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Embustero
RELUCTANT TRAMPS
Bad luck brought Shadrack and his crew to Nivia; desperation kept them there. They ran honest cargo when they could; they stooped to poaching and petty larceny when they had to—or when it was convenient—until they put together a stake large enough to pay their way back to legitimacy. When they stumbled on a man near-frozen to death in the middle of Nivia’s largest nature preserve, where no human had any legitimate reason to be, they had a choice: save him, or leave him to the elements. Bringing him aboard might be risky, but how much trouble could one sick and injured local possibly be?
A DESPERATE FUGITIVE
The Nivian authorities and their criminal accomplices wanted Terson Reilly dead—and nearly made him so. Instead he found himself an unwilling guest aboard a grubby freighter with a neurotic crew that seemed to have nearly as many secrets as he did. Terson just wanted to ignore what he’d seen, forget what he’d done, and vanish among Nivia’s vast asteroid mining population. But the Embustero’s captain decided he could use a man with Terson Reilly’s talents, even if he didn’t fully understand what the cost to his ship and his crew might be.
A TROUBLED MOBSTER
Halsor Tennison had greater concerns than a missing and presumably dead Terson Reilly. The Family’s criminal enterprise on Nivia was near collapse, thanks to his own rash temper. His mother demanded the death of his Minzoku mistress, Dayuki, while his scheming cousin and her father aimed to force him into a marriage he didn’t want. Hal didn’t think circumstances could be much worse until a vital shipment vanished in transit, revealing a suspicious tramp freighter that just happened to have been in Nivia’s orbit at the same time Terson Reilly vanished…
Bad luck brought Shadrack and his crew to Nivia; desperation kept them there. They ran honest cargo when they could; they stooped to poaching and petty larceny when they had to—or when it was convenient—until they put together a stake large enough to pay their way back to legitimacy. When they stumbled on a man near-frozen to death in the middle of Nivia’s largest nature preserve, where no human had any legitimate reason to be, they had a choice: save him, or leave him to the elements. Bringing him aboard might be risky, but how much trouble could one sick and injured local possibly be?
A DESPERATE FUGITIVE
The Nivian authorities and their criminal accomplices wanted Terson Reilly dead—and nearly made him so. Instead he found himself an unwilling guest aboard a grubby freighter with a neurotic crew that seemed to have nearly as many secrets as he did. Terson just wanted to ignore what he’d seen, forget what he’d done, and vanish among Nivia’s vast asteroid mining population. But the Embustero’s captain decided he could use a man with Terson Reilly’s talents, even if he didn’t fully understand what the cost to his ship and his crew might be.
A TROUBLED MOBSTER
Halsor Tennison had greater concerns than a missing and presumably dead Terson Reilly. The Family’s criminal enterprise on Nivia was near collapse, thanks to his own rash temper. His mother demanded the death of his Minzoku mistress, Dayuki, while his scheming cousin and her father aimed to force him into a marriage he didn’t want. Hal didn’t think circumstances could be much worse until a vital shipment vanished in transit, revealing a suspicious tramp freighter that just happened to have been in Nivia’s orbit at the same time Terson Reilly vanished…
- GenresScience Fiction
327 pages, Paperback
First published November 9, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 9, 2020
Intense
This story covers Terson Rielly's time aboard the Emburstero/Ladybird and the continuation of all the Hal's story and how they intersect there's a little surprise in here as well. I am enjoying this series quite a bit and have already purchased the next in the series.
This is a great science fiction novel and promises to get better.
This story covers Terson Rielly's time aboard the Emburstero/Ladybird and the continuation of all the Hal's story and how they intersect there's a little surprise in here as well. I am enjoying this series quite a bit and have already purchased the next in the series.
This is a great science fiction novel and promises to get better.
February 7, 2020
Good story
Liked the plot, characterizations and story line. Plan to read the rest of the books in the series by scott cleveland.
Liked the plot, characterizations and story line. Plan to read the rest of the books in the series by scott cleveland.
March 9, 2020
This is a gripping story with several plotlines running in parallel. It has interesting characters and will keep you flipping pages until the end.
January 16, 2022
Action and intreague
Lots of action and intreague throughout the book. very surprising ending, should of seen it coming once Liz died but Scott is a master!
Lots of action and intreague throughout the book. very surprising ending, should of seen it coming once Liz died but Scott is a master!
May 8, 2013
I won't go into the plot lines as Cleveland covers that above. They're kept separate for most of the book, which is fine at this stage of the game as forcing them together would've been too much. When it does happen, it serves as a reminder how past misunderstandings can snowball into tragedy.
Cleveland remains true to his characters' realism. Terson maintains his loner identity and it takes him many chapters before he lets his guard down enough to let others in. It isn't easy for him as there are others who refuse to cut him any slack. For every progressive step he makes, someone pushes him back. And Halsor remains the villain that you almost root for, until he gets Terson in his sights.
While Terson is aboard the Embustero, Cleveland lets us know that life aboard spaceships isn't nifty like it is on Star Trek. Life as a trader is hard work. Cleveland gives us all the nitty gritty on balancing the financials, dealing with pirates, maintaining discipline among the crew, and keeping the ship functioning. This is the sort of thing that will turn off space fantasy readers, but hard sci-fi fans will appreciate the honest approach.
