- Joined
- Jun 4, 2018
So, here we are, gathered round to discuss Janeski's first book. Prior to this she had a short story in an anthology, but as far as I'm aware, this is her first full-length novel.
Is it perfect? No. But it's a solid double, in my opinion. She's got her finger on what people are looking for, I think -- a lot less social faffing, and a lot more action sequences, sci-fi weirdness, and a romance that isn't ham-handed. And for three bucks on Kindle, it's a pretty good deal.
First, the weak spots. There's a fair amount of tropes played straight: the loose cannon cop, surly, nursing an old tragedy; the unprepared newbie who's not even a field agent, struggling to keep up; psychotic cultists who want to blow up everything; and no, the bolt pistols aren't like 40k bolt pistols. They fire plasma rounds, not micro-rockets.
I also think the book could use a touch more exposition. I'm still not sure how the Monorail (the interplanetary transit system in the setting) works. It gives the same feel of an noir thriller though, where the heroes are traveling by train. So it's not terrible, I just kinda wish it was explained better. Ditto for the current sociopolitical setup, which appears to be a fucked up parliamentary model (but then, that happens a lot, so it's not like it's new).
The reveal of the villain is carefully hidden until the third act -- there are no clues leading up to it, but it does make sense, and it doesn't come completely out of nowhere. Indeed, the book has a surfeit of villains vying to be the one to cap our heroes, often times working at strange cross purposes.
Speaking of the heroes, Veronique de Tournay and David Carter are probably the best part of the book. The dialogue and friction between them -- the former a highly skilled profiler and psychiatrist, the latter a seasoned, bitter special agent -- is at least plausible, and Janeski gleefully throws them into terrifying situations alone and together so that they really have no one to rely on but each other. At the end, both are battered physically and mentally -- but they do have each other.
If Janeski can polish off a few rough edges in future books, she should think about submitting some manuscripts for Baen. I suspect they'd take her on happily.
Is it perfect? No. But it's a solid double, in my opinion. She's got her finger on what people are looking for, I think -- a lot less social faffing, and a lot more action sequences, sci-fi weirdness, and a romance that isn't ham-handed. And for three bucks on Kindle, it's a pretty good deal.
First, the weak spots. There's a fair amount of tropes played straight: the loose cannon cop, surly, nursing an old tragedy; the unprepared newbie who's not even a field agent, struggling to keep up; psychotic cultists who want to blow up everything; and no, the bolt pistols aren't like 40k bolt pistols. They fire plasma rounds, not micro-rockets.
I also think the book could use a touch more exposition. I'm still not sure how the Monorail (the interplanetary transit system in the setting) works. It gives the same feel of an noir thriller though, where the heroes are traveling by train. So it's not terrible, I just kinda wish it was explained better. Ditto for the current sociopolitical setup, which appears to be a fucked up parliamentary model (but then, that happens a lot, so it's not like it's new).
The reveal of the villain is carefully hidden until the third act -- there are no clues leading up to it, but it does make sense, and it doesn't come completely out of nowhere. Indeed, the book has a surfeit of villains vying to be the one to cap our heroes, often times working at strange cross purposes.
Speaking of the heroes, Veronique de Tournay and David Carter are probably the best part of the book. The dialogue and friction between them -- the former a highly skilled profiler and psychiatrist, the latter a seasoned, bitter special agent -- is at least plausible, and Janeski gleefully throws them into terrifying situations alone and together so that they really have no one to rely on but each other. At the end, both are battered physically and mentally -- but they do have each other.
If Janeski can polish off a few rough edges in future books, she should think about submitting some manuscripts for Baen. I suspect they'd take her on happily.
