Review: The best free book you'll ever read
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 30, 2011
DISCLAIMER: I downloaded this book during a free promotion and made no promise of a review.Wow.  Just WOW.  That's about all I can say about Space Junque. The end.You know how I rail against how badly Indies are regarded by the publishing industry?  Well, I'm going to tell you a secret.  I do a little of it too.  I have read so many Indie books that I don't put up here which are unedited and un-thought-through.  Someone's mom told them it was good so they hit "publish" on smashwords.  Uggh.This one though?  This one was everything I could have ever wanted a sci-fi novel to be and then you add the romance and man, I was captivated.Space Junque is different from the sci-fi I usually rave about.  The world building is slow and presented to the reader in a matter of fact manner.  It works because the author has empowered the main character, Char, to completely own her reality.  The details about the word are dolled out in sparse and enticing pieces, making you want to know more about this world and how it got this way.  As you read along you realize you understand more than you thought you did because this future isn't so different from our own.Using pieces of current day politics and some very possible scientific possibilities Rigel manages to create a world our children might find to be real:  The icecaps have melted bringing the water levels up and destroying entire cities, The oil spill of 2010 was much worse (or was it and we just don't know the ramifications yet?), fertility is dwindling and genetic enhancements are the norm.Around our main character the world is filled with* "Ghosts" (mutated humans who have lost all will to live or thrive but exist none-the-less and seem to have unnaturally long lives)* Hairless mutants who haven't "gone ghost"* Eco-terrorists called DOGs (Defenders of Gaia)* Religious fanatics called the TU (Talibanos Unidos)* Raptors (mutations within the animal kingdom)* An Emperor* Inhabited Space Stations* Oh and there's something called the "vault" which I'm not entirely clear on but I don't think I'm supposed to be.There are two more books in the series and I definitely got the sense that this was a lead in. I'm dying to download the 2nd in the series but I'm making myself wait.  I have too much going on right now to loose myself in another book but I really really want to.  Seriously, I had this on my phone and I would sneak away from the kids to read a few more pages whenever I could.The romance between Char and the endearing and passionate lead, Jake was somewhat glossed over.  I can't decide if this is a problem or not though.  I got their connection and their attraction, but I like a little more lemon in my lemonade.  Since not everyone is a perv like me, this is perhaps not a real problem but I did want some more hot lovin'. It was nice to see a relationship in a romance that was equal and respectful and where the woman didn't just whine.  I liked Char and Jake together and hope to see more of them.About 2/3 of the way through Space Junque we are introduced to a character, Asherah, who claims to be a God.  There's a lot of mythology and innuendo, but basically it seems that Asherah is an incantation of the iconic fertility goddess - Isis, Inanna, etc.  Another God, Samuel, is mentioned but we don't know anything about him yet.Rigel does a delightful job of weaving the mythology aspect of the plot through the entire story, so when Asherah appears it's not completely out of the blue.  In fact, much like the world building, Space Junque manages to present these situations in such real terms that the expected Wait, now there's Gods? reaction doesn't occur.Space Junque is free.  To me this is utter insanity.  It's so good you should have to pay for it.  So do yourself a favor and click on any of the 962 links in this post and download your copy now.  It's short, it's fun, it's sexy and action packed and you are going to love it.