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A review by bory
Crossover by Joel Shepherd
4.0
Realistically, probably a 3.5 stars.
This is an interesting world, filled with an interesting, if not entirely original, philosophical segregations between subsections of humanity - technological advancement with a disregard for historical and cultural restraint, versus historical and cultural preservation (with a have sprinkling of hypocrisy on both sides). The story is well-crafted, and really gripped me early on. For a science fiction book, I would categorize this is as "soft" science fiction. There is no in-depth look into the tech, even if the the tech is the core of the philosophical differences between the two major factions.
I will say, I like Cassandra as a character... most of the time. The whole killing machine that is pondering its place in the universe, and seeking a better life for itself aspect of her characterization if fine. Joel Shepherd, however (and I've read other books by him in the past - The "A Trial of Blood and Steel" series) has some weird quirks when writing his female protagonists. Cassandra is a tall, blonde, gorgeous bombshell who is so aggressively heterosexual that she will fuck anyone with a penis. So, even though in most other books I would interpret her developing relationship with Vanessa as heading towards romance, here? Nah. Too heterosexual for that. Cassandra's sexuality is not a huge part of the story, but, man, when she's talking about how her old GI team members would line up to have sex with her... I cringed, and not a little.
On the topic of Vanessa, she is great. I love her. More of her, please.
The action is well-written, though the narrative gets bogged down with too much unnecessary flowery description of the city-scape.
Overall, this is decent book with some prominent issues. It is, however, Joel Shepherd's first published work, so I'm willing to give some of it a pass. There is enough here I enjoyed that I will be continuing with the series.
This is an interesting world, filled with an interesting, if not entirely original, philosophical segregations between subsections of humanity - technological advancement with a disregard for historical and cultural restraint, versus historical and cultural preservation (with a have sprinkling of hypocrisy on both sides). The story is well-crafted, and really gripped me early on. For a science fiction book, I would categorize this is as "soft" science fiction. There is no in-depth look into the tech, even if the the tech is the core of the philosophical differences between the two major factions.
I will say, I like Cassandra as a character... most of the time. The whole killing machine that is pondering its place in the universe, and seeking a better life for itself aspect of her characterization if fine. Joel Shepherd, however (and I've read other books by him in the past - The "A Trial of Blood and Steel" series) has some weird quirks when writing his female protagonists. Cassandra is a tall, blonde, gorgeous bombshell who is so aggressively heterosexual that she will fuck anyone with a penis. So, even though in most other books I would interpret her developing relationship with Vanessa as heading towards romance, here? Nah. Too heterosexual for that. Cassandra's sexuality is not a huge part of the story, but, man, when she's talking about how her old GI team members would line up to have sex with her... I cringed, and not a little.
On the topic of Vanessa, she is great. I love her. More of her, please.
The action is well-written, though the narrative gets bogged down with too much unnecessary flowery description of the city-scape.
Overall, this is decent book with some prominent issues. It is, however, Joel Shepherd's first published work, so I'm willing to give some of it a pass. There is enough here I enjoyed that I will be continuing with the series.