What do you think?
Rate this book
Cas Russell #3
Critical Point
S. L. Huang's Critical Point is a breakout SF thriller for fans of John Scalzi and Greg Rucka.
Math-genius mercenary Cas Russell has stopped a shadow organization from brainwashing the world and discovered her past was deliberately erased and her superhuman abilities deliberately created.
And that's just the start: when a demolitions expert targets Cas and her friends, and the hidden conspiracy behind Cas's past starts to reappear, the past, present, and future collide in a race to save one of her dearest friends.
Math-genius mercenary Cas Russell has stopped a shadow organization from brainwashing the world and discovered her past was deliberately erased and her superhuman abilities deliberately created.
And that's just the start: when a demolitions expert targets Cas and her friends, and the hidden conspiracy behind Cas's past starts to reappear, the past, present, and future collide in a race to save one of her dearest friends.
Audible Audio
First published April 28, 2020
81 people are currently reading
439 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
March 31, 2023
Critical Point
By S.L. Huang
Oh my goodness! Talk about a thriller! Arthur has been kidnapped! Someone from the past and present is after Cas and going after who she cares about. Cas didn't know about Arthur's family. Now she has a large family to protect plus Checker. Checker thinks all of this is his fault because the bombings look like his friend's work.
There's lots of big booms, there's bombers, dirty cops, betrayal, and an assassin. I really love this series!
By S.L. Huang
Oh my goodness! Talk about a thriller! Arthur has been kidnapped! Someone from the past and present is after Cas and going after who she cares about. Cas didn't know about Arthur's family. Now she has a large family to protect plus Checker. Checker thinks all of this is his fault because the bombings look like his friend's work.
There's lots of big booms, there's bombers, dirty cops, betrayal, and an assassin. I really love this series!
May 5, 2020
Should someone make a Cas Russell TV series, y/y? Critical Point is the third book in the series and all I can think, besides “this is so fucking fun,” is “this would make a great CW procedural.” (Relatedly, I have started watching a very stupid CW procedural, Lucifer, which is very stupid. I have chosen not to fact-check whether it actually airs on the CW because of how indisputably it is in spirit a CW show.) Cas Russell is a low-level career criminal turned…. still kind of a career criminal? but with a team and a conscience (sort of). In a former life, she was modified in a lab by a creepy company called Pithica to be a peerless math genius, which it turns out is kind of a superpower. She uses it to do crimes and, sometimes, help people.
Critical Point begins with a teenage girl arriving at Cas’s office to ask Cas to help find her father, who hasn’t answered his text messages in a few days. Cas is ready to dismiss her until the girl tells her who her father is: Arthur Tresting. Then, while Cas is freaking out about a, her close friend and colleague going missing and b, her close friend and colleague having a secret family he didn’t tell her about, someone blows up her office. That someone appears to be an Australian named Oscar who Cas forgets about every time he’s not directly in her line of sight. It’s a real one-two punch of an opener!
I love Cas’s team, so it should be no surprise to anyone that I was delighted with the way Critical Point delves into the lives and histories of her team. Not only does Arthur have a daughter, he has actually five kids (all of them sweet, devoted, smart, and angry) and an ex-husband who is Through with This Bullshit. Not only does Arthur have five kids and an ex-husband, but Checker and Pilar knew about them. Not only does Arthur have five kids and an ex-husband that Checker and Pilar knew about, but Checker is kind of part of the family — Arthur and Diego took him in when he was screwed up and wretched and helped to set him on the straight and narrow path. So pretty much everyone knew about the secret family except for Cas.
I loved this. I loved it. Throughout the book Cas is struggling to come to terms with the knowledge that the people she has come to trust the most do not trust her that same amount. Even harder to come to terms with is the fact that they’re right. Her life is chaos, and they have chosen to keep that chaos at a distance from the ones it’s their job to protect. Yet even while knowing that Arthur considers her mad (sometimes), bad (grey area really), and dangerous to know (FAIR PLAY THERE), she continues to put everything on the line to get him back. It’s heartbreaking in the best way. My one wish was that the book had ended on a slightly more hopeful note vis-a-vis Cas’s relationship with her team. I want them to get past this. Maybe in book 4 Tabitha can become Cas’s apprentice?
(“Jenny, are your desires in this matter influenced by how much you enjoy the munchkin in Lucifer being so high on Lucifer?” Yes.)
As always in a series where one of the characters has superpowers, SL Huang has to find a way to neutralize(-ish) Cas’s superpowers in a way that doesn’t feel forced. I love the solution she’s come up with in Critical Point. The villain they’re facing has the power to surgically alter humans such that they engender very specific emotions in those who encounter them. The Australian bomber is forgettable, which is troubling in its own right. But much scarier are the dogs and man designed to engender pure, debilitating fear in anyone who looks at them. It’s a brilliant way of getting around Cas’s superpowers in fight scenes, honestly, and it taps straight into my pleasure centers re: the whole face-swapping plotline on Jane the Virgin, another really superb CW show.
(God, like, I know the world is in many ways garbage, but how fucking blessed are we to share a world with the CW? It had Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, somehow both at the same time??? Like. Gah.)
I will now do a small spoiler. It will be confined to the next paragraph only. Do not read the next paragraph if spoilers are not your thing.
My one small note on the book’s plot is that because it’s quite complicated, I think it throws a wrench in the works that nobody’s ever sure whether Pithica is doing all these wickednesses (despite their deal with Cas to leave her alone). In fact Pithica is not doing all these wickednesses, so it just gums up the works to have their involvement in question. And the works are already quite complex! There are many moving parts (allies, adversaries, people in need of protection) and red herrings! If it were me, I’d have found a way, early on, for Cas to reassure herself that this wasn’t Pithica. Then the plot would be clearer throughout, and the reveal at the end — that Pithica needed this situation dealt with and mildly manipulated Cas into dealing with it — would have had more bite.
