Review: Alien Romance Lights Things Up
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 26, 2013
"Bain," book one of Aimee Roseland's forthcoming multi-book fantasy series, "The Bar'axus Bridge Chronicles," delivers a literary feast. Whatever you like, it's probably in here: inter-species romances, magic, love and betrayal, blood-drinking buddies and swordplay, sentient space ships, gates to far worlds, palace intrigues, rebels and mercenaries, muscular heroes and twisted villains, invisible spies, a myriad of names that no one could confidently pronounce out loud, and all orbiting a coming-of-age tale about a charming and fearless female main character.Ms. Roseland's ability to catch and hold a reader is splendid. I seldom dip into this type of novel since romance and magic are near the bottom of my "want-to-read" list. Still, if this author is at the helm, I may have to revise my biases. "Bain" is a fun book. It moves quickly, paints vivid word pictures, spins a complex yarn and keeps all the disparate parts in the air while sweeping us into a heart touching romance - or two, or three.Still, even literary feasts have a few items on the menu that disappoint. So, here are a few for me. The prologue, or whatever it is, that opened the book ("Four years ago...") was a needless distraction and simply delayed the story. I wish I had skipped it. Next, the extended flashback that explained the personal history between Bain and Lyr'ese came too late in the story for me. Why wouldn't it work better in a more linear location? I know, I know, these things are absolutely the author's choice, but I'm just saying...Action infuses the book and it is well done. Yes, once in awhile the author lost me and I had to go back to make sure I knew who was talking now, who just got hit by a dark'sling, or who just saw what. But not too often. And yes, there were a few trivial irritations with wrong words such as "..died in vein" instead of "vain," or "taught" where she intended "taut," or "site" when she meant "sight." That kind of thing, not over much but a little irksome.I enjoyed the plot twists as characters developed and true motives blossomed. There were a few moments when I thought the twists became snarls and some of the hidden relationships clanked a bit with convenience. This became more evident during the frenetic, action-filled finale as everything converged into an extended series of resolutions, explanations and cliff hangings. I'm not sure why all the nagging plot points had to be tied up with such sudden abruptness. Things felt rushed. I can't help but think that the author who penned such a visually fascinating novel could have designed a more graceful way to wrap things up.Overall, "Bain" is an extremely entertaining book that is well written, addictive, cleverly plotted and worth your time, even if, like me, you don't usually seek out this type of book.