Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Rachel Bach - Heaven's Queen

From the moment she took a job on Captain Caldswell's doomed ship, Devi Morris' life has been one disaster after another: government conspiracies, two alien races out for her blood, an incurable virus that's eating her alive.
Now, with the captain missing and everyone -- even her own government -- determined to hunt her down, things are going from bad to impossible. The sensible plan would be to hide and wait for things to blow over, but Devi's never been one to shy from a fight, and she's getting mighty sick of running.
It's time to put this crisis on her terms and do what she knows is right. But with all human life hanging on her actions, the price of taking a stand might be more than she can pay.


Comment: This is the third and final installment in the Paradox trilogy by author Rachel Bach, a story that follows the adventures of Deviana Morris while she tries to defeat a danger to the universe in which she lives. This is a sci-fi space opera that is quite amazing.

In this final installment, Devi and Rupert are teaming up to go find Maat and rescue her so they can end the problems that have been affecting so many innocents.  Devi also has the virus to worry about and knowing the two things, her personal problem and the international issues, are entwined can be too difficult to solve. But having Rupert by her side and understanding she needs to confront certain people can turn out to be her only chance of freeing the innocents in all this. But will the beings responsible for all these problems let Devi be successful?

This story sure has a lot of adventure and situations sometimes difficult to imagine. But I do love having my own ideas about the settings and scenarios...imagining life in space, a routine situation where people simply travel by space ship to other planets can be both alluring and frightening. I think the author is very talented and she does have an eye for detail because she successfully brought to life many ideas and possibilities.

In this final installment, I was certainly hoping to see which explanation would exist for why all the issues Devi has faced existed. It was a lot simpler than I imagined and, sometimes, simplicity can be more difficult to solve. I liked that this wasn't a huge conspiracy by some people, it was all based on a situation originated by one single feeling: the need to be seen as superior by a certain group. It can be scary how many situations are so problematic because of one single detail... I liked how things were solved, although too many people die or suffer. Of course I assume this has drama reasons but in some aspects it didn't have to be so. Still, I understand where the author went by depicting such a harsh situation/world.

The end of the story was interesting. I think I'd have liked a bit more detail in the HEA and in the final scenes but overall, I think it was in line with what we've had int he previous books in terms of consistency and writing.

A significant part of the story is focused on Devi, even more so because this is a first person narrator story. Devi is a true heroine here, but some of her actions aren't always easily understandable. I like her character, her personality, her need to be the best person she can be and her bold confidence even in adverse settings. But I would have liked her to accept more easily she has a vulnerable side and love professions took their time to happen. Yes, this is not primarily a romance but it was certainly a fun part of the story.
Deviana also has an attitude towards one or two situations during the book I wasn't a fan of. I get the author's idea but I didn't always find it agreeable. Despite my minor dislikes, though I still think this was a well done story.

The secondary characters were truly amazing in this trilogy. I liked how the author didn't stick to simple stereotypes we often see in adventure books or sci-fi series and I enjoyed spending time with some characters. I obviously would have enjoyed more ease moments between the characters, especially Rupert and Devi and Devi and some key characters like Nova and even Basil. I can imagine what would happen to them all, but reading about it would have been more fun.
All in all, a great story, a surprisingly interesting conclusion and also some food for thought when it comes to human behavior and not when it comes to survival and pride...
Grade: 8/10

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