Apart from that, Critical Point was as fun as its predecessors. Part of me hopes that SL Huang will go on writing this series for years, though another part of me knows that she has some queer fairy tale-ish sorts of stories in the hopper, and I want those too. In conclusion, I guess, please read this series so the publisher will want more of them, and then SL Huang can do whatever she wants.
Note: I received an e-ARC of Critical Point from the publisher for review consideration. This has not impacted the contents of my review.
Critical Point begins with a teenage girl arriving at Cas’s office to ask Cas to help find her father, who hasn’t answered his text messages in a few days. Cas is ready to dismiss her until the girl tells her who her father is: Arthur Tresting. Then, while Cas is freaking out about a, her close friend and colleague going missing and b, her close friend and colleague having a secret family he didn’t tell her about, someone blows up her office. That someone appears to be an Australian named Oscar who Cas forgets about every time he’s not directly in her line of sight. It’s a real one-two punch of an opener!
I love Cas’s team, so it should be no surprise to anyone that I was delighted with the way Critical Point delves into the lives and histories of her team. Not only does Arthur have a daughter, he has actually five kids (all of them sweet, devoted, smart, and angry) and an ex-husband who is Through with This Bullshit. Not only does Arthur have five kids and an ex-husband, but Checker and Pilar knew about them. Not only does Arthur have five kids and an ex-husband that Checker and Pilar knew about, but Checker is kind of part of the family — Arthur and Diego took him in when he was screwed up and wretched and helped to set him on the straight and narrow path. So pretty much everyone knew about the secret family except for Cas.
I loved this. I loved it. Throughout the book Cas is struggling to come to terms with the knowledge that the people she has come to trust the most do not trust her that same amount. Even harder to come to terms with is the fact that they’re right. Her life is chaos, and they have chosen to keep that chaos at a distance from the ones it’s their job to protect. Yet even while knowing that Arthur considers her mad (sometimes), bad (grey area really), and dangerous to know (FAIR PLAY THERE), she continues to put everything on the line to get him back. It’s heartbreaking in the best way. My one wish was that the book had ended on a slightly more hopeful note vis-a-vis Cas’s relationship with her team. I want them to get past this. Maybe in book 4 Tabitha can become Cas’s apprentice?
(“Jenny, are your desires in this matter influenced by how much you enjoy the munchkin in Lucifer being so high on Lucifer?” Yes.)
As always in a series where one of the characters has superpowers, SL Huang has to find a way to neutralize(-ish) Cas’s superpowers in a way that doesn’t feel forced. I love the solution she’s come up with in Critical Point. The villain they’re facing has the power to surgically alter humans such that they engender very specific emotions in those who encounter them. The Australian bomber is forgettable, which is troubling in its own right. But much scarier are the dogs and man designed to engender pure, debilitating fear in anyone who looks at them. It’s a brilliant way of getting around Cas’s superpowers in fight scenes, honestly, and it taps straight into my pleasure centers re: the whole face-swapping plotline on Jane the Virgin, another really superb CW show.
(God, like, I know the world is in many ways garbage, but how fucking blessed are we to share a world with the CW? It had Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, somehow both at the same time??? Like. Gah.)
I will now do a small spoiler. It will be confined to the next paragraph only. Do not read the next paragraph if spoilers are not your thing.
My one small note on the book’s plot is that because it’s quite complicated, I think it throws a wrench in the works that nobody’s ever sure whether Pithica is doing all these wickednesses (despite their deal with Cas to leave her alone). In fact Pithica is not doing all these wickednesses, so it just gums up the works to have their involvement in question. And the works are already quite complex! There are many moving parts (allies, adversaries, people in need of protection) and red herrings! If it were me, I’d have found a way, early on, for Cas to reassure herself that this wasn’t Pithica. Then the plot would be clearer throughout, and the reveal at the end — that Pithica needed this situation dealt with and mildly manipulated Cas into dealing with it — would have had more bite.
Apart from that, Critical Point was as fun as its predecessors. Part of me hopes that SL Huang will go on writing this series for years, though another part of me knows that she has some queer fairy tale-ish sorts of stories in the hopper, and I want those too. In conclusion, I guess, please read this series so the publisher will want more of them, and then SL Huang can do whatever she wants.
Note: I received an e-ARC of Critical Point from the publisher for review consideration. This has not impacted the contents of my review.
April 16, 2021
Review to come!
February 26, 2022
So right off the bat, having jumped from the Russell's Attic series (four books originally self published) over here to the Cas Russell series (rewritten, reordered and renamed for Tor publishing), I've skipped the first two rewritten books to get straight into this, the first entirely new adventure in the Tor published series. As such, I have no idea whether I missed any details that were added in the rewrites. Feck it. So be it.
After finishing the fourth story I was actually looking forward to finishing the series and moving on, but this story brought back my interest. It seems that the old saying "third time is the charm" applies doubly here. The third book in the original series and this the third in the republished series are definitely the series highlights.
'Critical Point' jumps straight into gear; shit starts blowing up almost immediately and the adventure rips along at a manic pace. I would have called all of the previous books "fast paced" but this one is seriously relentless.
Cas gets hung up about not knowing that Arthur has a family, which at first seems a petty reaction but gradually feels justified as we learn that this fact was deliberately withheld.
I don't really feel any empathy for the lost-love relationship but I have started to find the way Cas treats Simon to be unpalatably cruel.
