I picked this book up on a whim on a family trip to the local Barnes & Noble. And then it sat on various coffee, side, and end tables before I finally got around to it a year later.
Part of me is glad I waited so long, because if I hadn’t then I would have been waiting for the second book in the series to come out (which it did back in July) and been left for months with burning unanswered questions.
I ordered the 2nd book moments after finishing this one, once my idiot ass saw all the “book 1” indicators.
It’s paced perfectly to lead you right into the second book, and the cliffhanger is perfect.
Action, intrigue, spaceships, and great world-building and frankly I have questions. Can’t wait to see what gets answered! ( )

Engrossing plot with a breakneck pace, check.
Badass female main character (military type) check.
Politicians being politicians, check.
Cool AI’s, check.
Something wicked this way comes, check.

Anyway, Velocity Weapon is an entertaining space opera, without being a great or groundbreaking book. Of course, not every book has to be groundbreaking…

I enjoyed following Sanda (the badass, see above) and Bero the sentient spaceship. Bero is by far the most interesting character in the book and I would have liked to see more of him as well as chapters with his POV. Biran’s character is basically “I want to save my sister!” and “Oh, did I make the wrong decision again?” Boring…
The plot involving Jules and her heist gang also bored me – things happened, characters reacted, and nothing was resolved (the author was saving that for the next book, obviously).
To be fair, I flew through the second half of the book – there were some very interesting reveals, last minute rescues, and hints of dark conspiracies.

There is an annoying trope in some sci-fi books set hundreds and thousands of years into the future: people still listen to classical composer X, read this and that classic novel, and everyone in every star system understands the cultural references. I get it, humanity has been so busy colonising space that no one has had the time to create new classics☺ Velocity Weapon is guilty of that as well, with Beethoven and Le Petit Prince thrown in. Grrrrrrr.

I am beginning to sound grumpy, but this was an entertaining read, despite its flaws.
( )

It was a hard book to start. There were too many lines going back and forth, too many time frames, but the longer you read the book the easier it became. Honestly, a few times the book made me go "what the hell..." while re-reading the bombshell that happened. Fantastic read overall, just felt the ending was lacking any type of closure. I didn't realize it was a series until I read this book, and I will look forward to reading the second in it. ( )

DNF. Only 5% in, but the writing bogs down in the brother's point of view for no reason I can figure out, and I don't have the energy to slog through it.

Well now, this was a surprise! Here's what I had to say at around page 100:

"I don't usually like multiple timelines, and this time's no different. So far I'm not a huge fan of any of the characters (aside from Bero) and I don't have much interest in the plot either. Hopefully this will improve in the near future."

Damn did it pay out to just keep going. The beginning is the weakest part of the story, but once things get going, they go. There were a couple of points in the story where I literally said "what the fuck" out loud. Based on the beginning of the story, I was expecting a predictable parade of sci-fi cliches, but this turned out to be really good. The rest of my reading plans for the month are now in great jeopardy, because I might just have to continue on with the series.

By the end, Bero is still my favorite character and I really hope we get more from him in the next book. I'm still a little ambivalent on the rest of the characters, though I do really appreciate the family dynamic of Sanda, Biran and their dads. I also really liked the casual inclusivity of the whole world. The only thing I could have done without was the subplot between Sanda and Thomas, but I guess every book series needs a thread of romance. Luckily it wasn't central to this story.

The overarching side plot was, above all else, very confusing, but I'm sure thing's will become much less muddy in the sequel. If nothing else, the revelation at the end was really fricking intriguing. I kind of love it when a book proves to be so much better than I initially thought! ( )