Review - Blue Shift by Jane O'Reilly
In a book world where you look for your next read and the current genre trend, and covers that all seem the same, are constantly recommended to you, I had a yearning for something to spark interest, something a bit individual. I like choice and I like to be different, so when Blue Shift caught my attention I knew I had to read it. And it's pretty funny that the plot is based on the characters not conforming to the worlds rules and regulations (yes, worlds) that they live on, or in this case, around. So read on and maybe you'll be tempted into a rebellion of your own!
2187: Earth is cold, dead and divided.
The rich hide away while the rest will do anything to survive. Humanity have only one hope: reaching a habitable planet. But getting there means travelling in large numbers through alien-held space, something that's almost impossible. Yet for some, fighting their way through space is just a way of life . . .
Jinnifer Blue is a rich girl on the run. An expert pilot, she apprehends criminals on behalf of the government and keeps her illegal genetic modifications a closely guarded secret. But when a particularly dangerous job goes south, leaving her stranded on a prison ship with one of the most ruthless criminals in the galaxy, Jinn realises that the rich and the powerful are hiding more than she'd ever guessed. Now she must decide if she can trust her co-prisoner - because once they discover what the prison ship is hiding, she definitely can't trust anyone else . . .
A gripping space adventure for fans of Elizabeth Moon and Rachel Bach
Buy link: Amazon
About Jane O'Reilly
I grew up in a normal town in the North of England. It was quite cold, and it rained a lot. I went to university and had a brief spell as a teacher. I was at home looking after my second child when I decided I wanted to write a book. It was awful. This did not put me off. Since then, I've written contemporary and erotic romances and science fiction with a romantic twist. I like Captain America and biscuits.
Represented by Ella Diamond Kahn of DKW Literary Agency.
Review
I wanted something different and that's certainly what I got! The author's confidence and ease with words make this story fresh and intriguing. Though the story is set way into the future the cleverly weaved descriptions put you right there without any interruption to the flow or pace of words.
Jinnifer Blue was desperate to leave her life beneath the Dome. Not surprising when her controlling mother seemed to see her as an inconvenience and someone that needed to be fixed. Jinn did the fixing herself, getting the modifications she needed in order to gain her freedom. It's not easy for Jinn working as a pilot with crew who always resent the privileged Dome brats, when those raised underground have had to struggle to survive. So when the ship she's working on comes under attack and Jinn is allowed to live, that resentment only increases.
When Dax is taken so easily from his crew, he becomes suspicious as to how his attack was so easy. He's not happy to find that he's been dumped alongside the Dome Brat he allowed to escape all those years ago. This time they have to work together in order to escape and to raise the alarm about what they have discovered.
The author makes every technical term seem plausible and brings the environment to life. The start of the plot, for me, is so reminiscent of Logan's Run, when there's that strive for perfection and survival, and the politics and characterisation of Star Wars. You are left guessing about who Jinn and Dax can trust, and if they can actually trust each other. There's that shared history that keeps hinting at some connection between the two. Did Dax actually need to save her? You hope that something will happen between them and because their relationship is a slow burner, it's incredibly satisfying and believable when it does. Although being together only serves to increase the danger for each of them as political twists, and the Dome's fragility, make their situation even more desperate.
I'm a lover of romance and I love an intricate plot, and this book has both. The plot keeps you engaged and the romance is an enhancement that doesn't detract from the gripping tension and the twists in any way. A marriage made in sci-fi heaven!
Blue Shift is book one in what seems to be the beginning of a fantastic trilogy!
5 Butterfly Rating!
~ Tracey
