Review: Don't read it unless you can afford the next installment
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 22, 2013
"I prefer reading David Adams to playing Mass Effect" says my 16 yr. old kid.With this third volume of the Lacuna series David Adams has fond his voice or rather he grew and developed enough as a Sci-Fi writer to beyond the promising debutant phase and into almost fully-grown writer. And there's little danger of him peaking yet as the book's ending all but guarantees an even more exciting sequel to be followed by...I told David that I wasn't a fan of never-ending 'series' when he first asked me to read and hopefully review his first opus but, in spite of some issues I had with the timing of the story - travel to the stars by 2030 or so - and with some of the technology it was a good read and I enjoyed the second installment even more. He has the talent of both telegraphing what's going to happen next and then twisting it all and surprising us readers and manipulating our sense of wonder and our curiosity into eagerly waiting for "what's next". And book three has all of these qualities and it's showing them all to an even greater degree.The Lacuna series is about us 'humans' truly and probably prematurely crossing into the space age following a few scientific and technological breakthroughs that triggered devastating warning strikes from an aggressive, ruthless and powerful and dominant interstellar empire determined to maintain space supremacy to themselves and deny it to everyone else.As expected, 'book three' continues to follow fearless commander Melissa Liao, now a mother, and her friends, associates as they all struggle to overcome the greatest challenge the human race ever faced. Capt. Gregoire, Melissa's lover and fellow ship captain, the unstoppable, super-bright and always in-your-face Summer Rowe, furry and increasingly frustrated Sara, staff and crew, they are all back. But something has changed in fundamental ways turning former enemies into allies, existing friends and allies suspicious, and offering Capt. (or is it Commander?) Liao now of Galactic fame one more opportunity to save us all from complete annihilation. Or...But this is a spoilers-free review so I'm not going to reveal anything other than warning all readers that, if you are going to buy and read this book I am quite confident that you will be eagerly waiting for the next installment. Come back and add a comment to my review if it ain't so :).I would recommend the Lacuna series to all 'hard' Sci-Fi readers seeking to hear from a 'new voice' that has become loud, articulate, increasingly persuasive and to the point while not shying away from the occasional insightful or contemplative paragraphs. David Adams is a talented writer and he has a good story to tell. It's probably okay to start with this volume but starting with 'the beginning' -Lacuna: Demons of the VoidandLacuna: The Sands of Karathishould bring some more context to The Spectre of Oblivion.