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Psi-Tech #2
Crossways
To combat manipulative megacorporations with telepathic technology, two heroes must rebel, overthrowing the enemy's oppressive influence in the second book in this exciting sci-fi adventure
Ben Benjamin, psi-tech Navigator, and Cara Carlinni, Telepath, can never go home again. To the Trust and Alphacorp alike, they are wanted criminals. Murder, terrorism, armed insurrection, hijacking, grand theft, and kidnapping are just the top of a long list of charges they’ll face if they’re caught.
So they better not get caught.
These are the people who defied the megacorporations and saved a colony by selling the platinum mining rights and relocating ten thousand colonists somewhere safe, and they’re not saying where that is.
They take refuge on crimelord-run Crossways Station with the remnants of their team of renegade psi-techs and the Solar Wind , their state-of-the-art jump-drive ship. They’ve made a promise to find a missing space ark with thirty thousand settlers aboard. But to do that, Ben and Cara have to confront old enemies.
Alphacorp and the separately they are dangerous, united they are unstoppable. They want to silence Ben and Cara more than they want to upstage each other. If they have to get rid of Crossways in order to do it, they can live with that. In fact, this might be the excuse they’ve been looking for….
Ben Benjamin, psi-tech Navigator, and Cara Carlinni, Telepath, can never go home again. To the Trust and Alphacorp alike, they are wanted criminals. Murder, terrorism, armed insurrection, hijacking, grand theft, and kidnapping are just the top of a long list of charges they’ll face if they’re caught.
So they better not get caught.
These are the people who defied the megacorporations and saved a colony by selling the platinum mining rights and relocating ten thousand colonists somewhere safe, and they’re not saying where that is.
They take refuge on crimelord-run Crossways Station with the remnants of their team of renegade psi-techs and the Solar Wind , their state-of-the-art jump-drive ship. They’ve made a promise to find a missing space ark with thirty thousand settlers aboard. But to do that, Ben and Cara have to confront old enemies.
Alphacorp and the separately they are dangerous, united they are unstoppable. They want to silence Ben and Cara more than they want to upstage each other. If they have to get rid of Crossways in order to do it, they can live with that. In fact, this might be the excuse they’ve been looking for….
544 pages, Paperback
First published August 4, 2015
14 people are currently reading
227 people want to read
About the author
Jacey Bedford
27 books101 followersJacey Bedford is an English writer who is published by DAW in the USA. She lives and works behind a desk in Pennine Yorkshire. She's had stories published on both sides of the Atlantic. She has seven novels out now. Her newest is The Amber Crown, published by DAW inJanuary 2022. Previous books are: Empire of Dust, Crossways, and Nimbus, science fiction (space opera) which make up the Psi-Tech trilogy. Winterwood, Silverwolf and Rowankind make up the Rowankind trilogy. These are historical fantasy, set in 1800, with a cross-dressing privateer captain, the jealous ghost of her dead husband, and a sexy wolf shapechanger.
Jacey is secretary of the UK Milford Writers' Conference, a peer-to-peer workshopping week for published SF writers. She also hosts Northwrite SF, a critique group based in Yorkshire.
She's been a librarian, a postmistress and member of internationally touring a cappella trio, Artisan (and still occasionally is for reunion gigs www.artisan-harmony.com). When not writing she arranges UK gigs for folk artists from all over the world.
Jacey is secretary of the UK Milford Writers' Conference, a peer-to-peer workshopping week for published SF writers. She also hosts Northwrite SF, a critique group based in Yorkshire.
She's been a librarian, a postmistress and member of internationally touring a cappella trio, Artisan (and still occasionally is for reunion gigs www.artisan-harmony.com). When not writing she arranges UK gigs for folk artists from all over the world.
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January 22, 2016This is the kind of space opera I love: lots of ship action, great characters to root for and to hate, plenty of intrigue and a goodly infusion of seriously weird to add sensawunda.
Bedford does a spiff job of catching up the reader with the ongoing storyline while not bogging down the pacing. I think a reader could begin here, and might be intrigued enough to pick up the first, though I still believe reading book one--getting to know and then living through the experiences with Ben and Cara--will make the reading experience that much fuller. It will also furnish zings of recognition, like knowing the McClellan character's storyline will have way more impact when the reader hits a certain point in this book.
