Prelim review: Quite honestly I picked up the first book because Chris McGrath did the artwork and I continued with it because even though Creasy has a lot of science fiction talk throughout the books, Finn and Edie were two characters I really enjoyed reading. They were both terribly lost, complete martyrs to boot who exhibited a distinct recklessness with their lives I found exciting.

This companion/sequel to "Song of Scarabaeus" picks up a little over a week from the ending as Finn and Edie make their great escape to the Fringe. There are a couple of standard 'relationship' obstacles thrown into the mix (aside from the real and present danger of the leash), but these books were never quite about the romance so much as the relationship. Finn and Edie are both supremely flawed people--Edie lived a relatively sheltered life all things considered while Finn went from a normal life to the life of a rebel and then prison. Neither was very good at just being.

Full review to be posted later ( )

Somewhat of a mix between sci fi and sci fi romance. I didn't like this one quite as much as the first. Maybe there wasn't quite as much fast paced space opera inspired daring do. It seemed that Edie and Finn were just battered about by events instead of actually doing stuff themselves. Also even though I know that this isn't really a sci fi romance, their relationship didn't pack the punch that it promised to in the first book. Hmm... still worth the read but I wouldn't read it if you haven't read the first one. You would be guaranteed not to understand what was going on. ( )

Sara Creasy ends a book so well that you just want to dive into another. This was a really fast, enjoyable read. I'm very happy to know the end of the story for Edie and Finn, and will be eagerly watching for Sara's next book. ( )

There are some intriguing potentials with this book and the first one in the series... but they are larely lost in a one-note plot that tries to keep up tension by doing the same thing over and over again/
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Edie can be manipulated by threats to Finn. Fine. But when basically the entire plot has her being pressured into cooperating with her enemies because of the same damn threat over and over again... well, it starts to lack the tension necessary to make it interesting. I say "This yet again???"

The political set-up of the universe is potentially interesting and plausible. However- as in the first volume- the "tecjh" just doesn't feel plausible to me. Not even as plausible as a good thoughtfully based magical system. There's lots of buzzwords, carefully unexplained, and I did not see any hard-and-fast rules that would make a deus ex machina impossible; rather the opposite. Throwing jargon at something and calling it "tech" does not really work when it's not well-thought-out and lacks an underlying consistency and plausibility.

Also, the characterization is lacking. Everyone is a cliche. Edie is a doormat- OK, there's reasons why, but still. Finn is a cipher. And the rest are yet less vividly drawn; they exists mostly as plot elements.

I read this because I do think the idea of an awakened sentient ecosystem- "Mother Nature" as it were- is fascinating. I wish Creasy had opened her vision wider and explored more there... or even explored more about Edie NOT being a victim of all and sundry. There were various points where she could have used her skills to upend things... but she did not and remained a doormat.

I was disappointed. ( )

In this sequel to Song of Scarabaeus, Edie has discovered a way to save the Fringe planets from the Crib’s oppressive rule. She and Finn, now fugitives, are on their way to the Fringe to implement their strategy when they are captured once again by the Crib. Edie’s former mentor, Natesa, wants her help in terraforming uninhabited planets so that they can become a source of food and other resources for the galaxy. However, Edie soon perceives that Natesa’s plan isn’t working; in fact, her team’s technique for speeding up the terraforming process is rapidly turning the target planets into sludge. Now Edie must find a way to stop Natesa’s program and essentially save the galaxy, all while trying to create a new life for herself with Finn.

As with book one in this series, there’s a lot more going on in this installment than I was able to explain in a one-paragraph summary. This book basically picks up where the previous one left off, and anyone interested in the premise should definitely backtrack and read Song of Scarabaeus first. I think I enjoyed this book even more than the first, mainly because I was more familiar with the complex world of the series. I also enjoyed reading about the development of Edie and Finn’s relationship, although the romance is definitely secondary to the various story lines. In fact, my biggest problem with the book is that there’s too much going on. I had trouble keeping the minor characters straight, and many of them could easily have been left out. My other quibble is that, while the book ends satisfactorily, I’d love to see where Edie and Finn are headed next – but I’m not sure there’s going to be a third book! If Creasy writes one, I’ll definitely check it out.