Shepherd, Joel: Breakaway
Breakaway: A Cassandra Kresnov Novel
Writer: Joel Shepherd
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 425
I'll be honest. While I enjoyed Crossover, I didn't give much thought to reading the rest of the trilogy, unless-of course-PYR sent me the ARCs**. This book was released this past spring/summer, and I never got the ARC. Okay, that's fine . . . until fall rolls around, and what do you know, the ARC for the THIRD book in the trilogy, Killswitch, landed on my doorstep. So of course, I can't read the THIRD book without getting my hands on the SECOND, so I marched to the closest bookstore and picked up Breakaway.
Not that I minded too much. Like I said, I enjoyed the first book, but just wasn't compelled enough to continue the adventures. Not that I mind continuing the adventures, but you know, there's a difference when you get into the first book of a series and need to read more, and simply enjoying the first book of the series. If that makes sense. Whatever.
But I will say, I smell a conspiracy. ;) It's no coincidence that I received books one and three in the mail for review, but had to go out and get book two on my own. ;) ***
I forgot how much I enjoyed certain aspects of Shepherd's characters and world-building. Sandy's and Vanessa's friendship continues to be a highlight, though my vague memory tells me that Sandy knew Vanessa was attracted to her (didn't we get that lip-lock in book one, and besides, there was that whole massage scene in the beginning of book two where Sandy mused over the fact she simply wasn't attracted to women, which was a shame, since Vanessa was beautiful?), so I was a little confused when, during a debrief after the hostage situation, Sandy is in denial when someone else informs her of Vanessa's attraction. Not like it's a major point in this book or anything, but the seeming inconsistency stood out.
And Sandy really is a likable character. I'm reminded again that this isn't your typical android/cyborg/AI character who wants desperately to be human. Sandy simply IS, and there's question in her mind as to that fact. Others might see her differently, but that doesn't change how she sees herself, or how the reader views her. I like that she's losing some of that GI clarity and becoming more emotional, but I like too that when it's time to get down to business, she's all GI. Good stuff. My only concern, and this is just a passing concern, as there is one more book to read, is that Sandy's a wee bit too perfect. And I'm not talking about her beauty, her brains, or her abilities, because she was made that way, but I'm thinking in terms of character flaws. Just an observation. And I may be forgetting some pivotal flaw from the first book, as it's been a year since I read it.
The world-building is another highlight of this trilogy so far. Definitely rich, definitely diverse, and I really love seeing the universe populated by peoples not of Western origin, and successfully populating at that, and by that I mean that the ethnic characters are some imprisoned minorities, but rather, they have pivotal roles in their military and government. Sandy's musings about culture, especially in comparison to the League, are fascinating, as it highlights both the good and the bad of both sides, adding a further complexity to everything that's going on.
The story itself is obviously middle-ish, in that while it has an arc, a beginning and an end, there's still quite a bit not resolved by the end. And I don't mean bigger picture concerns like what's going to happen with the Federation and debate over biotech, but more immediate ones, like the immediate fallout from the SIB's witch-hunt (I got the impression they might be working or infiltrated by the FIA). Randomly, I don't know if Shepherd intended this or not, but I really like how the SIB (I don't remember what it stands for right now, and I'm too lazy to look) is one letter away from SOB. How appropriate. Anyway, hopefully, I'll read about the fallout in book three, but book two ended rather abruptly with the action resolved, but no falling action, no real ending.
There's lots of poignant moments in this book I really enjoyed. Like Sandy's second meeting with Ramoja, where she learns there's a GI out there with a higher des than her. I really, really like Ramoja's character, btw. His class just BLEEDS off the page. I also really liked the scene where Sandy meets with the Swami. It's obviously Shepherd has put a lot of thought into the cultural, religious, and political aspects of his world, and what it means to have Sandy shake it all up with her very presence in Tanushan society, hell, with the larger universe in general.
And one thing I really, REALLY like, that I'm sure I'll see more of in book three? The fact that Earth is, in a way, getting overthrown. This interests me so much it's not even funny.
However, as much as I like the story and the characters and the world-building, Shepherd's prose really held me back this time. Not that it's BAD prose, but he's got some writing-ticks/bad habits that really, really got under my skin. So much so I wanted to rant, and rant I did at first, then promptly saved that bit of text as notes for a possible teaching module. :)
So I won't rant. But I will point them out:
1) Unnecessary and overuse use of ellipses when periods would be just as effective.
2) Fragments like WHOA. To the point where I wasn't always sure who or what the subject of the sentence was supposed to be. And I like fragments, as a general rule. We're buddies. But not in this book.
3) Long, rambling sentences in action scenes instead of short succinct ones, which made said action scenes drag. Don't know why long sentences don't equal big visuals and therefore fast pace when it comes to prose, but it doesn't.
3) Easily misattributed dialogue and suspicious dialogue tags. I was often confused as to who was speaking, and had to backtrack. Readers should never have to backtrack to make sure they're reading something correctly, unless it's a joke or something so horrifying they aren't sure they read it right the first time.
4) Last but not least, OMG FRACKING LONG CHAPTERS!!! What the HELL? Shortest chapter in the book was sixteen pages, which I'm fine with. The longest? FIFTY-FRACKING-NINE PAGES!!! There was another that was fifty-eight! The rest of the chapters are in the twenty/thirty/forty-ish page range, and the last chapter, which has no scene breaks since it's one big action scene? Forty-four pages. NOT COOL. It messes up my mental-aesthetics of reading, not to mention the inconsistency in length really tripped up my pace, making the book feel longer than it really was.
That's it. And no, that's not ranting. You should've SEEN the rant. But it became a lecture, and who am I to lecture a published author? (A writing-popular-fiction grad student who studies this shit on a regular basis, that's who!) /sarcasm. But seriously. Shepherd has got a kick-ass story, but it'd be even more kick-ass if his writing ticks/bad habits didn't get in my way. Course, they might not get in EVERYONE'S way, so if you're one of those people? Be grateful. :)
So I have to admit, I'm enjoying this trilogy quite a bit, though admittedly, this is the kind of thing I'd rather experience as a movie or television series than read in a book, but that's just my reader preferences. I feel the same way about Tobias Buckell's work, and I enjoy his stories too. Shepherd's got a solid mix of action, political intrigue, cultural discourse, and philosophical wonder in the Cassandra Kresnov books, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all ends up.
Though, I have to wonder, why is Cassandra's hair BLACK on the cover? Shepherd takes such great pains to point out how blonde she is…and the first book reflected that. Hmm. I can't complain too much. I adore these covers, and the splash of yellow hair would've messed up the color scheme. Heh. :)
Next up: Killswitch by Joel Shepherd (ARC)
** = Which directly contradicts what I said in my review for Crossover, BUT in my defense, given enough time between releases, it's easy to forget about some books and lose interest. That's not to say anything BAD about Shepherd's work, only that I just read other books that engaged me more, so that when the second installment of his trilogy WAS released, I was too wrapped up in other books to give it a second thought.
*** = Come to think of it, it IS a conspiracy! After all, PYR did send me an ARC of Sean Williams's The Hanging Mountains, which is book THREE of a four book cycle. I refused to get suckered into books one and two, and was determined to read three on its own merit. Which I did, but I was barely a quarter-way through when I realized I was going to love the book to pieces and had to get the rest of the story, and therefore ordering books one and two, IN HARDBACK, from Amazon. Not that I've read them yet, as I'm saving them for a specific date, but my point still stands, IT'S A CONSPIRACY!!!!