This book got a killer tagline. Lesbian gunslingers in space fighting spies. I mean, wow and wow, right? Well, first off, there’s really one lesbian gunslinger and her straight gunfighting cohort. Secondly…well…underwhelming.
Why is it that certain publishers set certain book length standards for themselves? It seems weird and restricting. Angry Robot books tend to be exactly 400 pages, which is my opinion is quite long/too long. Maybe that’s why the robot is angry. In any case, 400 was way too many pages for me with this book. I’ve been reading such excellent science fiction graphic novels, it made me want to read a proper genre novel. This one, though, however many trends it can put a checkmark next to, didn’t do the trick. It isn’t entirely the book’s fault. Maybe not of it is the book’s fault. Maybe it was just one of those reader/book incompatibilities. Technically the book is accomplished, especially for a debut. It’s very much in line with what one might think of when one thinks of a rollicking space adventure of a space operatic variety. It has a spunky protagonist, unlikely friendship, intergalactic politicking, warring factions, a romance, and so on. Lesbians, aliens of color, various creeds…a swooning amount of diversity. What a properly modern book written for its time. And yet… And yet…for me it left a lot to be desired. When analyzed, the fault seems to lie primarily with the characters, who just did not engage. At all. Rig, the main one, a factionless outlaw, who defied her planet’s expectations/orders of her, is some sort of a genius, who invented some radical nanotech and promptly absconded with it. Ginka, is a much more obedient servant of a different world, but also finds herself on the outs with it, and so the two team up. No sparks – Rig has a beloved girlfriend, a practical librarian lady, who Rig cheesily and distantly adores, because Rig doesn’t think she deserves her or some such trite crap and Ginka is actually secretly married in a very clandestine manner to her military supervisor. Just two very different individuals out to kick space butt and teach each other valuable life lessons. The thing is, though their ages are never specified, both characters, especially Rig, read very, very young. Young in a way that more reflects the age of the author than the age of the characters. Rig’s main descriptor is that she’s sassy, which translates into clumsy sexish puns, but overall, she comes across angsty and spunky like a brash youngster, not a brazen space adventurer. Ginka is kind of a brainwashed tough soldier who occasionally (as in slowly and sporadically) gets hip to the way of things. Neither seem especially bright, both are very reactionary, and, of course, both are very good at fighting, shooting, etc. for that girl power oomph. Tried as I might (400 pages worth) I just never cared about any of them. It was the kind of book I’d walk away from at any time without thinking twice about it, but for being a completist. And so, I finished it. It read long. It wasn’t for me. It’s hip, flash, action-driven, but all the thrills are pretty superficial. Presumably, this is what sells, this kind of shiny box-checking noise. And I’m sure it’ll entertain plenty of science fiction fans, it just didn’t work for this one. Thanks Netgalley.
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