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A review by leesarpel
Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre
4.0
This is book three in the Sirantha Jax series. Sirantha Jax, a Jumper, is sent to Ithiss-Tor to broker an alliance between the Ithtorians and a human Conglomerate. The people-eating Morgut are attacking human outposts, and the Conglomerate thinks the Ithtorians can intimidate the Morgut out of attacking. However, not all Ithtorian leadership is on board. Meanwhile, the criminal Syndicate and the disgraced megacorp Farwan are trying to take advantage of the political situation. Jax also needs to win back her lover, March, who has detached himself from feeling anything.
For such vivid characters in earlier books, Doc Saul and Hit are given small roles that left me wondering if there could be more involvement with them.
I wasn't super stoked by the interludes from the press. Since we're cooped up on the planet, it's nice to know what's going on out there, but the articles felt a bit scattered to me. The end felt a bit cliffhanger and unexpected..
Jax, March, Constance, and especially Vel have come a long way since the first book. They have suffered and laughed together, and their trials have made their relationships deeper. Jax continues to process her grief regarding her lost love, Kai, and it’s good to see her less tangled up about it, even if she has to go through a lot of pain to do so. She also struggles to process her new responsibilities without going crazy or becoming someone she can’t bear to be around. She has to make some choices she feels awful about in which she would have decided differently one book ago or at the beginning of the saga.
There’s action with the politics, for those who would worry about a book about diplomacy dragging. We learn lots about the Ithtorian world, which feels richer than any other place we’ve been. The culture is sufficiently alien that I had to think about the customs, but civilized so I could keep track of secondary characters easily.
This is not a standalone book. Reading the previous books gave me a richer experience with the characters, not just the plot background. I'd advise reading Grimspace and Wanderlust first.
For such vivid characters in earlier books, Doc Saul and Hit are given small roles that left me wondering if there could be more involvement with them.
I wasn't super stoked by the interludes from the press. Since we're cooped up on the planet, it's nice to know what's going on out there, but the articles felt a bit scattered to me. The end felt a bit cliffhanger and unexpected..
Jax, March, Constance, and especially Vel have come a long way since the first book. They have suffered and laughed together, and their trials have made their relationships deeper. Jax continues to process her grief regarding her lost love, Kai, and it’s good to see her less tangled up about it, even if she has to go through a lot of pain to do so. She also struggles to process her new responsibilities without going crazy or becoming someone she can’t bear to be around. She has to make some choices she feels awful about in which she would have decided differently one book ago or at the beginning of the saga.
There’s action with the politics, for those who would worry about a book about diplomacy dragging. We learn lots about the Ithtorian world, which feels richer than any other place we’ve been. The culture is sufficiently alien that I had to think about the customs, but civilized so I could keep track of secondary characters easily.
This is not a standalone book. Reading the previous books gave me a richer experience with the characters, not just the plot background. I'd advise reading Grimspace and Wanderlust first.