Reviews

A Pale Light in the Black by K.B. Wagers

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gotoboston's review

5.0

I think I'm just in a sci-fi frame of mind right now. I tried to read some fantasy and I just could not focus on it. It didn't help that my first attempt was a boring book. I needed something more high energy and action packed and this delivered nicely. Was this objectively good? Maybe not. I honestly can't say. What it definitely did well was action packed fun and hilarious characters. I enjoyed the setting and the premise and I really loved the cast.

So, yea, I'll definitely read more in this series. And check out more books from this author.

bibliovino's review

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4.0

Really hard hitting futuristic sci-fi adventure. Lots of intrigue, a little romance and some fast-paced story telling. Excellent stuff.

Max defies her family to sign up with the black sheep of earth defense. Instead of following in her mother’s footsteps and joining the navy, she’s going to the NeoG, and teaming up with its toughest crew. Not only will she be defending the planet, but she’s also gotten herself into the games of a lifetime. But with all that she’s got on her shoulders, and the family she’s trying outrun, can she be successful in any of it?

Deep and rich characters paired with kick ass competitions and a mystery to solve. Excellent inclusion of LGBTQIA story lines that weave seamlessly throughout. Can’t wait to read book two.

utopiastateofmind's review

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Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Immediately I knew I loved the SF world building and the crew dynamics. To begin with the world building, the world of NeoG is intriguing and detailed. Wagers does a fantastic job of telling you what you need, while also leaving mysteries and plenty of shadows. There's a balance between understanding the world we have seen, while also knowing there's so much more to see - you'll have to read book two! Just like me. At the same time, I loved the crew dynamics.

Crew stories - no matter if it's on the sea or in space - are always my kryptonite. There's nothing I love more about witnessing a group of unlikely allies to figure out how to work together. To see these hidden secrets and vulnerabilities within each other and find themselves a found family. That's probably the number one reason I love crew stories is that they're almost always found family stories as well. And A Pale Light in the Black is no exception.

shoelessgirl's review

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4.0

Do you like your space opera character-driven, with great representation? Wholesome, if a little earnest in places? This is the book for you. I really enjoyed it.

giraffesareweird's review

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2.0

Had to give up after the 23rd crying heart-to-heart/confessional. It's just too much and not fun at all. Some other things that just made me grit my teeth in frustration:
- the constant introductions of the characters. There's one scene where they're entering Ria's building where they introduce themselves each, one by one, to 3 different people after each other
- the whole trope of 'it's hundreds of years in the future, but one character is REALLY into the 20th/21st century!'. It's lazy and just gives an excuse for the author to put anachronisms in the book to make the reader feel included. See Demolition Man or the Will Smith I Robot
- The Jenx character (sp? I listened to the audiobook). Just having her every response be violence and it played off as cute. Oh, someone hurt Max's feelings so Jenx broke her nose! Isn't that adorable?! Just got real old
- Talks of 'the collapse' and how bad things got during our century, but nothing in the society really seems that different. Apparently there are still huge corporations/families that control everyone's lives, the military is still a very huge deal... the world building just felt very superficial.
- The talk about the 'game' as if it was the most important thing in the world. I get the reasons why, but it just really felt anti-climatic and i didn't care about it at all.
I made it about 2/3rds through and gave up