The storyline picks up soon after the close of book one. The disparate group--Ben, Cara, the psi-techs, and the colonists who loathe psi people have survived, and made it to Crossways, an amalgam station of what can best be called free traders. Ben feels obliged to get the colonists to a planet so they can start their farms, and he is also committed to finding the arc ship with the cryo-stored thirty thousand colonists.
He also has to stay out of the hands of the megacorporations, who--like megacorps now--adapt their ethics to monetary and power gain. Spies, rescue runs, betrayals, trying to survive the emotional and physical damage of previous situations . . . and a smart, eager kid with his equally smart and eager (if frail) grandmother form a series of tightly interwoven arcs, with numerous POVs. This is exactly what I like in space opera: a big cast, humor and high tension, romance and action, cool ships and tech, and a rollercoaster ride of a story.
This one comes to a satisfying resolution, while leaving the door open for more. I can hardly wait.
Bedford does a spiff job of catching up the reader with the ongoing storyline while not bogging down the pacing. I think a reader could begin here, and might be intrigued enough to pick up the first, though I still believe reading book one--getting to know and then living through the experiences with Ben and Cara--will make the reading experience that much fuller. It will also furnish zings of recognition, like knowing the McClellan character's storyline will have way more impact when the reader hits a certain point in this book.
The storyline picks up soon after the close of book one. The disparate group--Ben, Cara, the psi-techs, and the colonists who loathe psi people have survived, and made it to Crossways, an amalgam station of what can best be called free traders. Ben feels obliged to get the colonists to a planet so they can start their farms, and he is also committed to finding the arc ship with the cryo-stored thirty thousand colonists.
He also has to stay out of the hands of the megacorporations, who--like megacorps now--adapt their ethics to monetary and power gain. Spies, rescue runs, betrayals, trying to survive the emotional and physical damage of previous situations . . . and a smart, eager kid with his equally smart and eager (if frail) grandmother form a series of tightly interwoven arcs, with numerous POVs. This is exactly what I like in space opera: a big cast, humor and high tension, romance and action, cool ships and tech, and a rollercoaster ride of a story.
This one comes to a satisfying resolution, while leaving the door open for more. I can hardly wait.
March 26, 2022
Despite how long it takes me to read these books, I really do love them. The power couple we fell in love with in Empire of Dust are back for another installment of their epic journey! Bedford continues to craft an ever growing wonderful story with exciting moments of intrigue and action, while providing us with wonderfully developed characters.
As many readers may have guessed from the first book, what was a bit of a stop off on Crossways station is far more of the story this time around. In the last book our team was left scrambling away from Olyanda with the settlers to escape the Trust. While they managed to win the battle against the Trust's agents, it was pretty clear to Ben that with the existence of platinum on the planet the settlers would never be safe. So the best idea he could come up with was to seek refuge on Crossways until they could find a safer planet for the settlers. So, Ben cuts a deal that will hopefully be mutually beneficial to Crossways and his team, he offers the platinum to Crossways.
Naturally, the Megacorps aren't going to sit down and let a planet rich and platinum slip through their fingers. AlphaCorp and the Trust team up to try and put a wrench into any of Ben and Cara's plans. The real issue is that Ben's old friend Crowder is pulling and manipulating a long line of strings behind the scenes and he makes for a truly dangerous foe. With Cara's major foe Ari out of the way, this novel focuses more on the unresolved issues Ben has with Crowder. There is a bit of a deeper crossover for Cara's growth as she ties up some loose ends from the first novel, some quite satisfying some not so much, but all very well done in my opinion. This novel is even better in one respect, which is the power couple we all expected Cara and Ben to become has really come to fruition in this novel. They really do start to feel like an unstoppable team of heroes, but while they do feel overly lucky, it's not without some hardships along the way.
There are so many important things that go on in this book, that I don't want to give much of it away. I will say, one of the major mysteries in the first book concerning the void dragons in the folds starts to really see some resolution. I was super excited when this thread started to get fleshed out more and I can't wait to see if even more mysteries are revealed in the third book. Bedford dropped another massive mystery concerning these elements in her story and I look forward to whatever the conclusion may be.
Don't let my reading time fool you, this book is quite a page turner and I loved reading every moment of it. My life is just really busy sometimes and I do not get the time to read novels as often as I would like. Other times, I have the free time and can crank through a ton of them fairly quickly. Sadly, I started reading this when things got hectic, but I've literally carried it with me everyday until it was finished! If you loved Empire of Dust I have no doubt you will enjoy this book as well. Ben and Cara and their whole team are some of the more enjoyable characters I've met in a novel series so I am here to enjoy their journeys until this series end! Til next time.
