Starfall
Given the ending of Behind Distant Stars, I was expecting this one to pick up pretty much immediately after that.
But, there’s a little bit of time between the two. Not a lot, but enough.
Fid is now in a desperate search. He became a villain in the aftermath of a tragedy that took his little brother, and now an android who considers a daughter is gone.
Not only do we know, from previous actions, just what he is willing to do to rescue her, but we get some idea of what he has, in a sense, done. This one of the finer bits of tension in the novel. We get some idea of the truly horrific consequences if Fid truly finds himself blocked at every turn.
On the other hand, much of the search is on the theoretical end, and the first part of the novel seems to wander about aimlessly. Things do happen, but the plot is unfocused, slow, and lacks the urgency that you’d expect from Fid at this point.
Even when things do get going it still feels a little aimless. Another component of that is that there is a side bit going on from near the start, that’s obviously important, but the characters are largely ignoring it. Indeed, it turns out to be the key to the plot. That’s fine, but it was a little too obvious and a little too ignored until the end.
Past some pacing issues, the writing holds up, and Fid’s journey comes to a nicely climatic end. It’s a good series overall, and well worthwhile.
Discussion ¬