Chilling Effect

I would have told you that a book set in space, with telepathic cats, and a cover by Julie Dillon, would be enough to make it a winner. Sadly, after more than 150 pages, I have to confess that it's not.

It seems as though more and more SFF books are being written as if they are based on actual videogame or RPG gameplays rather than an integrated plot, and this is one of them. The plot is based on a clever ship's captain, whose sister is kidnapped and held ransom by a space mafia in exchange for the captain making a series of apparently unrelated cargo runs to different planets -- most of which, unsurprisingly, end in failure or even disaster.

I wanted to care about the captain and her crew, and I wanted to enjoy this book, but it's more of a series of vignettes than a novel, and neither the characterization nor the adventures were interesting or exciting enough to keep me reading.

Gamers will likely enjoy this novel. There are lots of Spanish words and phrases used, and reading comprehension and enjoyment will be enhanced if the non-Spanish-speaking reader keeps a translation device handy.