I was psyched to read this book, and so disappointed by the end. Maybe if I had realized it was a book that didn't have a plot I'd have looked at it differently from the beginning, but the first chapter teases a tense space escape story about a mysterious woman who has changed her identity and fled to the far reaches of space, and then the book is.... just a picaresque series of scenes on various planets, learning about various alien species and cultures. And that's it.
I just... I needed something to happen, or for actions to have some consequences, or for the exposition to stop. It reminded me a lot of reading Rosemary and Rue, where every chapter seemed to introduce a new type of faerie. Every couple of chapters goes deep into some alien civilization, all the way to the end of the book. But unless it's setting up a bigger plot, I find myself skimming and uninterested.
And there was no larger plot or conflict. They land on a planet; they meet people; they leave. Any time there's something that seems like it might be bad or tense, it's immediately resolved. They land on a planet that has periodic swarms of giant bugs; they are all safely inside when it happens. One of their crew is arrested for being a clone; they find a legal loophole to save him. A ship full of land mines docks up with them; they find the mines and diffuse them. And this all happens quickly, just like that.
It's not the book's fault that I also happen to really dislike the archetype of the wacky, adorable female engineer who's so CRAZY and ADORABLE and scatter-brained, but it drives me nuts, and I don't find it charming.
For space adventures that are exciting, feature lots of weird aliens, are creepily atmospheric, and compulsively readable, I HIGHLY recommend the Paradox books by Rachel Bach. Read that, not this.
Grade: C
#10 in 2017
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