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cdeane61's review against another edition
3.0
A fun read overall with some very good world building and a slew of different inhabitants. The story is along the lines of a space opera - could see this being a series and there is a ton of backstory revealed in the visions that abound in the book.
My real beef is that it is overlong and too intimately detailed - especially some of the action scenes. I found myself in the will-this-ever-end frame of mind for the last part of the book.
My real beef is that it is overlong and too intimately detailed - especially some of the action scenes. I found myself in the will-this-ever-end frame of mind for the last part of the book.
adularia25's review against another edition
2.0
Where to start. Yes, this is the author's first book, and yes, it shows. The ideas are great... the characters... oh, the characters...
Let's start with what I like. I like the idea of space salvager characters - they are one step off from space archaeologists, which are close to archaeologists, which I was at one point. So I have a soft spot for that character type. Shiny jewels to be recovered/stolen? Awesome! Various alien races - again, something of interest. A dying solar system - a nice concept, and gives things a bit of urgency, though at a slower rate than you'd think. The descriptions of the various locations are good too... but can't save this.
Now for the bits I don't like: Kivita. Kivita is, as another reviewer delightfully put it, too stupid to live. Which I can only assume is an attempt to make her less of a Mary Sue because, other than her poor choices, she is the worst sort of Mary Sue. Around page 300 I got so tired of the main character and her amazingness that I took this quiz: http://www.springhole.net/writing/marysue.htm, she racked up 86 points. Well over the 50 needed for the "Your character is almost certainly a Mary Sue, and a bad one at that." classification.
What makes her so awful to read? Everyone wants her. And I don't just mean But wait, there's more!
But it isn't just Kivita that bothered me. The villains were laughable cliches. All they missed were the twirling of mustachios as they cackled over their evil plans.
It's almost to the level of watching cheesy campy Sci-Fi shows like the original Battlestar Galactica, but it is missing that lovable campy quality.
Let's start with what I like. I like the idea of space salvager characters - they are one step off from space archaeologists, which are close to archaeologists, which I was at one point. So I have a soft spot for that character type. Shiny jewels to be recovered/stolen? Awesome! Various alien races - again, something of interest. A dying solar system - a nice concept, and gives things a bit of urgency, though at a slower rate than you'd think. The descriptions of the various locations are good too... but can't save this.
Now for the bits I don't like: Kivita. Kivita is, as another reviewer delightfully put it, too stupid to live. Which I can only assume is an attempt to make her less of a Mary Sue because, other than her poor choices, she is the worst sort of Mary Sue. Around page 300 I got so tired of the main character and her amazingness that I took this quiz: http://www.springhole.net/writing/marysue.htm, she racked up 86 points. Well over the 50 needed for the "Your character is almost certainly a Mary Sue, and a bad one at that." classification.
What makes her so awful to read? Everyone wants her. And I don't just mean
Spoiler
because she is a latent psychic who has no idea of her powers. No, they physically want her because she is sooo sexy. I mean, she is so sexy that another alien race, which HAS NO HAIR and therefore would have no reason to think hair is sexy at all, finds her red hair attractive. And don't get me started on the villains wanting to breed with her.Spoiler
Not only is she sexy (how many descriptions of her bodysuit do we really need?), she is the most powerful psychic in 1000 years, and she discovers she is the daughter of a queen! She is a space princess! WTF. Seriously? It wasn't enough to be the prettiest, or the most powerful, she also had to be royal?But it isn't just Kivita that bothered me. The villains were laughable cliches. All they missed were the twirling of mustachios as they cackled over their evil plans.
It's almost to the level of watching cheesy campy Sci-Fi shows like the original Battlestar Galactica, but it is missing that lovable campy quality.
elisenic's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
david_agranoff's review against another edition
4.0
There is something about debut novels, the author is putting everything they got into it, often they have worked on it for longer and harder than most that will come later. No deadlines, just years of tweaking and perfecting. The raw talent before it is fully honed.
Tony Peak is a first time author who think will get better and better with each novel. That is not to say I didn't enjoy this one. There were some growing pains here. Nothing that kept me from enjoying this old school style space opera that used never skimped on world building despite spending most of it's page count off-worlds.
The story of Kivita Vondir, a orphan space salvager who inherits her father's ship and travels the stars alone when she is dragged into a intergalactic conflict. In her latest job she is hired by a religious order to find a gemstone that contains data stored that can only be reached by psychics called Savants. Things get more interesting when her ex- a man named Sar is hired to beat her to the gemstone. Once they get the stone Kiv is pulled into a wider universe she didn't know she was a part of. At this point it becomes clear that Peak has built a traditional Joseph Cambell style hero's journey.
