Review: Read the Rainbow Reviews
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 15, 2014
4 Stars, Reviewed by Cari for Read the RainbowLet me start by saying that this story was just about as perfect a cracky sci-fi read as I could ever ask for.  If you like Robert Aspirin's Myth Adventures or Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat stories, you'll find something to love in Aldous Mercer's Royce Ree Omnibus.  This is the story of how our hero, covert operative Royce Ree, succeeds in his mission to bring "an impeccable sense of style" back to his emperor, all while reuniting his his ex, saving lives, solving interplanetary crises and spending some quality time with psychic animals along the way.If you think this sounds cracky, it is.  Oh, it is.  If you're looking for a sci-fi story that wants to bow you down under Heavy Ideas, look elsewhere.  If you want a romance filled with Incredibly Hot Sex, this isn't the book for you.  Royce Ree and his ex-husband, Les'Anther Dai-Sarn, have a compelling way of interacting with each other, and its their relationship, both past and present, that informs and directs a lot of the best parts of this book.  There's plenty of plot to go around, the FTL (faster-than-light) technology and chip implants and a host of other little touches keep you grounded (so to speak) in science fiction, and the supporting characters are interesting in their own ways.  What will keep you reading, though, is the wittiness, the slightly-coy aloofness, the undeniable bond between these men, and the bits and pieces of their past that get parsed out to you over the course of the story.  Royce and Les have chemistry together to spare.A few things to consider before reading this book:Come prepared to be amused.  Really.  It's funny writing, people, let yourself laugh.Don't expect well-rounded resolution.  By that I mean that you're essentially dropped into this story right in the middle and told to run with it, and while by the end you do have a much better grasp of what's going on between our boys, you haven't learned everything.  This isn't a bad thing, as we're only on Volume One.This book was self-published, and there are some errors.  There are places that could be improved with tighter writing, others where words are missing, and POV switches that can be abrupt, to say the least.  Then again, a lot of professionally published books aren't perfect either, so...Four stars, with great promise for more.