I feel like such a Debbie Downer when it comes to these much buzzed over romance novels. But, I got nothing else if I ain’t honest, so here goes.

Review Number: 27ish?

Review:

Grimspace by Ann Aguirre is the author’s first science fiction book, published by and marketed as a sci-fi novel. Presumably, this is the first novel in a series focusing on protagonist Sirantha Jax.

Sirantha is a Jumper. She is born with the J-gene which means that she can access Grimspace and with the guidance of a pilot “jump” a ship from one point to another in interstellar travel. Because of the stress of Grimspace, a jumper only has a finite amount of jumps in them and will eventually burn out (lose their minds) or sense they are nearing the end and retire. Jax is an exceptional jumper, lasting longer than any other (she’s in her early 30s) and is being blamed for the destruction of a passenger ship full of people–her pilot and lover among the deceased. She’s broken out of solitary detention by an unknown man named March, and whisked off on a daring escape in a rusty old ship (don’t worry, like the good ships Serenity or the Millennium Falcon, the bucket of bolts only looks dilapidated but in fact is quite sturdy). The crew needs Jax for her jumping ability, and also because they have a Grand Plan to find jumpers before the Eeeevil Empire does, train them, and create a new breed of jumpers that (through the ship doctor’s genetic tinkering) won’t ever burn out.

Given all the buzz around this book and the stellar reviews it has received, Ana and I decided to read this one and give it a joint review.

Unfortunately, all the buzz in the universe couldn’t salvage this one for me.

The story is told in the first person present tense, from Jax’s POV. Right off the bat, I’m not crazy about the style in which Ms. Aguirre writes. Sirantha’s voice sounds kind of robotic, or as though she is speaking through a Captain Kirk monologue–”Ship’s Log, Stardate Twelve-Twenty One-Oh-Six.” It’s as though Sirantha is talking TO someone in her narrative…which feels hokey to me. Personally, I feel like the narrator is the author who is being lazy and copping out by writing to the audience through a cardboard character. This is a matter of taste though, I’m sure some readers like it. I can deal.

But then, I see it: “If I were allowed to roam the station, I’d jump the first freighter I found bound for the rim worlds. Desert. Frag my contract.”

Frag. Hastily, I look up the publication date of this book. 2008. Great. Now I’m not saying Battlestar Galactica has sole rights on the word “Frak” or “Frag” or any derivations of such word (many other scifi shows/movies/books have used some kind of f-bomb synonym), but I’m kind of disappointed at the lack of originality here. Sure, it’s a fine idea, but it’s kind of like when you get a cool new distinct haircut–say you get bangs–and then your little sister or best friend comes over the very next day with the same haircut. Not to mention in Grimspace “Frag” is used as a synonym for “Fuck”, but the word “Fuck” is still used widely throughout the book. Uh…what’s the point of having “Frag” then?

But I realize this looks like I’m merely nit-picking. POV, colorful euphemisms and stylistic matters aside, how does Grimspace stack up?

Mmm…not so well. Sirantha Jax begins the story sounding like every other Urban Fantasy badmouthing wiseass heroine that has been published in the last 10 years or so. Anita Blake, what hath thou wrought!? I don’t mind wiseass heroines, but Jax has no reason to be a wiseass. She can jump, but she can’t fight, she doesn’t know jack about anything, she seems to have lived a pretty privileged life without any prior trauma…so what’s with the smart mouth? Pushing this strange characterization aside, Jax (initially at least) also lacks any real depth or color as a character. I’ll quote one amazon reviewer for the book, who says that Sirantha Jax has all the character of industrial paint.

As Jax escapes on the bucket of bolts ship, the Folly, it becomes clear that Jax also is a moron. It is here that the “mechanics” of Jumping are explained. Jax admits to the audience (whom she is speaking pretty much directly to) that she doesn’t understand the physics of Jumping, she just ‘does it’. Basically what happens is, humans were looking for a way to traverse great distances in space, trying to unlock FTL (Faster Than Light) travel (which is impossible). Instead, they found out that they could bend spacetime with these Jumpers that create sort-of-wormholes between ‘beacons’ placed in grimspace (a sort of hyperspace) that allow ships to jump from one location to another. But Jax doesn’t really understand how it all works, just that it does and she does it. This seems like an incredible cop out to me on the author’s part. I’m reminded of a section at the beginning of S.L. Viehl’s space opera, Stardoc, where Cherijo goes through space travel but doesn’t really detail what’s going on, and admits she doesn’t know how the physics works. I was cool with that scenario because Cherijo is a surgeon and her lack of knowledge makes sense within the context of her character. She doesn’t make her livelihood (not to mention won’t die) navigating spaceships. Jax not knowing anything about her job strikes me as ludicrous, and incredibly easy way to get around research or extra description.

