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A review by jdcunegan
Starbound by S.E. Anderson
5.0
Starbound pissed me off.
In a good way.
If you read Celestial -- and if you didn't, how are you reading Starbound, the fifth in this series? -- you'll know why. Still, S.E. Anderson's latest has all of the same elements that made the previous four installments so great: heart and humor.
The two go hand-in-hand, and again, I mention how refreshing it is to see a sci-fi series that doesn't take itself so damn seriously. Anderson's writing prowess is again on full display, even as she weaves through the first half of the book in such a way that you might feel like you've missed something. But that's by design and the beauty is, her characters feel the same way.
The latter portion of the book does rely on a trope that I'm not a fan of (not giving anything away here), but the twist Anderson puts on it is inventive enough, and I'm still emotionally invested enough in Sally and others that it didn't bother me as much as it normally would. But be warned: this book does end on a bit of a cliffhanger -- though with this being a series and at least one more installment on the horizon, that's not surprising.
So much of what came before in the first four books of this series come to a head in Starbound, giving it a satisfying dimension of closure -- despite this not being the finale (and I say this knowing full well the next book might negate some of what's in this book; to this point, nothing surprises me).
But the long and short of it is this: Starbound is excellent, every bit the equal of its predecessors, and you need it in your library. Just don't be surprised if you find yourself contacting the author to jokingly chide her for how rude this all is.
Merged review:
Starbound pissed me off.
In a good way.
If you read Celestial -- and if you didn't, how are you reading Starbound, the fifth in this series? -- you'll know why. Still, S.E. Anderson's latest has all of the same elements that made the previous four installments so great: heart and humor.
The two go hand-in-hand, and again, I mention how refreshing it is to see a sci-fi series that doesn't take itself so damn seriously. Anderson's writing prowess is again on full display, even as she weaves through the first half of the book in such a way that you might feel like you've missed something. But that's by design and the beauty is, her characters feel the same way.
The latter portion of the book does rely on a trope that I'm not a fan of (not giving anything away here), but the twist Anderson puts on it is inventive enough, and I'm still emotionally invested enough in Sally and others that it didn't bother me as much as it normally would. But be warned: this book does end on a bit of a cliffhanger -- though with this being a series and at least one more installment on the horizon, that's not surprising.
So much of what came before in the first four books of this series come to a head in Starbound, giving it a satisfying dimension of closure -- despite this not being the finale (and I say this knowing full well the next book might negate some of what's in this book; to this point, nothing surprises me).
But the long and short of it is this: Starbound is excellent, every bit the equal of its predecessors, and you need it in your library. Just don't be surprised if you find yourself contacting the author to jokingly chide her for how rude this all is.
In a good way.
If you read Celestial -- and if you didn't, how are you reading Starbound, the fifth in this series? -- you'll know why. Still, S.E. Anderson's latest has all of the same elements that made the previous four installments so great: heart and humor.
The two go hand-in-hand, and again, I mention how refreshing it is to see a sci-fi series that doesn't take itself so damn seriously. Anderson's writing prowess is again on full display, even as she weaves through the first half of the book in such a way that you might feel like you've missed something. But that's by design and the beauty is, her characters feel the same way.
The latter portion of the book does rely on a trope that I'm not a fan of (not giving anything away here), but the twist Anderson puts on it is inventive enough, and I'm still emotionally invested enough in Sally and others that it didn't bother me as much as it normally would. But be warned: this book does end on a bit of a cliffhanger -- though with this being a series and at least one more installment on the horizon, that's not surprising.
So much of what came before in the first four books of this series come to a head in Starbound, giving it a satisfying dimension of closure -- despite this not being the finale (and I say this knowing full well the next book might negate some of what's in this book; to this point, nothing surprises me).
But the long and short of it is this: Starbound is excellent, every bit the equal of its predecessors, and you need it in your library. Just don't be surprised if you find yourself contacting the author to jokingly chide her for how rude this all is.
Merged review:
Starbound pissed me off.
In a good way.
If you read Celestial -- and if you didn't, how are you reading Starbound, the fifth in this series? -- you'll know why. Still, S.E. Anderson's latest has all of the same elements that made the previous four installments so great: heart and humor.
The two go hand-in-hand, and again, I mention how refreshing it is to see a sci-fi series that doesn't take itself so damn seriously. Anderson's writing prowess is again on full display, even as she weaves through the first half of the book in such a way that you might feel like you've missed something. But that's by design and the beauty is, her characters feel the same way.
The latter portion of the book does rely on a trope that I'm not a fan of (not giving anything away here), but the twist Anderson puts on it is inventive enough, and I'm still emotionally invested enough in Sally and others that it didn't bother me as much as it normally would. But be warned: this book does end on a bit of a cliffhanger -- though with this being a series and at least one more installment on the horizon, that's not surprising.
So much of what came before in the first four books of this series come to a head in Starbound, giving it a satisfying dimension of closure -- despite this not being the finale (and I say this knowing full well the next book might negate some of what's in this book; to this point, nothing surprises me).
But the long and short of it is this: Starbound is excellent, every bit the equal of its predecessors, and you need it in your library. Just don't be surprised if you find yourself contacting the author to jokingly chide her for how rude this all is.