[Epub] ↠ Shadow Captain Author Alastair Reynolds – 1sm.info

This time last year I was reviewing Alastair s Elysium Fire, the sequel to The Prefect aka Aurora Rising In 2019 I m now looking at another sequel this time to Revenger, published in 2016 Shadow Captain continues the story of Revenger, a mere few months after the end of the first book This was where spoiler alert the two young sisters, Adrana and Arafura aka Fura Ness, managed to kill a notorious space pirate, Bosa Sennen, and take over her ship, the Revenger Both of these did not This time last year I was reviewing Alastair s Elysium Fire, the sequel to The Prefect aka Aurora Rising In 2019 I m now looking at another sequel this time to Revenger, published in 2016 Shadow Captain continues the story of Revenger, a mere few months after the end of the first book This was where spoiler alert the two young sisters, Adrana and Arafura aka Fura Ness, managed to kill a notorious space pirate, Bosa Sennen, and take over her ship, the Revenger Both of these did not escape the plot of Revenger unscathed the book finished with many of the Ness s crewmates dead and their spaceship destroyed Fura ended up having to eat raw lightvine to survive, which has left her full of glowy stuff and can mean changes in behaviour and eventually a painful death Adrana, this time the teller of our tale, has also suffered by being tortured by Bosa and is now suffering some sort of PTSD.Much of Shadow Captain, being set a few weeks after the end of Revenger, is about what to do next, having won the battle but not the war , so to speak The solution for the crew of the Revenger is to spend time in the outer reaches of the Confederation, where they or perhapsobviously their ship will be less recognised As well as this, such covert action allows the crew time to get used to one another, work out how to run the ship and adjust to the new situation They decide to do this by modifying the Revenger to make it look less like Bosa s old ship.First, they have to collect fuel from an old bauble which are ancient technological artifacts , which leads to a rather exciting, if creepy, adventure The crew then decide to head to Wheel Strizzardy, an old and rather decrepit space station where they can get supplies and repair rebuild their ship On the way to Strizzardy the crew get the impression that they are being followed, a situation confirmed when one of them is injured by stray gunfire when working outside on the hull It seems that two spaceships are after a bounty placed on Bosa s old ship The Revenger returns fire and damages one of the stalking ships by accident, before moving on to Wheel Strizzardy.On their arrival at Strizzardy the group find that the station is as decrepit as they had expected and run gangster style by local crime boss Mister Glimmery The crew of the Revenger, now in disguise as the crew of the Grey Lady, find themselves being watched by Glimmery s henchmen With one of the squad in the local hospital, the team scramble to get sorted but find that they become part of Glimmery s power games between the gangster and the local aliens They are also told that one of the ships that was chasing them is about to arrive at the space station When I reviewed Revenger, a few readers made the comment that the book had many of the elements of a Young Adult novel young protagonists following a bildungsroman esque journey, etc etc I disagreed, finding the book as accessible but perhapssubtle and perhapsviolent than the usual YA text Here that idea of being for younger readers is shaken off convincingly This is darker, bleaker andtypically Reynolds work.Whilst it s not straying too far from the original brief outlines of the characters, the world building is great and the internal monologue of Adrana is convincing As the book progresses it appears that neither sister is totally free of Bosa Sennen, with Fura making some questionable decisions in the way that Bosa would have done and Adrana having moments of intense hatred and rage which she feels she has to control Both of these actions lead to a build up of tension, as the reader is never sure until towards the end whether this will affect the rest of the crew or not The title is a subtle reflection on this it shows Fura Adrana as captains of a spaceship in hiding, but also suggests that the sisters as co captains are a shadow of the Revenger s previous owner, captains who have to prove themselves to others that they are worthy of the role, but whose position is still influenced by the presence of Bosa.As with the first book, there are some shocks and revelations at the end though at least one that was guessable and the ending is a bit of a cliff hanger where loyalties and friendships are tested Don t expect everything to be tied up But overall the pace, as it goes, starts slow but builds nicely, to the point where the book becomes un putdownable Whilst there are clich s it is, after all, space pirates there were times when I genuinely wasn t sure where this was going to go I will now wait impatiently for the third novel.In summary, Shadow Captain is a middle book that does what it means to do builds on the set up of the first and then extends it into something darker andcomplex before making you want to read the next This could run and run as a series, something I would gladly like to see happen Shadow Captain, the sequel to one of 2016 s best science fiction novels, is evenentertaining than Revenger in fact, it s preposterously good This futuristic pirate tale from master space opera writer Alastair Reynolds is a unique and original take on space adventure, and this time revenge and grief are at the forefront of characters minds It s enjoyable to see the progression and evolution of the characters, the Ness sisters in particular, as they continue their adventures aboard the Ni Shadow