One of the problems with life in the asteroid belt, though, is that “up” depends a lot on your point of view.
She’s built a good life for herself out here, balancing her job as an Enforcer of what passes for the Belt’s laws, with her extra activities that the rest of the Enforcers can never find out about.
But when the voices that plagued her childhood come back, she fails to prevent a terrorist attack, and her best friend is assigned to the investigation, all her secrets threaten to come out and her good life begins to unravel.
The best feature of Thoughtless is the nonstop action. There is always the potential for danger, high stakes, big bombs at the ready to be fired, and at least two dealers who are corrupt powerhouses in the asteroid belt. They might even be at odds with each other.
The governing security body, BeltSec, is used like a sheriff vs bounty hunters and entirely corrupt. It's interesting to see characters who are essentially good people working for this company and taking bribes and such. There are also a few equally corrupt corporations that seem to be running things in the belt. I would have liked a little more from this aspect but it's enough to know that they're there and funding a lot of the aforementioned corruption.
Which brings me to the main point - so who is funding terrorist attacks? What do they want? Is it linked to the telepathic compulsions that the main character experiences? Delokita and her her two friends have to figure it out before anyone else gets hurt, or Del gets murdered. The ongoing mystery kept the action more interesting.
I actually liked the characters too. Del is bad ass, and fights a nagging sense of not being good enough for anyone that causes her to act big and act out towards her friends sometimes. I think we can all relate to that. I liked the female friendship and how we were never really sure who was going to betray who or who was actually loyal.
On the audiobook: I liked Deborah Reeves' narration! She brought a lot of excitement and emotion and dialect to the book. Some female narrators trip over male voices and sound flat but not here. ALSO THANK YOU FOR READING THE AUTHORS NOTE!! Not nearly enough audiobooks include the authors note and about the author sections. I would listen to more by Reeves any day.
Overall: I liked this one a lot. There's enough action and mystery and bad ass characters to keep any action fan invested. I think there's room for a sequel too if he ever goes back to it
Likable characters. Outrageous tech that is somehow believable. Compelling story and breathtaking twists. Would make a great movie. A fast read that generates real excitement.
Riveting all the way through. Love the infusion of science and math based details that make the story more real without blocking the flow. I fell in love with the Del character. She's a badass. One of my top favorite reads of the year.
This is a strong story, and it would have been good even if it had been earth based, meaning it doesn't rely on the exotic location to make it interesting. As is often the case, the main character is held back from her potentially strongest relationships by her fear that her friends will run screaming because she is so horrible. Most of us have done this at some point, so we can relate (and feel superior for spotting her doing it). The tech is solid, and I covet a lot of it. The only woo-woo bit is the telepathy, but even that is believable as most of us have had encounters where we essentially know something ahead of time or predict someone's actions. With that in mind, a breeding program that enhances that ability is not far-fetched. There is a rumor of a sequel. I will definitely be getting it on release day.
I was absorbed in the characters and plot of this book right from the beginning which doesn't have a lot. The whole way through it was interesting, eventful, and even though science fiction, pretty plausible.
Are you ready to follow Delokita, the BeltSec officer in the crazy world of our asteroid belt? She rides her trusty space bike between asteroids visiting luxurious company offices and the darkest bars of the Solar System. She has to uncover a conspiracl which could make the Belt upside down and lead to corporate war. And how does this connected to a run on the surface of Mars?
So this book does not sell more then what you expect a cool space adventure full with betraya, action and mystery.
Luther writes Delokita as a loveable sometimes a bit reckless character and we can happily follow her adventures. Through his writing we can follow the action and the supernatural elements are not out of the place. The world building is excellent. It is exactly as you would imagine a Solar system faring human race with all the positive and negative side. I felt the Latin in the last chapter were off putting, exspecially that we did not hear it earlier.
Quite enjoyable. There are alternative lifestyles talked about briefly, but in the background and not important.
What is important is an interesting take on the main character and her issues and how she might overcome some strange issues in the asteroid belt.
Mostly, though, it is a modern take on the space opera featuring a rogue-ish or unusual main character which is exactly the kind of thing I enjoy. Just different enough to seem new but familiar tropes speckled here and there with technological and scientific ideas.
I finished it quite quickly and nothing about it was jarring. Five stars because it was a solid and fun read I wanted to get through. Perhaps not a monumental work, but nothing wrong with fun.
Del is the kind of loveable scoundrel who’d try to sell you a busted spaceship while simultaneously charming her way out of trouble with corrupt organizations and assassins.
The whole thing reads like a classic space adventure, but it has enough modern sensibility to keep it fresh and engaging.
If you like the big sci-fi concepts—telepaths, asteroid mining, political corruption—and are looking for a fast-paced space romp that doesn’t take itself too seriously but still has heart, this one’s definitely worth your time.
I really enjoyed the idea of space pirates, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall feel of this, it uses the scifi element perfectly and enjoyed the way the characters worked in this world. Pat Luther has a strong writing style and I enjoyed the overall feel of this and glad I got to read this. It was everything that was promised and enjoyed getting to know these characters,.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.