A review by ianbanks
Shimmer by R.A. MacAvoy, Nancy L. Palmer

3.0

I wanted to love this book more than I did. The authors have created a lively, highly-readable story that feels stronger than the first novel in the series, largely by virtue of being a world they know with characters they have come to love. However, this story feels wild and undisciplined and not in a good way. There are far too many callbacks to the first novel so that someone who comes to this novel without being aware of the first may feel lost. I’m aware that in this day and age that is a poor excuse for not enjoying a novel that is part of a series but I’m of the generation (dear God: I’ve just said, “I’m of the generation that...”) that believes you should be able to come to a novel in a series and not be too discombobulated about the events that follow. That said, it is a fun read but it does feel like a wish-fulfilment fantasy rather than a soft-SF novel about a man and his developing psi powers. Flawed but enjoyable.