Review: A fantastic continuation, but a painful stop...
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 14, 2013
First, if you haven't read any of the other Ell Donsaii books, I highly recommend going back and starting at book one.  They are all quick reads, and while Tau Ceti is perhaps the most capable of standing on its own, it still benefits from the foundation laid out by the earlier books.Like all of the previous books, Tau Ceti (Ell Donsaii #6) uses Ell Donsaii's research as a catalyst to ask questions related to both the genre of science fiction and to science as a whole.  Tau Ceti is also perhaps the most obvious in questioning tropes and cliches within the science fiction community, and much the better for its departure from other well-tred grounds.  In that way, it is a great read unto itself, and does not overly depend on Ell's remarkable abilities as the principle vehicle of the novel.That said, it's also quite a departure from the format of the previous books by nature of its very subject matter.  While this is not a bad thing necessarily, fans of the series for the strong heroine Ell Donsaii might be slightly disappointed in the book as her own exploits - while more reality-driven and dynamic - are less of a focus than in previous books.  What sections there are that focus on Ell are fantastic and, on some level, more entertaining (if not more emotional) than in prior works, but also suffer from a form of character isolation.The painful part of Tau Ceti is in the disservice done to fans by Dr. Dahners's prodigious writing to date - books 1 - 6 were all published within an 18 month timespan.  Tau Ceti's ending is a fitting cap to the series, although it left this reader wanting more (in particular as the story only constitutes 75% of the overall book in digital format; the remaining 25% is a preview of another book by the author set outside the Ell Donsai series).  This remarkable output is laudable, though it remains to be seen if Dr. Dahners will be releasing another Ell Donsai book as hot on Tau Ceti's heels as it was to Comet, or Comet was to Rocket, et cetera.  On his blog, Dr. Dahners expressed interest in working on other concepts for the time being and returning to the Ell Donsaii saga at another point, which may leave fans with a withdrawal period (hopefully not nearly as sever as fans of George R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" saga have experienced between books four and five).Ultimately, my greatest complaint with Tau Ceti is that it suffers from abbreviation and leaves seemingly little momentum for future books, which is compounded by the uncertainty of when or even if the author will return to the series.  It's a thoroughly enjoyable, albeit brief, read and I recommend it to anyone who would like to see more science in science fiction.  For fans of the series who HAVEN'T yet read Tau Ceti, I'd caution that you might reach the end and find yourself craving more.  Tau Ceti isn't really a dessert course and doesn't feel like the course to end the meal on - I'd suggest waiting a little while until the next book is getting closer to ready so there's less of a sudden drop.Then again, I gorged myself on the first six books after about two months (and it only took that long because I forced myself to read other books in between each installment to pace myself), so I might be suffering a bit more of a craving than others.TL;DR: Fun, good book that breaks away from the format of previous Ell Donsaii books and questions scifi tropes.  Feels a bit abbreviated, though, particularly when it comes to Ell's presence and in comparison to Comet.  Stands on its own better than other Ell Donsaii books (other than Quicker), but fans of Ell might find her diminished presence discouraging.  Please Dr. Dahners, don't leave us hanging too long. ;)