Not to mention, in such an advanced society that has mastered interstellar travel, wouldn’t these scientists have figured out how to isolate the “J-gene” and work on programming this into a computer? Since J-gene carriers are so incredibly rare and can only live for so long before going batty, wouldn’t it be more profitable (not to mention practical) to isolate and then engineer the gene somehow? Certainly it would be a lot less hassle than tracking down, training, and dealing with J-gene carriers.

Questionable physics (or lack thereof) aside, the plot itself didn’t do anything for me. The secondary characters all sounded and felt the same, speaking with the same voice as Jax, never really fully described or fleshed out to the audience at all. Grimspace is also a romance between Jax and March (the man who broke Jax out of prison), and seems to come out of nowhere. I believe it is somewhere around page 40 where March already is in love with Jax (for no discernible reason) and crooning to her that he’ll always come back for her. Blech. Mmmkay. Also, turns out March isn’t just a badass and a pilot, but he’s also a PSI PILOT (psi=psychic, not pounds per square inch). Again, incredibly convenient, as March luuuurves Jax because she speaks her mind and this explains his inexplicable early attraction to her (despite her cussing him out every five minutes). Although I didn’t ‘believe’ that they fell in love with each other, I have to admit that once things got going and they become Official, I enjoyed the interaction between the two characters.

Anyways. After much predictable danger, running for their lives, jumping through prettiful, colorful grimspace, we get to the climax. Sirantha is scooped up by a bounty hunter and taken in as prisoner back to the clutches of the Eeevil Empire. In one of the lamest endings I have read in a long time, everything magically ends up A-OK! Jax is cleared! Jax and March are in love and fly off into the sunset together! Everyone is happy! (Did I mention that everything–climax and incredible!happy!ever!after! ending all occurs within 20 pages or so?)

I like sci fi. It doesn’t necessarily have to be hard science fiction, but part of the fun of reading this genre is to see the laws that the author creates in their universe and how characters interact in them. The previously mentioned Stardoc novels are a fine example of a space opera that captures the reader’s attention and is well written, with little to no bother with technojargon or astrophysics. AND the Stardoc books have a believeable, well developed romance subplot to boot. In comparison, Ms. Aguirre’s Grimspace pales and appears second-rate. For a supposed page-turner, this book took me an unprecedented four nights to read–and I was forcing myself to read, at that.

Notable Quotes/Parts: Hmm. Well the last 20 pages are infuriating and ridiculous. But I can’t quote those here, lest I spoil someone the delight of reading the contrived happy ending.

The L-Gene

Oh, ok maybe just one spoiler. In addition to dear Jax having the J-Gene, it is postulated that she also has the L-GENE!!! She can jump around to her heart’s content without burning out! Huzzah!

Maybe next time if someone is near death, Jax will discover she has the R-Gene (for Resurrection) which will bring fallen comrades back to life!

Puh-lease.

Additional Thoughts: *crickets chirping*

Verdict: I actually threw the book across the room after reading the last sentence. Needless to say, I was less than thrilled. This was on the verge of being a DNF for me, but I trucked through it and almost wished I hadn’t. I’m not sure why this elicited such a strong, negative reaction from me–even though I particularly disliked the writing style, it wasn’t “badly” written. I suppose it felt very recycled to me, and highly unoriginal. Very stock Badass Anita Blake type heroine, in a BSG/Firefly/Star Wars knockoff universe. Maybe also because of all the positive hype, I had my hopes up for a lively story. Whatever. Point is, I really didn’t like it. Eye-rolling factor was somewhere near the level of the dreaded Kresley Cole’s A Hunger Like No Other.

Rating: 4 Bad, but not without some merit

Loads of glowing reviews around blogland have prompted us to pick Grimspace for our Book of the Month feature and do a joint review. But, in the process of reading it we realized that whilst Ana was having a good time, Thea wasn’t. Surprised that once again we were not able to reach a consensus over a book , we realized that it was a good opportunity for another feature instead.

Ladies and gentleman of the jury, The Book Smugglers present our second Book Debate with Thea on the attack and Ana on the defense.

Title: Grimspace

Author: Ann Aguirre

Genre: Sci-Fi

Stand alone/Series: Book one in the Jax series.

