Review: Wow, What a Trip!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 8, 2013
A university student, son of an empress, or is he?, returns home to find his mother's empire is...part of the underworld?  Are his uncles space explorers or space pirates? And are the Federation agents buying slaves and assassins or trying to put the pirates out of business?  In a galaxy of mind wipes and personality reprogramming, who's who and what's what isn't clear until the final pages.  And doing the right thing can get you killed in an instant...and save the universe.The author's style reminded me of the early works of Neal Stephenson, such asSnow Crash (Bantam Spectra Book)andThe Diamond Age (Bantam Spectra Book), with various story lines and hints not showing their significance until late in the book.  Unlike much of today's space opera science fiction, the story has a complexity and depth that keeps your attention while winding together a riveting story out of many interesting details.  You will not rip through this book or skim the story, nor guess what's in the next chapter.  It's a full read engaging your full attention.The first few chapters had some minor punctuation and editing flaws - though not so serious to detract from the reading experience and certainly reasonable in a $0.99 book.  Strangely the editing became better after the first 1/4.  It was also a good length (estimated 350 pages).  Not a $0.99 short story, nor a 150 page pocket read, it's a full length and depth story - ending nicely without dragging on.I enjoyed it.