gigingina's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
dorinlazar's review
3.0
The third chapter in the feminist action series that is the "Girls from Alcyone" set of books. It's definitely more promising than the others, but in strange ways it fails to deliver completely.
The story remains good and readable, with the exception of some confusing fight/battle scenes. I am unsure I really understood what the author really meant. There are some sequences that are fuzzy, but other than that I think the story is quite good.
About the "feminist" side of things, all I can say is that it didn't bother me one beet - there are some obvious things like all the positive characters are women and the few that are evil are not to be blamed. The bias is there, but it doesn't bother me one bit.
It's definitely worth reading, as a series. With small exception the writing is quite well suited, and the pacing is equally good. I wonder why the series is not a movie yet. It feels very cinematic at times, and the author obviously got some inspiration from action movies.
The story remains good and readable, with the exception of some confusing fight/battle scenes. I am unsure I really understood what the author really meant. There are some sequences that are fuzzy, but other than that I think the story is quite good.
About the "feminist" side of things, all I can say is that it didn't bother me one beet - there are some obvious things like all the positive characters are women and the few that are evil are not to be blamed. The bias is there, but it doesn't bother me one bit.
It's definitely worth reading, as a series. With small exception the writing is quite well suited, and the pacing is equally good. I wonder why the series is not a movie yet. It feels very cinematic at times, and the author obviously got some inspiration from action movies.
ladykanu's review
5.0
About time
I love the girls of alcyone. Is a roller coaster of politics, war, and just that dash of lesbian love that is epic. Epic fighting, epic I tell you!!
I love the girls of alcyone. Is a roller coaster of politics, war, and just that dash of lesbian love that is epic. Epic fighting, epic I tell you!!
libra17's review
5.0
I pretty much devoured The Girls from Alcyone series; the cliffhanger at the end of The Machines of Bellatrix was only tolerable because I started reading when the first three books were already out. As a third installment, I very much liked Codename: Night Witch. It was an entertaining read, if not a particularly complex one. The whole of The Girls from Alcyone series is pretty much a victory ride in the same way that Marvel's Avengers movies are: even if there are some low points, the reader always knows that the protagonists winning is a foregone conclusion. It is not always a story model that I am appreciative of - and had I been in a different mood I might be leaving a very different review - but in this case I did like it. I think one of my favorite things about Codename: Night Witch was actually the character of Suko and her devotion to Sigrid. Their relationship is not the focus of The Girls from Alcyone series, but I think it is a piece of the background that helps to make the world that the books are set in. I also appreciated that Codename: Night Witch does not end off on an extreme cliffhanger like The Machines of Bellatrix did. The story is clearly not complete (only those who didn't read the last few chapters could have possibly missed all the statements about the 'real war only just starting'), but all the immediate issues raised in the plot of Codename: Night Witch have been dealt with. All in all, I like this book, I like this series, and I look forward to reading the next installment when it comes out. (Although, based on the commentary and questions on this page, I really hope it doesn't take two years.)
frankvanmeer's review
4.0
I wasn't really happy with The Machines of Bellatrix and that cliffhanger pissed me off so badly, I had doubts I would read Codename: Night Witch (which I was sure was called White Princess when it was announced).
At the same time, I bought it the second I saw it was released. And really hesitant to start with.
Codename: Night Witch continues in much the same vein as its predecessor. It's a never-ending string of ultra-violence (I think that by page 3, the death toll was already above 1500), with Sigrid struggling to find out what happened in the six years she has no memory of. This quest leads her to a small trading post and she meets a rather eclectic group of people, who all know who she is and what she has done. But she can't remember any of it. She wants her memories back and kills whoever gets in the way.
While it is a good military sci-fi romp, it suffers from the same symptoms that Bellatrix had. The almost continuous strings of battles leave no room for any character development. And the thing is, you know, because it is a given, that Sigrid will be victorious. There is no real tension, so after the third battle, it's just another thing to get through, and it just becomes another oppurtunity for the author the show us the many ways people die. (I swear, in these three books, more ammunition and military hardware is spent than in all the major conflicts in the 20th century combined).
And there's Sigrid herself. In this book, she's now 24 or 25 years old. But she still talks like she is the 9 year old timid girl we were introduced to. For a seasoned killing machine, it is rather odd that when she curses it goes no further than Goodness! or Blast it!
This book also tells us the author rather enjoyed the Mad Max movies, played a game of Fallout (or two) and there is a rather funny Star Wars reference.
While it is a sci-fi and more that 300 years in the future, I sometimes had to shake my head when simple physics like inertia, momentum and friction were basically ignored when the story calls for it. For instance, there are these massive trucks, much the same as the Australian Road Trains, that must weigh over 600 tonnes that go over 200 kph (or more precise, 215.7. For some reason every speed, distance or mass uses fractions) able to make emergency stops which only take 40 or 50 meters. Those must be some pretty awesome brakes. Never mind the G-forces that come with that. Then there are the most ridiculous weapon assemblies. Eight Gatling cannons in the same turret. That must be a bitch to engineer the ammunition feed. And that brings me to something I also pointed out in Bellatrix: they never run out of ammo. I cannot help but wonder where the hell they put all those rounds.(eight gatling guns, conservitavely estimated capable of spitting out 3000 rounds a minute. You do the math).
Despite these small points of critique, the Girls from Alcyone series is by far (the only?) the best lesbian military sci-fi out there, even when the romance is pretty much non-existant. But when Sigrid and Suko are re-united, it gets pretty steamy :)
I only hope the next instalment won't take another two years. I'm giving it 4.5 stars.
