Wednesday 7 August 2013

SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW: Weird Space 2: Satan's Reach - Eric Brown

Release Date: 30/07/13
Publisher:  Abaddon

SYNOPSIS:

Telepath Den Harper did the dirty work for the authoritarian Expansion, reading the minds of criminals, spies and undesirables, for years. Unable to take the strain, he stole a starship and headed into the unknown, a sector of lawless space known as Satan's Reach. For five years, he worked as a trader among the stars then discovered that the Expansion had set a bounty hunter on his trail. But what does the Expansion want with a lowly telepath like Harper? Is there something in the rumours that human space is being invaded by aliens from another realm? Harper finds out the answer to both these questions when he rescues an orphan girl from certain death and comes face to face with the terrible aliens known as the Weird. Satan s Reach is the second volume in the Weird Space series, a fast-paced action-adventure that pits humanity against the unimaginable terror from Beyond.


REVIEW:

To be honest this was a bit of a weird book for me (which is quite ironic considering that its book 2 of the Weird Space series) as to be honest it felt to a certain degree like a roleplay game playing by the numbers with our principle hero feeling like the archetypal Space Smuggler.

The story is fascinating and whilst fun does feel a little simplified over what it could have been (whether this is because it’s a general setting for other authors to write in this world I’m not sure.) Don’t get me wrong it is a solid enough book and there is a lot of scope for other things to happen but overall when you look at the plot line for what it is, it’s a fairly straight line with no real twists. All round a bit of fun to sit down with but overall, not the authors best to date.




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