Laurence Oct 13, 2015

liked it 's review

This was a great read. Not a Sci fi book of grand ideas or of the weird mind bending type I might normally enthuse about, this is a classic rag tag space ship crew taking on a big job story. Where it really shines is the character driven nature of the real story, with the job in question mostly being a background that keeps things moving at a decent pace. It's easy to be taken along with the crew and their hopes, fears and adventures. The alien races are well thought out, interesting and relevant other than variety for its own sake. We're introduced to the crew through a typical device of the new crew member with secrets, Rosemary. But her plot line is just one of a few that are given adequate development and resolution where it's needed. This book invites obvious comparisons to other pop cultural space ship crews and the writing is somewhat Whedon-esque in places with a good balance between plot, serious issues and levity in evidence. Although I feel that Chambers' characters are generally more interesting and benefit from better development. That being said this is one of those books that one can't help but to envisage as a TV series as it is read, with the disparate but related character threads and overarching plot elements. Very enjoyable.