Grimspace

This novel has great characters and great character interaction. It is fast-paced plot with lots of action. Disappointed the storyline leaves a lot hanging for the rest of the series. This first book seems to be mostly the building of characters and relationships. I just wouldn't consider this book hard core science fiction.

I liked the concept of traveling faster through grimspace. It just seemed a bit hard to grasp sometimes. But I think the world was fleshed out very well. I really like the fact that they acknowledged that other worlds are very different and may be inhospitable to humans and they take precautions before jumping out into it. Sirantha Jax is a flawed person but is trying her best to overcome what has happened and is not always able to do so. I am looking forward to reading the next one.

Action-packed, complexly-plotted, character-driven. Grimspace is a heckuva first book (heckuva 3rd, book, too). Not perfect, but so good that you put up with the short-comings.

This is more Ronald D. Moore/Joss Whedon-y S.F. than a Roddenberry/Lucas SF. The characters are people: flawed, self-deceived, selfish, scared... You grow to care about them, not just what happens (which would be interesting enough on its own, actually).

Actually, now that I've said it above, I'm more and more convinced this is Firefly without the livestock or distinctive dialogue. Can't wait til I get my hands on the sequel.

WARNING! There are a few spoilers here and there. I tried to keep it to a minimum.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, it was paced a bit oddly at times, but overall it was well-written with characters that piqued my interest throughout. Aguirre seems to have good hold of her characters, keeping their personalities well intact while tossing interesting twists into the story. I like that Jax was more than just a gutsy, headstrong woman - she was more than that and it kept you wondering where her story would lead.

Aguirre also did fantastically with the side characters, she made them characters who you loved and wanted to know more about. Doc Saul never ceased to be interesting, Dina is wonderfully gritty and March was a great example of a good male lead.

I found her way of individualizing each of the characters by making them have their own unique personalities and giving you reasons to like or dislike them in a more natural way was nice. For example, Loras seemed to be a bit of an enigma. You wanted to pity him and his existence given what was forced on his people. But then, Jax gave him a new reason to exist, she gave him a choice and he chose to be a white knight of sorts. He still made a sacrifice, but it was not simply to protect Jax - it was because he did what he wanted to do.

And then there are characters like Doc Saul. He's a pretty interesting guy, he comes off as all about the science. All about learning what he can learn. But under all that you can see he truly cares about everyone in the group. He is far more than he puts himself out there to be, and it makes me want to continue the story so I can discover more about him.

I loved how the sex scenes did not overpower the storyline, which can often happen with the genre of romantic novels. No matter if it's sci-fi, fantasy, etc. It did not appear at all to be the focal point of the story, which was refreshing. Yes it occurred, but it was never over done. It never overtook a moment in the story. You can go through most of the novel without encountering it and even when it comes about it feels far more naturally placed that a lot in it's genre.

I have all intents to continue with this book series, even if the first was simply for a book club. I am ever curious to know what lies ahead for Jax and the gang; as well as what is to come for the world Aguirre created with such a secret being revealed to the masses. What will the Farwan Corp do to save face? What can they do, really?

(After some thinking, I decided to add a little more to this review about my overall opinion of some of the characters and put forth some more detail. With as few spoiler-y comments as I can manage.)

Um, not my normal choice of book at all, but I loved Enclave so much that I gave this one a shot. While much of the sci fi bits were over my head, I got the action adventure parts. They were good! Anyone who knows me, knows I just gag at romance novels, but I thought Jax and March made a good team. I am pretty sure this was a first novel, and while Ann Aguirre has only gotten better, her talent is obvious. Glad I read it.