In this story Arthur goes missing and nobody is quite sure where to look since he hadn't been working on any cases that they were aware of and the scant evidence suggests various unconnected possibilities. Monsters from their pasts have returned to haunt Cas, Checker and Arthur in a series of linked catastrophes. We learn plenty about who Cas was and how she came to be the heartless maths whiz we know (and love?). Interestingly Cas achieves a feat of what I'm calling "reverse telepathy" which is used in a way that I don't recall seeing in other scifi settings.
Another great entry in the ongoing story and I'm pleased to leave it here on a high note while we await the next release.
After finishing the fourth story I was actually looking forward to finishing the series and moving on, but this story brought back my interest. It seems that the old saying "third time is the charm" applies doubly here. The third book in the original series and this the third in the republished series are definitely the series highlights.
'Critical Point' jumps straight into gear; shit starts blowing up almost immediately and the adventure rips along at a manic pace. I would have called all of the previous books "fast paced" but this one is seriously relentless.
Cas gets hung up about not knowing that Arthur has a family, which at first seems a petty reaction but gradually feels justified as we learn that this fact was deliberately withheld.
I don't really feel any empathy for the lost-love relationship but I have started to find the way Cas treats Simon to be unpalatably cruel.
In this story Arthur goes missing and nobody is quite sure where to look since he hadn't been working on any cases that they were aware of and the scant evidence suggests various unconnected possibilities. Monsters from their pasts have returned to haunt Cas, Checker and Arthur in a series of linked catastrophes. We learn plenty about who Cas was and how she came to be the heartless maths whiz we know (and love?). Interestingly Cas achieves a feat of what I'm calling "reverse telepathy" which is used in a way that I don't recall seeing in other scifi settings.
Another great entry in the ongoing story and I'm pleased to leave it here on a high note while we await the next release.
August 6, 2025
This series just scratches my brain like that one spot on your pet. If you've enjoyed the rest of the series, this one is in the same vein and highly enjoyable. My one detractor is how possessive/petty Cas gets after all her protestations of needing to protect people. Still, very glad to have read.
November 12, 2020
I loved the first books in this series. This one didn’t hold together as well. The main character is having difficulties with her memories and thought processes, but the writing describing her troubles is t clear making it a bit of a struggle to read. Still Cas and friends are great characters- just not the best of the series.
May 30, 2020
Seems to me like the author is dragging his out into far more of an ongoing series than it perhaps should be - this entry was mostly fluff, and didn’t seem to drive the underlying questions (protagonist’s past, Halberd, Pithica) ahead much at all. Instead just adds a flurry of new characters (some of whom are summarily dispatched) and a future sidekick. Feels like it she is trying to develop it like The Dresden Files, in terms of a broad panoply of characters, but I don’t see it working - and still suffers from a consistent problem of inconsistency and illogical plotting. I’ll give the next one a go, but suspect if this had been wrapped up in a trilogy the books would have been better for it.
April 14, 2020
3 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
Cas Russell has already stopped a would-be do-good global mind-control conspiracy in its tracks using nothing but superhuman math and a lot of guns. And she's found out a little about her own shadowed past. Now, though, she has to fight a tougher battle - learning what friendship is all about. Oh, and scary monsters and bad guys.
Review
I enjoyed the first two books in S.L. Huang's Cas Russell series. I enjoyed this one too, but here the enjoyment is spread thinner, and the seams are starting to show. For one thing, it feels a lot like the previous book. Same sardonic tone, same super-math skill, same love of guns and violence. The difference is that here, Cas whines a lot more about how she's a bad person - but never does anything about it. There is a kind of resolution of this theme toward the end, but it was too thin and too late for my taste.
The other flaw is that the action now feels much more made-for-TV. It's an action series, sure, but it's a book, not a film. Not everything has to have great camera angles and non-stop banter. That's a little unfair, but that's how the book felt. I learned only today that Ms. Huang is in fact a professional stuntwoman, so perhaps she came by this angle honestly. I, however, found it tiring. I still liked the book, but I'm no longer entirely confident I'll like the next one. I do still want to know how it all ends, and what the mysteries are, but I feel like this title is much more filler-like than I hoped it would be. I can't help but wonder whether the original, self-published sequence worked better.
NB: I receive this book for free in exchange for an objective review.
Summary
Cas Russell has already stopped a would-be do-good global mind-control conspiracy in its tracks using nothing but superhuman math and a lot of guns. And she's found out a little about her own shadowed past. Now, though, she has to fight a tougher battle - learning what friendship is all about. Oh, and scary monsters and bad guys.
Review
I enjoyed the first two books in S.L. Huang's Cas Russell series. I enjoyed this one too, but here the enjoyment is spread thinner, and the seams are starting to show. For one thing, it feels a lot like the previous book. Same sardonic tone, same super-math skill, same love of guns and violence. The difference is that here, Cas whines a lot more about how she's a bad person - but never does anything about it. There is a kind of resolution of this theme toward the end, but it was too thin and too late for my taste.
The other flaw is that the action now feels much more made-for-TV. It's an action series, sure, but it's a book, not a film. Not everything has to have great camera angles and non-stop banter. That's a little unfair, but that's how the book felt. I learned only today that Ms. Huang is in fact a professional stuntwoman, so perhaps she came by this angle honestly. I, however, found it tiring. I still liked the book, but I'm no longer entirely confident I'll like the next one. I do still want to know how it all ends, and what the mysteries are, but I feel like this title is much more filler-like than I hoped it would be. I can't help but wonder whether the original, self-published sequence worked better.
NB: I receive this book for free in exchange for an objective review.