As many readers may have guessed from the first book, what was a bit of a stop off on Crossways station is far more of the story this time around. In the last book our team was left scrambling away from Olyanda with the settlers to escape the Trust. While they managed to win the battle against the Trust's agents, it was pretty clear to Ben that with the existence of platinum on the planet the settlers would never be safe. So the best idea he could come up with was to seek refuge on Crossways until they could find a safer planet for the settlers. So, Ben cuts a deal that will hopefully be mutually beneficial to Crossways and his team, he offers the platinum to Crossways.
Naturally, the Megacorps aren't going to sit down and let a planet rich and platinum slip through their fingers. AlphaCorp and the Trust team up to try and put a wrench into any of Ben and Cara's plans. The real issue is that Ben's old friend Crowder is pulling and manipulating a long line of strings behind the scenes and he makes for a truly dangerous foe. With Cara's major foe Ari out of the way, this novel focuses more on the unresolved issues Ben has with Crowder. There is a bit of a deeper crossover for Cara's growth as she ties up some loose ends from the first novel, some quite satisfying some not so much, but all very well done in my opinion. This novel is even better in one respect, which is the power couple we all expected Cara and Ben to become has really come to fruition in this novel. They really do start to feel like an unstoppable team of heroes, but while they do feel overly lucky, it's not without some hardships along the way.
There are so many important things that go on in this book, that I don't want to give much of it away. I will say, one of the major mysteries in the first book concerning the void dragons in the folds starts to really see some resolution. I was super excited when this thread started to get fleshed out more and I can't wait to see if even more mysteries are revealed in the third book. Bedford dropped another massive mystery concerning these elements in her story and I look forward to whatever the conclusion may be.
Don't let my reading time fool you, this book is quite a page turner and I loved reading every moment of it. My life is just really busy sometimes and I do not get the time to read novels as often as I would like. Other times, I have the free time and can crank through a ton of them fairly quickly. Sadly, I started reading this when things got hectic, but I've literally carried it with me everyday until it was finished! If you loved Empire of Dust I have no doubt you will enjoy this book as well. Ben and Cara and their whole team are some of the more enjoyable characters I've met in a novel series so I am here to enjoy their journeys until this series end! Til next time.
October 21, 2015
Better than the first book? Yes
As good as the Expanse series? Yep.
Has me wanting more? Oh, yeah....
In my review of the first book, Empire of Dust: A Psi-Tech Novel, I said
That goes double for this book! In fact, the first book only got 4 stars because of some quibbles I had about pacing.... those quibbles are gone here. Right now, this book is easily in contention for my best of 2015 (unfortunately, knocking the first book out of contention).
As good as the Expanse series? Yep.
Has me wanting more? Oh, yeah....
In my review of the first book, Empire of Dust: A Psi-Tech Novel, I said
This reminds me of the best of science fiction from the 70s and the 80s - stuff like Piers Anthony at his prime or Walter Jon Williams - a masterpiece of world building and an intelligent use of psionics. In addition, it revels in its cyberpunk influences. In fact, this is very much an 80's space opera novel that has been put through a cyberpunk grinder... and voila, an excellent first novel.
That goes double for this book! In fact, the first book only got 4 stars because of some quibbles I had about pacing.... those quibbles are gone here. Right now, this book is easily in contention for my best of 2015 (unfortunately, knocking the first book out of contention).
August 11, 2017
Riproaring game of dodgeball in space with battle wagons, hornets, ducking in and out of foldspace; and Crossways station in the center of the platinum grab war between the megacorporations and its devious backchannel dealing players. This book has all the smart people in it. Cara and Ben don't make idiotic story-pushing mistakes. The book has about 100 pages of backstory for those who missed the first book, but Bedford does this without making it a litany of impatience to get on with the story for the reader who did read Empire of Dust. The secondary characters get to grow along with our leads. Tengues mercs, the people attached to Crowder's nefarious machinations. My personal favorite - Dido Kennedy, tinkering in Red One where those who are forgotten by the fancy levels try to survive. Sir Terry Pratchett had Leonard of Quirm locked in an upper level dungeon inventing stuff. I loved when da Quirm showed up, and I love Dido Kennedy even more. The Mad Inventor. It would be typecasting to put Kate McKinnon in that role, but it sure would be fun to play her. The search for jumpship navigators is excellent, inventive, absorbing. The 3rd book doesn't launch until October. Ach! A note on cover art - as Crossways was described throughout, I flipped back to the cover, expecting to find yet another piece of art that had not much to do with the story. Stephan Martiniere read the book, or channeled the station. http://www.martiniere.com/book-covers Well done all!
