August 10, 2017
Translucid by Zen DiPietro
Great concept, characters and world building, but where’s the actual story? Translucid fails to deliver what it promises.
This is a cross post from a review site I occasionally post on: Reviewing the Gaps.
TITLE: Translucid: A Galactic Empire Space Opera Series (Dragonfire Station Book 1)
Author: Zen DiPietro
Publication Type: Small Press
Length: 275 pgs
Genre: Science Fiction/ Space Opera/ LGBT Content
Release: 9/13/2016
Cover Evaluation: If this is stock, I certainly can’t tell. It sparked my interest from the get-go.
Author Bio: (From Amazon) Zen DiPietro is a lifelong bookworm, dreamer, 3D maker, and writer. Perhaps most importantly, a Browncoat Trekkie Whovian. Also red-haired, left-handed, and a vegetarian geek.
Blurb: (From Amazon)
“Fallon has a job to do, but she’s forgotten what it is.
Not forgotten, exactly. More like it’s been ripped out of her brain.
She can get through her daily life just fine, but there are things about her that don’t add up against what her service record says. Or what people tell her about herself.
Whatever it is she’s forgotten…it’s bigger than anyone can imagine.
Emé Fallon is a PAC officer and the security chief of Dragonfire Station–and she does a damn good job of it. That’s where her competence ends. Outside of work, she has a wife she doesn’t know, a captain who seems to hate her, and a lot of questions that don’t add up.
When she begins to discover that she has skills she shouldn’t, she starts to understand what she’s capable of.
While she’s fighting for herself, she’ll realize that she and the galaxy have the same problem–and she’ll need to fight for them both.
One person can change a galactic empire, once she knows who she is. Will she end the PAC–or save it?”
Review: Great concept, characters and world building, but where’s the actual story?
I was quickly and completely absorbed into the world of Eme’ Fallon, her situation, and Dragonfire Station in general. It’s an interesting place. A bit of mystery, (okay, a lot) tons of unique alien culture, and a hint of romance… but that’s where the fun stopped. Really, as a reader, I was thoroughly disappointed with how it “ended.” (quotes used here because there wasn’t any real ending at all) The set up was there, I was in…then it… I felt like I hit a brick wall. There was such a great build but one without any climax or resolution. It was like watching a cliff-hanger episode of your favorite television show… however, this wasn’t a one-hour episode, but rather, a full-length novel. I was disappointed to say the least. I expected some sense of ending, some conclusion.
IMO, novels should follow some sort of plot arc, give readers a sense of closure, and not drop the reader off a cliff—no matter how well written the path to that cliff might be.
Simply put, this wasn’t a full story but a lead in… a hook so you’ll pay for the next installment.
I walked away so unfulfilled and frustrated as a reader, I am now pondering whether I’ll read the other books in the trilogy—even though I foolishly purchased them as a set based solely on someone’s recommendation.
Skythane by J. Scott Coatsworth
Three POVs, Shakespearean references, and a rich tapestry of a plot that’ll leave you asking for more.
TITLE: Skythane
AUTHOR: J Scott Coatsworth
PUBLICATION TYPE: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 244 pgs
GENRE: Science Fiction/ LGBT
RELEASE DATE: 2/2017
COVER EVALUATION: Great use of color
AUTHOR BIO: Scott read Lord of the Rings at nine, and soon started writing his own sci-fi/fantasy with queer characters. Skythane is his first novel.
BOOK BLURB: (Taken from Amazon) Jameson Havercamp, a psych from a conservative religious colony, has come to Oberon—unique among the Common Worlds—in search of a rare substance called pith. He’s guided through the wilds on his quest by Xander Kinnson, a handsome, cocky skythane with a troubled past.
Neither knows that Oberon is facing imminent destruction. Even as the world starts to fall apart around them, they have no idea what’s coming—or the bond that will develop between them as they race to avert a cataclysm.
Together, they will journey to uncover the secrets of this strange and singular world, even as it takes them beyond the bounds of reality itself to discover what truly binds them together.
REVIEW: Three POVs, Shakespearian references, and a rich tapestry of a plot that’ll leave you asking for more. Skythane, by J Scott Coatsworth, proved to be a delightful Sci-Fantasy read. The story, albeit a bit short for a novel in the genre, flows naturally, and the main characters, Jameson, Xander, and Quince bring their own backstories into the mix, weaving a rich tale where Jameson and Xander seem as opposite as their worlds of origin. When sparks inevitably fly between them, the tension rises, more so when one of their home worlds is threatened.
Reviewer opinions naturally vary too greatly for any work to ever be considered perfect, but this reviewer did find one potential flaw in Coatsworth’s tale. Quince, in hindsight, seems an almost unnecessary character. She drives the plot, provides story-cohesion, and helps bring Jameson and Xander together, but the story might have been better without her. This is not to say that Quince, a mature woman and, perhaps, the wise sage every epic tale needs, isn’t a terrific character, but this reviewer wonders what Skythane would have been like without her presence.
But then, there’s the epilogue— so maybe Quince is more needed than it seems., which, of course, means there will be a second novel in the series!
Nicely done, J Scott Coatsworth. Can’t wait for the next installment.
July 5, 2017