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A review by tessisreading2
Overload Flux by Carol Van Natta
2.0
This book is approximately okay. It’s science fiction romance with a heavy emphasis on the science fiction - it has a science fiction plot and backstory that wouldn’t be out of place on TV, if that makes sense. No aliens, lots of evil corporations, plenty of action. Part of the problem with all the action, though, is that we’re switching venues - and moreover, switching “modes” - way too frequently. It starts out as a procedural mystery with shadowy corporations and two leads with Hidden Pasts and/or Trauma, and then shifts into a spaceship adventure, with a couple of other shifts in between. The relationship development felt kind of insta-love which isn’t generally my thing.
The reason I’m taking it down a star, though, is because of some secondary characters. There are too many of them, for one thing. Female characters, particularly unsympathetic female characters, are described as “beefy” weirdly frequently. And I’ll preface this last with I’m also an introvert, but there is a sexually active extroverted female character who is presented really, really meanly. She’s a flirty, outgoing space pilot. From her perspective, the FMC is incredibly unfriendly (she literally just blanks questions she doesn’t want to answer, which the author seems to think is a reasonable response? Just total silence for upwards of ten minutes straight after being asked a direct and totally reasonable friendly question?), has demonstrated knowledge which indicates she’s a former space hijacker (i.e. caused the deaths of pilots and spacers), and, oh yeah, is fucking the mission boss on a mysterious mission where (a) our Bad Girl has no clue what is going on, (b) the other pilot got murdered by virus-ware halfway through, (c) another crew-member has died and the Bad Girl and others barely survived, and (d) they had to crash-land on a planet that isn’t supposed to be able to support life.
But any friendliness, questions, or curiosity are treated by the MCs and the narrative as though the Bad Girl is being whiny, demanding, or unreasonable. She’s slutty and needy, “peevish,” “obnoxious,” and when she showers (presumably using whatever supplies are available) she makes the smell “like a cheap perfumery.” Towards the end, after surviving unimaginable odds, the Bad Girl interrupts the main couple macking on each other to say that they’re being approached by hostile forces and someone needs to come man the guns, at which point the MMC tells the FMC “If we live through this, I swear I’m going to pop that woman.” I mean… she could have let you guys continue the makeout session and let the ship get shot and/or boarded? I don’t find it endearing when the FMC and MMC treat every action or interaction from this woman as infringements on their personal space and romance. You’re professionals running for your lives, several of your (her) crew are already dead, you need to stop with the sex and start paying attention to the world around you for a minute or two - and she’s not wrong for demanding that. This take from the MCs - and the author - make it difficult to buy them as super-special super-smart well-trained super-awesome space investigators; they’re acting like whining thirteen-year-olds who have just discovered hormones. When the Bad Girl calls them out on it, another secondary character tells her she’s acting like a five-year-old. She’s basically the equivalent of a poorly-written Other Woman character in a bad shifter romance,turned into a villain at the last minute with no real foreshadowing to make extra sure the reader hates her , and those always feel like sloppy writing.
I had this on my TBR for a while but I’ll just say, I’m glad I was able to get ahold of it for free. I probably would read more of the author’s work if my library has it, but it doesn’t, so I probably won’t.
The reason I’m taking it down a star, though, is because of some secondary characters. There are too many of them, for one thing. Female characters, particularly unsympathetic female characters, are described as “beefy” weirdly frequently. And I’ll preface this last with I’m also an introvert, but there is a sexually active extroverted female character who is presented really, really meanly. She’s a flirty, outgoing space pilot. From her perspective, the FMC is incredibly unfriendly (she literally just blanks questions she doesn’t want to answer, which the author seems to think is a reasonable response? Just total silence for upwards of ten minutes straight after being asked a direct and totally reasonable friendly question?), has demonstrated knowledge which indicates she’s a former space hijacker (i.e. caused the deaths of pilots and spacers), and, oh yeah, is fucking the mission boss on a mysterious mission where (a) our Bad Girl has no clue what is going on, (b) the other pilot got murdered by virus-ware halfway through, (c) another crew-member has died and the Bad Girl and others barely survived, and (d) they had to crash-land on a planet that isn’t supposed to be able to support life.
But any friendliness, questions, or curiosity are treated by the MCs and the narrative as though the Bad Girl is being whiny, demanding, or unreasonable. She’s slutty and needy, “peevish,” “obnoxious,” and when she showers (presumably using whatever supplies are available) she makes the smell “like a cheap perfumery.” Towards the end, after surviving unimaginable odds, the Bad Girl interrupts the main couple macking on each other to say that they’re being approached by hostile forces and someone needs to come man the guns, at which point the MMC tells the FMC “If we live through this, I swear I’m going to pop that woman.” I mean… she could have let you guys continue the makeout session and let the ship get shot and/or boarded? I don’t find it endearing when the FMC and MMC treat every action or interaction from this woman as infringements on their personal space and romance. You’re professionals running for your lives, several of your (her) crew are already dead, you need to stop with the sex and start paying attention to the world around you for a minute or two - and she’s not wrong for demanding that. This take from the MCs - and the author - make it difficult to buy them as super-special super-smart well-trained super-awesome space investigators; they’re acting like whining thirteen-year-olds who have just discovered hormones. When the Bad Girl calls them out on it, another secondary character tells her she’s acting like a five-year-old. She’s basically the equivalent of a poorly-written Other Woman character in a bad shifter romance,
I had this on my TBR for a while but I’ll just say, I’m glad I was able to get ahold of it for free. I probably would read more of the author’s work if my library has it, but it doesn’t, so I probably won’t.