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grid's review
4.0
The second book in the series, I probably enjoyed this one a little more than the first. It’ll be interesting to see where the author takes it from here.
readingtasha's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
pelargonia's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
thymrman's review
3.0
I'm disappointed in this book compared to the first one. While I was interested enough to read it in a single day. The same issues remain and it doesn't really improve very much. In fact I feel like was let me down in more ways now.
The terrible romance gets more time, and it still isn't interesting. I just don't care about this romance, I feel the characters haven't shown enough love or attraction, and it all comes off feeling really superficial. Just not enough time is given to it at all to really work well. Relationships in general also disappointed, including a strange relationship between two squids that happens in the last couple pages without warning or buildup.
Writing and editing is in the same place as the first book, the major difference is the amount of science she has packed into the book. It starts to make it feel dull and uninteresting at times when I just start skimming a paragraph because what is being discussed isn't interesting. Enough came up she had to include definitions at the end so you could remember all the various names and meanings for what she created.
Now my biggest issue is the pacing of the story, and the way it comes off. The book starts oddly with a rather large time skip, just glossing over the way the previous book ended. And wrapping that up in a kinda overview of events, but it isn't satisfying and felt like she didn't know how to wrap it up. And as the book goes on, I get a feeling this book exists just to set up the rest of the universe and not stand alone. An antagonist is created and confronted and fought off within like 50 pages. It didn't feel satisfying and just like she needed to get him in the story so everyone knew who the mini-boss antagonist was going to be.
Overall this was a much more disappointing book for me, and ended in a way I didn't find satisfying. The first book could have stood by itself, the enemy is defeated and the crew has a ship. The second book can't, they are in a precarious situation with at least 2 antagonists you know who exist and will have to be fought. Honestly don't think I'm going to read the next book in the series, especially after reading the synopsis and learning it suddenly jumps to a whole new set of characters to set up another story. It disappoints me when that happens while the original story is still incomplete.
The terrible romance gets more time, and it still isn't interesting. I just don't care about this romance, I feel the characters haven't shown enough love or attraction, and it all comes off feeling really superficial. Just not enough time is given to it at all to really work well. Relationships in general also disappointed, including a strange relationship between two squids that happens in the last couple pages without warning or buildup.
Writing and editing is in the same place as the first book, the major difference is the amount of science she has packed into the book. It starts to make it feel dull and uninteresting at times when I just start skimming a paragraph because what is being discussed isn't interesting. Enough came up she had to include definitions at the end so you could remember all the various names and meanings for what she created.
Now my biggest issue is the pacing of the story, and the way it comes off. The book starts oddly with a rather large time skip, just glossing over the way the previous book ended. And wrapping that up in a kinda overview of events, but it isn't satisfying and felt like she didn't know how to wrap it up. And as the book goes on, I get a feeling this book exists just to set up the rest of the universe and not stand alone. An antagonist is created and confronted and fought off within like 50 pages. It didn't feel satisfying and just like she needed to get him in the story so everyone knew who the mini-boss antagonist was going to be.
Overall this was a much more disappointing book for me, and ended in a way I didn't find satisfying. The first book could have stood by itself, the enemy is defeated and the crew has a ship. The second book can't, they are in a precarious situation with at least 2 antagonists you know who exist and will have to be fought. Honestly don't think I'm going to read the next book in the series, especially after reading the synopsis and learning it suddenly jumps to a whole new set of characters to set up another story. It disappoints me when that happens while the original story is still incomplete.
100booksyearly's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
4.0
The second book in the "Confluence" series. The story follows the main character, Dr. Jane Holloway, and her crew as they explore a mysterious alien spaceship. Along the way, they encounter new dangers and make new alliances. As they delve deeper into the secrets of the alien spaceship Jane and her crew must also confront their own personal demons and fears.
The book is satisfying and sets the stage for a much larger storyline to come. Can't wait to see where this story goes.
“The tables had turned. She was the alien visitor in someone else’s system now. She hoped the Sectilius hadn’t developed xenophobic tendencies since the squillae catastrophe.”