This far future (I think it's our future?)space opera uses a well thought-out religious mythology that seemed influenced by both Phil K. Dick and Dune at the same time. I know that is a crazy combo but that is the crazy thing about the beliefs and skills of the Savants in the story.
The only thing that didn't work for me. Peak did a great job building this mythology that reflected the Cambellian post Star Wars space fantasy, and put his mythology through great fully realized space battles. At the same time he spent a great deal of time mixing those elements with the hard science of space travel. I felt like the book would have been better off to fully deal with the fantasy elements and less on the technical aspects that seemed to try and ground the story at times.That said Peak used the time dilation and the long space journeys for good emotional impact.
I have to admit here that while I have never met Peak in the real world, I enjoy following him on Facebook. I probably would not have picked up this book otherwise. I do want to see where this series goes but I think it has as much to do with wanting to see what Tony Peak does next or how he grows in the future. I think Peak is a more exciting author than this is an exciting book. I hope to see more creations inside and outside of this universe he has created.
Bottomline, it is a well done hero's journey space opera. If you are looking for more of this type of novel it is great place to start.
Tony Peak is a first time author who think will get better and better with each novel. That is not to say I didn't enjoy this one. There were some growing pains here. Nothing that kept me from enjoying this old school style space opera that used never skimped on world building despite spending most of it's page count off-worlds.
The story of Kivita Vondir, a orphan space salvager who inherits her father's ship and travels the stars alone when she is dragged into a intergalactic conflict. In her latest job she is hired by a religious order to find a gemstone that contains data stored that can only be reached by psychics called Savants. Things get more interesting when her ex- a man named Sar is hired to beat her to the gemstone. Once they get the stone Kiv is pulled into a wider universe she didn't know she was a part of. At this point it becomes clear that Peak has built a traditional Joseph Cambell style hero's journey.
This far future (I think it's our future?)space opera uses a well thought-out religious mythology that seemed influenced by both Phil K. Dick and Dune at the same time. I know that is a crazy combo but that is the crazy thing about the beliefs and skills of the Savants in the story.
The only thing that didn't work for me. Peak did a great job building this mythology that reflected the Cambellian post Star Wars space fantasy, and put his mythology through great fully realized space battles. At the same time he spent a great deal of time mixing those elements with the hard science of space travel. I felt like the book would have been better off to fully deal with the fantasy elements and less on the technical aspects that seemed to try and ground the story at times.That said Peak used the time dilation and the long space journeys for good emotional impact.
I have to admit here that while I have never met Peak in the real world, I enjoy following him on Facebook. I probably would not have picked up this book otherwise. I do want to see where this series goes but I think it has as much to do with wanting to see what Tony Peak does next or how he grows in the future. I think Peak is a more exciting author than this is an exciting book. I hope to see more creations inside and outside of this universe he has created.
Bottomline, it is a well done hero's journey space opera. If you are looking for more of this type of novel it is great place to start.
furicle's review against another edition
3.0
A mixed bag all the way around.
Interesting backdrop, with weird holes in it.
Interesting characters,that sometimes turn into tired stereotypes.
A plot that wanders around all over the place - Pirates, alien menace, thriller, love story, you name it, it's in there.
Readable, but not outstanding.
I gather this is a first novel, so perhaps "shows promise" is the best label.
Interesting backdrop, with weird holes in it.
Interesting characters,that sometimes turn into tired stereotypes.
A plot that wanders around all over the place - Pirates, alien menace, thriller, love story, you name it, it's in there.
Readable, but not outstanding.
I gather this is a first novel, so perhaps "shows promise" is the best label.
buuboobaby's review against another edition
Got to 25% and called it quits. It's just not holding my attention right now. I'll try it again later, but since someone's waiting for it, I'm sending it back to the library.
bookfessional's review against another edition
WELP, that was a short-lived endeavor. Maybe I'll try it again at a later date, but first impressions are hard to negate, and man alive, this was a DOOZY.
Yes. A doozy. That's what I said.
I was willing to overlook the heroine's one-track mind--preoccupation with *ahem* companionship is a common theme in sci-fi involving space travel. Kind of like getting out of jail. But when she walked into a bar and EVERYONE, I'm talking upwards of a dozen+ bar patrons, unabashedly want to jump her . . .
Yes. A doozy. That's what I said.
I was willing to overlook the heroine's one-track mind--preoccupation with *ahem* companionship is a common theme in sci-fi involving space travel. Kind of like getting out of jail. But when she walked into a bar and EVERYONE, I'm talking upwards of a dozen+ bar patrons, unabashedly want to jump her . . .
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