Sorry folks I was AWOL again from my Week in Review. This lack of commuting business means I am not reading as much as I normally do.
I am going to focus this WIR on 1 book for no other reason than it deserves your (almost) full attention. Breakout the final book of The Dred Chronicles will be out on the 25th of August from Ace.
You only have 30 more sleeps until you get to find out what happens to Dred and her friends aboard the Predition but until then I will give you a non-spoilery review.
Book 3 starts almost immediately after the events of book 2 - Havoc. The many battles on board Perdition have whittled down the the Dread Queen's soldiers and this has driven her to make an uneasy alliance with the mercenary Vost and the few remaining members of his crew. All that remains of Queensland are Jael, Tam, Martine, Calypso and the Queen herself. Vost has offered them a way off the ship but Silence and her tongueless horde have other ideas. Its all hands on deck to try to build a way off Perdition and not get killed in the process.
Breakout takes nail biting to a whole new level. This final instalment of the trilogy is very exciting...well the first 3/4 is very exciting. Will they escape? Will they all escape? What will become of them if they do? Aguirre really ramps up the tension while at the same time continues to fully develop her remaining characters. We learn more about Jael's previous life in the lab, about what Tam did to earn a life sentence on the ship, and bit more of the circumstances around Dred's path to her undoing. These experiences described through POV chapters gives the reader a full picture of what the characters are like and why they have made the decisions they have. I think that Jael's POV chapters are the most compelling and as his memories merge with current events they become especially chilling. Be sure not to be eating dinner when you are reading these! Aguirre also gives us a mystery to enjoy when Dred discovers a video diary of a young woman who was on Perdition before it became a prison ship. This was quite predictable but I enjoyed it all the same. The last 1/3 of the book is much closer to romance than it has been so far and it almost came across as being a bit self indulgent. Aguirre leaves nothing to chance with the ending and everything is tied up quite nicely. I was just a tiny bit disappointed with the ending as I thought the author would be a bit 'meaner' to her characters. I LOVE this cover although I think I have loved them all. Overall, I was still satisfied with the conclusion of the trilogy if not just a tiny bit predictable.
I had a little unexpected trip down memory lane in the last few weeks. I was thinking about Harry Dresden and found Cold Days on Amazon. I couldn't remember if I had read it and searched my Kindle for the book. As I couldn't find it I bought the book and after about page 3 I remembered the plot and figured I must have had a hard copy in the past. If only I had checked Goodreads I would have realised I read it back in 2013. OOPS! Oh well. I read it again and still enjoyed it. I would like to read book 15 - Skin Game but alas I avoid buying books on Kindle that cost more than £5. I will have to wait awhile for this one to go on sale I guess. (You can see Qwill's review of Cold Days here.)
Apart from that I have only read the third part of the Lost City series by Kelley Armstrong. I am loathe to tell you much more about it as unless you live in the UK you have to wait until next year to find out what I am talking about. I am not that much of a tease.
That is all for this week. I am doing some travelling this week so hopefully I will have a chance to get through a few more books. Until then Happy Reading.
You only have 30 more sleeps until you get to find out what happens to Dred and her friends aboard the Predition but until then I will give you a non-spoilery review.
Book 3 starts almost immediately after the events of book 2 - Havoc. The many battles on board Perdition have whittled down the the Dread Queen's soldiers and this has driven her to make an uneasy alliance with the mercenary Vost and the few remaining members of his crew. All that remains of Queensland are Jael, Tam, Martine, Calypso and the Queen herself. Vost has offered them a way off the ship but Silence and her tongueless horde have other ideas. Its all hands on deck to try to build a way off Perdition and not get killed in the process.
Breakout takes nail biting to a whole new level. This final instalment of the trilogy is very exciting...well the first 3/4 is very exciting. Will they escape? Will they all escape? What will become of them if they do? Aguirre really ramps up the tension while at the same time continues to fully develop her remaining characters. We learn more about Jael's previous life in the lab, about what Tam did to earn a life sentence on the ship, and bit more of the circumstances around Dred's path to her undoing. These experiences described through POV chapters gives the reader a full picture of what the characters are like and why they have made the decisions they have. I think that Jael's POV chapters are the most compelling and as his memories merge with current events they become especially chilling. Be sure not to be eating dinner when you are reading these! Aguirre also gives us a mystery to enjoy when Dred discovers a video diary of a young woman who was on Perdition before it became a prison ship. This was quite predictable but I enjoyed it all the same. The last 1/3 of the book is much closer to romance than it has been so far and it almost came across as being a bit self indulgent. Aguirre leaves nothing to chance with the ending and everything is tied up quite nicely. I was just a tiny bit disappointed with the ending as I thought the author would be a bit 'meaner' to her characters. I LOVE this cover although I think I have loved them all. Overall, I was still satisfied with the conclusion of the trilogy if not just a tiny bit predictable.
I had a little unexpected trip down memory lane in the last few weeks. I was thinking about Harry Dresden and found Cold Days on Amazon. I couldn't remember if I had read it and searched my Kindle for the book. As I couldn't find it I bought the book and after about page 3 I remembered the plot and figured I must have had a hard copy in the past. If only I had checked Goodreads I would have realised I read it back in 2013. OOPS! Oh well. I read it again and still enjoyed it. I would like to read book 15 - Skin Game but alas I avoid buying books on Kindle that cost more than £5. I will have to wait awhile for this one to go on sale I guess. (You can see Qwill's review of Cold Days here.)Apart from that I have only read the third part of the Lost City series by Kelley Armstrong. I am loathe to tell you much more about it as unless you live in the UK you have to wait until next year to find out what I am talking about. I am not that much of a tease.
That is all for this week. I am doing some travelling this week so hopefully I will have a chance to get through a few more books. Until then Happy Reading.
Breakout
The Dred Chronicles 3
Ace. August 25, 2015
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 336 pages
The Dred Chronicles 3
Ace. August 25, 2015
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 336 pages
All hell is breaking loose in the edge-of-your-seat follow-up to Havoc and Perdition from New York Times bestselling author Ann Aguirre…
The prison ship Perdition has become a post-battle charnel house with only a handful of Dred’s soldiers still standing and now being hunted by Silence’s trained tongueless assassins. Forging an uneasy alliance with mercenary commander Vost—who is their only chance at escape—the Dread Queen will do whatever it takes to end her life sentence on Perdition and keep the survivors alive long enough to cobble together a transport capable of getting them off station.
If Dred and her crew can win the deadly game of cat and mouse, the payoff is not only life but freedom—a prize sweeter than their wildest dreams. Yet the sadistic Silence would rather destroy Perdition than let a single soul slip from her grasp…
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