hlawona99's review
3.0
At some times it was very imaginative but it was a fast paced book. I think it would of been a better with some more editing.
nessa_arandur's review against another edition
1.0
This book reads like it was written by a high-school-aged boy and has some weird inconsistencies with tense. I didn’t connect with the man-child protagonist. Given the tone of the writing, it was surprising that he was supposed to be in his mid-twenties. Some aspects of the plot just didn’t make sense. E.g. The ship can’t tolerate fighting so they dump him on a planet, but they give him a month’s pay for free because they “feel bad” they’re leaving him there. No matter they are now down a person and they didn’t take on anyone new to do whatever his job was on the ship? Also, there seemed to be no recourse within the ship’s chain of command to sort out interpersonal issues or discipline the superior so that they don’t keep losing personnel for fighting in the future? Nope. Suspension of disbelief only works to a limited extent, and with this one it crashed and burned. Too much basic stuff was glossed over or seemed unrealistic, when it could have been used instead to grow the tension. For example, he gets to the first hotel he comes across, says his stay will be open-ended, but doesn’t even ask about the cost of the hotel because he “can’t face the reality”. Maybe for the first night, but seriously, that would be the first thing he'd need to sort out. The cost of living could have been used to push him toward that choice to fight, but no. Instead he gets dropped there with a month's pay. It makes the later robbery less impactful as well. Also, a planet with no rules at all could have been an interesting setting to explore, but we don't see any real everyday life examples of what the actual ramifications of that could be.
The fact that Seb “holds himself back” from fighting until "forced" into it by bullies was really dumb. I guess the author was trying to set him up as an underdog human in a universe that hates humans and an "honourable" guy because he's only ever defending himself when he beats everyone in fights. Sigh. When he finally fights, it's because the champion mockingly laughs at him and thus “signs her own demise”. It's is a repeating theme of “they bring it on themselves”. That is really lame. The author had a great opportunity to make a really complex protagonist but completely shied away from any sort of moral greyness that would have made his protagonist more complex and the conflict more interesting.
It didn’t get better. I got 73% through this and gave up.
*Edit - Okay, so I did finish it and I wish I hadn't. The ending definitely wasn't worth it.
The fact that Seb “holds himself back” from fighting until "forced" into it by bullies was really dumb. I guess the author was trying to set him up as an underdog human in a universe that hates humans and an "honourable" guy because he's only ever defending himself when he beats everyone in fights. Sigh. When he finally fights, it's because the champion mockingly laughs at him and thus “signs her own demise”. It's is a repeating theme of “they bring it on themselves”. That is really lame. The author had a great opportunity to make a really complex protagonist but completely shied away from any sort of moral greyness that would have made his protagonist more complex and the conflict more interesting.
It didn’t get better. I got 73% through this and gave up.
*Edit - Okay, so I did finish it and I wish I hadn't. The ending definitely wasn't worth it.
quiraang's review against another edition
3.0
Corny as hell, but still good fun. After all it's a self confessed Space Opera
pinnacle's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The novel wanders a bit, and doesn't necessarily have a clear goal in sight. It's clear that this is the first of a series of books, because it does feel like the story doesn't wrap up nicely at the end. And honestly, the whole idea of "The Shadow Order" barely features in this book, making me think that the author could have been better off making a few books longer in length, rather than stretching it to 8. Still, it was an entertaining enough read to wile some time away and has some good character development at points. The issue is, sometimes it feels like things are rushed over, and sometimes it feels like the book dwells on something for a bit too long. But still enjoyable enough. (less)
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