Fortune's Pawn
I am the shit!When novels start like that I usually get a book turnoff and run for the hills. I chalk it down to too much badassery delivered to me in forms of cliché riddled PNR heroines that I can't seem to stop reading, that sometimes leave you feeling they just stepped off an assembly line somewhere. They all sound the same. And nine times out of ten the sound sadly translates like this.
Yeah, so once I started reading this I wasn't impressed. I mean there were people out there comparing this to Ann Aguirre's Grimspace series. At the beginning I really couldn't see it. Still though, I continued reading. By the time I hit half of the novel, I was hooked in a weird way. Fortune's Pawn was gripping. The action was good. The plot wasn't as predictable or one dimensional as I originally thought. Still though I didn't know what to think of the leading lady. I found her to be abrupt at moments but as the plot went on I saw that all that bravado from the beginning of the novel is just talk from a passionate soldier, and that she can actually put her money where her mouth is. So basically I started the novel hating her, but at the end t turned out she wasn't that bad Love it when there is a happy ending like that. (I meant for me, not the book)
There were a few hiccups on the way, still nothing so major that it could be devastatingly dangerous for the plot – except for one single, minute thing. The weaponry...
Very believably – the mechanised egzoskeletal armour is all the rage when it comes to military personnel. Devi, being the dedicated, career focused merc that she was has her armour custom made. I mean that thing has it all, 350 degree camera feed, virtually indestructible, grav boots. It's a pretty sweet setup. So how and for the love of God she has about five minutes worth of ammo and weapons? I shit you not, she has a plazma gun that runs out of juice in a few shots, a gun with limited clips, and an uber awesome blade that lasts just under two minutes. So technically if she winds up in a serious fight she's screwed. When dealing with all the human crew, she was kind of banking on people not having as a sophisticated gear she did. For a professional soldier, to leave herself without a solid weapon that offers continuous and reliable fire - it's kind of a dumbass thing to do.
If anything this novel reminded me a little of the series Firefly.
You had the shady captain that's into no good deals, the quirky but loveable mechanic, the cute, weird superpower teen girl that freaks people out, yet everybody was protective of her. The elements weren't overpowering, but they were there none the same.
All in all, this book was very good, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it :).
