Review: Uneven Plotting
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 25, 2014
Aurora: Pegasus is book two (more to come) in the Aurora series and continues directly from Aurora: Darwin with a series long arc.  As with the first book, the story suffers from uneven pacing and a bit too much bloat.  The progression of the plot entails a first part where nothing happens, a middle part that quickly devolves into torture porn, and then an overwrought third part where everyone goes off half-cocked.  So while not a terrible book, the violence (physical and psychological) becomes a bit much and this feels more like "Hostel in Outer Space" disguised in military sci fi trappings. As with the first book, the paranormal 'voo-doo' with Harris and lovesick mooning Welles/Doc adds to the unevenness, making the book lack direction.Harris, Carrie, and the crew have returned to Earth after lengthy debriefings and a court martial trial. But their stay is short lived as once again they are recalled, this time as bait, to entrap Sharley and the Jumbos. It's Welles herself who will be the worm on the hook - and it is up to the Aurora crew to protect her.  Meanwhile, shifting alliances within the UNF means Harris has no idea who he can, and can't trust. With Welles' life on the balance, he must decipher the rest of the Jumbo manifesto and uncover Sharley's full plan.The first book definitely showed that author Bridgeman doesn't shy away from casual, vicious violence or psychological games. How much you enjoy the series likely originates from your ability to accept and assimilate the torture and mental degradation.  Admittedly, I have a low threshold of tolerance and prefer to read science fiction and not horror. As such, I left the second book dissatisfied and a bit queasy - I was still hoping for military sci fi and not science gone wrong.The pacing issues in both books were frustrating.  Action starts and stop, starts and stops, and never really gets  a chance to reach a satisfying crescendo.  Dense writing and far too much superfluous or trivial musings/interactions don't help propel the story or give character insight.  Especially in the beginning, I kept wanting to skim quite a bit.  Both Darwin and Pegasus have their 'ending' at about 75% in - making the rest of the 1 hour of reading very anticlimactic.  I still do prefer the normal plot structure of 3 parts.In all, as with the first book, this is not a terrible story and I think many will enjoy it.  For me, it wasn't an enjoyable read and I won't be continuing with the third book.  Received as an ARC from the publisher.