Summary:
By all accounts, Sirantha Jax should have burned out years ago…
As the carrier of a rare gene, Jax has the ability to jump ships through grimspace—a talent which cuts into her life expectancy, but makes her a highly prized navigator for the Corp. But then the ship she’s navigating crash-lands, and she’s accused of killing everyone on board. It’s hard for Jax to defend herself: she has no memory of the crash.
Now imprisoned and the subject of a ruthless interrogation, Jax is on the verge of madness. Then a mysterious man breaks into her cell, offering her freedom—for a price. March needs Jax to help his small band of rogue fighters break the Corp monopoly on interstellar travel—and establish a new breed of jumper.
Jax is only good at one thing—grimspace—and it will eventually kill her. So she may as well have some fun in the meantime…

En garde!

Wow, Thea I had no idea you felt so passionate about the book. I just hope I can defend it as well as you attacked it.

Why did I read the book: I bought it ages ago after reading good reviews and it has been sitting on my TBR pile. After reading Twilight I decided I wanted to read more paranormal romances.

Review:

*Rolls sleeves*

I think that perhaps the fact that Thea and I approached the book from different backgrounds and with different expectations is what made such a divergent outcome in our appreciation for the book. Unlike Thea I had no major expectations about the paranormal. I have read few paranormals so far and I am not even very sure what it takes for a book to be considered a paranormal. I knew this one was a Romance in its core though, with paranormal elements and that was what I settled for, anything else would be an added bonus. And I have to say that I ended up loving both aspects of the book – they are intertwined and I cannot see one without the other.

Lachlain is the king of the Lykae, a Scottish clan of werewolves.
He has been a captive for over 150 years suffering the agonising torture of constantly dying and regenerating; until one day he smells the scent of his Mate and that is enough to make him master the strength to release himself from the bonds that lock him in the catacombs where he is being held. Strength enough to make him chop his leg off once he realises he is too weak to release that last cuff. He does that without so much of a second thought. This is only to show how much finding his Mate means to him- he has been expecting her for over a thousand years. He has dreamed, fantasised and hoped that one day he would finally meet the one that was destined to be his. This is very important – the Lykae female is the only one that can calm the beast inside a male and at this point the only one that can keep his memories and hurt of the past 150 years at bay. She can ease his pain and this is what drives him to her. Bear in mind, that we are talking here about a primary, basic instinct, relating to the Beast inside the man; and that a Lykae female would be expecting for him as well and their first encounter would undoubtedly be a happy moment which would lead to a sexual encounter at first sight – they would finally be joined together in all possible ways after waiting for each other for so long.

So he chases her scent and finds her and is completely horrified by the fact that his Mate is a Vampire!

That poses a lot of problems. Not only vampires are natural enemies of the werewolves on the particular mythology of the book, but also it was a vampire that has kept him prisoner for so many years. He is furious; he is confused, it abhors him to think that she is leech, a killer. This Mate of his who is to be the Queen of his people is supposed to be his enemy! On top of everything, she is weak and has no idea of what being his Mate means. So yes, he behaves in a horrifying way towards her in the first few chapters. He is overbearing, he threatens her, he wants revenge as much as he wants to mate with her.

Now, Emma is a complete coward. She is meek, she is a ninny and that makes her feel sick about herself. She is known as Emma, the Timid amongst her people – a Coven of Maiden Warriors from the Norse Mythology, for Emma is half Vampire, half Valkyrie. She has a lack of confidence that comes from not knowing what is her place in the world; she never reached the balance between her two halves. She has grown up amongst these women warriors who are powerful, strong, cold in the face of danger. She has the potential of being all that but her vampire half brings vulnerability to her for not being able to go into the sun and for the need to be nurtured with blood whereas her people don’t even eat. So it is no surprise to me that Emma is such a coward and even though she received training in fighting she never really mastered it. She doesn’t know what she is capable of, because she has an identity problem – she is a vampire but she has never been allowed to actually live like one, to suck the blood out of a living being (she drinks from a blood bank) and her Valkyrie half never truly surfaced.

When she is taken by Lachlain, she is even weaker for she has not fed in days and yet she still manages to try and fight him the best way she can even though she is terrified of him. But then, she realises that his touch does strange things to her, things that she never felt because she never felt connected to anyone and that spikes her curiosity. And that is enough to make her start to feel comfortable in her own skin. Lachlain also starts to understand that he cannot escape his destiny and that this woman is indeed intended for him. He cannot avoid feeling protective towards her –it is his duty after all. And as soon as he realises that she is not a killer, he decides that he is going to be the one to feed her – from his own blood. And that makes her stronger – not only because she is taken the blood from a strong being but also because she is finally allowed to see who she really is. This is where they start to connect and to bond.

