Customer Reviews

Wanderlust (Sirantha Jax, Book 2)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've read all the other reviews, so I know that I am definitely on a different page than they are. I enjoyed "Grimspace". I enjoyed it enough to read it throughout one weekend and then go and buy Wanderlust on the Monday after that weekend. I was interested enough to wonder what would happen next.

Unfortunately, it's been a disappointment. The relationship with March is not there in this book. The story is sporadic. It's not fully fleshed out. The characters are good and well written, but the storyline itself is lacking and not well defined, plus I get images from various movies I have seen, so I don't really feel that there is much originality. This book makes me think that the writer has seen more science fiction movies than read science fiction books. For instance, the Morguts? I see a combo of "Aliens" and "Predator". The Teras? Yeah, saw them in "Pitch Black".
I love the strong female character(s). But I think the whole "jumper" theme is vague in this book. It seems to be what she is all about, and yet there is very little on it.
The storyline tries to keep "action" in every scene. Jax is always going from the frying pan to the fire and then back to the frying pan. This isn't really a bad thing but it doesn't let the story evolve.

As a new writer I think Ann Aguirre has potential to be a really good writer...someday and with more practice. Regardless of my weak review, I would still buy her next book because of that. P.S. I would love to read a book based on the "Hit" character.

Wanderlust is the second book in Ann Aguirre's mesmerizing futuristic series by ACE. Warning: this book is NOT the typical romance. This is because it has a grittiness and realism that makes you feel like you are part of the story. The author writes her characters with care and doesn't try to hide their flaws like most romances would. If you are a reader who enjoys Sci Fic novels with romance this book is a perfect fit for you. I deeply enjoyed this book and thought it well worth the wait and the price. This is because both main characters are deeply wounded. They love each other but the stressful conditions combined with their need to protect their vulnerabilities do not make their relationship cut and dried. So if you enjoy romances that are lighter or looking for a quick summer read, this book may be too dark and emotionally charged for your tastes . Especially since most of the romance simmers beneath the surface. But this book has it all: self-sacrifice, action and heartache.

Sirantha is a strong woman with skills that could kill her if she keeps using them. Out of work she agrees to take a diplomatic mission with the man she cares for. But the diplomatic mission is not all that it seems and Sirantha begins to feel that she has been set up to be the `fall guy.' To make matters worse the man that she loves chooses duty over her love. Through this all Sirantha is able to keep her integrity and fight for what she believes in.

This book had a lot of emotional upheaval and I found myself getting quite teary-eyed. (This also happened to me in the author's first book.) I really cared about Sirantha and rooted for her. This book has a lot of angst and drama that kept up well into the morning and feeling emotionally satisfied...but wanting more. The only thing is the author left the ending hanging a bit and now I will have to wait again to find out what's coming next! While I don't want the series to end, the suspense is killing me!

Wanderlust is the second novel featuring Sirantha Jax. She has a rare gene that allows her to navigate in Grimspace - which is essentially wormholes that can move spaceships massive distances in one jump. This story picks up right where Grimspace left off, where she has brought down the primary ruling regime of the universe, the Farwan Corporation. A power vacuum has ensured and the Conglomerate steps in and tries to hold on to power. The Conglomerate appoints Sirantha as ambassador to Ithiss-Tor, a standoffish, xenocentric culture of insectoid like aliens, with a bit of serpent thrown into the mix. But there's a catch, Sirantha has been threatened by the dominant organized criminal operation that would like to see this diplomatic mission fail. So off goes Sirantha with her cast of characters, the mercenary and her lover March, Vel, the Ithiss-Tor bounty hunter who was sent to capture her in Grimspace, Dina the lesbian mechanic, and Jael, a genetically superior human. They escape the capitol planet and to avoid capture set off on a rather circuitous adventure that finds them battling the man-eating Morgut, entering into a vicious war on the planet Lachion, which March most recently called home, and then facing off with the organized crime syndicate out to sabotage Sirantha and her mission.

