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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, actually more than I did the first book. Don’t get me wrong, the first one was pretty great you can check my “review” of it there. This one was more to the meat of things. The first book was great but I felt like the stakes were much higher in this book. When people passed away it was shocking and painful because we’ve developed a longer relationship with them and been through so much with them. I have concerns for different characters for different reasons, as if they were real people. I worry about Tingting for completely different reasons than I worry about Cali, or Kaytu. There’s a dimension and depth to the characters I feel.
There were a lot of good ups and downs in this book that didn’t let it get stale. There were sub plots that kept good pace while the main plot was moving along. As always I couldn’t wait to get to the end and when the climax came I almost felt like it was here too soon. (My wife probably feels the same way more often than not, heyooo)
This is a great read honestly and I’m stoked as I start book 3. Honestly it ended in such a good place in book 2 that I could stop reading here, but I want to see what happens to the crew of course :) although I am worried about who will die off before this whole thing ends. I pray it’s not Tingting or Jag.
There were a lot of good ups and downs in this book that didn’t let it get stale. There were sub plots that kept good pace while the main plot was moving along. As always I couldn’t wait to get to the end and when the climax came I almost felt like it was here too soon. (My wife probably feels the same way more often than not, heyooo)
This is a great read honestly and I’m stoked as I start book 3. Honestly it ended in such a good place in book 2 that I could stop reading here, but I want to see what happens to the crew of course :) although I am worried about who will die off before this whole thing ends. I pray it’s not Tingting or Jag.
Finally! The painful slog through this book is over. I'll try book 3 but I don't have high hopes of being able to finish it.
In the next installment of this military SF series, Maseo Kaytu's success manually pairing with and piloting a CAV serves as the new strategy for the Earth's military against the lamprey remorts. The only problem is that the military have no idea that Kaytu's squad-mate Ting is a technopath and responsible for that pairing, and now Kaytu faces the problem of being the only Cry Pilot while the military try to pair people with CAVs. The problem is that the fate that awaits Ting if she's found out is truly horrible, but mankind may not survive at all unless the lampreys can be fought.
This was much better written than the first one, giving much of the descriptive text I was missing from that volume. There's also satisfactory answers for many of the mysteries of the first book as well as establishing even more depth to this dystopic future where loyalty to ones corporation is meant to trump everything else. It also goes a bit more in-depth into some of the social structures that exist both in and out of the military that are an interesting evolution from today's society. (I thought the use of the term "grim" to describe someone who wasn't the default bisexual and that it was treated as a slur was an interesting touch).
Now I'm really looking forward to the next book and I hope that it can sustain the level of quality that this one lifted to.
This was much better written than the first one, giving much of the descriptive text I was missing from that volume. There's also satisfactory answers for many of the mysteries of the first book as well as establishing even more depth to this dystopic future where loyalty to ones corporation is meant to trump everything else. It also goes a bit more in-depth into some of the social structures that exist both in and out of the military that are an interesting evolution from today's society. (I thought the use of the term "grim" to describe someone who wasn't the default bisexual and that it was treated as a slur was an interesting touch).
Now I'm really looking forward to the next book and I hope that it can sustain the level of quality that this one lifted to.
Dane, Joel. Burn Cycle. Cry Pilot No. 2. Ace, 2020.
Joel Dane is the nom de plume of an Army brat who grew up to be a bicoastal screenwriter and novelist. I also suspect he grew up playing first-person shooter videogames. Burn Cycle is a close sequel to Cry Pilot, and like its predecessor, it is straight-ahead military science fiction. A future earth city has been taken over by a nonhuman intelligence that seems intent on wiping out anyone it contacts. The action here involves small-unit, high-tech ground assault. The grunts don’t always trust their leaders, and they constantly worry that their tech has been hijacked. The character conflict is good enough that it inspired a positive review from C. J. Cherryh. One missed opportunity—we are told there are very advanced Ais, but Dane keeps them at a distance and never lets one become a character in its own right.
Joel Dane is the nom de plume of an Army brat who grew up to be a bicoastal screenwriter and novelist. I also suspect he grew up playing first-person shooter videogames. Burn Cycle is a close sequel to Cry Pilot, and like its predecessor, it is straight-ahead military science fiction. A future earth city has been taken over by a nonhuman intelligence that seems intent on wiping out anyone it contacts. The action here involves small-unit, high-tech ground assault. The grunts don’t always trust their leaders, and they constantly worry that their tech has been hijacked. The character conflict is good enough that it inspired a positive review from C. J. Cherryh. One missed opportunity—we are told there are very advanced Ais, but Dane keeps them at a distance and never lets one become a character in its own right.
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3 3/4 stars. The writing of this book suffers from the same over-use of the word “says” that the first book did. The dialogue scenes tend to grind on repetitively with “he says”...”she says”...”he says” back and forth. Luckily this book has fewer dialogue scenes than the first one.
When not being bombarded by a critical lack of synonyms for “say”, the story itself is entertaining and imaginative. The characters (mostly carryovers from the first) continue to be likeable and engaging. Despite not wanting to ever hear them have a conversation, they do a remarkable job at getting you invested in them.
While the writing leaves something to be desired, the story is worth a read and I’ll continue on with the 3rd book.
When not being bombarded by a critical lack of synonyms for “say”, the story itself is entertaining and imaginative. The characters (mostly carryovers from the first) continue to be likeable and engaging. Despite not wanting to ever hear them have a conversation, they do a remarkable job at getting you invested in them.
While the writing leaves something to be desired, the story is worth a read and I’ll continue on with the 3rd book.
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
I had fun with this! The world in general is still quite interesting. We have ascended (and murdered) AIs, as well as all sorts of interesting bioweapons. We get some faster paced sections of battle/action, as well as some downtime between all of these. This series is pretty heavy on military aspects, but I continue to like this. It was fun to see how the military is attempting to replicate Kaytu's success and just generally seeing more of the CAVs. There's also some scheming and secretive plots happening, and I enjoyed these! The ending was absolutely insane again. I really want to know what happens next!
Our group of characters continues to be a strength of this series. I really like the close bonds between the members of Anvil Squad, especially that of Kaytu and Ting. Kaytu is very protective of Ting which is rather sweet. Kaytu definitely has some tough choices to make here!
I won a copy of this in a giveaway from the publisher - thank you! All opinions are my own.
I had fun with this! The world in general is still quite interesting. We have ascended (and murdered) AIs, as well as all sorts of interesting bioweapons. We get some faster paced sections of battle/action, as well as some downtime between all of these. This series is pretty heavy on military aspects, but I continue to like this. It was fun to see how the military is attempting to replicate Kaytu's success and just generally seeing more of the CAVs. There's also some scheming and secretive plots happening, and I enjoyed these! The ending was absolutely insane again. I really want to know what happens next!
Our group of characters continues to be a strength of this series. I really like the close bonds between the members of Anvil Squad, especially that of Kaytu and Ting. Kaytu is very protective of Ting which is rather sweet. Kaytu definitely has some tough choices to make here!
I won a copy of this in a giveaway from the publisher - thank you! All opinions are my own.
a little more focused on the weird military tech, but some good plot moves. pretty solid military sf, still.