Review: Good, but too short to really develop
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 17, 2011
The idea of a futuristic version of "Jack and the Beanstalk" really intrigued me, unfortunately the story was too short to really develop the characters for me to really understand and care about their problems.In the futuristic city of New Castle, the agents of Mother Organization polices the corporations.  Corporations and the wealthy live on floating islands in the sky. Agent Jacqueline "Jaq" Robinson sets out on her personal mission to destroy Giant Corp, the company responsible for her sister's illness. Using bio-engineered beans to get to the floating island, Jaq sets out to steal the vaccine even though she'll be forced to seek help from fellow agent Harper English--the man who left her to go deep undercover at Giant.As much as I wanted to love this story for its uniqueness and its creativity, it just didn't work for me for two main reasons:1. Too Short--I've come to love short stories and novellas and all, but unfortunately the author tried to cram too much into a short story so much of the story telling was left to telling instead of showing. A lot was left unsaid. I really couldn't connect with either Jaq or Harp or understand their emotions because there just wasn't much time to develop the characters. Several things were alluded to, which if explained, would have helped out enormously. The sexual tension just wasn't there for me so it felt awkward when Jaq and Harp did have their romantic moments.2. Super Agents making stupid mistakes--we are supposed to understand that both Jaq and Harp are top notch super agents for Mother Organization, yet they both can't seem to get it together to get the job done. I had to keep reminding myself that they are supposed to be caught by "the giant" so it follows the fairy tale, but they just didn't seem to use their brains. Okay so first Jaq knowingly shows up a week early for Harp's extraction because she needs the vaccine now--I can buy into that fact, that Jaq willingly went against orders to save her sister and she even has a plan in place to succeed.  But once Harp finds Jaq at the rendezvous point, all things go to pot.First major stupid point--Harp tells "Mrs. Giant" he'll be right back then sneaks off with Jaq to his room where he starts to strip down to have sex with his ex he walked out on--don't you think the bad guys are going to notice your "be right back" is taking a long time and put you on their radar?Second major stupid point--Jaq has a plan to get the vaccine but Harp says "let me use my own passcode" and he ends up getting hauled off. Don't you think the bad guys would notice a lounge singer using his badge to get into a secure chemical lab where all their bio-weapons are developed? Even with these "too stupid" moments which showed us they aren't all powerful, the "escape" was awesome and it did redeem them a bit in my eyes.Despite those two major hang-ups of mine, the overall story was fun to read because it is so unique and very creative. I liked the concept, I just wish there was more page time to really develop it so I could care more about what was happening.**UPDATE** I sought out other books by Ms. Drake because I enjoyed her imagination and creativity. I'd recommend picking upSilver Bound--an impressive space western.**UPDATE 7/18/12 -- I HIGHLY recommend her newest short story titledDesert Blade. It's an awesome futuristic story.