Captain, the sequel to one of 2016 s best science fiction novels, is evenentertaining than Revenger in fact, it s preposterously good This futuristic pirate tale from master space opera writer Alastair Reynolds is a unique and original take on space adventure, and this time revenge and grief are at the forefront of characters minds It s enjoyable to see the progression and evolution of the characters, the Ness sisters in particular, as they continue their adventures aboard the Nightjammer The author dials back some of the horror elements that are present in the first book, but the action remains thrilling and plentiful Reynolds s worldbuilding is some of the best in the business, and this world is no exception It s richly imagined and elaborate with lots of attention to detail that most writers don t give a second thought to His characters are superbly drawn with real grit and gusto and are easy to cheer for and relate to as the story unfolds.The narrative shifts from Arafura s in Revenger to sister Adrana in Shadow Captain, but neither of the girls are as innocent and hopeful as they were when this dark journey began It s on quite a regular basis that the second novel in a trilogy suffers from middle book syndrome, but there s none of that here this is evenenjoyable than the first book I love that the author provides food for thought about all manner of things, the most fascinating of which is the possibility of alien life, and even after finishing I am still thinking about some of the questions that arise in this beautifully woven tale Those who enjoy sci fi, cyberpunk and young adult adventures will find plenty to revel in here just be sure to read the preceding book before this, it will make little sense otherwise I feel it will even appeal to those who read thrillers as it has plenty of thrills, danger and surprises and fantasy fans will enjoy the pirate aspect of the novel, and yes, before some smart arse points it out, I know pirates exist I am now so, so excited for the next instalment, so don t make us wait too long, Mr Reynolds Many this to Gollancz for an ARC The second Revenger book continues on with a pretty traditional Space Opera tale Where the first began with revenge on the mind, the second focuses muchon financial survival, salvage, and after a particularly awesome Reynolds homage to Reynolds sentient skull candy partnership with suits becoming a shambling hoard of zombies, a desperate need to find SOMEPLACE to hide from shadow ships and recuperate That s where the real story picks up Intrigue, lies, torture, cat and mouse antics, and The second Revenger book continues on with a pretty traditional Space Opera tale Where the first began with revenge on the mind, the second focuses muchon financial survival, salvage, and after a particularly awesome Reynolds homage to Reynolds sentient skull candy partnership with suits becoming a shambling hoard of zombies, a desperate need to find SOMEPLACE to hide from shadow ships and recuperate That s where the real story picks up Intrigue, lies, torture, cat and mouse antics, and even picking up a rather interesting new crew member.As a regular Space Opera, it s fun It sthan competent It s full of bickering sisters and an attempt to turn a mutiny into something muchrespectable So why did I knock off a star Because I m a huge fan of Reynold sadult fare and this isn t at THAT particular level The high science and deeply intricate worldbuilding and ideas I usually get are watered down here That s not to say it s poor for the sub genre or even the full SF genre It s right there with the most solid entries But Reynolds is usually a full head above the rest.I judge this a lesser example of his works Not bad at all and actually rather fun, but not fantastic Ah I m beginning to see the familiar Al Reynolds yet again He doesn t linger much in the YA field, despite the Ness sisters age The story picks up from the end of the first volume,Revenger , and builds strongly However, I m surprised at myself how did I miss the fact that Revenger series is going to be a trilogy The good thing is that this second part doesn t suffer from middle book syndrome, on the contrary things are getting hotter, complicated, the mystery of the quoins is somewha Ah I m beginning to see the familiar Al Reynolds yet again He doesn t linger much in the YA field, despite the Ness sisters age The story picks up from the end of the first volume,Revenger , and builds strongly However, I m surprised at myself how did I miss the fact that Revenger series is going to be a trilogy The good thing is that this second part doesn t suffer from middle book syndrome, on the contrary things are getting hotter, complicated, the mystery of the quoins is somewhat unraveled, Bosa Sennen is still a big influence and the most significant part, in my opinion, is brought into light but not revealed The worst part figurately speaking is that this hugely significant part is to be developed in the next book, which I have no idea when will be published That being said, I enjoyed it to the fullest If the first story is told from Fura s point of view, here the narrator is Adrana The sisters complement each other perfectly, they are the yin and yang of the crew New characters are brought to life, some despicable, others not so much but all equally interesting We get to meet new baubles and worlds and based on Bosa s belongings, some really fascinating, albeit scarce and teasing, details about the Occupations.TheI delved into the story, thecompelling it gets As usual, Reynolds leaves us withquestions and scenarios than answers, but that s what makes his stories great and that is what I love about his writing, beside the fascinating worldbuilding, timeframe and scope He is one among the very few SF writers who manages to surprise me with something in each of his works And if