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mal_eficent's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This was fun, especially for an older sci-fi! To me, it felt like an odd mix of Star Trek and Alien–both aesthetically and in the way the world was structured. The story was grounded in a corporate world and aesthetic, but had the idea that the 'military' should work for the benefit of the people (at least in Sass's eyes) much like Trek's Fleet. Because of that it was pretty easy to jump into without needing a deep understanding of sci-fi tropes and is pretty much just corporate and military espionage but in space. A little dry in places, sure, and it skipped over large periods of time a lot, but very fun with some great space battles!
I enjoy both McCaffrey and Moon separately, and it was nice to try and spot within the story moments that felt more like one author than the other. While there's nothing specific I can pinpoint, there were chapters and moments that did feel distinct. Book three felt more Moon, while the opening felt very McCaffrey, for example. I wish there was an interview out there with both authors talking about how they wrote the story together and what they added!
One thing that did stand out to me when I started, though, was the mention of speaking Chinese. It's a casual sci-fi staple and makes some sense if we're assuming this civilisation evolved from an Earth where China continued to be massively important to world wide trade...Except what's 'Chinese'? Mandarin? Cantonese? Hunanese? Chances are they meant Mandarin, but the lack of even bothering to check the name of a real life language shows how simply the book treats cultures. It's not egregious, and there are moments later on that have more depth...but it's noticeable.
I enjoy both McCaffrey and Moon separately, and it was nice to try and spot within the story moments that felt more like one author than the other. While there's nothing specific I can pinpoint, there were chapters and moments that did feel distinct. Book three felt more Moon, while the opening felt very McCaffrey, for example. I wish there was an interview out there with both authors talking about how they wrote the story together and what they added!
One thing that did stand out to me when I started, though, was the mention of speaking Chinese. It's a casual sci-fi staple and makes some sense if we're assuming this civilisation evolved from an Earth where China continued to be massively important to world wide trade...Except what's 'Chinese'? Mandarin? Cantonese? Hunanese? Chances are they meant Mandarin, but the lack of even bothering to check the name of a real life language shows how simply the book treats cultures. It's not egregious, and there are moments later on that have more depth...but it's noticeable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexism, Death, Child death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence and Grief
Minor: Religious bigotry and Torture
booksthatburn's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Sassinak is captured by planet pirates as a child, losing her whole family. She joins the Fleet once she gets free, and begins to direct her later career towards stopping slavery and piracy altogether.
The worldbuilding is immersive in several different settings throughout different stages of Sassinak’s life, from her capture and enslavement in childhood, to her Fleet training, to various shipboard positions throughout her early adulthood and middle age. Technically this is the first book, but it can also be read after its prequel/sequel THE DEATH OF SLEEP.
The narrative skips over years at a time, filling in bits of backstory as necessary rather than trying to tell all the twists and turns of Sassinak’s career in the Fleet. This keeps the pacing tight, as each section forms a discreet narrative. The later ones benefit from Sass’s increased knowledge and expertise, but most of the secondary characters are swapped out for new ones since first they’re her fellow slaves, then Fleet students, then crew-mates on successive vessels. That military structure means she has different people in similar official roles around her, forming closer friendships with a few of them.
Most of the difficulties revolve around saboteurs trying to use existing prejudices against heavyworlders to deflect suspicions from whomever the actual malicious agents may be. There’s at least one firefight with pirates, which is pretty exciting. The political tensions writ large exacerbate petty tensions between individuals in a way that feels realistic.
The ending is specifically a “to-be-continued” situation, where the sequel is a kind of prequel which explains how Lunzie and some others ended up in cold sleep for decades, and then the third book is about Lunzie and Sass going after planet pirates as an institution. That’s what seems to be promised based on SASSINAK’s cliffhanger ending and the other books’ blurbs, but I’ll find out for certain when I get to them. I enjoyed this and plan to read the rest of the trilogy.
The worldbuilding is immersive in several different settings throughout different stages of Sassinak’s life, from her capture and enslavement in childhood, to her Fleet training, to various shipboard positions throughout her early adulthood and middle age. Technically this is the first book, but it can also be read after its prequel/sequel THE DEATH OF SLEEP.
The narrative skips over years at a time, filling in bits of backstory as necessary rather than trying to tell all the twists and turns of Sassinak’s career in the Fleet. This keeps the pacing tight, as each section forms a discreet narrative. The later ones benefit from Sass’s increased knowledge and expertise, but most of the secondary characters are swapped out for new ones since first they’re her fellow slaves, then Fleet students, then crew-mates on successive vessels. That military structure means she has different people in similar official roles around her, forming closer friendships with a few of them.
Most of the difficulties revolve around saboteurs trying to use existing prejudices against heavyworlders to deflect suspicions from whomever the actual malicious agents may be. There’s at least one firefight with pirates, which is pretty exciting. The political tensions writ large exacerbate petty tensions between individuals in a way that feels realistic.
The ending is specifically a “to-be-continued” situation, where the sequel is a kind of prequel which explains how Lunzie and some others ended up in cold sleep for decades, and then the third book is about Lunzie and Sass going after planet pirates as an institution. That’s what seems to be promised based on SASSINAK’s cliffhanger ending and the other books’ blurbs, but I’ll find out for certain when I get to them. I enjoyed this and plan to read the rest of the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Grief, and Child death
Moderate: Bullying, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Blood, Gun violence, Murder, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Gore, Violence, Child abuse, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual content, Ableism, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Suicide, Torture, and Animal death
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