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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
Science fiction is beautiful in how many times you can see something familiar, but it is fresh and new. This was the case when I got to read Simon Hayne’s soon to be released Alpha Minor, the second book in his new Harriet Walsh series.
If you have not had the chance to read the first, I promise you I won’t give away anything in this blog post. Harriet Walsh is a down on her luck, young woman who needs a change of fortune which comes in the strange form of a dinner menu.
Harriet is a down to earth girl who knows the limits of her abilities but is willing to test every bound when the planet Dismolle needs her.
Alpha minor picks up with the continuing adventures of Harriet and some new additions that are now serving with her in the Peace Force. Though the retirement planet is pretty much devoid of crime, there I still enough for the strange team to get themselves into.
What I loved the most about this adventure is that Simon Haynes has shown that he can handle the wacky humor of Hal Spacejock but also bring a more sophisticated, subtle tone to the story. The Harriet Walsh series is not, in essence, a sci-fi comedy like his other series but more an adventure with humorous compatriots (like a talking car named Steve) that brings in the laughs that we love.
I loved Harriet from her first appearance in Hal Spacejock #4: No Free Lunch, and it felt like a long lost friend when you get to read her origin story in Harriet Walsh #1: Peace Force. I became attached to Harriet in Alpha Minor as we not only got to see her character as a police officer but also how she handles mature decisions that could affect those around her.
This series is excellent and I am glad that I had had the opportunity to read the book before it came out and to talk to Mister Simon Haynes about his creations. If you love science fiction and are looking for something new, I recommend Alpha Minor. A long fan of Hal Spacejock and not sure? Buy it! The series has the same feel as the original series, and you will not be disappointed. I wasn’t!
If you have not had the chance to read the first, I promise you I won’t give away anything in this blog post. Harriet Walsh is a down on her luck, young woman who needs a change of fortune which comes in the strange form of a dinner menu.
Harriet is a down to earth girl who knows the limits of her abilities but is willing to test every bound when the planet Dismolle needs her.
Alpha minor picks up with the continuing adventures of Harriet and some new additions that are now serving with her in the Peace Force. Though the retirement planet is pretty much devoid of crime, there I still enough for the strange team to get themselves into.
What I loved the most about this adventure is that Simon Haynes has shown that he can handle the wacky humor of Hal Spacejock but also bring a more sophisticated, subtle tone to the story. The Harriet Walsh series is not, in essence, a sci-fi comedy like his other series but more an adventure with humorous compatriots (like a talking car named Steve) that brings in the laughs that we love.
I loved Harriet from her first appearance in Hal Spacejock #4: No Free Lunch, and it felt like a long lost friend when you get to read her origin story in Harriet Walsh #1: Peace Force. I became attached to Harriet in Alpha Minor as we not only got to see her character as a police officer but also how she handles mature decisions that could affect those around her.
This series is excellent and I am glad that I had had the opportunity to read the book before it came out and to talk to Mister Simon Haynes about his creations. If you love science fiction and are looking for something new, I recommend Alpha Minor. A long fan of Hal Spacejock and not sure? Buy it! The series has the same feel as the original series, and you will not be disappointed. I wasn’t!
It was an enjoyable enough read but felt very linear and plot wasn't the deepest.
Could have benefited from delving a bit more on the characters perhaps to make up for that. It's like there is a suggestion of depth and character work but it never actually goes there.
Still a decent and easy read and hoping for more expansion in the third book.
Could have benefited from delving a bit more on the characters perhaps to make up for that. It's like there is a suggestion of depth and character work but it never actually goes there.
Still a decent and easy read and hoping for more expansion in the third book.
The second of Simon Haynes 'Peace Force' series, set in the same universe as his 'Hal Spacejock' series (although, as of yet there has been no crossover), this is probably best described as a light sci-fi mystery read: science fiction because of the setting (obviously), and light in that I blew threw this in about two days flat, having already solved the mystery quite early on, with no real plot twist coming that I hadn't already seen.
I'll probably still pick up some more of these, though, not every read has to be a full-blown course: sometimes you just want a nice palate cleanser!
I'll probably still pick up some more of these, though, not every read has to be a full-blown course: sometimes you just want a nice palate cleanser!
Harriet just gets better.
If you like Hal, you will LOVE Harriet.
Chuckles abound in this excellent sequel. The humour is simple and often dry, and the narrative bounces along like a Dismolle marsupial.
Well worth a read.
If you like Hal, you will LOVE Harriet.
Chuckles abound in this excellent sequel. The humour is simple and often dry, and the narrative bounces along like a Dismolle marsupial.
Well worth a read.
This book is an entry in the 2018 Aurealis Awards, for which I am a judge. Any review will be withheld until the results of the awards are announced.