April 21, 2020
This has been a fun series, but it kind of takes a left turn in this one. Cas thought she actually had some friends and then finds out they've all been lying to her. Plus her powers aren't what they were. This is still non-stop action but not quite as snappy as the others. Still a fun ride and the ending is stellar. If this is the series end, it ends solid.
I received an eARC from NetGalley
I received an eARC from NetGalley
May 11, 2020
Some choices have to be made
Cas finds herself hunted by someone from Checker’s past, with possible ties to Pithica or Halberd. When she loses access to Simon, she finds herself remembering more of who she was. But as she keeps discovering, it’s not who she was, but who she wants to be that matters.
Cas finds herself hunted by someone from Checker’s past, with possible ties to Pithica or Halberd. When she loses access to Simon, she finds herself remembering more of who she was. But as she keeps discovering, it’s not who she was, but who she wants to be that matters.
November 10, 2020
The best book yet in a very binge-able series. This book had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. I loved seeing this deeper facet into the characters' backstories and the introduction to new interesting characters. In three books, Huang has become an auto-buy author. I cannot wait for the next book!
May 8, 2024
Been enjoying this series and generally would recommend.
Good pacing and action sequences. Only complaint would be some of the character beats that get quite grating.
I mistakenly assumed this book was the end of the series and as such was expecting some different things. I’ll probably continue reading- hope the next one gets into the bigger stuff that this one was light on.
Good pacing and action sequences. Only complaint would be some of the character beats that get quite grating.
I mistakenly assumed this book was the end of the series and as such was expecting some different things. I’ll probably continue reading- hope the next one gets into the bigger stuff that this one was light on.
May 12, 2020
I LOVE CAS RUSSELL. That is all.
Read
July 1, 2020DNF at 24%. I can't motivate myself to finish it. Not bad, just not the right time?
October 21, 2020
4.5 stars
February 7, 2021
Fun read.
Cas reminds me of Carol O’Connell’s Mallory.
Cas reminds me of Carol O’Connell’s Mallory.
March 11, 2021
Cas Russell is back and I like her again! After dragging myself through the swamp of a novel that was Null Set, I decided to give this series one more try and I am so glad I did!
Zero Sum Game was a 5-star read for me and at the time I thought it was because of the action-thriller-y plot. But at the end of the day, maybe it was just because of the characters??? And the characters are back in front and center in Critical Point, with the entire book basically being a vehicle for Cas Russell to have emotions and for Arthur/Checker/Pilar to get major development. (AND ARTHUR'S FAMILY! AHHH!)
Not sure if I really consider this series science fiction. Is there a name for like modern-day urban science-paranormal stories?? Here is what I know to be true: the sci-fi stuff in this book is very, very silly. But who cares? This is the story of angry, confused, amoral (but kind of worried about it) BADASS Cassandra Russell figuring out how to interact with humans, grow a conscience, and deal with her feelings - and it's so much fun.
The narration was something I remember really struggling with in Null Set, but here Cas is an incredibly entertaining narrator. Let's face it, she's almost (BUT NOT ACTUALLY) a sociopath, and her perspective on things is often hilarious. I cannot find the quote but her line wondering why she like's Pilar only to remind herself, "Oh yeah, she likes guns" had me in stitches. Her narration of her psychological issues is also used to the book's advantage, as opposed to being its detriment (see: Null Set). For anyone with a year of COVID isolation under their belt, reading about Cas's uncontrollable anxiety, violent mood swings, and overwhelming thoughts: pretty much guaranteed to be relatable.
Cas's emotional journey in this book is pure angsty pleasure. (Deep cut: it reminded me quite a lot of Rachel's journey in my FAVORITE animorphs book - #22, The Solution). Cas is waking up to the fact that she's kind of... well... a monster in some people's eyes. She crosses lines that other people won't cross, and people simultaneously judge her for it and use her for it when it's convenient. I loved seeing her grapple with all those realizations, wondering where her own moral compass points and if it's good enough for her newfound friends.
In short: this book is action-packed emotional fluff in which you get to spend time with this extremely compelling gang of characters. That's not to say the plot is plot-less: there is some stuff related to Pithica, Cas's past, etc., but Cas's internal journey is really what takes center stage here.
I am firmly back on the bandwagon! Looking forward to book 4!
Zero Sum Game was a 5-star read for me and at the time I thought it was because of the action-thriller-y plot. But at the end of the day, maybe it was just because of the characters??? And the characters are back in front and center in Critical Point, with the entire book basically being a vehicle for Cas Russell to have emotions and for Arthur/Checker/Pilar to get major development. (AND ARTHUR'S FAMILY! AHHH!)
Not sure if I really consider this series science fiction. Is there a name for like modern-day urban science-paranormal stories?? Here is what I know to be true: the sci-fi stuff in this book is very, very silly. But who cares? This is the story of angry, confused, amoral (but kind of worried about it) BADASS Cassandra Russell figuring out how to interact with humans, grow a conscience, and deal with her feelings - and it's so much fun.
The narration was something I remember really struggling with in Null Set, but here Cas is an incredibly entertaining narrator. Let's face it, she's almost (BUT NOT ACTUALLY) a sociopath, and her perspective on things is often hilarious. I cannot find the quote but her line wondering why she like's Pilar only to remind herself, "Oh yeah, she likes guns" had me in stitches. Her narration of her psychological issues is also used to the book's advantage, as opposed to being its detriment (see: Null Set). For anyone with a year of COVID isolation under their belt, reading about Cas's uncontrollable anxiety, violent mood swings, and overwhelming thoughts: pretty much guaranteed to be relatable.