As for the technicals, the book is well-edited. There are only a handful of typos, scattered throughout the book. The dialogue is spot on and seamlessly blends with the exposition. Cleveland's writing style displays a maturity typically only seen in seasoned veterans.
As with Pale Boundaries, the overall story (that is: Terson vs. Halsor) ends unfinished, but this time the current issues have been resolved. Being more familiar with Cleveland's writing style, I recognized the peaks in the two plots. While there is a rather lengthy denouement, with the conclusion of Embustero the reader feels that they've come to the definitive end of a chapter in the overall saga. But it's easy to see that Cleveland has more in store for both Terson and Halsor.
Scott Cleveland has crafted another wonderful story with a plots full of scheming characters to keep readers engrossed from start to finish. His characters, whether good or bad, are all real human beings with the strengths and vulnerabilities that come with the territory. It's a cynical universe where even good people assume the worst of others and act accordingly. Cleveland deftly shows how nothing good comes of it.
If you enjoyed Pale Boundaries you'll definitely want to pick up Embustero.
Cleveland remains true to his characters' realism. Terson maintains his loner identity and it takes him many chapters before he lets his guard down enough to let others in. It isn't easy for him as there are others who refuse to cut him any slack. For every progressive step he makes, someone pushes him back. And Halsor remains the villain that you almost root for, until he gets Terson in his sights.
While Terson is aboard the Embustero, Cleveland lets us know that life aboard spaceships isn't nifty like it is on Star Trek. Life as a trader is hard work. Cleveland gives us all the nitty gritty on balancing the financials, dealing with pirates, maintaining discipline among the crew, and keeping the ship functioning. This is the sort of thing that will turn off space fantasy readers, but hard sci-fi fans will appreciate the honest approach.
As for the technicals, the book is well-edited. There are only a handful of typos, scattered throughout the book. The dialogue is spot on and seamlessly blends with the exposition. Cleveland's writing style displays a maturity typically only seen in seasoned veterans.
As with Pale Boundaries, the overall story (that is: Terson vs. Halsor) ends unfinished, but this time the current issues have been resolved. Being more familiar with Cleveland's writing style, I recognized the peaks in the two plots. While there is a rather lengthy denouement, with the conclusion of Embustero the reader feels that they've come to the definitive end of a chapter in the overall saga. But it's easy to see that Cleveland has more in store for both Terson and Halsor.
Scott Cleveland has crafted another wonderful story with a plots full of scheming characters to keep readers engrossed from start to finish. His characters, whether good or bad, are all real human beings with the strengths and vulnerabilities that come with the territory. It's a cynical universe where even good people assume the worst of others and act accordingly. Cleveland deftly shows how nothing good comes of it.
If you enjoyed Pale Boundaries you'll definitely want to pick up Embustero.
December 22, 2013
Embustero is the second novel in Scott Cleveland’s Pale Boundaries universe. It starts very much right after the events of the first novel. Fortunately for this reader (who reviewed the book years ago) everything you need to know about the previous book is provided.
In essence, Terson Reilly, the protagonist, has discovered that Nivia, the world he’s living on, has a well-hidden secret colony on a supposedly-uninhabited continent. This colony is governed by a mafia-like organization, who besides hiding it are using it as a base for their various criminal enterprises. In the first book, Reilly learned too much, and so an attempt was made to kill him. It failed.
In this book we have two plots that are largely moving independently of each other. Reilly, having escaped with his life, is trying to make a go of things with his rescuers, who have secrets of their own, while back on Nivia the mafia is dealing with various problems caused by Reilly and other local unrest. There’s a bit less action in this book than in Pale Boundaries, but more mystery and intrigue, so overall it’s a wash.
In reading my previous review, I noted that Cleveland did several things in his writing that I didn’t approve of. I note with pleasure that in Embustero Cleveland “fixed” those problems. Overall, I found Embustero well worth the read, and I look forward to his next novel.
In essence, Terson Reilly, the protagonist, has discovered that Nivia, the world he’s living on, has a well-hidden secret colony on a supposedly-uninhabited continent. This colony is governed by a mafia-like organization, who besides hiding it are using it as a base for their various criminal enterprises. In the first book, Reilly learned too much, and so an attempt was made to kill him. It failed.
In this book we have two plots that are largely moving independently of each other. Reilly, having escaped with his life, is trying to make a go of things with his rescuers, who have secrets of their own, while back on Nivia the mafia is dealing with various problems caused by Reilly and other local unrest. There’s a bit less action in this book than in Pale Boundaries, but more mystery and intrigue, so overall it’s a wash.
In reading my previous review, I noted that Cleveland did several things in his writing that I didn’t approve of. I note with pleasure that in Embustero Cleveland “fixed” those problems. Overall, I found Embustero well worth the read, and I look forward to his next novel.
November 16, 2016
I really enjoyed this book and its predecessor, Pale Boundaries. The world-building is believable and the characters are fully developed, with shades of gray all around. I've been reading a lot of urban fantasy and time travel lately. This was a nice diversion into some solid sci fi. At the end of the Kindle edition, there's a note that another book is coming. I certainly hope that's true.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews