Review: Sold by the Sample Alone
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 17, 2012
While the premise was scant, it was certainly enough for me to want to try the sample and it sold me. Its not about one person, this is an ensemble piece orchestrated well. I was interested in the families of the crew, Sun Hi's father and his retirees (as well as her mother) had me laughing at times, and identifying with them at others. And that was just the sample. Once I bought the book, it engaged me with its broad paint strokes of promise of getting to know these characters as the book (and thankfully) the series went on.It fed enough of me that likes to bond with characters and watch them go through adventures. This is not a bunch of angst ridden, gritty, angry the universe hates me crew. If you like that, you might want to pass on this series. I was able to enjoy what I read, also feed the tech-geek in me as well as the part that sometimes I just want to see a one-sided tail kicking.The author does an outstanding job of not focusing the conflicts the characters (including the ship's AI CAT) encounter regarding IF they are going to win, its more a matter of how and in several instances how spectacularly.This is also the rare series that finds a good balance between how one can have a crew and ship-AI as well as fighters and still have a good fight without compromising on any of them.Definitely a good 'wow' factor in this and the following books. I'm not a good judge of the grammar as other reviews are, but I will say I loved this. It left me with a good feeling, a promise and want for more. It felt very much like a pilot episode of a series you want to tune into each week.Looking for a fair fight, pass on this series. Looking for fun, heart-pumping, fist in the air, shouting YES kind of victories (which by the way isn't always done with superior fire power), with an ensemble cast and a some amazing tech-science concepts, this series is for you. The author even handles romance well without it turning into a series of sex scenes for the sake of sex.Within a day I had successively bought each book of the series and now eagerly waiting book five. I hope you'll enjoy this series too.