Well this one is a lot of fun! Himself recommended it, as he was drawn in by the unusual cover and then by the book itself…
Boots Elsworth was a famous treasure hunter in another life, but now she’s washed up. She makes her meager living faking salvage legends and selling them to the highest bidder, but this time she might have stumbled on something real–the story of the Harrow, a famous warship, capable of untold destruction. Nilah Brio is the top driver in the Pan Galactic Racing Federation and the darling of the racing world–until she witnesses the murder of a fellow racer. Framed for the murder and on the hunt to clear her name, Nilah only has one lead: the killer also hunts a woman named Boots.
Both of these characters are not particularly likeable – you get the sense that Boots would sell her own grandmother if it would get her a solid fortune, while Nilah, young, cossetted and completely absorbed in her quest to win the Championship, is inevitably self absorbed, with a huge sense of her own importance.
As this book hits the ground running, whipping us along at a breathless pace that doesn’t ever let up, what I particularly enjoyed was that along the way, they both change for the better. Or, particularly in Boots’ case, we get to know exactly why she behaves as she does. While the terrible war that saw worlds die is now over, those caught up in the horrors don’t ever really get over it. However, I don’t want you to get the impression that this is one of those grim, post-apocalyptic adventures dripping with ruin, rust and a miasma of despair. It’s nothing of the sort – far more full-on with gung-ho adventurers who still hold life cheaply, including their own, and are capable of being amusingly snarky in between dodging fire from lethal robots, magically enhanced weaponry and overwhelming odds.
In fact, there was a point about halfway through the book when I had to take a break from the foot-to-the-floor action, as I was just too exhausted to keep up… Fortunately, after a night’s sleep, I was all set to plunge back in again – there was no risk that I wouldn’t finish this one as I cared too much for the protagonists.
Will I be diving into the next instalment? Oh yes, I’ve become far too fond of these characters not to discover what happens next… Recommended for fans of action-packed space opera.
8/10
Brainfluff 