October 28, 2015
What a bunch of arrogant heroes. I need some antiheroes as a contrast for my next read, all this righteousness and superskills and flawlessness and uberluck made me a bit nauseous. I hope the author will learn to bring real characters and probabilities into their plots for the next books, as the story itself was quite entertaining.
August 4, 2018
This is another action-packed offering featuring Ben and Cara, who have gone up against two of major corporations running humanity, both in space and on the colonies scattered through space. Faster-than-lightspeed travel is possible by travelling through the Void by using jumpships. There are a couple of major snags to this technology, though. The first is that you need highly trained jumpship pilots, who can mentally visualise their destination and using their neural energy, pull the ship through the Void without being distracted by the monsters swimming through voidspace conjured up by their imagination. And the other problem is that jumpships need platinum to work, always a rare commodity.
I really like the fact that Ben and Cara are thoroughly ensnared by these two issues – the first novel focuses on what happens when a large deposit of platinum is discovered in a very inconvenient place and the crimes some people are prepared to commit to get their hands on it. In this book, while the antagonist is clearly ambitious and greedy, there is an ongoing problem – what will happen to farflung colonies and the rule of law if jumpships run critically short of this vital fuel?
The other issue is what happens in the Void – this was touched upon in Empire of Dust, but Bedford further examines just how lethal travelling by jumpship can be. There is a steady stream of ships that never make it out of the Void, including the one carrying Ben’s own parents when he was a child. His own experiences within the Void are increasingly causing him to question what he was told in his training – that those monsters he sees swimming through the hull of his ship while in the Void are products of his imagination and that he is to ignore them at all costs. Because if he makes the mistake of trying to interact with them, there is a likelihood he will be distracted, and given it is his mental focus that pulls the jumpship free of the Void, that could spell disaster for everyone on board.
These issues are unpacked in amongst a foot-to-floor action-packed adventure, where Ben and Cara are struggling to stay alive, while a number of the most powerful organisations in the galaxy want them dead. I am delighted to report that I have also got the third book in this trilogy, Nimbus, and I will be tucking into it very soon. This is a thoroughly enjoyable, well written space opera and highly recommended for fans of the genre.
9/10
I really like the fact that Ben and Cara are thoroughly ensnared by these two issues – the first novel focuses on what happens when a large deposit of platinum is discovered in a very inconvenient place and the crimes some people are prepared to commit to get their hands on it. In this book, while the antagonist is clearly ambitious and greedy, there is an ongoing problem – what will happen to farflung colonies and the rule of law if jumpships run critically short of this vital fuel?
The other issue is what happens in the Void – this was touched upon in Empire of Dust, but Bedford further examines just how lethal travelling by jumpship can be. There is a steady stream of ships that never make it out of the Void, including the one carrying Ben’s own parents when he was a child. His own experiences within the Void are increasingly causing him to question what he was told in his training – that those monsters he sees swimming through the hull of his ship while in the Void are products of his imagination and that he is to ignore them at all costs. Because if he makes the mistake of trying to interact with them, there is a likelihood he will be distracted, and given it is his mental focus that pulls the jumpship free of the Void, that could spell disaster for everyone on board.
These issues are unpacked in amongst a foot-to-floor action-packed adventure, where Ben and Cara are struggling to stay alive, while a number of the most powerful organisations in the galaxy want them dead. I am delighted to report that I have also got the third book in this trilogy, Nimbus, and I will be tucking into it very soon. This is a thoroughly enjoyable, well written space opera and highly recommended for fans of the genre.
9/10
June 7, 2019
Finally got to the second book...despite the "erratic" pricing for my country. Fortunately my money were not wasted :)
Pros
1) Believable characters that are fleshed out well enough. What i mean is that if you haven't read the first book you might have some issues with some side characters (mostly the psi-techs that we met in the previous book) but it won't mess with your experiencing any of the action.
There are some new characters that are a bit one dimensional but they are just gears to move the plot.
