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Bad Space #2
Galactic Menace
Their coffers are comparatively full. Their spaceship is actually in one piece for a change. Their bounties, however, remain astronomically high.
During the explosive events of the previous book, the monomaniac Captain Nemo and his crew of spacefaring swashbucklers were plucked from the ranks of criminal obscurity and into the crosshairs of the underworld's high and mighty. Gone from surviving to thriving, the wanted space pirates now hatch a plan to collect one quiet payday, cover their tracks and go to the mattresses until the heat dies down some.
All that changes with the "piracy is pointless" gaffe. Those three little words, when spoken by an official Imperium mouthpiece, threaten to flip Bad Space on its head.
Before they can entirely react, the crew of The Unconstant Lover find themselves unwittingly set back onto a collision course with galactic politics, underworld intrigue and, most surprisingly, interstellar celebrity. Where once they sought a means to slink into the shadows, they're instead thrown quite spectacularly into the limelight. Standing at the swirling center of all this danger and destruction is, predictably, Captain Nemo.
During the explosive events of the previous book, the monomaniac Captain Nemo and his crew of spacefaring swashbucklers were plucked from the ranks of criminal obscurity and into the crosshairs of the underworld's high and mighty. Gone from surviving to thriving, the wanted space pirates now hatch a plan to collect one quiet payday, cover their tracks and go to the mattresses until the heat dies down some.
All that changes with the "piracy is pointless" gaffe. Those three little words, when spoken by an official Imperium mouthpiece, threaten to flip Bad Space on its head.
Before they can entirely react, the crew of The Unconstant Lover find themselves unwittingly set back onto a collision course with galactic politics, underworld intrigue and, most surprisingly, interstellar celebrity. Where once they sought a means to slink into the shadows, they're instead thrown quite spectacularly into the limelight. Standing at the swirling center of all this danger and destruction is, predictably, Captain Nemo.
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First published May 31, 2014
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About the author
Timothy J. Meyer
10 books16 followersTIMOTHY J. MEYER is wanted on five counts of piracy, two counts of brigandage and one count of enthusiastic corruption of the galactic good. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the local branch of the IMIS (Imperial Ministry of Interstellar Security).
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 27, 2016
Practice, it turns out, may not necessarily make "Perfect" but it certainly makes better, and that is entirely true of this tome, the second of Timothy Meyer's "Bad Space" novels, the sequel to 2012's "Hull Damage". The short version of this review is this: What was wrong in the first book is less wrong in this one, but what was right is much better.
Long Version:
A great deal of what I said about "Hull Damage" in my review last summer still stands: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
With some modifications, listed below...
-The Prose: Much of what's been said about Meyer's prose still stands, however, in this second book, there's been a marked improvement, not just when compared to "Hull Damage" but even compared to itself, with the style becoming less cumbersome and less intrusive as the book goes on, so that by the end I was no longer noticing the individual words as words, but it had finally become unobtrusive and stepped out of the way of the action of the story.
If I would have one complaint with the prose style it was that the tendency towards wordiness still slows down the action in what is, essentially, a fast-paced sci-fi actioner, and as I crept through the latter half of this 600 page bad-boy, I found myself having to go back to the first half to remind myself of individual characters or incidents. Some of this is from a tendency towards unnecessary tangents (to be distinguished from several useful or necessary tangents also present in the novel.)
-The Story: Here's the good part. Hull Damage was establishment, and with the characters and universe established, Meyer is really able to take his foot off the brake and take his tale full speed ahead. Everything I said in June about the construction of the story remains true. Again, we have a story driven almost entirely by the the decisions, obsessions and ambitions of the main characters, particularly the central figure of the anti-hero Nemo. This is among the most proactive protagonists I've ever encountered in literature, not just driving the direction of the plot but creating it whole cloth because of who he is and what he believes he must do. Again, Meyer wisely keeps his main character from being a POV character. Because he is so central, and such a thorough anti-hero, in this book especially, I have been debating as I write this review if he counts more as a Protagonist or as the Setting of the novel. Nemo is very much the universe that the other characters, the POV characters, have to navigate through. On the other hand, as a character he goes through a grand character arc, this time less about achieving success (the piratical coming of age of "Hull Damage") but a more mature tale of success and its prices. The POV characters, mostly his crew, also go through shadow versions of the same arc, dealing with success and dealing with its consequences in their own ways, even the taciturn and resistant-to-change Moira has a couple of real character moments. Only one of the characters, Odi, doesn't really have this arc, mostly just reacting to the main's own arc, but other than that, the character work has been top notch in this work.
All in all, a more practiced, more polished and might I say again, more mature, work than Hull Damage, although if you have not read Hull Damage I would definitely read that one first, as there are several references and at least one major supporting character who shows up later in the book that only appear in the previous novel.
All in all, a good ride, high adventure, extreme violence and characters who's flaws aren't tacked on, but are integral to the choices they make, choices that have consequences that shape both their personal and external universes. The universe is unapologetic, almost cartoonish, space opera, but don't let that fool you into missing the intense character-driven action going on here.
All in all, I enjoyed it. And I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a both a fast, fun romp and a character-centered adventure.
Long Version:
A great deal of what I said about "Hull Damage" in my review last summer still stands: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
With some modifications, listed below...
-The Prose: Much of what's been said about Meyer's prose still stands, however, in this second book, there's been a marked improvement, not just when compared to "Hull Damage" but even compared to itself, with the style becoming less cumbersome and less intrusive as the book goes on, so that by the end I was no longer noticing the individual words as words, but it had finally become unobtrusive and stepped out of the way of the action of the story.
