Scan barcode
jvan's review against another edition
4.0
Middle books are often problematic, meant to get you from point A to point B and suffering because they are intended for nothing beyond bridging the start and the end. Not so here. There's so much going on, and so much is seeded for side plots and subnarratives, that it doesn't feel like there's any slack or like it's perfunctory. I am not certain all the side plots will get taken care of, and that's good--a world, a universe, should feel as if bits of it are going on without your main characters being involved. Next and final book in the trilogy comes out in a couple of months, and I am much looking forward to it.
judd's review
3.0
This was a fun read, nothing great but if you are looking for a novella with space opera swords go for it.
colossal's review
4.0
An interesting space opera in a familiar style that pits a victorious force of vat-grown clone warriors against their former masters, the human race.
Fleeing from the evilEmpire Resistance is young Luke Jaqi who is of the same human/alien hybrid stock as the clones and can use the rare ability of the Force the Starfire. She is pursued by the minions of the Emperor John Starfire led by Stormtroopers the Vanguard who all wield light sabres soulswords.
It's all actually a lot more complex than that, and it's far from a direct ripoff of Star Wars, but the parallels just jumped off the page at me. I will say that like the material it feels so similar to, it's a rollicking adventure story with an engaging set of characters. Jaqi is a delight throughout and the other characters feel rich as well, particularly the drug-addicted and war-weary Araskar.
Fleeing from the evil
It's all actually a lot more complex than that, and it's far from a direct ripoff of Star Wars, but the parallels just jumped off the page at me. I will say that like the material it feels so similar to, it's a rollicking adventure story with an engaging set of characters. Jaqi is a delight throughout and the other characters feel rich as well, particularly the drug-addicted and war-weary Araskar.
soless's review
4.0
A kick ass space opera adventure with a refreshingly just-snarky-enough-but-not-jaded voice.
sarrie's review against another edition
4.0
I've been working on this little thing for longer than I'd care to admit. In fact I was totally ready to DNF it earlier this week but pushed through today to finish, and I'm very glad I did.
It had for me a slow start, and not a lot to hook you in. There was just enough there, enough of a breadcrumb trail for me to follow, that made think this would pay off. Jaqi is very much the 'common man' in this world. I wasn't a huge fan of her in the start but she grows on you. The world itself also takes some getting used to but as the layers peel back you really start to see the web beneath it, it's fascinating. I did not go into this with any knowledge of the 'type' of story this is, and I won't reveal it here either but I think it might be one of the better done of it's type (and I normally don't care for this type). Bravo.
I really enjoyed the ending on this one, I'm pretty excited to see where this goes.
It had for me a slow start, and not a lot to hook you in. There was just enough there, enough of a breadcrumb trail for me to follow, that made think this would pay off. Jaqi is very much the 'common man' in this world. I wasn't a huge fan of her in the start but she grows on you. The world itself also takes some getting used to but as the layers peel back you really start to see the web beneath it, it's fascinating. I did not go into this with any knowledge of the 'type' of story this is, and I won't reveal it here either but I think it might be one of the better done of it's type (and I normally don't care for this type). Bravo.
I really enjoyed the ending on this one, I'm pretty excited to see where this goes.
writerreads46's review against another edition
5.0
The story is told from two perspectives, in the first person, and present tense. I loved that the two main characters weren't a king and queen, and the female protagonist isn't another virgin assassin with a heart of gold.
The reluctant hero Jaqi (I mean in full denial all the way through), the natural born scab of two vat born crosses, has a hand in shady business and a not picky love life. She jumps from one heap of trouble to another all for tomatoes (and perhaps two clueless children).
The noble war hero Araskar is a vat born cross who escapes the horrors of war he helped win with drugs that allow him to listen to the music of the universe. (no, really)
Jaqi and Araskar's goals are at odds, but they both don't want two refugee children to die.
Ellsworth's book explores what makes a person good, when does a noble cause stop being noble, how a misinterpretation of a prophecy can make mad men powerful, messiahs might not be saviors and what a person is willing to go through for a tomato.
"Tomatoes!"
The reluctant hero Jaqi (I mean in full denial all the way through), the natural born scab of two vat born crosses, has a hand in shady business and a not picky love life. She jumps from one heap of trouble to another all for tomatoes (and perhaps two clueless children).
The noble war hero Araskar is a vat born cross who escapes the horrors of war he helped win with drugs that allow him to listen to the music of the universe. (no, really)
Jaqi and Araskar's goals are at odds, but they both don't want two refugee children to die.
Ellsworth's book explores what makes a person good, when does a noble cause stop being noble, how a misinterpretation of a prophecy can make mad men powerful, messiahs might not be saviors and what a person is willing to go through for a tomato.