Cas's emotional journey in this book is pure angsty pleasure. (Deep cut: it reminded me quite a lot of Rachel's journey in my FAVORITE animorphs book - #22, The Solution). Cas is waking up to the fact that she's kind of... well... a monster in some people's eyes. She crosses lines that other people won't cross, and people simultaneously judge her for it and use her for it when it's convenient. I loved seeing her grapple with all those realizations, wondering where her own moral compass points and if it's good enough for her newfound friends.
In short: this book is action-packed emotional fluff in which you get to spend time with this extremely compelling gang of characters. That's not to say the plot is plot-less: there is some stuff related to Pithica, Cas's past, etc., but Cas's internal journey is really what takes center stage here.
I am firmly back on the bandwagon! Looking forward to book 4!
May 15, 2020
I absolutely love S.L. Huang’s Cas Russell books. In Critical Point (Cas Russell Book 3), Cas is beginning to integrate with the people around her. It doesn’t come naturally, but she’s working with Arthur and Checker and even has an office. She has Simon helping to keep her fragile identity from crumbling. Unfortunately, she’s about to find out that her friends have been keeping a lot of information from her. They know how dangerous she is, how unstable, and how willing to let the ends justify the means–so they’ve been hiding a lot. And it stings when she finds out. Arthur’s daughter Tabitha comes to Cas to tell her she thinks Arthur’s missing. The fight to find and save him exposes more ties to Cas’s mysterious past and the people who made her into the living weapon she is.
Cas is one of my favorite protagonists. She’s a math genius who’s been shaped and molded into being able to use that mathematical ability in fascinating ways. She’s tough, and she often thinks the ends justify whatever means she’s using; she’s perfectly willing to do whatever it takes to save her friends, even if it means doing things they can never forgive her for. She’s irascible and easily annoyed, she acts on split-second instinct, and she heavily rides the line of unlikable protagonist. Even her old friend Rio–an extremely dangerous man who believes the killing and torturing he does is all necessary in the service of God–is not entirely on board with some of her actions. (Just as a note, I swear I hear Rio’s dialogue in Chris Judge’s voice.) She’s trying so hard to develop a moral compass of some kind using Arthur as a guide, and it’s really interesting to read about.
There are plenty of mathematical shenanigans to enjoy, and the lineup of additional characters in this novel includes a woman who is unbelievably beautiful and a man who’s so frightening no one can avoid panicking when they see him. There are a lot of messed-up people in here, and we get to explore the ways in which being powerful can tempt a person.
As long as you don’t need your protagonists to be unabashed good guys, I highly recommend this whole series!
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2020/05/r...
Cas is one of my favorite protagonists. She’s a math genius who’s been shaped and molded into being able to use that mathematical ability in fascinating ways. She’s tough, and she often thinks the ends justify whatever means she’s using; she’s perfectly willing to do whatever it takes to save her friends, even if it means doing things they can never forgive her for. She’s irascible and easily annoyed, she acts on split-second instinct, and she heavily rides the line of unlikable protagonist. Even her old friend Rio–an extremely dangerous man who believes the killing and torturing he does is all necessary in the service of God–is not entirely on board with some of her actions. (Just as a note, I swear I hear Rio’s dialogue in Chris Judge’s voice.) She’s trying so hard to develop a moral compass of some kind using Arthur as a guide, and it’s really interesting to read about.
There are plenty of mathematical shenanigans to enjoy, and the lineup of additional characters in this novel includes a woman who is unbelievably beautiful and a man who’s so frightening no one can avoid panicking when they see him. There are a lot of messed-up people in here, and we get to explore the ways in which being powerful can tempt a person.
As long as you don’t need your protagonists to be unabashed good guys, I highly recommend this whole series!
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2020/05/r...
July 23, 2025
It's been way too long since I read the first and second books in this series, so it's hard for me to know where to start with a review of the third. As a whole, the series is intense and very fun to read, mixing math and conspiracy and human experimentation and explosions and the utter disaster that is Cas Russell into one hell of a ride. And this book is no exception, raising the stakes considerably further than the first two books by making things a great, great deal more personal. Watching Cas deal with so many different kinds of danger and betrayal along the way made for a great read, and there is just so damn much that happens in this book that it's hard to even sum it up. I don't usually read fast-paced thrillers like this, so it was a change of pace that I really enjoyed.
Some of the book's best moments were the quieter ones, though - the few times anyone gets a chance to rest is when they start to ask the real questions, and those always cut to the hearts of the characters. Those conversations get really rough in this book, considering that one of the main character conflicts is a "we've known each other for years and you never told me" kind of thing. For a book that has so much blowing up, there's a ton of excellent character drama in here.
My only real complaint is that the ending felt kind of rushed - things get figured out and solved almost too easily once the final piece of the puzzle falls into place. While it did feel earned, especially after the hell the characters go through in this book, it left me with a feeling of "okay, that's over now" as everything got wrapped up.
Overall, though, it's a worthy ending to the series. The books might be a little hard to find these days, but it's definitely worth checking out if you like fast-paced conspiracy thrillers with hardass heroines.
Some of the book's best moments were the quieter ones, though - the few times anyone gets a chance to rest is when they start to ask the real questions, and those always cut to the hearts of the characters. Those conversations get really rough in this book, considering that one of the main character conflicts is a "we've known each other for years and you never told me" kind of thing. For a book that has so much blowing up, there's a ton of excellent character drama in here.
My only real complaint is that the ending felt kind of rushed - things get figured out and solved almost too easily once the final piece of the puzzle falls into place. While it did feel earned, especially after the hell the characters go through in this book, it left me with a feeling of "okay, that's over now" as everything got wrapped up.
Overall, though, it's a worthy ending to the series. The books might be a little hard to find these days, but it's definitely worth checking out if you like fast-paced conspiracy thrillers with hardass heroines.