anybody knows when the third is out, for I didn t find anything about it, please do tell me ARC received thanks toOrion Publishing Group Gollanczvia NetGalley A disappointing 3 stars.I definitely recommend you read or re read the far superior first book in the series, Revenger, before starting this.Beautiful, full size image hereAll of the components for a great and clever book were here, but the prose is often ponderous and over written Fura and Adrana have grown into mostly hard and unsympathetic characters The action sequences are few, and the narrative pacing is often poor, and the choices that Fura and Adrana make are far too often selfish an A disappointing 3 stars.I definitely recommend you read or re read the far superior first book in the series, Revenger, before starting this.Beautiful, full size image hereAll of the components for a great and clever book were here, but the prose is often ponderous and over written Fura and Adrana have grown into mostly hard and unsympathetic characters The action sequences are few, and the narrative pacing is often poor, and the choices that Fura and Adrana make are far too often selfish and disrespectful of the Revenger crew.Perhaps only Prozer and a few other minor characters exhibit real life and empathy.Honestly, this could have been great but it feels like it was forced onto the page Not really much fun here at all And yes, at the end we are set up for a sequel.There were very few quotes that I marked in the book Here s one of the good ones Somewhere out beyond the Empty there now shone stars that had been born in gas clouds after this room was decorated There were stars that had been alive then that were just corpses now, if they had left the least trace of themselves There was just too much past, too much time that had already happened, and our lives were as nothing against that endless black conveyor belt, ceaselessly rolling, stretching and stretching ever further backward into a dread eternity. Well I didn t like Revenger but hoped I d like this one better but all I can say is, Alaister Reynolds what s going on here His previous stories are some of my favorites The actions is minor and uninteresting and the dialog is leaden First we hear a conversation between the sisters and then we hear one sister relay the same info to the other shipmates Yawn. When starting this one, I thought it s the last volume of the series, so I kept expecting things to happen and the plot to advance, and the book got to the end without much happening I figured out there must be at most another book by then, but overall while the first person narration kept me turning the pages, this felt like a thread the water novel to a large extent i will take a look at book 3, but it better improve. 4.5 stars The only reason I didn t give it 5 stars because the pacing was a little slow at times especially when the focus was on Adrana and Fura s relationship and all of their secrets It was also hard to believe that Adrana gave in so easily to partnering with Fura since in the beginning she was so adamant that she didn t want anything to do with her sister s obsession I loved their time at the bauble and at Wheel Strizzardy those were two of my favorite parts of the story I m also look 4.5 stars The only reason I didn t give it 5 stars because the pacing was a little slow at times especially when the focus was on Adrana and Fura s relationship and all of their secrets It was also hard to believe that Adrana gave in so easily to partnering with Fura since in the beginning she was so adamant that she didn t want anything to do with her sister s obsession I loved their time at the bauble and at Wheel Strizzardy those were two of my favorite parts of the story I m also looking forward to seeing what they encounter in the outer reaches and how the Quoins come into play 4.5 starsI enjoyed this second installment eventhan Revenger I know Revenger received mixed reviews from Reynolds fans who I guess didn t get what they expected, but really, I think he wrote a great story, and Shadow Captain is a fine continuation The writing continues to reflect Reynolds densely competent style, with both tension and character development delivered in equal measure Fura continues a slide into the personality transformation that began as she relentlessly pursued and 4.5 starsI enjoyed this second installment eventhan Revenger I know Revenger received mixed reviews from Reynolds fans who I guess didn t get what they expected, but really, I think he wrote a great story, and Shadow Captain is a fine continuation The writing continues to reflect Reynolds densely competent style, with both tension and character development delivered in equal measure Fura continues a slide into the personality transformation that began as she relentlessly pursued and rescued her abducted sister, Adrana Adrana continues to recover herself, and tries to understand the extent of any lasting effect Bosa s conditioning must have had on her.The bond between the sisters remains, but now that they have taken Revenger, the question that looms over them is who are they going to become This time around the story is told from Adrana s perspective rather than Fura s, and it shows how similar they remain despite the different, yet equally traumatic, events that have brought them back together.I found Shadow Captain to be a dark, exciting, and creative tale, which ends on an expectant note ofunguessable events still to come Two Sisters Ran Away From Home To Join The Crew Of A Spaceship They Took On Pirates, Faced Down Monsters And Survived Massacres And Now They Re In Charge Captaining A Fearsome Ship Of Their Own, Adventures Are Theirs For The Taking And There S Hoards To Loot And Treasures To Find In The Darkest Reaches Of Space But The Rules Are Also Relaxed Out On The Fringes, As They Re About To Discover