I liked that as the story moved forward they were both changed. Emma started terrified of him, lacking self-confidence and horrified at the thought of being attached to him forever – this is what being a Mate to Lykae means and Valkyries are independents beings. But as she feeds from him she gets physically stronger, enough to feel so confident in herself that she fights him (she manages to break his jaw), fights one of the females from his clan and eventually she meets the King of Vampires and vanquishes him. That was the culminating point of the story where Emma became what she was always supposed to be and Lachlain realised that this woman is very capable of taking care of herself.

And yes, the catalyst for their change was love and it was sex. It is very basic indeed. Sounds cheesy, sounds corny but in the words of Ewan McGregor’s Christian “Love is a many splendored thing, love lifts us where we belong, all you need is love”!

I have to admit that I am usually not very fond of the overbearing, overprotective Alpha Male heroes but once I suspended my beliefs in order to be sucked in into this particular mythology all was very simple to me. Had he been a normal man in a regency novel, I would probably agree with Thea but he is not. He is a freaking werewolf and alpha maleness is the norm here.

I also loved the secondary characters specially her Valkyrie Coven and his Lykae friends. I want to learn more about them and about this universe so I will definitely be picking the next one up. Thea, maybe you could give Kresley Cole a second chance? I truly think that you should read another one of hers now, after your incursions into Romanceland. Plus, the next book is about one of the Valkyries and a Vampire and it sounds awesome!

Memorable quotes/ Parts: The first time she feeds from him. It was a very pleasurable and erotic experience for both of them against Lachlain’s better judgement. It reminded me a lot of when Mina and Dracula sucked each other’s blood in Bram Stocker’s Dracula – that is one of my favourite movie scenes and one that I can watch over and over again.

Additional thoughts: loved all the things about this universe – the Lore, the Vampires, the Shape shifters and the fact that there is an upcoming war between all beings. Most of all I loved the shout out to the Norse Mythology with the Valkyries. Many many years ago I used to read a lot about mythology and The Norse was one of my favourites. Heck, I even learnt to read Runes!

Verdict: I thoroughly enjoyed it, more than I expected. I read it just under 6 hours and was completely sucked in. Definitely reading the sequels. There is a lot of sex (or sexual references) right from the very beginning that may turn some people off. It did work for me though as I thought it an inherent part of who Lachlain was.

Rating: 8

What I am reading next: Wonderful by Jill Barnett

*cracks knuckles*

Why did I read this book: It had overwhelmingly positive reviews on virtually every site, and having read another so-called paranormal romance (Bitten by Kelley Armstrong) and loved it, I decided to give this one a try…despite the hideous cover art and embarrassing summary.

Review:

I suppose you could say that I had it coming to me.

After reading that blurb, how on earth could I possibly believe that this book would be a serious paranormal fiction entry? All I can say in my defense is, I plead temporary blindness. I hated almost every aspect of this book, and only kept reading it because I had paid $7 for it, and I’d be damned if I didn’t finish the thing.

Why did I hate this book so much? Good question. I can summarize by saying this is the exact type of ridiculous drivel that gives GOOD paranormal fiction/romance a bad name. This story was nothing but your typical brawny hero possessing his mate. The only difference was there were some vague inclinations and descriptions of vampires, werewolves, and fae. This book failed as both a romance for me, and in its attempt at paranormal lore, leaving only…what? Its washed out, horrible characters? Thanks, but no thanks. I can think of a dozen writers in the paranormal fiction world that do it much better than Ms. Cole.

First and foremost, this is not about paranormal creatures and their worlds. Not really. It is a romance novel…which automatically wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. I didn’t let that deter me though; if done well, the paranormal romance thing can be fun and interesting. However, this was not the case for me reading this book.