July 2, 2020
I would give this probably 3.5 stars. Reasons for that will have to be mostly spoilery so this review is going to be hidden.
Pros: I like that this book developed Cas's character a lot more. Her friends hiding things from her forces her to examine herself and her interactions with them and how they treat each other. Also, interactions with Simon force her to confront her choices but I'm not sure she learned anything from it.
Cons: I don't read a lot of mystery novels, but I thought it was pretty clear from the beginning that Willow Grace was either the culprit or a person of great interest. After all, didn't we learn from the first book that the person everyone trusts is probably the guilty party? I thought that this book was kind of rehashing that idea when she should have already known better. Also, it felt super scattered in the beginning, jumping around from DJ to her past and everything. I know the point was that her friends were hiding things from her and her from them but not everything was explained to the reader either and it came across as a bit disjointed.
Overall, still a fun ride but I'm not sure the author laid out the clues very well for the mystery. For example, the scene at Teplova's clinic clearly indicated there were 2 parties at work but Cas never really thought about it. Seems like a pretty big hole to me.
Pros: I like that this book developed Cas's character a lot more. Her friends hiding things from her forces her to examine herself and her interactions with them and how they treat each other. Also, interactions with Simon force her to confront her choices but I'm not sure she learned anything from it.
Cons: I don't read a lot of mystery novels, but I thought it was pretty clear from the beginning that Willow Grace was either the culprit or a person of great interest. After all, didn't we learn from the first book that the person everyone trusts is probably the guilty party? I thought that this book was kind of rehashing that idea when she should have already known better. Also, it felt super scattered in the beginning, jumping around from DJ to her past and everything. I know the point was that her friends were hiding things from her and her from them but not everything was explained to the reader either and it came across as a bit disjointed.
Overall, still a fun ride but I'm not sure the author laid out the clues very well for the mystery. For example, the scene at Teplova's clinic clearly indicated there were 2 parties at work but Cas never really thought about it. Seems like a pretty big hole to me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2020
Cas Russell is back - with the same remorseless intensity that made Zero Sum Game such a hit with me. A little less of the cool math/physics thing in the beginning, but the stakes were back to being sky high (unlike in Null Set, which felt like an interlude in comparison to Critical Point and Zero Sum Game). We have bad guys with presence, more interesting superpowers, and CONSEQUENCES. Something this series handles really well is consequences - of Cas's actions and decisions and conversation. And she screws up. A lot. Because people aren't her strong suit.
I love that we get more background on our secondary characters, and we get to see a bit more about how Cas fits (and doesn't) in their lives. Cas herself is still pretty much a mystery, but she can still be a murder-by-math genius with a faulty moral compass without having a fully defined past.
I love that despite Cas's super brain, Huang finds believable ways to challenge her and make it impossible for her to win on her own. And Lauren Fortgang gives an amazing audiobook performance. I can't wait to see where Cas Russell and Co go next!
I love that we get more background on our secondary characters, and we get to see a bit more about how Cas fits (and doesn't) in their lives. Cas herself is still pretty much a mystery, but she can still be a murder-by-math genius with a faulty moral compass without having a fully defined past.
I love that despite Cas's super brain, Huang finds believable ways to challenge her and make it impossible for her to win on her own. And Lauren Fortgang gives an amazing audiobook performance. I can't wait to see where Cas Russell and Co go next!
September 16, 2020
Russell and her found family rack up even more physical and emotional trauma this time around as Cas tries to find a missing Arthur and protect his husband and kids from a crazy, anarchist bomber.
Yet more superpowers are slowly introduced into this noir world; always just on the far edge of plausibility. We also get the introduction of at least one more shadowy organisation with unknown goals.
This time around I think the plot could have used another round or two of polish. A character is introduced early and it is too obvious that they have more significance than Russell gives them. Also, a supposed antagonist that Cas is chasing doesn't even show up until the last few chapters of the book. Without any meeting between our protagonists and the antagonist, the story feels a little flat; like strung together action scenes.
Again we have some ethical dilemmas and opposing moral principles and those are some of my favourite parts of Cas Russell stories.
Definitely looking forward to the next entry in the series, but I need to pad some lighter novels around these are they are so grim.
Yet more superpowers are slowly introduced into this noir world; always just on the far edge of plausibility. We also get the introduction of at least one more shadowy organisation with unknown goals.
This time around I think the plot could have used another round or two of polish. A character is introduced early and it is too obvious that they have more significance than Russell gives them. Also, a supposed antagonist that Cas is chasing doesn't even show up until the last few chapters of the book. Without any meeting between our protagonists and the antagonist, the story feels a little flat; like strung together action scenes.
Again we have some ethical dilemmas and opposing moral principles and those are some of my favourite parts of Cas Russell stories.
Definitely looking forward to the next entry in the series, but I need to pad some lighter novels around these are they are so grim.
August 11, 2021
TW: Animal death, paranoia, violence including guns and explosions, mind control
S.L. Huang called Critical Point the entry in the Russellverse "'the one with all the explosions' or 'the one that is (finally) super gay.'" and I would say both of those are true - in the third book in the series, we learn more about the homelives and pasts of many of the characters we have come to love, while also being blown up every few chapters. In my humble opinion, Critical Point is the most solid entry in the series so far, as both action and interaction are handled skillfully as more information about Cas' past emerges. I especially loved all the tag team missions Cas and Pilar (who are most definitely my favorite duo) got to go on, but missed Arthur quite terribly once again. While I am so happy that we now have a crime family, I do miss the Cas Arthur shenanigans from book 1.
