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A review by papercranestitches
Dark Space by Lisa Henry
5.0
*** 4.5 Perfectly Synchronized Heartbeats ***
I don't want to go into too much detail in my review (because I think half the allure of this book is discovering this world and these characters for yourself), but I just have to say that this book was frickin' AWESOME!
I thought the whole sci-fi/world-building aspects of this story were extremely well done. Then again, as a newbie to the genre, I can count the number of sci-fi books I’ve read in my lifetime on one hand – my right hand, if I’m being honest. ;)
I also really dug the telepathy angle of the story. Not that I'm above a little bump and grind, but I’ve always found the mental and emotional connections between two main characters WAY sexier than the physical ones, and this book had that in spades. And it was INTENSE. You throw in the fact that Brady’s touch was actually need to keep Cam alive and I was toast. TOAST, I tell you!
That brings me to the Faceless - they were creepy as fuck. Like, right up there with the Dementors from Harry Potter on my metre-o-terror. I was completely terrified of Kai-Ren by the time we got to meet him in the flesh. Or black latex shell. Or whatever the hell it was. And he only got more pee-my-pants-sleep-with-the-lights-on-and-one-eye-open scary from there.
I had only one real criticism of this book: considering how vividly I could hear that clock in the background of the story ticking down to doomsday, I thought that was a teensy bit underwhelming. I think there was an opportunity in that moment to seriously ratchet up the tension in the story, but it was missed/fell a little flat. That said, the next couple of scenes more than made up for it!
Verdict: Dark Space was damn good. So close to a 5-star rating I could practically taste it (and it tasted more like officer's rations and contraband chocolate bars than that crap they serve the enlisted). I think if the sex had been just a little hotter, or if the heartbreaking moments had had me reaching for a box of tissues rather than leaving me with a temporarily quivering lower lip, it would have been a 5-star novel without question. As it is, there is room for improvement. Which is FABULOUS, since I hear through the grapevine that Lisa Henry has Part 2 coming at us in 2014! :D
PS: I gotta say - and I know this is practically blasphemous to say to a website full of readers, but… - I think that Dark Space would make a fucking WICKED movie. Except… Ugh. Hollywood would probably make it a male/female relationship and I’d want to gouge my own eyes out...
I don't want to go into too much detail in my review (because I think half the allure of this book is discovering this world and these characters for yourself), but I just have to say that this book was frickin' AWESOME!
I thought the whole sci-fi/world-building aspects of this story were extremely well done. Then again, as a newbie to the genre, I can count the number of sci-fi books I’ve read in my lifetime on one hand – my right hand, if I’m being honest. ;)
I also really dug the telepathy angle of the story. Not that I'm above a little bump and grind, but I’ve always found the mental and emotional connections between two main characters WAY sexier than the physical ones, and this book had that in spades. And it was INTENSE. You throw in the fact that Brady’s touch was actually need to keep Cam alive and I was toast. TOAST, I tell you!
That brings me to the Faceless - they were creepy as fuck. Like, right up there with the Dementors from Harry Potter on my metre-o-terror. I was completely terrified of Kai-Ren by the time we got to meet him in the flesh. Or black latex shell. Or whatever the hell it was. And he only got more pee-my-pants-sleep-with-the-lights-on-and-one-eye-open scary from there.
I had only one real criticism of this book: considering how vividly I could hear that clock in the background of the story ticking down to doomsday, I thought that
Spoiler
the scene in the Dome with Kai-Ren, Cam, Brady, and the othersVerdict: Dark Space was damn good. So close to a 5-star rating I could practically taste it (and it tasted more like officer's rations and contraband chocolate bars than that crap they serve the enlisted). I think if the sex had been just a little hotter, or if the heartbreaking moments had had me reaching for a box of tissues rather than leaving me with a temporarily quivering lower lip, it would have been a 5-star novel without question. As it is, there is room for improvement. Which is FABULOUS, since I hear through the grapevine that Lisa Henry has Part 2 coming at us in 2014! :D
PS: I gotta say - and I know this is practically blasphemous to say to a website full of readers, but… - I think that Dark Space would make a fucking WICKED movie. Except… Ugh. Hollywood would probably make it a male/female relationship and I’d want to gouge my own eyes out...