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tanac's review against another edition
5.0
Space Coast Guard- underfunded and under appreciated. A woman trying to get out from under her suffocating family. Space rescues, inter-agency games/competitions, bloodthirsty politics. Ace heroine, found family... so much to love. Wagers nails it with the first entry of a new series. Fun and heart-satisfying and exciting.
posthumusly's review
4.0
I liked this book - the plot about the games was fun and the world building was quite good. Also props for an ace character.
eastofthesunwestofthemoon's review
4.0
Audiobook. 4 stars. This was entertaining and interesting, start to finish. The NeoG cast of characters feel real and are. for the most part, people I wouldn't mind knowing irl. While it's short of the Sci part of Sci-Fi, it's still a plausible future scenario. There is way too much relevant information revealed only near the end, so you can't figure out the answers until they're presented, but that's ok as it's not primarily a mystery book. I did feel like too much info is withheld until the last part of the book, so the end feels a bit rushed.
smallish_bear's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-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
4.25
iam's review against another edition
4.5
This was SO much fun.
Even though the big cast of characters was kind of overwhelming in the beginning, I was invested into them all from the very start.
A Pale Light in the Black is about the crew of Zuma's Ghost of the NeoG - Near Earth Orbial Guard, think coast guard but in space! It coveres several POVs, including Rosa, the commander doubting her own competence; Maxine, the new Lieutenant fresh from basic who struggles with shaking off the abuse she's suffered from her rich but shitty family for her life choices and slightly awkward disposition; Jenks, who has a short temper despite and closely guards her heart, which is definitely in the right spot; and Nika, Jenk's brother, the Lieutenant Max is replacing because he got a promotion and new position.
While they go on missions and are involved in a case that is much more dangerous than they seem, the focus is much more on the relationships within and people outside of the crew. And I absolutely loved those relationships! So many people, so many different kinds of love and friendship and loyalty. The casual queerness and lack of sexism of it all was a perfect background setting for it for me.
Another big plot was the Boarding Games - a sports-ish competition between various military branches, including the NeoG, and which the crew is determined to win. It added such a fun sort of lower stakes aspect to it all, that was very emotionally charged and important to the characters on a personal level.
Even though this wasn't a perfect book by any means, I just had so much fun with it. I wish it would have been twice the length, and I'm immediately reacing for book 2!!
Even though the big cast of characters was kind of overwhelming in the beginning, I was invested into them all from the very start.
A Pale Light in the Black is about the crew of Zuma's Ghost of the NeoG - Near Earth Orbial Guard, think coast guard but in space! It coveres several POVs, including Rosa, the commander doubting her own competence; Maxine, the new Lieutenant fresh from basic who struggles with shaking off the abuse she's suffered from her rich but shitty family for her life choices and slightly awkward disposition; Jenks, who has a short temper despite and closely guards her heart, which is definitely in the right spot; and Nika, Jenk's brother, the Lieutenant Max is replacing because he got a promotion and new position.
While they go on missions and are involved in a case that is much more dangerous than they seem, the focus is much more on the relationships within and people outside of the crew. And I absolutely loved those relationships! So many people, so many different kinds of love and friendship and loyalty. The casual queerness and lack of sexism of it all was a perfect background setting for it for me.
Another big plot was the Boarding Games - a sports-ish competition between various military branches, including the NeoG, and which the crew is determined to win. It added such a fun sort of lower stakes aspect to it all, that was very emotionally charged and important to the characters on a personal level.
Even though this wasn't a perfect book by any means, I just had so much fun with it. I wish it would have been twice the length, and I'm immediately reacing for book 2!!
ace0in0space's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-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
3.5
daynosaur's review
3.0
It is readable and has an interesting premise. However, all the characters are basically the same, the world-building is severely underdeveloped, and the plot was so predictable.
I wish more attention was given to the flight simulations and the Big Game, spacewalks, and actual daring rescues (where we could have seen real-time character development) rather than humdrum bar fights (there were SO MANY) and pep talks. There were some really cool elements, but for some reason they were ignored in favor of trying (and failing) to introduce three ships in one go.
I wish more attention was given to the flight simulations and the Big Game, spacewalks, and actual daring rescues (where we could have seen real-time character development) rather than humdrum bar fights (there were SO MANY) and pep talks. There were some really cool elements, but for some reason they were ignored in favor of trying (and failing) to introduce three ships in one go.
ursula_fricke's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-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
5.0
magglett's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
medium-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? No
4.0