Themes: Trust, Survival, Power and Control, Exploration
bdorf's review against another edition
The writing of this book was too poor for me to be able to make it through the whole book (only got to chapter 8). The first book also had some pretty amateurish writing, but it was the authors first book so I gave it a pass. Also I don't remember it being quite as bad as this, not sure if it somehow actually got worse or if I just have less patience now.
krakentamer's review against another edition
5.0
Fun sci-fi book. Won't make any sense unless you've read the first one. Took a turn toward Serious Issues () about halfway through. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised by how much I enjoyed the story and characters (well, most of them - there are a couple of folks that I wouldn't have cried too much if they'd met dusk).
Audiobook narration - the same narrator as the previous book (Susanna Burney) returned and did a very good job, but for some reason they brought in a second, male, narrator. I thought that maybe it was to break up the chapters according to whether it was Jane or Alan's chapter, but the book isn't told in first person, and the chapters jump between characters' viewpoints. Having a second narrator for no obvious reason served only as a distraction.
Spoiler
SlaveryAudiobook narration - the same narrator as the previous book (Susanna Burney) returned and did a very good job, but for some reason they brought in a second, male, narrator. I thought that maybe it was to break up the chapters according to whether it was Jane or Alan's chapter, but the book isn't told in first person, and the chapters jump between characters' viewpoints. Having a second narrator for no obvious reason served only as a distraction.
ameliapancake's review against another edition
4.0
Another enjoyable read, and I look forward to reading the next book.
amynbell's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of those odd times when the 2nd book in the series is even better than the first book in the series. I'm in proverbial love with this author and am glad the 3rd book of the series is coming out any time now.
Our heroes have landed on the homeworld of the original owners of the ship they found near Mars. Life there is not as they expected to find it. Communities have been isolated, and most technology has been lost. They have to avoid deadly beasts, overcome cultural difficulties, and restore broken technology in order to make their way back to their ship. They're determined to find the source of the chaos they encountered, and are surprised by what they find. I'm not doing this book justice with my description, but it's mainly because, if I write more, it would be all spoilers.
This is the type of sci-fi book I crave most. Even after working in international relations for almost 20 years, I'm still intrigued by cultural differences and intercultural interactions. Perhaps this is why I'm extremely drawn to series like Star Trek and Stargate where they explore new worlds, meet new people, and try to understand each other. I was thrilled to find that the author also has a Stargate Atlantis fanfic novel available for free, [b:Futura Memoratia|18404878|Futura Memoratia|Jennifer Foehner Wells|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1378230316s/18404878.jpg|26039076]. I love her writing style, and it's far better than I'd hoped. This is my new read-everything-she's-written author.
Our heroes have landed on the homeworld of the original owners of the ship they found near Mars. Life there is not as they expected to find it. Communities have been isolated, and most technology has been lost. They have to avoid deadly beasts, overcome cultural difficulties, and restore broken technology in order to make their way back to their ship. They're determined to find the source of the chaos they encountered, and are surprised by what they find. I'm not doing this book justice with my description, but it's mainly because, if I write more, it would be all spoilers.
This is the type of sci-fi book I crave most. Even after working in international relations for almost 20 years, I'm still intrigued by cultural differences and intercultural interactions. Perhaps this is why I'm extremely drawn to series like Star Trek and Stargate where they explore new worlds, meet new people, and try to understand each other. I was thrilled to find that the author also has a Stargate Atlantis fanfic novel available for free, [b:Futura Memoratia|18404878|Futura Memoratia|Jennifer Foehner Wells|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1378230316s/18404878.jpg|26039076]. I love her writing style, and it's far better than I'd hoped. This is my new read-everything-she's-written author.
thestarman's review against another edition
VERDICT: 2 stars, mostly for the action that finally happens at the end. Includes romance (sort of), if you care about such in your SF. I have no desire to read futher in this series, but maybe will check out some of Wells' other books.
Science & suspension of disbelief: low.
Science & suspension of disbelief: low.