Review: Somewhat disappointing sequel to Xenolith
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 08 31, 2012
I really was excited to read this sequel because Xenolith really intrigued me. I love the story and the characters so much! The first book had a great and unique premise with good world building and great development of characters and dialogue.How I review books in order of importance: Plot, Writing Sophistication Level, Character Depth, World Integrity, and Grammar/Spelling. See my profile for a more detailed explanation.This book fell short for me by starting with a really great plot but then sputtering at the end. As others have mentioned the construction of the plot is not very coherent, the story just seems to fall apart the further you read into it. More like the story ran out of steam.The dialogue was pretty good but I feel that it wasn't as sophisticated as it could've been. I was unsatisfied with the way the book ended because I think it was too easy of an ending to write and not as interesting as it could have been. The expansion of the story to include multiple characters does leave room for a better story but led to too much jumping back and forth between characters. I think we have some great characters but minor characters end up detracting from the story.That being said I will tell you why you should read it. There is supposed to be a third book! (From the latest news I could find the working title is "sojourner".) Someone please correct me if I am wrong. Yes the story will continue and the author has mentioned that he would like to improve upon his second novel in the series. Another reason to read it is the story is good enough to read just to find out more about the world and what happens. There are some great scenes which I feel save the book but just shy of reaching the 4 star level. It's not the author's best work but I hope for the best in the third book!