I think a few people will find issue with the characterization S.L. Huang has decided to continue on from Null Set - Cas is no longer the cool detached badass that despises working with others and dealing with her emotions. Instead she is now driven by trauma and memories that have resurfaced for the first time in decades. I think, as always, how you approach the series also determines how you react to this change in behavior. If you're only in it for the thrill, action and excitement, Cas' inner conflict and venture into her past may severely dampen your enjoyment. If you're invested in the characters and the family they have found, this will more than likely aide in fleshing out the characters and their relationships. Make of that what you will - I, for one, am anxiously awaiting the next entry into this series.
S.L. Huang called Critical Point the entry in the Russellverse "'the one with all the explosions' or 'the one that is (finally) super gay.'" and I would say both of those are true - in the third book in the series, we learn more about the homelives and pasts of many of the characters we have come to love, while also being blown up every few chapters. In my humble opinion, Critical Point is the most solid entry in the series so far, as both action and interaction are handled skillfully as more information about Cas' past emerges. I especially loved all the tag team missions Cas and Pilar (who are most definitely my favorite duo) got to go on, but missed Arthur quite terribly once again. While I am so happy that we now have a crime family, I do miss the Cas Arthur shenanigans from book 1.
I think a few people will find issue with the characterization S.L. Huang has decided to continue on from Null Set - Cas is no longer the cool detached badass that despises working with others and dealing with her emotions. Instead she is now driven by trauma and memories that have resurfaced for the first time in decades. I think, as always, how you approach the series also determines how you react to this change in behavior. If you're only in it for the thrill, action and excitement, Cas' inner conflict and venture into her past may severely dampen your enjoyment. If you're invested in the characters and the family they have found, this will more than likely aide in fleshing out the characters and their relationships. Make of that what you will - I, for one, am anxiously awaiting the next entry into this series.
August 15, 2020
I loved the first book in this series. I liked the second one, but found some aspects of the plot and the character relationships a bit annoying. This one was still entertaining, but I really don't like the main character's relationships with her friends. Honestly, I spent much of the second book, and all of this one wondering why they even call what they have friendship. Outside of the first book, where I thought the beginnings of friendship were established pretty well, there just haven't been many moments that made it seem at all worth it to any of the characters.
The author spins a compelling story for sure, and the world and abilities some of the people have are very interesting. I even like all of the characters... outside of most of their interactions with each other. I'll probably still show up for the next installment, but if they don't move past this and start acting like people who have been friends and worked together for multiple years (which they have), I'm not sure how much longer I'll stick around.
The author spins a compelling story for sure, and the world and abilities some of the people have are very interesting. I even like all of the characters... outside of most of their interactions with each other. I'll probably still show up for the next installment, but if they don't move past this and start acting like people who have been friends and worked together for multiple years (which they have), I'm not sure how much longer I'll stick around.
April 19, 2020
I'm going to admit to not having realized this was the third in a series until I was a good way through, ha! I will be checking the rest out, and the rebel in me kinda wants to read book 2 and then book 1.
I love a good problematic narrator. Cas is an excellent example. At some point, Cas had her past memories wiped, and in the process, her moral compass was erased too. She's now a rogue private detective (sorta), who takes her moral cues from another private detective, Arthur, and his two employees. She thinks they're all friends. Except when Arthur goes missing and it's up to her to find him, Cas discovers that they'd all been lying to her. They hid their families from her.
Oh, and Cas has been engineered in some way to be a math genius. And a bunch of other people. It's a really interesting take on a PI thriller, and I'm definitely going to catch up by reading backwards. ;)
I love a good problematic narrator. Cas is an excellent example. At some point, Cas had her past memories wiped, and in the process, her moral compass was erased too. She's now a rogue private detective (sorta), who takes her moral cues from another private detective, Arthur, and his two employees. She thinks they're all friends. Except when Arthur goes missing and it's up to her to find him, Cas discovers that they'd all been lying to her. They hid their families from her.
Oh, and Cas has been engineered in some way to be a math genius. And a bunch of other people. It's a really interesting take on a PI thriller, and I'm definitely going to catch up by reading backwards. ;)
March 29, 2024
4.5 stars
Cas Russell is just so much fun! In a slightly unhinged, crazy but enormously enjoyable way. She’s such a prickly character, but I just like her so much and her abilities are so awesome. If she were a real person and I got to meet her I’d be just as star-stuck as Tabitha. And that brings us to the secondary characters, which were just as good (except maybe Arthur who got on my nerves somewhat in this book). Checker is just as lovable as always and Pilar has really grown on me, her courage and determination were astounding. She became my favourite character besides Cas. And I was actually shipping the two of them quite a bit. The action scenes were incredibly immersive and the mystery really enthralling. And the new superpower was simply amazing (and horrifying).
I hope that a new book will be realeased soon.
Cas Russell is just so much fun! In a slightly unhinged, crazy but enormously enjoyable way. She’s such a prickly character, but I just like her so much and her abilities are so awesome. If she were a real person and I got to meet her I’d be just as star-stuck as Tabitha. And that brings us to the secondary characters, which were just as good (except maybe Arthur who got on my nerves somewhat in this book). Checker is just as lovable as always and Pilar has really grown on me, her courage and determination were astounding. She became my favourite character besides Cas. And I was actually shipping the two of them quite a bit. The action scenes were incredibly immersive and the mystery really enthralling. And the new superpower was simply amazing (and horrifying).
I hope that a new book will be realeased soon.
May 19, 2020
Excellent series! I can't wait for book 4 to come out. I hope someone picks up the movie rights to this series... it would make a wonderful Hollywood blockbuster, in my opinion.
