Those Left Behind

"The new beginning they had been looking for was the middle of someone else's story."

Man, this was a fun sci-fi story. It felt like someone put Mass Effect and Star Wars in a blender and made a delightful space opera smoothie out of it. Great story, great characters, a ton of world (universe?) building, it just felt a bit overwhelming at times.

So the idea here is that humanity back home is fighting a losing battle with itself. The planet is overcrowded, the resources are depleted, and it's either find a new home out amongst the stars or die a smothered, miserable death. Luckily for everyone involved, we have Alvera and her hand picked crew on hand to scout the stars and find a new place for us to live (and, y'know, start the cycle all over again, but nevermind that). Unfortunately, their first jaunt out into space runs them headlong into some uncomfortable truths about the universe, and also puts them right in the middle of a galactic conflict, a (maybe) impending universal threat, and a coup that breaks up her merry band. Life isn't easy out in the universe, evidently.

So, there's a lot going on in this book, which is what prevented me from really giving this the 5 stars I was considering. The author is really talented at crafting interesting, unique characters, worlds, and motivations, but the problem is she has too many good ideas at once so you're never really sure where to look. After the initial push into the universe, the crew breaks up into different stories all tangentially related to the main plot, but also containing their own side quests that sort of make the book feel like a short story compilation. Which isn't a bad thing! I quite enjoyed these different stories, and there's definitely enough main plot movement sprinkled throughout to not feel too bogged down. It just sometimes felt like a bit much.

But the characters were really well done and distinct, and I enjoyed them all basically equally. I think the Rivus/Tarvan friend/conflict story is my favorite thus far, but they're all pretty great. With a cast as large as what you find here, it's a delightful surprise to not have similar characters blending together or a POV or two that I didn't like. The writing is also pretty great, engaging, and I can honestly say that I'm not quite sure where the main story is headed yet.

I'm trying to make it this year's goal to actually finish series I start, so I've already started book two. Can't wait to see where this one goes.