the universe and not stand alone. An antagonist is created and confronted and fought off within like 50 pages. It didn’t feel satisfying and just like she needed to get him in the story so everyone knew who the mini-boss antagonist was going to be.
Overall this was a much more disappointing book for me, and ended in a way I didn’t find satisfying. The first book could have stood by itself, the enemy is defeated and the crew has a ship. The second book can’t, they are in a precarious situation with at least 2 antagonists you know who exist and will have to be fought. Honestly don’t think I’m going to read the next book in the series, especially after reading the synopsis and learning it suddenly jumps to a whole new set of characters to set up another story. It disappoints me when that happens while the original story is still incomplete.
I’m enjoyed this book just as much as the first book, FLUENCY. I really love scifi books that explore an alien race and/or planet as long as they keep it believable. Wells does this in spades. I also really love her writing style. It just works for me. If you’re looking for a great scifi series, I can highly recommend these books!
Ends oddly, Doesn’t seem to link with Book 3 Inheritance, though I’m not through that book yet, though it takes place in the same universe.
it’s a pretty good sequel. interesting background info. picked up some new, maybe even odd, characters. if you liked Book 1 …
I was thrilled to read Fluency. Really captivating new character and story – immersive in incredible environments and adventures within adventures – truly epic story scope across the Confluence series of books. I have now read (devoured) Remanence, Inheritance and The Grove. Looking for more great reads from Jennifer. Recommend highly for fans of Dystopian book adventures. My Kindle is a true transport for me now.
Left me wanting more. I had to immediately order the next book in the series.
Ah, another great book to keep in one place of honor on your shelf. Too bad that Jennifer hasn’t published (11/2017) the book 3 so I am eagerly waiting on the last installment. I’ll read the first two book again while I wait.
In this follow-up to Book 1: Fluency, we find Dr. Jane Holloway and Dr. Alan Bergen on the alien spaceship discovered near earth. They are now headed to the home world of the creatures who mysteriously perished on board. Guiding them is the only survivor, a massively intelligent squid-like creature who controls the ship and is telepathically linked to Jane. Because of this connection, Jane is now the commander. The tale unfolds as they make first contact with a species known as the Sectilius. I really enjoyed this story, especially the relationships between Jane and the entity and the prickly romance between her and Bergen. Thankfully, it comes to a satisfying ending since there will no doubt be a third book. I can’t wait!