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roseandwheel's review against another edition
3.0
I don’t like how the love interest was killed off to make the plot for the next book.
lkb0154's review against another edition
5.0
I received a free copy of this book for free exchange for an honest review. Full review coming soon.
bory's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars.
This is a very shallowly written book. It gripped me at the beginning with the disability representation, but as the chapters progressed, I felt more and more like I was missing information the author assumed I would have. And woe and behold, as I looked up Aukes's bibliography, Black Sheep is the first in a series, but the series is not the first in this universe. That would have been nice to know, but it was not indicated anywhere in the description.
Maybe most of the world building is done in the previous series, maybe it's not. I neither know nor intend to find out. What we do get in Black Sheep feels insufficient. Even after having finished the book, I have little understanding as to how this world is structured, how its technology operates, and what the hell is this war that all our characters supposedly fought for before boarding the Gabriela.
The characters, too, felt like they were probably developed in the previous series. Certainly they come in with pre-established relationships, especially between Throttle and Birk, but there is no depth of feeling and no sense of connection between any of them. Because of this, when what happens at the end happens, I was left with no particular feeling toward it one way or the other. Meh summarizes it pretty well, actually.
Rusty could be fun, but we leave him behind for half the book. His is the story that has the most mystery, and, therefore, the most potential. Also, I'm always down for some quirky sentient AI moments.
Throttle is the character we spend the most amount of time with, and she is... fine. Nothing special, inoffensive, and has some potential that is hopefully explored in later books.
The story is pretty bog standard. The villains are not particularly engaging.
Overall, I don't know if I will be continuing with the series.
This is a very shallowly written book. It gripped me at the beginning with the disability representation, but as the chapters progressed, I felt more and more like I was missing information the author assumed I would have. And woe and behold, as I looked up Aukes's bibliography, Black Sheep is the first in a series, but the series is not the first in this universe. That would have been nice to know, but it was not indicated anywhere in the description.
Maybe most of the world building is done in the previous series, maybe it's not. I neither know nor intend to find out. What we do get in Black Sheep feels insufficient. Even after having finished the book, I have little understanding as to how this world is structured, how its technology operates, and what the hell is this war that all our characters supposedly fought for before boarding the Gabriela.
The characters, too, felt like they were probably developed in the previous series. Certainly they come in with pre-established relationships, especially between Throttle and Birk, but there is no depth of feeling and no sense of connection between any of them. Because of this, when what happens at the end happens, I was left with no particular feeling toward it one way or the other. Meh summarizes it pretty well, actually.
Rusty could be fun, but we leave him behind for half the book. His is the story that has the most mystery, and, therefore, the most potential. Also, I'm always down for some quirky sentient AI moments.
Throttle is the character we spend the most amount of time with, and she is... fine. Nothing special, inoffensive, and has some potential that is hopefully explored in later books.
The story is pretty bog standard. The villains are not particularly engaging.
Overall, I don't know if I will be continuing with the series.
chrissie_oh's review
4.0
Took me a little bit to get into it, but then was unable to put it down! I love Throttle and the relationship she has with her crew. Her and Birk were my favorite, and I was HEARTBROKEN we he died. I plan on reading the rest of the series, especially after THAT ENDING!
kyleh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
tsipi's review against another edition
3.0
It's like a book adaptation of an action series. There isn't much depth there, it's more about the action. Okay as far as it goes, nothing in it to stay with me.
adunten's review against another edition
3.0
This story reminds me intensely of playing certain space-themed, story-driven RPGs like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic or Mass Effect. Especially when our band of protagonists find themselves on a space station, their ship having been stolen by the local crime lord, and they have to find a way to get it back. It reminded me so much of the early missions of Knights of the Old Republic. Visualizing it like a narrated walkthough of a game, with a series of problem-solving and battle missions, was what helped me enjoy what otherwise was a fairly weak story. The characters have roughly the depth of your average NPC (and considerably less than the NPCs in Mass Effect), and they make up the typical well-rounded set of skills that you'd find in a sci-fi-themed RPG party. The PC is the leader and pilot, then you have a rogue, a hacker, a mechanic, a fighter, a reconnaissance specialist, etc.
It's also fairly clear that Book 1 is essentially an origin story that sets up what is probably intended to be an open-ended series of ongoing adventures of our heroine and her crew in Books 2-?? as a band of badge-carrying space sheriffs. With my trick of thinking of it as a game, I was able to find it moderately enjoyable, but I don't know that I'd rush to vread more.
And also: Agree with others who said YAY to the disabled main character, and NAY to the ableist language used to describe her. Although I do wonder if a paraplegic, who formerly thought of her wheelchair as the freeing mobility device that it is, might really begin to think of it as "confinement" after years of having access to the miraculous kinetic braces that let her walk, run, and climb. And the story provides an interesting insight into what a disabled person's view on a zero-G space environment might be like. That's the thing that might keep me reading. It's clear that Throttle, a lifelong paraplegic with the upper body strength built by a wheeled childhood, has advantages in null-G over people who are used to being able to walk and run, and she is very aware of those advantages and is more than willing to use them. Much of this story took place on a space station with a constant artificial gravity, and I might enjoy seeing more of what she's like in space maneuvers.
It's also fairly clear that Book 1 is essentially an origin story that sets up what is probably intended to be an open-ended series of ongoing adventures of our heroine and her crew in Books 2-?? as a band of badge-carrying space sheriffs. With my trick of thinking of it as a game, I was able to find it moderately enjoyable, but I don't know that I'd rush to vread more.
And also: Agree with others who said YAY to the disabled main character, and NAY to the ableist language used to describe her. Although I do wonder if a paraplegic, who formerly thought of her wheelchair as the freeing mobility device that it is, might really begin to think of it as "confinement" after years of having access to the miraculous kinetic braces that let her walk, run, and climb. And the story provides an interesting insight into what a disabled person's view on a zero-G space environment might be like. That's the thing that might keep me reading. It's clear that Throttle, a lifelong paraplegic with the upper body strength built by a wheeled childhood, has advantages in null-G over people who are used to being able to walk and run, and she is very aware of those advantages and is more than willing to use them. Much of this story took place on a space station with a constant artificial gravity, and I might enjoy seeing more of what she's like in space maneuvers.
julieannec's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0