Reviews

Those Left Behind by N.C. Scrimgeour

thomasvd's review against another edition

5.0

Really fun read! Would recommend to everyone who enjoys a good sci-fi story.
It might just be me, but it made me think of Mass Effect (which is a good thing btw

laurajaylive's review

5.0

The book is a sci-fi, space opera and it was really good! I usually don't get into the aliens and space type books, but I got hooked. I really needed an easy-reading pallet cleanser, and this was perfect! Basic overview: Human planet is dying/overcrowding. They search the universe for another planet. They find humans and aliens in another system. There are four mysterious space stations connecting the different space systems and no one knows where they came from - the past, the future, who knows!? There's mutiny, fleeing for your life, weird alien worlds, survival, etc. All the best stuff lol!

danielles_reads's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a very thrilling start to a series! The plot is really exciting. I NEED to know what is up with those Waystations!

Where did these ancient aliens go? Are they dead? Why did they leave? Is there a larger enemy that killed them? Their technology is so advanced that they can control people’s bodies via the way stations and control their thoughts?? Like what is that? What is up with that cave with dead Sioleans and the waystation diagram??

The world building is really cool. I like how the aliens all feel very different and like they actually evolved on different planets. The flare thing is really interesting - absorbing radiation to give you power? And the iskath / jarkaths different levels of atmospheric toxins is interesting too, and how that influenced galaxy politics in how they grew apart and saw each other. I hope we learn a little more about the humans in the new galaxy cause they are kinda vague so far. Also I don’t much about the dachryns. The Idran-Var are really interesting too and I’m looking forward to learning more about them since they don’t seem as evil as the Coalition depicts them…

This had some interesting POV characters and I liked following along with all of them and didn’t find any boring. They all were experiencing very different things which kept every perspective fresh. Alvera seems to have the most complicated history and I’m really curious to find out more about her. Ridley seems the most endearing to me (so smart and wholesome!). Niole is interesting too. Rivus is probably the most boring to me as a character, but what he experienced was really interesting so it was fine. Though Chase was my absolute favorite. Love a snarky AI (in fiction) lmao.

Honestly I love the “all of us go or none of us go” mantra and loved hearing it every time. Especially after seeing what the surface of New Pallas was like and

Shaw straight up killing surfacers

like hell yeah, fight back against that oppression!

I didn’t really emotionally connect with any of the characters though. Maybe Elion the most actually (who isn’t even a POV character) because I really felt her nest’s sacrifice and her desire to help her people explore the galaxy and fight jarkath oppression. There wasn’t much character development yet really other than most of the POV characters questioning how far they’ll go to reach their goals / are they a bad person.

But tbh it got kinda exhausting to hear that over and over again in Kojan, Ridley, Alvera, and Niole’s POVs, especially considering that their enemies are all heartless one-note evil villains who don’t give a fuck (is Ojara even a person?

Like who puts a kill-switch in their own kid?

Unbelievable levels of evil. I would like to see more of Kojan and Ojara’s relationship because HOW is she his mother?? And who knows about these ancient aliens but they seem to be one-note evil as well). I like that the MCs are morally grey but I wish the villains were too. 

There were some plot conveniences in the end. Bringing Rivus and Niole together especially felt very forced.

Because why would the Idran-Var send out an unarmed ship with so many valuable soldiers right into the middle of a huge battle?? Makes no sense. And I don’t know why Rivus expected Tarvan to actually listen to him when his visions were so vague. Like he just assumed it was a countdown to the end of the world with no evidence? I didn’t feel any real sense of foreboding until Ridley’s chapter honestly (that foray into the cave was well done, really spooky).

I’m really intrigued to find out what happens next, so I already started the next book!

bookish_satty's review

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Really enjoyed this story. It kept me hooked from the very first page because it was so full of suspense and mystery. I'm excited to know more about the unknown threat that's approaching our main characters and their known world. The pacing was good and I loved the different planets we got to venture to along with our beloved characters. The characters were morally grey which I liked a lot especially when they struggled with picking the easy way or the right way to handle a situation like we typically do in everyday life. The various species of sentient beings were a nice addition to this story which just made the reading experience more entertaining. Definitely recommend especially to the beginner sci-fi readers like me. 

stacieh's review

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

commykaze's review

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

datakitten's review

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

losgoosebumps's review

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

scriptrix's review

There was a lot to like here. This gave me vibes of Mass Effect, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, and other iconic scifi.

However, I struggled with 2 things: the number of characters and the number of "alien" words peppered in with little to no explanation. I lean toward preferring more explanation, not less, when entering someone else's world, especially when it's very different. I tried to stick it out because sometimes context clues, given enough time, are a satisfactory explanation. But that plus the narrative continually introducing new characters made the barrier to entry feel a little too high here. By over a third of the way in, I want to be connecting to a main character and have some idea of what their goal is. And I wasn't feeling that.

narratricenessa's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 The new beginning they had been looking for was the middle of someone else’s story.

Those Left Behind is the first book in the space opera trilogy The Waystations by indie author N.C. Scrimgeour. I know that hearing phrases like space opera and science fiction can put off some speculative fiction readers because they feel that to read SF (or is it sci-fi now? I'm too old for these abbreviations) you need to have a STEM degree otherwise the sciency bits will go over your head. And you know what? In some cases, they ain't wrong (looking at you old-school hard SF books I read in secondary school when I still had enough functioning brain cells to understand the science).

HOWEVER, Those Left Behind is not a book that requires the reader to have a PhD in STEM sciences to understand and enjoy the book. N.C. Scrimgeour's writing is approachable and although I would personally slot this book closer to the Hard SF category (SF characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic), the writing and overall vibes, as you read, are more in line with The Expanse series and RDM's Battlestar Galactica than Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon Deep (honestly, not only am I dating myself here, IMO that book firmly belongs in the "this is weird but I like it" category).

Humans don’t have a monopoly on being terrible to each other.

Those Left Behind is an epic and complex story told through multiple human and alien POVs. What I loved the most about this approach and these different POVs was how the author showed that the various societies and cultures are not monolithic. There is no uniformity or simplicity, the characters are complex and intriguing. At first, the reader might not understand their motives or drive, however, the more you read and spend time with the characters not only do you start to care for the characters (even the terrible ones because you want to know what happens to them too) and begin to understand why are they the way they are. 

We’re not what they tell us we are. We’re more than the sum of flesh and matter inside these metal shells.

Regardless if you're dipping your toes into the SF genre or you're a seasoned veteran of it, if you're looking for an epic and (most importantly) complete SF series to immerse yourself in, I highly recommend Those Left Behind. Go support your indie authors and they'll reward you with fantastic stories.