Sci-Fi & Scary

For the record, I hate doing reviews like this. Ones where I’ve positively reviewed one or two of the author’s other works in the past, but can’t do it again. Ed Hoornaert is a talented writer, and I absolutely loved his Alien Contact series. It was filled with laughter that contrasted nicely with the serious issues addressed. The raging hormones played very nicely alongside the great personalities, and the bickering constantly made me giggle. Escapee... didn’t….doesn’t do anything of the sort. Escapee is a completely different story, so that’s mostly to be expected. Still.

Part of the problem is that where the other books I’d read from him had their steamy moments, I felt like the books focused more on the developing relationships and kept it fairly real. With Escapee, I didn’t ever get that feeling. I felt like I was reading a bodice ripper right from the outset and it just didn’t do it for me. One that was almost a bit too crude, which knocked it down a few more points in my mind. The main character, Catt, set my teeth on edge because she was so typical. I know there’s basic formulaes for these types of books. This is one that doesn’t do it for me.

With that being said, I did enjoy the background the author set everything against. I love the little details, like the skoot, and the desolate landscapes. The ship (dirigible?) was awesome. You often read about state of the art stuff in science fiction, so to have their transportation be a little dingy of a ship was awesome. I loved Lance’s unceasing efforts to tell a joke. And the action once it got going? Wonderful. Basically, if it wasn’t for the overly rambunctious love story, I’d have loved Escapee.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author free in exchange for an honest review.