Review: The Gambit is Respectable
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 11, 2014
What I would have liked to know before I bought this book. (no spoilers)1. What type of book is it: action, drama, etc?  This book installment is an action drama, with a lesser doze of military espionage, without much mystery to it. I know, it sounds like a contradiction: espionage versus 'without mystery'. Yet, its true. The book is also a conclusion, albeit one not lacking in action.2. What is the story about, in general? The story details the diplomatic mission of humanity to the "Fish Folk" (they have no name) as they try to mediate with its factions in the hope of preventing humanity's extinction.3. What/Who is the target audience?  I believe the target audience is a male audience.4. Is there character development? Hmm, yes there is. I was pleasantly surprised by a change in the tenor of 2 characters. Their roles did not change significantly, though their evolution within their roles was good. A third character evolves as well, but it's a truly predictable sort of evolution that didn't quite provide as much zest as I would have enjoyed.5. Are the characters likable? I have to say most of the characters are likable, though a little shallow. This book installment continues their story, yes, but doesn't provide morally challenging situations for most of them. That lack of depth reduced a bit of their likability because they lost a bit of their realism. The conflicting nature of humanity is better shown with the 2 characters I previously mentioned. Those two MAIN characters have such good flaws that they seem a lot more real than most, yet they are ultimately TREATED as secondary characters. You'll have to read the book to figure out which characters I mean. :)6. Does the story keep its pacing?  Yes, the story did keep its pacing. There was some intrigue, some espionage, some combat, some politics, and so forth. A little of everything. That's a great plus for the book.7. Do you have to suspend disbelief? Understand that this is simply my personal opinion. I did have to suspend disbelief a little. The story is simply too perfectly pat. Our heroes ultimately choose ALL the correct paths. I would have enjoyed the resolution of conflict when significant characters choose questionable moral/ethical paths that deeply impacted relations between the species. Besides the evolution of those 2 characters I mentioned, I wasn't particularly surprised. Even the order of people who perished or survived had a choreographed predictability to it. I couldn't predict the exact circumstances, but I could predict, with a little too much accuracy, the general events; who would die and why. At the same time, some serious clichés are AVOIDED, though by submitting to less glaring clichés.8. Is the book worth the asking price?  It is still a very nice book installment, all things considered. $5 dollars shouldn't strain anyone's pocket.In conclusion:  This book suffers from a declining freshness to its story. It's as if all the surprises where mostly completed in the previous books. This one follows a rote path to the end. Most of the characters don't change at all from their previously written personas and are shielded from truly harsh decisions by events, military doctrine, diplomatic protocol, or the comfort of orders. Only two characters have any confrontational difficulty, though they don't particularly change from their written personas either. There is plenty of action, and other aspects to the book, that keeps the pacing flowing smoothly. It helps with those moments of predictability and disbelief. The book is still well priced. The story retains enough grit to remain an entertaining read and concludes a lot of story threads with a satisfying feel of completion. Its an above average book and a solid end to this trilogy.3.4 stars