Amazing characters, with flaws to make them seem real and human, not like some cartoon super hero who is perfect in every way. A good mystery self-contained in this entry to the series, while also continuing the larger mystery that runs through all the books so far.
Cas Russell is a very good heroine, and I am amazed at how well these stories are told. Supporting characters, Rio, Arthur, Checker, Pilar, Simon, are also good. While my favorite is Checker, I can appreciate why someone else might have a different favorite.
Amazing characters, with flaws to make them seem real and human, not like some cartoon super hero who is perfect in every way. A good mystery self-contained in this entry to the series, while also continuing the larger mystery that runs through all the books so far.
Cas Russell is a very good heroine, and I am amazed at how well these stories are told. Supporting characters, Rio, Arthur, Checker, Pilar, Simon, are also good. While my favorite is Checker, I can appreciate why someone else might have a different favorite.
May 23, 2020
S. L. Huang does not disappoint in this latest Cas Russel thriller, which basically is the Fast and Furious movies translated to a scifi concept and put on pages. Like those movies, the pace is so fast, the plot so engaging, you blow right by any continuity errors—for me, that’s unusual. I’m always complaining about getting thrown out of the story by incongruities and inconsistency and errors, but if there are any here, I don’t care. You know the trope: Total Recall, Bourne Identity. Cas has special talents, ruthless enemies, and big holes in her memories. In this installment we find out more about Cas’s crew and why she doesn’t know that much about their personal lives. Mysteries, honor, explosions! After book 3, still a huge fan.
July 21, 2020
I’m sitting here writing this review with a strong cup of coffee and big-ass smile on my face, because THAT WAS AWESOME!!! Thank you Tor for approving my request for CRITICAL POINT. My inner Cas Russell is Very Happy. And now, for the ALL CAPS business:
ZERO SUM GAME was so up my street, it backed its mind-control moving truck into my driveway. The sequel, NULL SET, made itself perfectly at home, and CRITICAL POINT feels like it has always lived here, serving hot coffee with a serious side of sass. The Cas Russell series is A FAVORITE, with fast-paced, rage-filled action plus math and science-based superhuman hero powers that are more curse than gift. I’m getting the guest room set up for book four.
In CRITICAL POINT, Cas’s found family is targeted as the past they’ve been keeping from her catches up with them—after her apartment blows up and Arthur goes missing. Someone explode-y is after Cas and her friends, and she is not having it. The shadowy mind-control organization she’s not supposed to touch? A strange man whose face and name she cannot remember? Or is it something to do with the people in Arthur and Checker’s secretive lives, making Cas question her relationship with those she thought her closest friends.
Huang seamlessly weaves these threads together as our trigger-happy antiheroine fights off bad guys not only with her math powers, but also with her Terrible Decisions. The snarky voice moves quickly, and there wasn’t a single moment when I felt I could set this book aside. Cas is the ultimate unreliable narrator, and it’s so satisfying to watch her calculate the twists through the chaos like a perfect equation. It’s definitely the queerest of the books, so far, and there are so many explosions! Danger! Literal nail-biting edge of seat disaster! Seriously, fans of action movies and smart AF science fiction thrillers, get your hands (with pre-trimmed nails) on the Cas Russell books.
//stares at 2021 for book four//
ZERO SUM GAME was so up my street, it backed its mind-control moving truck into my driveway. The sequel, NULL SET, made itself perfectly at home, and CRITICAL POINT feels like it has always lived here, serving hot coffee with a serious side of sass. The Cas Russell series is A FAVORITE, with fast-paced, rage-filled action plus math and science-based superhuman hero powers that are more curse than gift. I’m getting the guest room set up for book four.
In CRITICAL POINT, Cas’s found family is targeted as the past they’ve been keeping from her catches up with them—after her apartment blows up and Arthur goes missing. Someone explode-y is after Cas and her friends, and she is not having it. The shadowy mind-control organization she’s not supposed to touch? A strange man whose face and name she cannot remember? Or is it something to do with the people in Arthur and Checker’s secretive lives, making Cas question her relationship with those she thought her closest friends.
Huang seamlessly weaves these threads together as our trigger-happy antiheroine fights off bad guys not only with her math powers, but also with her Terrible Decisions. The snarky voice moves quickly, and there wasn’t a single moment when I felt I could set this book aside. Cas is the ultimate unreliable narrator, and it’s so satisfying to watch her calculate the twists through the chaos like a perfect equation. It’s definitely the queerest of the books, so far, and there are so many explosions! Danger! Literal nail-biting edge of seat disaster! Seriously, fans of action movies and smart AF science fiction thrillers, get your hands (with pre-trimmed nails) on the Cas Russell books.
//stares at 2021 for book four//
May 20, 2020
I’ll probably just drop my progress notes in as a review at some point.
tl;dr, not really impressed. Plot tried too hard to be surprising and complex, instead ended up over-the-top. Cas’s character development is, well, somewhat stunted. I know Huang is trying to show her growing as a character, but I’m just not really feeling it.
Oh, and the audio production was atrocious. Not the narrator but the audio splicing, balancing, and editing itself. I mean, it was awful at points.
And to the point of the narrator, I’m not really a fan, though she was a relatively minor contribution to my overall “eh” reaction to this book.
tl;dr, not really impressed. Plot tried too hard to be surprising and complex, instead ended up over-the-top. Cas’s character development is, well, somewhat stunted. I know Huang is trying to show her growing as a character, but I’m just not really feeling it.
Oh, and the audio production was atrocious. Not the narrator but the audio splicing, balancing, and editing itself. I mean, it was awful at points.
And to the point of the narrator, I’m not really a fan, though she was a relatively minor contribution to my overall “eh” reaction to this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews