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A review by leftoverwords
Sands of the Solar Empire: The Belmont Saga by Ren Garcia
2.0
I was really enjoyed the beginning of this book. It was a fun opening to what promised to be a romping good space opera with a little magic thrown in. Bel and his newly appointed crew had stuck it to the admiralty and were all set to deliver the brandy and then the author pulls the rug out from under the reader and spends three quarters of the book telling us all about Bel's overbearing mother and upbringing.
When the story finally wound its way back to the present day we are left with a rushed climax and a cliffhanger. The tale that the blurb for this book advertises is never even concluded.There is very little haunted ship in space and we never even see Bazz, let alone deliver any brandy there. No, we leave things four days away from Bazz after some demons infiltrate the ship. Oh, and a twist regarding Lilly that most readers will have figured out a hundred pages earlier.
Sands of the Solar Empire reads like half a book. I liked the writing, characters and the story. I even liked the character portraits and other visual elements placed throughout the novel, although they threw me at first. I did not like having to read a short novel's worth of history in the middle of the adventure I was actually there to read. It didn't work here, but I could have forgiven it had the author got around to finishing what he started. That said, I did enjoy the story and would have picked up the sequel if it had been available. With the back story out of the way I think the author could have a fun story on his hands. I suggest any potential readers way for the next book before starting this one.
When the story finally wound its way back to the present day we are left with a rushed climax and a cliffhanger. The tale that the blurb for this book advertises is never even concluded.
Sands of the Solar Empire reads like half a book. I liked the writing, characters and the story. I even liked the character portraits and other visual elements placed throughout the novel, although they threw me at first. I did not like having to read a short novel's worth of history in the middle of the adventure I was actually there to read. It didn't work here, but I could have forgiven it had the author got around to finishing what he started. That said, I did enjoy the story and would have picked up the sequel if it had been available. With the back story out of the way I think the author could have a fun story on his hands. I suggest any potential readers way for the next book before starting this one.