Overall this book is rollicking good fun, if a little tedious in a few spots. It jumps from one life threatening adventure to another but the novel drags a bit as the group tries to escape through the tunnels of Lachion and the bloody war that is going on there. The story is very much driven by its interesting characters more so than the plot, particularly the protagonist Sirantha Jax. But the characters are very interesting and the aliens unique and compelling. I look forward to seeing more of Sirantha Jax.

Though I really enjoyed Grimspace, I had some difficulties for the first half of Wanderlust engaging with the characters. Too much was happening with not enough real character development for me to establish the same sort of love for them that I had in the first book. It was still a quick and entertaining read, though, simply because the author's voice pulls it all along at a clip too fast to truly disappoint. At midway, I was prepared to give the book 3 stars and be done with the series.

But then the characters got to come to the foreground again. The pell-mell action was still there, but it finally got tempered by the vivid characterization that had leapt from the pages in the first book. There really isn't a flat character in the bunch, so I can't say I have any favorites. I'm fascinated by Jael and Hit, but Vel has a soft spot in my heart. And Jax, Dina, and March are their own special entities. Because of the characters' fire, I finished the book much more satisfied than I thought I would be, especially considering its rather hodgepodge nature plotwise. I'm eager to read more in this universe again, though now I have to wait. Not too long, I hope.

Grimspace was one of my favorite books of 2007. I loved it because it was nonstop excitement and action, with freaking awesome characters and witty, passionate dialogue. I loved how it ended and would have been happy with that. As I loved the characters so much, I was thrilled to find out Ann Aguirre had a contract for three more books in the series.

WANDERLUST picks up shortly after the cataclysmic close to Grimspace. Sirantha Jax is at a bit of a loss. Having been declared legally dead puts a damper on your spirits, not to mention access to your bank accounts. Jax is in need of a job and so, against her better judgement, she accepts an offer to serve as, of all things, a diplomat on a suicide mission to a hostile planet in order to forge an alliance with the Conglomerate. Fortunately, March, Dina, and Vel are along for the trip to watch Jax's back. And she needs it as things go south rather quickly.

My heart was in my throat for the majority of this book. And even though it was painful to watch at times, everything played out as it should. The characters were their old selves and their new selves (in some cases) and, in the end, it was just a ripping good time being in their company. Particularly Vel. Man, I love that bounty hunter. His developing friendship with Jax was one of the highlights of the book. WANDERLUST is a sadder but wiser sister to Grimspace for sure, but I was highly entertained by it and, until Doubleblind comes out in a year, I remain a faithful, slightly concerned (I heart you, March!) fan.

I so wanted this book to rock - after reading initial reviews that talked of Wanderlust being a "tweener" or not as action packed as Grimspace, I was worried. I don't think they were, no disrespect intended, reading the same book. I loved it!

Ann Aguirre has a way with her characters that, I can count on my fingers the number of authors who do this, make them "jump" off the page and into action with almost no down time. This story seriously goes from one "holy crap" situation to another.

I was hoping this book would have more of the hunter who was sent after Jax to kill her in Grimspace - they ended up saving one another - and in Wanderlust it is no different. Vel is my favorite character. I would read a whole book devoted to him and his planet Ithiss-Tor or the "bugs" as they are sometimes called.

I waited for this book hoping it would be as good as I thought it should be, considering who was writing it, and actually it was better then I imagined. So on one hand I am stoked, I wasn't disappointed, and on the other - well, crap, I have to wait for the next book.

I don't do spoilers, but there is a relationship in this book that I hope is repaired or helped or something in the next. At least I hope so.

Happy reading. JaimeK

Wanderlust is Ann Aguirre's follow up to Grimspace.Grimspace Jax is once again off to reek havoc on the Universe. Appointed as the new ambassador to Ithiss-Tor, she discovers not everyone is excited to welcome "bugs," non-humanoid species, into the Conglomerate and they will do everything possible to stop her mission.

I loved Grimspace, but Wanderlust lacked the flare of the first book. There was plenty of action, but the plot seemed to have way too much going on - making it seem like it was more to set up the next book than to tell its own story.

While I didn't love this book like the original, I did have a great time reading it.

