Bypass Gemini
Ratings10
Average rating3.5
I picked this up as part of the first Storybundle offering. This really hits the beats you want out of a sci-fi novel...fast, customized ships, futuristic gadgets, space travel, AI, smuggling, and space humor. I will definitely be reading the sequel, as well as Lallo's fantasy titles. I love stumbling upon a new series and author like this. I highly recommend checking this one out.
I've been using the adjective “fun” to describe books a lot lately, and see no reason to stop that here. Bypass Gemini is a space-faring romp about a down on his luck courier who races across the galaxy making deliveries and getting in trouble. Imagine Han Solo with a dash of Arthur Dent without any of that dreary “Jedi” or “Empire” business holding him down.
I had trouble getting into this story. It kept violating my WSOD, and I almost quit a couple of times. Then it occurred to me that I wasn't actually reading science fiction, but rather science fantasy. (Like in Star Wars, most of the ‘tech' was magic with a high-tech veneer.) With that in my head, it became readable and enjoyable.
What do you get? Well – lots of action, lots of narrow escapes and hijinks, some fantastic and very odd characters, and a race against time with lots at stake.
3+ stars, but I cannot quite round it up.
Meh. Bailed halfway through. It wants to be a classic pulp sci fi adventure with modern jokes, but it's trying too hard and telling rather than showing. Also not very fair that I read a Bujold in the middle of this, which really blows most things out of the water by comparison.
Sharp, funny sci-fi. A likeable main character, who romps through space getting into increasingly serious trouble and escaping it with the skin of his teeth. Lots of technobabble, plenty of high-speed chases, and a supporting cast of likeable oddballs make this book very readable.