Rusty Carl

These books strike me as odd. It’s odd because I feel like I shouldn’t be enjoyi

These books strike me as odd. It’s odd because I feel like I shouldn’t be enjoying them like I do. But regardless, after the last book’s ridiculous soap opera ending the plot wasted very little time restoring the major upheavals of the last book back to the status quo. I’d be lying if I didn’t let you know that I assumed that was coming. But still, I didn’t know for sure. Anyway, I do wonder quite a bit about the author’s writing process as I read along. Early books were extremely repetitive, both in action and in dialogue, but still had a strong enough charm to them that I didn’t mind.

But it was still noticeable. This installment, 10 books into the series, feels very much like someone setting pieces back up on the board after knocking them all down in the previous book. So, a lot of filler. People recovering from trauma, weddings, relationship stuff, fretting about what is coming down the pike. That sort of stuff.

Still, for whatever reason, I still don’t mind. I enjoy them, and think the writer does what he does quite well. Can’t wait to see where this goes. Hopefully there is an ending in sight and there won’t be 120 books pumped out and it’s still more of same. I do think it will wear me out before then and I’d be forced to abandon the series if that’s the case.

The series plot moves slowly, but it’s a great ride and I don’t mind. For now.

****

I wrote the above as I was reading the book, at about the 80% mark or so the shit hit the fan in ways I did not expect and I feel like it served almost like one of good seasons of Game of Thrones, where not much happens for most of the year while you see pieces moved all across the board before it all goes crazy at the last minute.

That’s what happened here. So much how I felt at the end of book 7, I felt like the author had wrapped it all up. There were not, in my mind, any dangling plot threads to be picked up on (aside for a relationship story maybe), but plot-wise. All wrapped up. If he ended the series here I’d feel very satisfied.

Okay, I was a little disappointed in that the events of the previous 7 novels were sort of all undone by an inadvertent attempt by the Mavericks team which has been having its own adventures tha

Okay, I was a little disappointed in that the events of the previous 7 novels were sort of all undone by an inadvertent attempt by the Mavericks team which has been having its own adventures that our heroes aren’t allowed to contact, as all their missions are top secret. So, all that was covered in a stand-alone novel that I didn’t realize I needed to read.

But anyway, it makes all the events of the first 8 books really just feel like the opening act in a three act play. I do think my biggest criticism of this series as a whole up to this point is the lack of forward momentum, there are big, huge mysteries that are bubbling beneath the surface that are being hinted at, but they aren’t really being touched on in a major way. It’s mostly the mundane parts of trying to survive that take up the bulk of these novels, and that is great, but after being this far along, I really hope there starts to be a push towards something that happens soon. I will say they spent a few books piddling with the lower casts of this interstellar mixing pot of aliens before moving up to the middleweights, and finally in this book, are taking on some of the heavy hitters in the galaxy. So there is progress there, but it’s fleeting. I dunno. I need something more to happen.

Not great. A full-on audio drama. I beg them not to do this again. A huge letdown as far as I’m concerned. Either they chose a cast with 0 chemistry, or all the dialog was recorded separately and stitched together.

Not great. A full-on audio drama. I beg them not to do this again. A huge letdown as far as I’m concerned. Either they chose a cast with 0 chemistry, or all the dialog was recorded separately and stitched together. Some readings were so discordant with others that it was unintentionally funny. Narrator of main books is incredible, and outside of Jeff Hays, is possibly the best I’ve ever heard (I’d need to go back to the guy who read the Abercrombie novels again to compare to, he was also awesome) and he does do line readings for the two leads, and those are still great. But anytime anyone else is talking it’s a mess.

Also, the alien POVs are hilarious, as they spend most of their time explaining things to each other that they would clearly already know while growling a lot. I was embarrassed listening to them. Please don’t do this again.