At the same time, I bought it the second I saw it was released. And really hesitant to start with.
Codename: Night Witch continues in much the same vein as its predecessor. It's a never-ending string of ultra-violence (I think that by page 3, the death toll was already above 1500), with Sigrid struggling to find out what happened in the six years she has no memory of. This quest leads her to a small trading post and she meets a rather eclectic group of people, who all know who she is and what she has done. But she can't remember any of it. She wants her memories back and kills whoever gets in the way.
While it is a good military sci-fi romp, it suffers from the same symptoms that Bellatrix had. The almost continuous strings of battles leave no room for any character development. And the thing is, you know, because it is a given, that Sigrid will be victorious. There is no real tension, so after the third battle, it's just another thing to get through, and it just becomes another oppurtunity for the author the show us the many ways people die. (I swear, in these three books, more ammunition and military hardware is spent than in all the major conflicts in the 20th century combined).
And there's Sigrid herself. In this book, she's now 24 or 25 years old. But she still talks like she is the 9 year old timid girl we were introduced to. For a seasoned killing machine, it is rather odd that when she curses it goes no further than Goodness! or Blast it!
This book also tells us the author rather enjoyed the Mad Max movies, played a game of Fallout (or two) and there is a rather funny Star Wars reference
Spoiler
but this time, the droid needs to be convinced these aren't the people it's looking forWhile it is a sci-fi and more that 300 years in the future, I sometimes had to shake my head when simple physics like inertia, momentum and friction were basically ignored when the story calls for it. For instance, there are these massive trucks, much the same as the Australian Road Trains, that must weigh over 600 tonnes that go over 200 kph (or more precise, 215.7. For some reason every speed, distance or mass uses fractions) able to make emergency stops which only take 40 or 50 meters. Those must be some pretty awesome brakes. Never mind the G-forces that come with that. Then there are the most ridiculous weapon assemblies. Eight Gatling cannons in the same turret. That must be a bitch to engineer the ammunition feed. And that brings me to something I also pointed out in Bellatrix: they never run out of ammo. I cannot help but wonder where the hell they put all those rounds.(eight gatling guns, conservitavely estimated capable of spitting out 3000 rounds a minute. You do the math).
Despite these small points of critique, the Girls from Alcyone series is by far (the only?) the best lesbian military sci-fi out there, even when the romance is pretty much non-existant. But when Sigrid and Suko are re-united, it gets pretty steamy :)
I only hope the next instalment won't take another two years. I'm giving it 4.5 stars.
inlibrisveritas's review
5.0
You know those series that you just can’t wait to read the next book because it starts to feel like a home away from home? The Girls from Alcyone is becoming one those to me, especially now that I actually have to wait for the next book.
Codename: Night Witch picks up a staggering 6 years after the end of The Machines of Bellatrix, with Sigrid waking up in an unfamiliar place with a HUGE gap in her memory. She then sets out to recover those memories and return to Suko and her sisters on New Alcyone, and along the way discovers just how much the galaxy has changed. The beginning is on the slower side as Sigrid works through where she is and a game plan to get home, but it doesn’t linger there for too long. There is plenty of action, intensity, and mystery to keep you moving along and invested in Sigrid’s story. One of my favorite things in this series are the relationships Sigrid forms, from her love for Suko to her quick friendship with Jaffer. These side characters and relationships really make Sigrid and this story what they are, because it’s not just about a girl kicking down doors and taking names but something more personal and connected.
I was somewhat shocked at the time gap between book two and three and was curious to see how it would play out. Those six years are shrouded in mystery and uncertainty, and so much has changed in that time period so there is a lot of relearning in this one. However, I don’t think it brought it down at all. I was able to pick this one up quite easily and slip back into the story without any issues.
Kristen James is back as the narrator and I couldn’t be happier with her performance. I swear she gets a little better with each audio I listen, providing even more unique voices all while truly connecting to the story itself. At some point, she stops reading the story to you and instead starts to build it around you.
I’m in love with this series and I’m so thankful that KJ allowed me to listen to them, it’s definitely a favorite of mine and I’m so ready for book four to come out!
I received this in exchange for an honest review.
Codename: Night Witch picks up a staggering 6 years after the end of The Machines of Bellatrix, with Sigrid waking up in an unfamiliar place with a HUGE gap in her memory. She then sets out to recover those memories and return to Suko and her sisters on New Alcyone, and along the way discovers just how much the galaxy has changed. The beginning is on the slower side as Sigrid works through where she is and a game plan to get home, but it doesn’t linger there for too long. There is plenty of action, intensity, and mystery to keep you moving along and invested in Sigrid’s story. One of my favorite things in this series are the relationships Sigrid forms, from her love for Suko to her quick friendship with Jaffer. These side characters and relationships really make Sigrid and this story what they are, because it’s not just about a girl kicking down doors and taking names but something more personal and connected.
I was somewhat shocked at the time gap between book two and three and was curious to see how it would play out. Those six years are shrouded in mystery and uncertainty, and so much has changed in that time period so there is a lot of relearning in this one. However, I don’t think it brought it down at all. I was able to pick this one up quite easily and slip back into the story without any issues.
Kristen James is back as the narrator and I couldn’t be happier with her performance. I swear she gets a little better with each audio I listen, providing even more unique voices all while truly connecting to the story itself. At some point, she stops reading the story to you and instead starts to build it around you.
I’m in love with this series and I’m so thankful that KJ allowed me to listen to them, it’s definitely a favorite of mine and I’m so ready for book four to come out!
I received this in exchange for an honest review.
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