Review: Great introduction to the characters and world.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 6, 2013
Proxy is a prequel Novella to a book called Avalon releasing early next year. In Proxy we learn a little bit about the world Jeth and his sister Lizzie live in and also what sort of work they do as members of the Shades crew.What I liked about this Novella was how it set the world and the people within it without divulging too much about the characters in the process. For instance we learn that the Shades are compiled primarily by Teenagers and that by 20 most age out of the group. However, we don't learn the specific reasons why this is so. Another thing we learn about is Jeth's relationship with his sister. She's the greenhorn of the operation and Jeth definitely isn't happy about this. Yet, Lizzie is kept quite mysterious. We know she's tech savvy but not really how she became so since it seems Jeth is away from her quite a bit. Also it is implied she is favored by their boss Hammer but is it out of a Father's type love or are more sinister machinations afoot?Another thing I liked about Proxy was the pacing. The suspense was kept all the way through while still providing plenty of action and drama in the process. This is certainly a credit to Mindee Arnett's writing as I never found myself bored while reading this even while being waylaid by technical jargon that could of easily killed the pacing of the story.Lastly, I liked the characters. Jeth seems like a cross between Dean Winchester and Peter Pan. He's the older brother, the protector always looking out for Lizzie. Yet, by being older he knows his time with the Shades is limited and so he needs to seize life by the balls so to speak and make the most out of his time in the here and now while he can. I also liked Celeste. While the novella has absolutely zero romance I think that Celeste and Jeth might become something later on. Of course maybe I'm wrong and just seeing something that doesn't exist.Final ThoughtsIf you like Science Fiction mixed with action, adventure and a tiny bit of drama then I'd highly suggest picking this Novella up and giving it a go. After reading Proxy I am looking forward to Avalon when it releases.  Speaking of which the Novella comes with a chapter preview and it is just as good if not better than Proxy. I can't wait to see more from this cast of characters. With that being said, I will be rating Proxy by Mindee Arnett ★★★★.