Sirantha Jax no longer has a credit to her name. All her personal assets are tied up on the ongoing Farwan financial debacle. When Chancellor Suni Tarn presents Jax with the position of an ambassador, she accepts. The Conglomerate needs an alliance with Ithiss-Tor. It will be up to Ambassador Jax to persuade the Ithtorians to side with them in the coming war. But another faction, the Syndicate, does not want Jax to succeed. After all, war is good for the smuggler's bottom line. Yet Jax still finds herself surprised when her biological mother, Ramona, explains that the Syndicate will kill her if Jax succeeds with her diplomatic mission. Velith Il-Nok, an Ithtorian bounty hunter who has saved her life more than once, accompanies Jax as her cultural liaison.

Jax and her crew end up make a few unscheduled stops. They must deal with an alien in labor, a space station overrun with the Morgut (think arachnid and humanoid with a taste for human flesh), and a world in the middle of a clan war...and that is just a sample. During this time Jax picks up a couple of new crew members. Good thing the newbies have some special talents because the crew will need to save themselves, business as usual.

***** This is the second title of the Sirantha Jax series. Once again the author delivers lots of pulse pounding action and a cast of very interesting characters that never let things get boring. Fast paced, nonstop action, this story is hard to put down for any length of time. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Grimspace, the first book in this series, introduces us to Sirantha Jax, nav-star for the Corp who finds herself in a very dangerous situation. Wanderlust picks up immediately where Grimspace left off, after Jax and her crew have brought down the corrupt Corp and exposed the company's dirty little secret: they crashed Jax's ship to prevent a diplomatic conference from succeeding. Unfortunately, Jax doesn't get a chance to rest and recover. After discovering that her horrible ex-husband had cleaned out her bank accounts, Jax takes the only route she can to get herself back on her feet; she takes up the post of ambassador to Ithiss-Tor, a planet unfriendly to the Conglomerate but that would be a necessary ally. And, as usual, Jax ends up embroiled in a much bigger conspiracy, one that threatens to take her life.

One thing I love about Aguirre's writing is that it's gritty. Jax does not get an easy ride at all; nothing ever falls into her lap, and she constantly has to work for everything she needs. This could come off as incredibly grim, but thanks to Aguirre's masterful writing, Jax grows so much because of this adversity. A couple of times, I moaned, "oh no!" aloud while reading, but Jax and her crew always manage to think their way out of these situations.

The love story between Jax and her pilot, March, steps more toward center stage in this book, and like everything else for poor Jax, it's not an easy ride. They are separated again and again, by bureaucracy, by warfare, by Jax's own fear that she's dying, and by March's violent past. I think they're a great couple in that they balance each other very well, but at the same time, I'm really hoping they'll get some R&R in the next book, because if anyone deserves it, it's these two.

Aguirre introduces more fascinating support characters and expands upon Jax's existing crew in this book. Vel, the shapeshifting bounty hunter introduced in Grimspace, is one of my favorites, and I'm fascinating by Jael, the genetically altered mercenary. One thing I love about these books is that Jax obviously can't do everything by herself. She constantly needs the support of her crew, and despite their supporting-character status, Aguirre develops them in such a way that they are tantalizing. We don't know Vel's or Jael's histories, but we really want to know. I'm just as hooked on them as I am on Jax.

I definitely recommending reading Wanderlust as soon as is humanly possible. This is some seriously fantastic science fiction.

I really, really enjoyed Wanderlust. After reading Grimspace and loving it, I was itching to get my hands on this one and so glad I did.

There were times where I wanted to smack Jax and March but I still totally love them. They made me cry, laugh and overall are fantastic, complex characters. And the new character Jael completely interests me, I wanted more of him. In the end, I'm left with the biggest urge for more - more Jax, more March, more Vel, Jael, Dina, everything and I can't wait for the next book!

There's a specific sentence that really resonated within me - I carry their shadows in my skin. Said by Jax, meaning all the people she's known and cared about. I'm amazed at how eloquent and graceful Ann's writing can be.

I thoroughly enjoyed Wanderlust and again - can't wait for the next book! Aguirre has become one of my favorite authors.