Jared,

Another one of the books I’ve won from Goodreads, I was shocked when it showed up on the doorstep. Since it’s also an ARC and still not released in NA I just had to read it quick and get this review out there.

Title: The Space Between the Stars
Author: Anne Corlett
Genre: Science Fiction
Audience: YA
ROTS Setting: Futuristic, FTL, Colonization
Synopsis: All Jamie Allenby ever wanted was space. Even though she wasn’t forced to emigrate from Earth, she willingly left the overpopulated, claustrophobic planet. And when a long relationship devolved into silence and suffocating sadness, she found work on a frontier world on the edges of civilization. Then the virus hit… Now Jamie finds herself dreadfully alone, with all that’s left of the dead. Until a garbled message from Earth gives her hope that someone from her past might still be alive. Soon Jamie finds other survivors, and their ragtag group will travel through the vast reaches of space, drawn to the promise of a new beginning on Earth. But their dream will pit them against those desperately clinging to the old ways. And Jamie’s own journey home will help her close the distance between who she has become and who she is meant to be…
Recommendation: This book is recommended for late teens and adults. Subject and writing suitable for younger teens, but they’d probably find it boring.

This was a good book, but a little out side my usual preferences so I’ll try and keep my comments relevant. I really did enjoy it. I was entertained and I’m eager to see what Ms. Corlett writes next.

The setting was sci-fi with human colonies on other worlds but that part was not integral to the story. FTL travel/communications, the planets they colonized, alien biospheres, terraforming, and even just the basic technology of the time; none of it was explained, discussed or even mentioned. This wasn’t a problem exactly since the focus was on the MC and the people around her. However, it also made it feel like there was no reason for any of the sci-fi stuff. It could have been set in the near-future with modern technology and would have made little to no difference on the story. So for me the setting was ok, sufficient, because there wasn’t anything wrong with it but also a bit of a let down.

The characters were obviously the focus of the book. They were good, well rounded people. No one was particularly annoying that shouldn’t have been. I did feel that there were parts of the characters that felt maybe a touch too convenient for the plot, but I could just being looking too far into it. In general I don’t prefer character focused books, especially when the setting and plot were so generic.

Jamie, the MC, really tried to have some depth, but I didn’t find her particularly unique. She’s the only POV and she has a lot of history, but for a woman in her forties she seemed a bit immature. I couldn’t keep an image of her in my head while reading and continually reverted to a younger/less-mature image.

When it came to plot, it had a good flow and the pace was pretty steady. There was some confusion or inconsistency when it came to the virus and how it spread/killed. The virus is probably the weakest aspect of the book, from how it operated, to survival rates, and how those who died turned to dust. It was more fantastical than science fiction……..in fact, as a magical disease it would have been fascinating.

Writing this out I’ve finally figured out why this book isn’t a “five-star”, or even a “four-star”, for me. The plot was decent, the characters good, and the setting was sufficient but in the end it’s just a generic sci-fi book. There was nothing that stood out to me, nothing to hook me, or even something iconic to make it memorable. It’s just a generic run of the mill book that happens to be in the science fiction genre.

Now, I’m not saying that’s bad or horrible because it’s still quite an accomplishment and it was still entertaining. If I had purchased this brand-new on release day, I would be pretty upset, and if I’d picked it up from the library I probably wouldn’t have finished it. I just think that this author has a long ways to go but I’m interesting in watching her on that journey.

Robert

Links

• Anne Corlett’s Official Website