Our hero, Lachlain, begins trapped in a pit of eternal suffering, being burned alive and then regenerating (since he is a werewolf) beneath the streets of Paris. This has some promise–it’s demented and sick, and after being subjected to such torture for centuries, enough to drive anyone completely mad. Then, all of a sudden, he scents his true mate walking above him. Driven mad by his need for her, he tears himself from his shackles (tearing off and having to regenerate a limb in the process), and sets off hungrily to find and possess her. Eventually he makes it up to street level and is able to track his mate down…and immediately pins her, rips her shirt open and tries to mate with her on the spot. (First red flag being flown up the pole right about now) Emmaline, the heroine, has no idea what is going on. She is a half vampire half valkyrie (fae) creature that is only 70 years old (young so far as immortals go), on a trip to Paris on her own for the first time to find her long lost vampire father. She is innocent, sickeningly sweet, beautiful, etc ad nauseam. She has no idea how beautiful she really is, so she is terrified and has no clue why this hulking male creature has tracked her down and is attempting to force her to get down with him. In the middle of the street, no less.

What ensue are a series of painfully embarrassing scenes that attempt at sensual hotness. Lachlain goes up to Emmaline’s room (she’s under threat of rape), and he watches then helps her take a shower (WTF?). After rest, and then discovering ZOMG! Emmaline is part vampire! (the ever sworn dreaded enemies of the Lycans–and she is the only female vampire in existence…why? I have no idea), Lachlain is still determined to have his way with her, and forces her to drive with him to his clan’s palace in Scotland, lying to her that once she gets there he will let her go (and she the complete imbecile believes him).

Along the way, there is lots of sexual tension, more threats at rape, Emmaline feeds on Lachlain and finds it ever so erotic, oh yeah and they fall in love with each other.

I hated the possessive and grossly domineering manner with which Lachlain treated Emmaline. Maybe some chicks like being manhandled by big!strong!manly!men, but I am not one of them. Furthermore, having her stay with him under his thinly veiled threats that he could do whatever he wanted with her just doesn’t fly with me. Lachlain is rude and nasty not only to Emmaline, but to her protective family, and while he steals her money and drags her off to his home (like a caveman grabbing his woman by the hair), I couldn’t find any pleasure in the situation.

Emmaline is also a mess. I hate stock Mary Sue characters. She is sweet and kind and understanding and meek and everything I really don’t want in a heroine. Show some spunk girl!–this strange man is trying to force himself on you and all you can think about is how nice intimacy feels for the first time and how he makes your loins heat up? COME. ON. Yeah, by the end of the novel she fights her ass off and somehow defeats her master vampire father (puh-LEASE, she would have been toasted), discovers her hidden vampire strength and teleportation abilities, and becomes strongwoman! but it felt contrived and pointless to me. Ms. Cole’s power hierarchies felt ridiculously amateur.

In terms of the paranormal aspect, we get the typical run of the mill vamps, weres and fairies. The only really emphatic praise I can give for this book is from steering away from the sexy vampire stereotype (which is completely overdone and drives me batty). I liked that the vampires were badass, animal-like creatures that were to be avoided at all costs…but the final showdown between Emmaline and her father was ludicrous. If he was such a badass boss vamp, I’m pretty damn sure things would not have gone down the way they did. Cheesy, horrible nonsense.

The best written characters and the best part of the story in my opinion were Emmaline’s badass aunts. The Valkyrie were fun, nasty harpies (a nice departure from brooding Lachlain or ho-hum Emmaline). I would be interesting in reading more about these characters…but then I think about how much I suffered through this book and pretty much refuse to give Ms. Cole another chance. She’d probably turn these cool fae into simpering ninnies at the hands of their dominant men.

Notable Quotes/Parts: I was in hysterics giggling over the actual writing Ms. Cole used to convey Lachlain’s Scottish accent. “Doona tell me ye doon’t love me Emmaline!” The whole ‘doona’ thing was frustrating to read. It was *nearly* as bad as Elizabeth Haydon’s cockney accent in Rhapsody. For good use of accents in writing, see Joanna Bourne or Diana Gabaldon. This was just distracting.

Additional Thoughts: One random note on the cover–which is cringe-worthy for me as well. It’s not even right! Lachlain is a werewolf, not a vampire! It is Emmaline who is the vamp, so this cover is just ridiculous without even being accurate.

If anyone reads this book as one of their first paranormals, PLEASE I IMPLORE YOU DO NOT JUDGE THE GENRE BY THIS. I can steer you towards many other, well written paranormals (that have romance too) that aren’t so cringe-worthy. And hey, they actually have plots that make sense, heroes worth rooting for, and intricate monster lore.

Verdict: Horrible. I want to donate this book to my local goodwill as soon as possible.

Rating: 3 Horrible, barely readable

Recently, Ana finished reading A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole, and loved it. On the other hand, I had read the book and despised it. Since this is too good an opportunity to pass up, we decided to bust out the gloves and have a formal pro/con debate.