If I would have one complaint with the prose style it was that the tendency towards wordiness still slows down the action in what is, essentially, a fast-paced sci-fi actioner, and as I crept through the latter half of this 600 page bad-boy, I found myself having to go back to the first half to remind myself of individual characters or incidents. Some of this is from a tendency towards unnecessary tangents (to be distinguished from several useful or necessary tangents also present in the novel.)
-The Story: Here's the good part. Hull Damage was establishment, and with the characters and universe established, Meyer is really able to take his foot off the brake and take his tale full speed ahead. Everything I said in June about the construction of the story remains true. Again, we have a story driven almost entirely by the the decisions, obsessions and ambitions of the main characters, particularly the central figure of the anti-hero Nemo. This is among the most proactive protagonists I've ever encountered in literature, not just driving the direction of the plot but creating it whole cloth because of who he is and what he believes he must do. Again, Meyer wisely keeps his main character from being a POV character. Because he is so central, and such a thorough anti-hero, in this book especially, I have been debating as I write this review if he counts more as a Protagonist or as the Setting of the novel. Nemo is very much the universe that the other characters, the POV characters, have to navigate through. On the other hand, as a character he goes through a grand character arc, this time less about achieving success (the piratical coming of age of "Hull Damage") but a more mature tale of success and its prices. The POV characters, mostly his crew, also go through shadow versions of the same arc, dealing with success and dealing with its consequences in their own ways, even the taciturn and resistant-to-change Moira has a couple of real character moments. Only one of the characters, Odi, doesn't really have this arc, mostly just reacting to the main's own arc, but other than that, the character work has been top notch in this work.
All in all, a more practiced, more polished and might I say again, more mature, work than Hull Damage, although if you have not read Hull Damage I would definitely read that one first, as there are several references and at least one major supporting character who shows up later in the book that only appear in the previous novel.
All in all, a good ride, high adventure, extreme violence and characters who's flaws aren't tacked on, but are integral to the choices they make, choices that have consequences that shape both their personal and external universes. The universe is unapologetic, almost cartoonish, space opera, but don't let that fool you into missing the intense character-driven action going on here.
All in all, I enjoyed it. And I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a both a fast, fun romp and a character-centered adventure.
October 29, 2016
Bad Space is badder. The pirate crew is bigger. And Captain Nemo is a crazier bastard than ever. A stellar follow-up to 2012's "Hull Damage," this sci-fi crime spree is a helluva fun read. While sometimes overly-focused on description and plot than it is its characters, Meyer still paints a damn impressive picture of Nemo and his cutthroat space baddies that is engaging, intelligent, and enjoyable as heck. And the ending dangles such a promising premise for the third book, I wish I could pick it up right now. All of this for free? You'd be insane to pass this series up.
July 22, 2014
Excellent continuation of the Bad Space series. Lots more backstory on the 'hero' and shadows of Alexander. Adventures, misadventures, betrayals, heroics, skullduggery, and no punches pulled (and spiked gloves ON).
I almost had a sad at a certain point near the end, but then I remembered the entire cast of characters are murderous w*nkers and deserve every bit of it.
Can't wait till the next installment!
I almost had a sad at a certain point near the end, but then I remembered the entire cast of characters are murderous w*nkers and deserve every bit of it.
Can't wait till the next installment!
December 26, 2015
Fun and adventure
Space Pirates, what is not to like? Well, the food, hygiene, violence, and life expectancy. But who cares about that when loot and fame call your name. Menace!
Space Pirates, what is not to like? Well, the food, hygiene, violence, and life expectancy. But who cares about that when loot and fame call your name. Menace!
June 13, 2018
The second installment of the “Bad Space” series is astronomically better than the first. (Quick review first) The characters in this book are more flushed out, and more individual. You still have the main crew Nemo, Moria, Odisseus, Two-Bit Switch, and Abraham, but they have more unique mini stories and character development. Two-bit is still the brains, but there's more focus in his direct affect to Nemos shenanigans. Moria hasn't changed all that much, probably because she’s pretty well explained cooking into the book. She is no longer a bounty hunter though, in the middle of it she was officially referenced as “ex-bounty hunter”. After the entire incident with Boss Ott, she may have realized that bounty hunting as a pirate is a bit hypocritical. These short little descriptions are just a scratch in the new dimension to the characters. In the first book, there was a fairly obvious lack of individuality to each person. That's fixed in this book, and more characters are introduced. The Unconstant lover is basically left alone, except for a new paint job.(finally!)
In case you haven't guessed from the title of the book, Nemo becomes the new Galactic Menace. He finds a whole new list of challenges in this though. He has an entire army to command, as well as being a captain. His crew doesn't show any signs of betrayal though, if anything they become even more loyal. There is an attempt on Nemos life though. Made by someone who was dispatched as quickly as they were introduced. The overall gist of this post is that a lot is good in this book, but it's not perfect. There's fairly little information about the period between where the last book ends and this one begins. Sometimes I found myself flipping back to previous chapters because the wordiness overshadowed an important part, and there's a lot of complicated/made up words in here.
In case you haven't guessed from the title of the book, Nemo becomes the new Galactic Menace. He finds a whole new list of challenges in this though. He has an entire army to command, as well as being a captain. His crew doesn't show any signs of betrayal though, if anything they become even more loyal. There is an attempt on Nemos life though. Made by someone who was dispatched as quickly as they were introduced. The overall gist of this post is that a lot is good in this book, but it's not perfect. There's fairly little information about the period between where the last book ends and this one begins. Sometimes I found myself flipping back to previous chapters because the wordiness overshadowed an important part, and there's a lot of complicated/made up words in here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews