5.0 out of 5 stars
A perfect space opera, January 22, 2012
This review is from: Semper Audacia (Kindle Edition)
For a science-fiction novella, this story is well-deserved of five stars. M.Pax convincingly creates a strange world and infuses it with mechanics that seem so real to the person living in it that it can be no less real for us. Of particular interest to me was the second skin or armor that Leda wore. It not only had intelligence but was responsible for her extreme longevity. The only thing that I don't like about the story are the things that are NOT addressed. For example, there is a huge history here that begs to be told. I hope that the author explores it in future tales. If you like your science-fiction as hard as a computer case, you will like this novel. Told in third-person, I thought that it could easily stand a place next to the works of Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Heinlein (though there is no snark in her writing as there is in Heinlein). The vocabulary and sentence structure though is definitely similar in flavor as is the sobering plot.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fast Paced Excellent Novella, December 13, 2011
This review is from: Semper Audacia (Kindle Edition)
A space-opera you can read in a weekend. Generally I'm a full-blown novel fan and the shorter stuff isn't really for me, but M. Pax, with her approximately 13,000 words, changed my mind.
I downloaded it when I wasn't feeling well and by the next day, felt good enough to decide I needed to be reading something. This was it.
Though her main character spends a lot of time in isolation M. Pax does a great job of invoking all five senses in the reader, of drawing you into the world of this lone solider who's main company is ghost-brigades and memories. Her heroine is wonderfully human and it's easy to identify with her fears, sense of determination and struggle to do what's required of her.
Excellent read and certainly just this side of free at .99 on Kindle and other outlets.
Checkout her excellent book trailer at [...]
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
4.0 out of 5 stars
Incredible Story, November 6, 2011
This review is from: Semper Audacia (Kindle Edition)
Well, my personal conviction that I don't review indie books seems to be going out the window. I'll at least try to keep this short.
So, in the interest of brevity - When the last warrior on the losing side of an interstellar war is confronted with the possibility of surrender, she is forced to decide it peace is worth the cost.
I so loved this novelette. This just screams "professional" at every turn. The ebook design, the formatting, the layout, the editing are all as good, or better than most professionally published ebooks.I had to go back and check the copyright page to make sure that this was indeed, self published. The product was amazing.
And prose itself was tight. the picture the author painted was of bleak, cold, and lonely universe that the main character, Leda, had to live in. I was sucked in from the beginning and my interest never wavered. I would have read this in a single setting were I not forced to put it down. I thought about the story when I wasn't reading and was anxious to find out the conclusion. I can't think of a higher compliment to give for a storyteller. I love that feeling, and I don't always get it from what I read.
The reason I gave this four stars instead of five might seem silly, but I was a bit let down about something that was revealed late in the book. Mostly because the author hints that she has a very good understanding of the genre, it's tropes, and much of the scientific underpinnings that inform of the story.
When all is finally revealed, at the story's climax, after witnessing the horrors that Leda did, I did not want the motivations for the bad guys to be what they were. Because from a science fictional point of view (not a storytelling one), I'm not sure it made perfect sense. I won't say more because I don't want to give away the ending, which is emotionally satisfying - but it broke my suspension of disbelief.
Still, that's one small complaint in an otherwise magnificent story. I will be reading all of M Pax's works in the future. She is real talent.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