"Tomatoes!"
reader44ever's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this story. It's told primarily from two points of view, Jaqi's and Araskar's, with only the prelude or opening or whatever (it's the "Overture") being told from John Starfire's POV. Interestingly, I think John Starfire (the Starfire of the series name?) is the antagonist in this series. All three POV characters are what's known as a Jorian Cross. Araskar came from a vat, while Jaqi was born to her parents, who were vat aberrations that escaped before they could be re-assimilated for a new batch of crosses. (A Cross is like a clone. There are only a few templates and so Araskar lost his batch-mates only to have new "copies" of them crop up under his command.)
When the book opens, we learn that John Starfire and the Resistance have won their war against the blueblooded humans. He tells his Vanguard that now the real work - Directive Zero - can begin:"It's time to kill every human in this galaxy." (Page 10.) I think he might be the series antagonist because while all the bluebloods were human, not all humans are bluebloods. Araskar makes this observance. I liked Araskar, even though he was a Secondblade for the Vanguard. When the mission comes down to find children, Araskar is the only one who does NOT plan to kill them to get their memories.
Regarding the memory thing, crosses have soulswords. They can set their swords alight by cutting themselves and swiping them through their own blood, and then when they plunge the burning soulsword into someone, they draw out their victims' memories while they're draining their lives.
Jaqi meets the children when an acquaintance of hers goes to them for food for her. Sheunexpectedly drops in to the middle of their conversation, and after surviving, she becomes the children's protector. (She's only about 18 or 19. The kids are about 16, 10, and 5.) Unfortunately, the eldest child gets himself killed defending Jaqi from a member of the Vanguard. Jaqi might have saved him from having all of his memories taken, but he still died from his wound. :-( The remaining two children are devastated by his loss, but Jaqi keeps them safe, even when they - temporarily - turn against her.
The children are wanted for a black box that the middle child carries with them. It turns out later thatout of all of the memory crypts John Starfire found in a vault, one was missing. And he desperately wants it back. . And so the hunt for the children begins.
Soon after we meet Jaqi, shefalls into the clutches of a fighting pit master and winds up as a fighter in the pit. Her foes? A Zarra named Zaragathora and a NecroWasp. When the pit master unexpectedly meets his demise, Jaqi is able to escape, but soon the Zarra catches up to her: He wants to be paid. So he sticks to Jaqi - and the children - and winds up becoming friends with Jaqi and a protector for the children. . I really liked Zaragathora. And there was at least one line in this book that surprised a laugh out of me and it involved Z:
lol Jaqi has quite the sense of humor. I'm pretty sure I laughed at a later line, but I no longer remember where that later line was in the book. The line I shared is at the beginning of Chapter 7, on page 68, and comes after Jaqi notes that Z "knows his way around a cockpit." :-)
I almost cried at the end. It was a fabulous way to end this first trilogy book and it was beautiful. I won't share that line. Instead, I'll say that if you're at all interested, you should read this book! :-)
Have I told you yet that I am planning to buy the other two books in this trilogy? Because I am. :-)
To close my review, here is a photo I took of A Red Peace once I finished it on May 23rd and shared it to my Instagram:
:-)
When the book opens, we learn that John Starfire and the Resistance have won their war against the blueblooded humans. He tells his Vanguard that now the real work - Directive Zero - can begin:
Regarding the memory thing, crosses have soulswords. They can set their swords alight by cutting themselves and swiping them through their own blood, and then when they plunge the burning soulsword into someone, they draw out their victims' memories while they're draining their lives.
Jaqi meets the children when an acquaintance of hers goes to them for food for her. She
The children are wanted for a black box that the middle child carries with them. It turns out later that
Soon after we meet Jaqi, she
Look at this hidden depth to Zaragathora, Eater of Flesh. Kills---and does other things!
lol Jaqi has quite the sense of humor. I'm pretty sure I laughed at a later line, but I no longer remember where that later line was in the book. The line I shared is at the beginning of Chapter 7, on page 68, and comes after Jaqi notes that Z "knows his way around a cockpit." :-)
I almost cried at the end. It was a fabulous way to end this first trilogy book and it was beautiful. I won't share that line. Instead, I'll say that if you're at all interested, you should read this book! :-)
Have I told you yet that I am planning to buy the other two books in this trilogy? Because I am. :-)
To close my review, here is a photo I took of A Red Peace once I finished it on May 23rd and shared it to my Instagram:
:-)
qwerty88's review against another edition
4.0
Started off a bit too self conscious & info dumping, but by halfway through it had good momentum and kept that going throughout.
More...