Sirantha Jax by Ann Aguirre

Grimspace by Ann Aguirre
My rating: ★★★★½

I am sure this is the start of a new and beautiful friendship with Ann Aguirre.

Sirantha Jax is a rare carrier of the J-gene, meaning she can jump through space, a talent which makes her a valuable asset - she can lead the charge in charting space, discovering territories - you know the kind of thing that space ships do. She also suffers from major survivors' guilt over her last jump, which went terribly wrong and killed quite a number of people. She is in prison, waiting for it to all end, when March and his crew appear to break her out. They plan to use her and her ability to help break the monopoly the corrupt Conglomerate holds over space travel.

It was a bit confusing for someone who hasn't read any science fiction in a while, but once I found my feet, everything started rolling and didn't stop until the very end. I could see clearly in my mind's eye Sirantha's interactions with the crew, and her thoughts (obviously, since it was written in first person), and it was fascinating. I think Ms. Aguirre painted the portrait of a badly broken person trying to find her way very excellently, and I felt for and with her throughout the novel.

March - well, does anything need to be said about him? I think I found myself a new dangerous hero to love!

And oh yes, one more thing - the book is written in first person present tense. It is a little thing, but you never realize how used you are to reading 1st person past POV' until you get confronted with something else. I noticed it right away, and it took some adjusting to, but also made the narration a little more unique.

And oh yes - the book also gets extra points for NOT taking the Lord's name in vain. I know many people don't care, blah blah blah, but for once it was so refreshing to not see that! So it gets extra points for awesomeness.

Definitely very highly recommended.

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Silver Shark by Ilona Andrews

Kinsmen #2
Silver Shark by Ilona Andrews
My rating: ★★★★

Silver Shark is a novella and the second in the Kinsmen novella series. If it is not too obvious by now, I love Ilona Andrews' work. It is always well thought out and even if I don't like a story, I can't dispute the quality of their output.

I am really happy to say I enjoyed Silver Shark very much. The reason I gave it four stars instead of five, is that like Silent Blade, the first Kinsmen novella, I did not particularly like the heroine. Even given her extenuating circumstances, I felt she did not act with honor at all times,and that the hero was a better/more honorable person. That's just my one pet peeve. Great novella!

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Silent Blade by Ilona Andrews

Kinsmen #1
Silent Blade by Ilona Andrews
My rating: ★★★★

4 stars.

5 stars for the story. I took one star off for the heroine. Silent Blade is a sci-fi short story by Ilona Andrews, one of my favorite authors. As always with them, the narrative delivery is excellent, and I was intrigued by what I was reading.
I did not like Meli, the heroine. To be sure, her backstory is rather heartbreaking Due to the politics of her time/society, she’s basically left to become a spinster when her betrothed decides to break the engagement , but I did not feel that her decisions were justified. She chose to use her talents as an armed thug for her family, who I felt were bullies, notwithstanding the politics/culture of their society. So she didn’t have any sympathy from me.
The hero made some bad decisions in the past re: spurning Meli without stopping to think about the consequences for her and is not the most endearing person in the present, but I did come out with the feeling that he had more honor than Meli.
I enjoyed the story very much though, and am waiting with bated breath for the sequel, Silver Shark.


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