Pathfinder by Laura E. Reeve - review

Pathfinder
Laura E. Reeve
Military SciFi
******
cover-this cover, compared to the other two, was a little tame, but there is something kind of cool about this hallway. However, the way a certain building and hallway was described in the novel, I would have liked to see something a bit more colorful and fantastical, something that really would have made a first time observer gasp, as in the book. Also -FINALLY, Ariane's hair looks more dark than blonde. Every book describes Ari's dark curls and she keeps showing up as a blonde on the covers. I know this is nothing compared to the whitewashing that goes on in many other novels...but just another example of covers not really matching books. Now I also admit that I'm not an artist - but I AM a part of a huge family with a large percentage of artistic types, and I can't help wondering what one of them would have come up with....This isn't meant to disparage the artist's work here - it's good for what it is, but it's a little plain, when this final novel had more wondrous things to convery - an eggshaped habitat for one! Take a look at the book trailer from youtube


Pathfinder was the final novel of the Ariane Kedros trilogy. It was kind of bittersweet reading it, since I'd enjoyed the novels so much - yet halfway through Pathfinder, I had actually looked on the Laura E. Reeve's website and learned that there was to be NO MORE Ariane books - becauase Tor/Nal hadn't renewed their option or asked for more, or in their dis-wisdom decided they didn't need to publish anymore. I strongly disagree with their decision. I so want to read more about all the characters in these novels - Hell, Ariane was just starting to think about doing something about her drinking....

Well, I'll stop soapboxing, and on with my review...

I loved this last novel. Ariane and her friends and frenemies went through very much in the last novel - being under the thumb of isolationist extremist, torture, fighting etc. In Pathfinder, a tribunal court has been appointed, the witness and defendants are all ready to testify. The press is at the generational ship - preparing for the trial of the century. At the same time, the Minoans are still there with their warship, and there is a guardian constantly following Ariane around wherever she goes in public places. Even senators and other rulers have appeared for the trial - and of course the lawyers are doing their job, misdirecting things, changing the focus, making the victims look guilty and the accused seem persecuted.

While all this is going on, the Minoans have approached Ari with a contract. They want her boss's ship, with her in particular to pilot so they can put her on a special mission. But this mission is more than first appears. Seems Ari needs to have a special implant....one she cannot ever get rid of.

While her friends have reservations, Ari is game for this. Ari also finds out, is the only one to be told about the real reason the Minoans are sending her on this mission...

I found this plot to be very complex, and all the previous layers of intrigue continue with twists and turns. Past enemies turn into uneasy frenemies, to guarded respect and allies. Civil war is looming between some of the rulers and more is at stake than ever.

Isolationist plots continue, putting more people into danger and Ari is at the center of everything.

This had an amazing beginning, middle and end and I was glad to get to the final page, and at the same time kind of sad that the read was over. I think Reeve is an amazing writer with a very interesting imagination. She came up with not just one, but two alien civilazations, history and on top of that, the whole series is based on an alternate history of Earth - one that's been interacting with the Minoan aliens for centuries. The Minoans are a very interesting alien race, also. Their starship was pretty cool - mostly described in book two (Vigilante) I would love to read more about them and all the other characters.

If you are at all into SciFi and/or military SciFi you should definitely give this a try. There is just the barest hint of romance, lots of intrigue and suspense and some humorous sections also. All the interplay between characters was great. Great dialog, also - never stilted or lame, or forced. Definetely a name I'm going to keep my eye open for - as far as any other books are concerned. Ironically, I almost didn't even read this series, because I had bought the last book months before - tried to start reading it but felt like I was really missing something. I came across the first book just a short while ago, bought it, finally cracked it open and then found the second and Loved It All. So glad I read them.

:)

Vigilante by Laura E. Reeve - review

Vigilante
Military SciFi/alt history
******
Laura E. Reeve

cover-Like the first cover, love it...however, the gun and the hair don't really match the story - small potatoes though when compared to the other factors of the cover.

I LOVED this series. Emotionally scarred, functioning alcoholic, n-space pilot, military reservist with undercover assignments, mixed feelings for her civilian boss, a job on an exploration ship, "Destroyer of Worlds, Explorer of Worlds, Ariane as Kedros", full of guilt and ghosts in her head - and that's just one woman. The other characters are just as interesting. Her military commander, her civilian boss, the newly growing Artificial Intelligence, the spies/enemies turned "allies". This is one hell of an interesting novel full of intrigue, betrayal, twists, aliens, space ship travel and danger. Loved it.

