English language
Published Nov. 21, 2022 by Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom.
I liked the first book better. For some reason, I couldn’t wrap my head around how “reading” and “writing” minds worked—and I read lots of comics with telepathy power sets. Also had a hard time following the story, which makes me think I was distracted since Maxwell’s other Gays-In-Space book didn’t carry such issues. I wanted more from the central relationship here. Still a fan of Maxwell though.
The second novel from Everina Maxwell is just as delightful as the first. She builds a complex world with a background of competing factions and layers of politics.
One of the things I really love is that homosexual and heterosexual relationships are viewed the same and gender identity is just something personal and people can control the level they share. Huge strides have been made for #LGBTQ progress but from growing up in a world where you are still treated as other to seeing one where it is not even a concern is a subtle but poignant paradigm shift.
If you like Becky Chambers then definitely read Everina Maxwell!
This is a big mix of loving the characters, the writing, and the majority of world building - but the more cerebral focus on mind control and brainwashing was a tough sell for me.
Still really enjoyed my time, but a lot of it just isn’t for me I think.
So, nearly a 5 star! This was delightful. The only reason I am not going with a five star is because the basic set up is nearly identical to the first book (young tearaway forced into a relationship with someone by their powerful aunt/mother) so it may lack a little originality.
That being said, what a book. This author has some serious chops and the journey through this book was as strong as the first. I was hooked from the out and as you can see the book was finished in the same day. TBF, I am currently ill so there was not much else to do (there were also two re-reads between the book I last reviewed and this one that I am not going to count on here) but this fair took my mind off that.
This is a strong recommend and this author is now on my …
So, nearly a 5 star! This was delightful. The only reason I am not going with a five star is because the basic set up is nearly identical to the first book (young tearaway forced into a relationship with someone by their powerful aunt/mother) so it may lack a little originality.
That being said, what a book. This author has some serious chops and the journey through this book was as strong as the first. I was hooked from the out and as you can see the book was finished in the same day. TBF, I am currently ill so there was not much else to do (there were also two re-reads between the book I last reviewed and this one that I am not going to count on here) but this fair took my mind off that.
This is a strong recommend and this author is now on my must read list.
Oh my GOD I loved this book. Gorgeous prose; dynamic characters; great political science fiction. I’ve been looking for something with Expanse vibes since finishing that series, and this fit that bill while also being very much its own thing. Highly recommended.
This is an enjoyable, high-stakes science fiction novel. There is a romance element, but I feel it takes a backseat to the political intrigue and military-action-thriller-ishness of it. Interesting world building, and here we learn more about the alien Remnants which were first introduced in Winter's Orbit, and which provide much of the power and mystery of Maxwell's Resolution universe.
I would certainly recommend this to fans of tense science fiction with plenty of political intrigue and military action. (That's not my thing, so much, but I still enjoyed it.) Also recommended if you enjoy reading about societies where non-heterosexual and non-cisgendered identities are perfectly normal. (And that definitely is my thing.)
This is quite different from Winter's Orbit (which I also loved), but once again a compelling science fiction story able to stand on its own paired with an emotionally hard-hitting romantic connection between the two main characters.
I love the world building behind Maxwell's sci-fi universe and cannot wait to read more books in this world. The two instalments so far are set in different sectors of space - so they take place cosmic distances away from each other - and consequently the planets, cultures and structures of government are different, but Maxwell has done a really good job in making her universe recognisable and distinct nonetheless. I think showing the readers a different (inter-)planetary society in a common universe is a great move!
Overall, Ocean's Echo is emotionally harder hitting, grittier and more complex than the first book in the series, so it does feel like a real evolution. …
This is quite different from Winter's Orbit (which I also loved), but once again a compelling science fiction story able to stand on its own paired with an emotionally hard-hitting romantic connection between the two main characters.
I love the world building behind Maxwell's sci-fi universe and cannot wait to read more books in this world. The two instalments so far are set in different sectors of space - so they take place cosmic distances away from each other - and consequently the planets, cultures and structures of government are different, but Maxwell has done a really good job in making her universe recognisable and distinct nonetheless. I think showing the readers a different (inter-)planetary society in a common universe is a great move!
Overall, Ocean's Echo is emotionally harder hitting, grittier and more complex than the first book in the series, so it does feel like a real evolution.
Romance readers should be aware that while the personal relationship between the main characters is absolutely at the centre of the plot, and imo very well done, the characters are constantly surrounded by and dragged into dramatic outside events, so while I find their growing trust in each other and eventual deep attachment intensely romantic (and definitely sexy in parts), it is not sexual on the page.
*I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review of this book.
OCEAN’S ECHO is the mind-control version of a forced marriage/fake dating plot… in space. It’s fantastic.
Tennal doesn’t want to be synced, Surit is affronted by the very idea that he’d be forced to mentally link for life with someone who’s unwilling. Together they hope to pretend the sync worked and fake it long enough for Tennal to get away and for Surit to keep his military career intact. The political intrigues are complex enough to imply a great deal of other stuff that’s happening while reducing the pieces Tennal and Surit have to track into a relatively small list.
I love Tennal and Surit, they make a very interesting team. Tennal is an absolute mess, and Surit is grounded in a way that lets him notice Tennal’s antics without getting bowled over. The course …
4.5 for my personal enjoyment rounded up because it's so well done.
It's such a joy when a writer you already like gets better with each new book. I can't wait to see what Everina Maxwell does next.
Things this book is about that I am very into:
+ Knowing and being known and how that's scary and also the only thing that matters
+ Mental health and learning to live with your own screwed-up brain
+ Vivid sensory descriptions of weird magic
+ Love being earned through experience and choosing each other and getting to know each other and working together
+ How important it is to disobey orders when the orders are wrong and follow your own principles instead
+ Wow, family is complicated!
