I dropped into this series in what I found out is book 9, with a cast of characters that was full of backstory and a sprinkle of commentary about things that have already happened. I have to give Mark Shepherd a lot of credit for building a book that I could jump into without feeling like I had missed out on anything. He gave me just enough backstory to understand without weighing down the story or slowing down the plot. The characters were likable, personable, and understandable.
This starts as a typical whodunnit space opera - ships are missing and we want to know why. It turns into a scientific exploration/first contact. Then it finishes as a Someone Must Take Word Home!/run for your lives/fight to the death action story. Nowhere in this story was I at all surprised, not by the people, the banter, the plot twists, or the sprinkling of distractions from all of the above. Like in a stereotypical Star Trek episode, our heroes
just happened to have everything that they needed to redesign their starships, translate alien radio signals, and visit doomed planets. Oh, yeah, and the scientific crew with the Next New Weapon showed up right on schedule, too.
As far as starship battles go, this guy can out-Weber the David himself. The entire second half of the book was full of unlikely heroics, feats of strength and cunning, miracles of science and engineering, and the requisite realization of love-found-too-late. The battles ran across star systems, through jump points, and dashed a quarter of the way around the outside of the Milky Way. The place where Shepherd didn't even try to match Weber was the science. There was plenty of science in this fiction, but there was not page after interminable page of explanation regarding things we didn't need to know. Where Weber would have weighed us down with the
how of it all, Shepherd simply explained the
what and moved on with the plot.
I recommend this as an "airplane book." It has engaging characters, it has a distinct and well-bounded plot/mission, and the areas of interest move quickly from place to place. However, I have no emotional investment in the story, and was easily interrupted without losing my spot in the story line. The presentation is fairly two-dimensional, as well, with all political nuance painted with broad brushes and heavy lines. Combine the gobs o' action with the distinct lack of sex, and you have the perfect book for teenage entertainment.
-- New-to-me books read in 2011 (as opposed to re-reads) --JanuaryLittle Dee vol 2
Little Dee vol 3
Unusual Suspects Harvest MoonThe Black Stallion (yes, I know, I should have read it with Black Beauty)
Ravens in the Library: Magic in the Bard's Name, with a pre-finished commentary
hereThe Hundred Thousand KingdomsFang Bangers: An Erotic Anthology of Fangs, Claws, Sex and LoveMust Love HellhoundsTruthseekerFebruaryDark and Stormy KnightsTortall and Other LandsRiver Marked (2/28 - it arrived a day early)
MarchQuestionable Content, vol 1
How to Flirt with a Naked WerewolfLifeblood
Magic Bites
Skinwalker, A Jane Yellowrock NovelRunning with the Pack
Magic BurnsBlood Cross
April"Skyblaze" Adventures in the Liaden Universe #17
Kings of the NorthGoblin Tales
Do Not Sniff the Bees, Two Lumps book 6
Magic StrikesMagic Bleeds
Mercy BladeThe Initiate BrotherMayAngelologyCity of PearlAn Artificial NightLate EclipsesJuneAfter Hours: Tales from Ur-BarMagic SlaysGhost Ship (e-ARC)
WarbreakerJulyQuarter ShareHalf ShareFull Share"Intelligent Design" (short story in the Liaden Universe, published online at Baen)
Heroes in TrainingSerenity: Better Days
Serenity: Those Left Behind
Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale
Tiger's CurseCalamities of Nature, vol 1
Troubled WatersWolfsbane and MistletoeIn Fury BornAugustNaked CityUnnatural Issue
Home Improvement: Undead EditionSummers at Castle Auburn"Kin Ties" (short story in the Liaden Universe, found
here)
Flying BlindArchangelHunger GamesThe Shape-Changer's WifeA Matter of MagicSeptemberOne Salt Sea"Guaranteed Delivery" (short story of the Liaden Universe, found
here)
WayfinderDouble Share as an audiobook from
PodioBooks.ComCast in Ruin
OctoberCaptain's Share (as an audio book)
Land of Painted CavesOwner's Share (as an audio book)
Beauty and the WerewolfA Beautiful FriendshipMastiffNovemberDown These Strange Streets
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making"The Space at Tinsori Light," Liaden short story found
herePrized
The Wild WaysKris Longknife: Daring-- Books abandoned rather than completed in 2011 --FebruarySing the Four Quarters, by Tanya Huff
AugustFuzzy Nation, by John Scalzi
OctoberGamestorming (gave it to a co-worker)
-- Books Still in Progress --These are books that I haven't totally given up on, I've just... put them aside... for now.The Brand Within
If You Don't Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails
Swords and Dark Magic
Battlestations
Wise Man's Fear
What about classic Heinlein? Have Space Suit, Will Travel is a good one, or even A Wrinkle in Time if he hasn't already done it. Or, if he's willing to put up with a slow start and a romantic finish, what about Lackey's The Ship Who Searched? And hey, if you don't mind the stupid humor, what about The Stainless Steel Rat for a winner?
Edited at 2011-11-23 06:41 pm (UTC)