One of the best things about this book is the dialog and the differing pov's in the narration. I guess some would call this the characterizations. Each character had a distinct voice and style. The dialog between all the characters was so believable because it all read so naturally - all the differing characters had their idiosyncrasies and manners of speech. I feel like I might be raving a bit, but sometimes in these SciFi books, the dialog can be a bit....over-dramatic or overly formal to denote a different planet or country. These all meshed nicely. Some of the characters even had the added depth of a type of sign language - little flicks and gestures that added to the conversation.

In Vigilante Ariane Kedros is off duty, traveling with her business partner to a generational ship that is in a new system. Things are complicated when the generational ship is attacked and taken over by extremists - extremists who don't care how many people they kill or if they cause a sun to go nova. They have an extremist agenda - and yet the leader is being led by someone else. Many layers are well - layered on this plot. Once again Ariane has to deal with a weapon of mass destruction, only this time it's a stolen one and she has a very slight chance of saving the system. Her former enemies are suddenly uneasy allies, because everyone wants to survive and they're all under attack.

There is one more book to go in this trilogy (which I've read by now)
I think the trilogy is worth reading and I wish Roc/Penguin would ask for more from Reeve. Fortunately, Reeve is working on a prequel to Ariane's story and hopefully it'll be available for purchase...I'm hoping. anyway, you can check out the website and sign up for notification, which I did. sometimes, I'm quite the geek. The website also includes some of her worldbuilding, alternate history, info about the mysterious Minoans (the aliens) and the characters. I'm already missing the novels, now that I've finished reading them. It's fantasy/UF time now, though. I've ran the gamut of all the SciFi I could find that caught my eye. (I am a bit picky about my SciFi Space Travel novels)
The Trilogy includes:

1. Peacekeeper


2. Vigilante


3. Pathfinder

Peacekeeper

Peacekeeper

Laura E. Reeve

******

cover - On her website, Ms Reeve has notations or quotes up about the "wretched" covers. I kind of like the cover, however the one thing that gets to me is the blond hair - the character has short dark curls, not flowing long blond locks. Also, I don't remember her carrying a large gun anyplace in the book, or even the sequels. But you know - how covers can be. I still like the cover though.

I just love SciFi - especially SciFi with space ships, implants and enhancements, and bigger than life scenarios. This trilogy has it all - even a tortured, flawed yet strong female character. Ariane Kedros just doesn't give up.

Ariane Kedros has a past, one with a different name, different face and slightly older face than she has now. She's in a program to protect her identity because of her history of following some orders that destroyed a solar system. Even though her identity is supposed to be secret, seems someone knows or has guessed who she is.

Ariane works for Aether Explorations - is part of a two person crew. Her other job is as reserve military, and sometimes undercover work for a Colonel Edones. In this novel, she's assigned to be part of an inspections team as two former warring factions are dismembering their weapons of mass destruction - these weapons can destroy whole solar systems...like in her secret past.

Ariane also has a problem - she's an alcoholic who practices extreme self control with the exception of her occasional binges. Being an N-Space pilot necesitates her using certain drugs, so that complicate matters.

So off Ariane goes, to her new assignment and her undercover second assignment - to be bait for someone who is systematically murdering her former crew-mates...and the plot thickens.

I enjoyed this book so much. There is intrigue, suspense, fighting and interesting characters. The dialog is superb - sounding real and never over dramatic or forced. I also enjoyed all the SciFi elements, the ships, the space travel, the weapons. There were sections where info was woven into the story, but it didn't feel heavy handed - it was handled in an interesting way, so that I wasn't left feeling like I wanted to skim over parts, or wanted to nod off. That's probably not easy to do when writing SciFi or any type of novel where you have to basically invent a whole complete history with added beings. In this case, the added beings are the alien Minoans. They are this super law abiding species that has extended a helping hand to humans, helping them to achieve space travel. Only they might have a hidden agenda. Many are afraid of them, because they can destroy quickly and have almost magical technology.

There are two other books in this series - Vigilante, and Pathfinder. At this time, I've finished all three, and enjoyed each one.