Alastair Reynolds’ SHADOW CAPTAIN runs aground about a third of the way through its 426 pages. One of the crew of the Revenger–a former pirate space ship–is injured while performing some maintenance on the hull of the ship. Sisters Adrana and Arafura Ness and their crew decide to take their injured crew member to Wheel Strizzardy, a nearby space station for doctor’s assistance and provisions. What they find on Wheel Strizzardy is a society dominated by criminal elements and a leader, Glimmery, who holds power through torture and violence.
The story slows to a crawl as Adrana and Arafura attempt to deal with aliens called the Crawlies and escape Glimmery’s web of deception alive. Not enough action for my taste. My review of the first, and much better book in this series, REVENGER, can be found here. I have a very strong feeling there’s at least one more book planned featuring the Ness sisters. Perhaps SHADOW CAPTAIN suffers from the dreaded “middle book of a trilogy letdown.” GRADE: B-
I like Reynolds but wasn’t crazy about Avenger. Seemed too much like a YA novel to me. I’ll pass on this one.
Steve, I found SHADOW CAPTAIN slower than REVENGER. If there is a third book in this series, Alastair Reynolds needs to pick up the pace.
That’s part of the problem sometimes. These 400 and 500 page books would work a lot better at 300 pages.
Jeff, you are so right! Editing seems to be a lost art today.
They should have just blasted the station with Measles virus, since the parents of the bad guys there didn’t get them vaccinated as kids.
Rick, the Measles outbreaks just shows how little some people believe in Science.
Reynolds isn’t a favorite of mine. I’ve read one and tried a couple of others which I DNF’d on. Still, he’s very popular, so maybe my opinion is out of the norm. It’s happened before 🙂
Rick, I’ve enjoyed Alastair Reynolds’s early Space Operas like THE PREFECT (aka, AURORA RISING). I also enjoy his shorter fiction.