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jmoses's review
5.0
A fantastic novel. Like an action movie on steroids, but with real characters, an interesting plot, and tons of humor. I think I laughed every other page. It was all th more enjoyable because it was entirely unexpected. A first novel. outstanding.
branch_c's review
3.0
I picked this up when it was offered as a Free Friday Nook book, and I'm glad I did. It turns out to be a fun adventure with an impressive storyline, various cool (if a bit clichéd) characters, and some memorable moments of action and dialog.
On the negative side, it could have benefited greatly from some editing - there were multiple typos (yolk for yoke, pail for pale, breech for breach, immanent for imminent, etc.) and at least one continuity problem (Karter wasn't yelling at Lex while he was approaching his planet!). Also, it's always a challenge in future SF settings to include descriptions that make things clear to the reader while also fitting the context. In this case, there were a few too many similes involving comparisons with 20th/21st century technology (cars, etc.). To me, this yanks the reader out of the story, since there's no reason such things would even be mentioned other than because the narrator is directly addressing us, the 21st century readers.
But this is honestly meant as constructive criticism, and not to put anyone off from reading the book - it's a solid effort, well plotted and genuinely entertaining. Not as polished as more high profile SF works, but certainly worth the read.
On the negative side, it could have benefited greatly from some editing - there were multiple typos (yolk for yoke, pail for pale, breech for breach, immanent for imminent, etc.) and at least one continuity problem (Karter wasn't yelling at Lex while he was approaching his planet!). Also, it's always a challenge in future SF settings to include descriptions that make things clear to the reader while also fitting the context. In this case, there were a few too many similes involving comparisons with 20th/21st century technology (cars, etc.). To me, this yanks the reader out of the story, since there's no reason such things would even be mentioned other than because the narrator is directly addressing us, the 21st century readers.
But this is honestly meant as constructive criticism, and not to put anyone off from reading the book - it's a solid effort, well plotted and genuinely entertaining. Not as polished as more high profile SF works, but certainly worth the read.
nakedsushi's review
3.0
Courier picks up mysterious package that has info that can save lots of lives. Evil corporation. Space fights. Mad inventor who reminded me of the engineer in Blade Runner. Inspector Gadget-like devices. Super-smart AI.
A fun little romp once I got into the meat of the story.
A fun little romp once I got into the meat of the story.
capellan's review
3.0
This is a solid light SF adventure yarn. I was pleasantly entertained throughout. It's the first in a series, but the author doesn't stint on giving a proper ending to this volume - it's not one of those "leave it on a massive cliffhanger" type openers. And since it's free on kindle, you certainly can't complain about the price!
I intend to pick up the second book in the series to see if Mr Lallo can deliver again.
I intend to pick up the second book in the series to see if Mr Lallo can deliver again.
deleyna's review
5.0
Bypass Gemini has all of the great points of Joseph Lallo's fantasy works -- interesting characters, a plot that keeps twisting and entertaining, and a fox. Well, sort of a fox. A funk, really. Read it for the funk.
ineffablebob's review
4.0
A far-future, space-hopping, reluctant hero adventure which reminds me of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but with more action. Enjoyable read, although it suffers from some immersion-breaking references to present-day culture that don't fit well in to the far-future setting. That's a minor concern, though, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
fluffiliscious's review
4.0
Honestly, I wasn't expecting too much from this book because it was part of a StoryBundle that I had purchased. I was more than pleasantly surprised! I am so happy that I took the time to read this book. I hope that Mr. Lallo will give us more adventures with Ma, Karter, and Lex! Mr. Lallo has a very bright future in science fiction writing if this book is any indication.
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