Review: Good maybe working on great
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 14, 2011
This one starts out with Diet and the gang working on getting ready for a strike on the big bad of the series so far. They are supposed to go through some intense combat training and then proceed to Vegas to gather some of the ACT stuff.Good1 Relationships start to flesh out and you get to see how people feel. He pulls this off sometimes really well as in the Diet and Jule. You get to really feel how they feel and where they come from, Rei is portrayed as a little two sided sometimes it feels like she is really two people and although I can appreciate what he is trying to portray here as really two people one that is a predator and the other a girl she comes across crazy and jarring at times. The best is the leader Carrera and Sadie both are really well driven and you can easily see both where they are coming from and why they do what they do. His characterization of them is so well done that honestly it just shows what he could of done with the others.2 The world opens up and we get to see how Rei's world works. This is done well and we get to see into some of the issues that drive her world view. Not bad but I have hopes this will get fully fleshed out in the coming book.3 Other races are introduced well and you get a much better idea of how the moving parts of the world work. This starts to become engrossing and lets you suspend belief much easier as the world makes sense.4 Science and magic as with the first book he interweaves these things together in such a way as to make sense and really it adds to both the writing and the world in a way that other authors struggle with. I wish he put more of it in the book as the part with the plasma was just super cool.Bad1 The book starts with advanced combat training we get to see the first few days and then it just goes to the end when they are ready to deploy. I don't mind that so much as I do that you don't see how anyone learned anything from this. You don't see one new skill from any of them except the plasma. Does Diet learn how to do more stuff? Nope not that is showed. Same extraction and same bomb thing as first book. No progress that can be seen. This was a missed opportunity to add to the character and continue his advancement instead it is just wasted space that adds nothing to the plot. We do not get to share his challenges or his set backs. We do not get to find out more about how the mages are trained. We do not get to feel exhilarated as he becomes more than a new be at magic. Instead his power and understanding is the same as the first book. Pretty lame.2 Ending. Plot device. I hate these please do not set up a plot that requires that your main character be an idiot. A plot should develop outside of the main character do not have it hinge on his mistake. Its just tacky and really given your talent beneath you.3 Diet is stupid with girls and that is something that has been used so much that it really is not necessary.OverallGood writing with a good plot "till the end" and the characters are fun to read and adventure with. The main character holds your attention and is likable even with no real growth on his part either with magic or maturation. The book ends on a cliffhanger with the character swearing to get stronger. I can only hope that in the next book he does, having a main character who does not even win one fight in the whole book is kind of a let down and the whole no progress even with training is also disappointing. I would hope that in the next book it not only has him learning new things through the book but starts out a few months later and he is already on his way. The weakness of the character compared to EVERYONE ELSE is really my main complaint and a major upgrade in his day to day power and competence level would be a refreshing breeze "please do make it where is only powerful under extreme duress that is just the lamest plot device in this genre". With that I will read the next book in the hope that Dieter actually is able to fight for himself and hold his own and dare I hope become one of the most powerful instead of one of the weakest.