Tag Archives: book review

Omega Rising

Book Review of Omega Rising (Omega Force #1), by Joshua Dalzelle

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Omega RisingI’ve had Omega Rising, by Joshua Dalzelle in my cloud for almost 3 years. I originally picked it up at Amazon.  I’ve opted to finally read it as the first in my Omega Weekend Challenge. It is the first of six books containing the word Omega in the title and I believe the only one that doesn’t involve werewolves.

Description from Goodreads:
Jason Burke was a man hiding from himself in a small cabin high in the American Rocky Mountains when his simple, quiet life was shattered one night by what he first assumed was an aviation mishap. But when he investigates the crash, what he finds will yank him out of his self-imposed exile and thrust him into a world he could have never imagined.

He suddenly finds himself trapped on a damaged alien spacecraft and plunged into a universe of interstellar crime lords and government conspiracies, along the way meeting strange new friends… and enemies. As he struggles to find his way back home he is inexorably drawn deeper into a world where one misstep could mean his death. Or worse. He desperately wants to get back to Earth, but it may be the end for him. 

… or is it just the beginning?

Review:
This was fun. It reminded me a lot of Farscape, which was always a cheesy, guilty pleasure of mine. So, I liked the premise and that really was enough for me to enjoy it. And the plot does roll along at a good clip. But the book has some fairly serious drawbacks, in my opinion.

For one, Jason has no real history or depth to his character. Nor does anyone else. Second, the book suffers from allowing its main character too many successes too quickly. For example, Jason finds himself in space, with no knowledge of anything, and within a ridiculously short amount of time he’s giving technical advice on how to save the ship to a trained pilot. He easily, one might say accidentally, becomes captain of a ship with an exceedingly skilled and loyal crew. He never stresses or gets flustered, even when faced with the impossible. It’s too much. There is literally no challenge that he doesn’t overcome almost effortlessly.

Third, the book needs a bit of editing. It’s readable, but if you pay attention to that kind of thing, you notice. Lastly, since it’s something I’ve decided to start pointing out when I see it, in an attempt to highlight how disturbingly common it is, even today, there are no female characters. Seriously, none, not even a side character or service provider. None.

So, in the end, as a just-for-the-fun-of-it, not-gonna-delve-too-deeply-into-it kind of read it is fun. Not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but worth reading.

Between Ghosts

Book Review of Between Ghosts, by Garrett Leigh

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Between GhostsI received a copy of Garrett Leigh‘s Between Ghosts from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
In 2003, journalist Connor Regan marched through London to add his voice to a million others, decrying the imminent invasion of Iraq. Eight months later, his brother, James, was killed in action in Mosul.

Three years on, Connor finds himself bound for Iraq to embed with an elite SAS team. He sets his boots on the ground looking for closure and solace—anything to ease the pain of his brother’s death. Instead he finds Sergeant Nathan Thompson.

Nat Thompson is a veteran commander, hardened by years of combat and haunted by the loss of his best friend. Being lumbered with a civilian is a hassle Nat doesn’t need, and he vows to do nothing more than keep the hapless hack from harm’s way.

But Connor proves far from hapless, and too compelling to ignore for long. He walks straight through the steel wall Nat’s built around his heart, and when their mission puts him in mortal danger, Nat must lay old ghosts to rest and fight to the death for the only man he’s ever truly loved. 

Review:
I was disappointed with this one. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it but it never really grabbed me. My primary issue was that I never felt the chemistry between Conner and Nat. The romance was basically just insta-lust and while the reader was told many times how meaningful their encounters were, it all felt hollow since it was built on nothing.

My secondary issues was that the war was little more than a setting, not truly part of the plot, as far as I was concerned. Sure, Leigh had some interesting things to say against the violence of war and the meaninglessness of the West’s war in the Middle East (all of which I actually agree with) and the setting was vivid and well drafted, but the vast majority of the book was the two men mooning over each-other in a war torn Iraqi setting, rather than anything really incorporating that environment. Which meant, in the end, when something happened that actually did throw Conner against the people of Iraq, it felt as if the book had taken a departure from the previous 80% or so of the book. This is a romance story before a war story, for sure.

I don’t want to sound negative, because I did like the book even if it’s not making a favorites list. I thought the characters were well drawn. I especially appreciated the easy way that Nat’s bi-sexuality is handled and simply Leigh’s willingness to have a bi character. As I said, the setting was well described. I agreed with it’s politics. There was some humor in it. All good things.

It’s just that books that are predominantly based on ‘this person fills some mysterious missing void in another for no observable reason, therefore every little interaction is described as sooooo important, sooooo meaningful, soooo earth shatteringly better than anything else’ always annoy me a little. And there is a certain writing style that goes along with this that is like sandpaper on my skin.

Into the Dark

Book Review of Into the Dark (Alexis Carew #1), by J.A. Sutherland

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Into the DarkI picked up a copy of Into the Dark, by J. A. Sutherland, when it was free on Amazon.

Description from Goodreads:
At fifteen, Alexis Carew has to face an age old problem – she’s a girl, and only a boy can inherit the family’s vast holdings. Her options are few. She must marry and watch a stranger run the lands, or become a penniless tenant and see the lands she so dearly loves sold off. Yet there may be another option, one that involves becoming a midshipman on a shorthanded spaceship with no other women.

Review:
I was more impressed than not with this book. But it is very much the story of a girl joins the Navy. That is notably not a story about a girl who joins the navy and has an adventure. Maybe that will come in future books, but this one is largely dedicated to what led to her joining, meeting and charming the crew, learning her way around a ship, coming to terms with command, etc. And all of that was interesting in its own way. It’s obviously well thought out (even if I did think ships with sails in space an odd choice).

But I think this book suffers for being a little too congenial. With the exception of one uncouth individual, who Alexis even managed to charm eventually, you’d think she’d gone space with a ship full of her favorite uncles and cousins. Everyone is unaccountably pleasant and accepting of her. Further, she is pleasant, polite and poised at all times. She accomplishes everything with ease, succeeds at every task set before her, is overly generous, and basically just a little too capable for a new recruit. This is only exasperated by the fact that I couldn’t credit her skill, wit and comportment to a fifteen-year-old. She reads as much older.

Having said all that, I did quite enjoy the read. I’d be more than happy to pick up another of Sutherland’s works.