2) Two major POVs you can really connect with plus a lesser one (the "evil overlord") that is very interesting.
3) Believable science all around with one exception (see cons)
4) The world is interesting and well described down to the corrupt monitors (space cops). Lots of ambiance and local colour to flavor the experience
5)No Deus ex machina plot twists to further some dying plot.If you can suspend disbelief about the concept of psi-tech then it's all probable
Cons
Like the previous book there is just one. The actual psi-tech is just a bit too mind-bending for my taste. While every other scifi aspect of the book seems probable, the actual psi-tech implants and what they can do for the users are more like fantasy than scifi.
p.s You should really read the first one before moving to crossways. Pun intended
Pros
1) Believable characters that are fleshed out well enough. What i mean is that if you haven't read the first book you might have some issues with some side characters (mostly the psi-techs that we met in the previous book) but it won't mess with your experiencing any of the action.
There are some new characters that are a bit one dimensional but they are just gears to move the plot.
2) Two major POVs you can really connect with plus a lesser one (the "evil overlord") that is very interesting.
3) Believable science all around with one exception (see cons)
4) The world is interesting and well described down to the corrupt monitors (space cops). Lots of ambiance and local colour to flavor the experience
5)No Deus ex machina plot twists to further some dying plot.If you can suspend disbelief about the concept of psi-tech then it's all probable
Cons
Like the previous book there is just one. The actual psi-tech is just a bit too mind-bending for my taste. While every other scifi aspect of the book seems probable, the actual psi-tech implants and what they can do for the users are more like fantasy than scifi.
p.s You should really read the first one before moving to crossways. Pun intended
October 7, 2022
One thing is for sure: I like this universe, this story and these protagonists. Cara and Ben are my favorites and that's not going to change any time soon. But that said, this second book didn't work for me the same as the first. Yes, the stakes are high, yes, the universe is expanded (and in a very unique way, too), but at the same it felt like there was so much happening and none of it got the focus it deserved. Solutions appear at the blink of an eye and are gone so qucikly that I couldn't connect with the emotions they were suppose to evoke. The more I read, the less interested I became. The first book had a clear focus - the second was all over the place. Hope the third one will leave me with fonder memories.
September 9, 2018
Bedford, Jacey. Crossways. Psi Tech No. 2. Daw, 2016.
Crossways is a rather routine space opera. Our heroes—an agent with enhanced Psi powers and her Jump ship pilot—fight ruthless corporate powers to rescue colonists abandoned in fold space. On the plus side, the book as a lot of action and espionage drama, but I have seen all these elements done better other places. For example, consider the void dragons. These are boojums we meet in fold space that may be real or may be figments from our subconscious. If you want to see this done much better, read Cordwainer Smith’s “The Game of Rat and Dragon.”
Crossways is a rather routine space opera. Our heroes—an agent with enhanced Psi powers and her Jump ship pilot—fight ruthless corporate powers to rescue colonists abandoned in fold space. On the plus side, the book as a lot of action and espionage drama, but I have seen all these elements done better other places. For example, consider the void dragons. These are boojums we meet in fold space that may be real or may be figments from our subconscious. If you want to see this done much better, read Cordwainer Smith’s “The Game of Rat and Dragon.”
December 27, 2017
This is a really good continuation of the series. We continue to follow Ben & Cara, and it's a cool world. I'm really loving some of the characters, there's a great bit of action, and there is good world building (and a cool consistent space society).
This is a great series to escape in, highly recommended.
This is a great series to escape in, highly recommended.
September 2, 2022
Thoroughly enjoyed this 2nd series as I did the first. I wish Kitty’s character had a bit more to offer. This megacorp saga can only get more interesting. As for Cara’s relationship with Ben, I’m curious to see what more to come if it in the 3rd series. Really liking space opera genre being the newbie that I am. I welcome any recommendations.
Best, palo.
Best, palo.
October 21, 2018
So far, not bad, but not brilliant. A bit too stuck in the 21st century socially. Gay, solo daddies, casual sex everywhere make it a doorstep volume and take up time that could be spent advancing the story.
June 12, 2017
Good follow-up novel. A little more predictable than the first book, but still good. Ending makes it obvious there will be a third novel.
August 20, 2017
Not as good as the first book, but enjoyed getting to know characters more. Enjoyed the plot, though others thought it dragged on.
September 25, 2019
Very well written series.
March 10, 2016
Helen Claire Gould
Crossways is a massive space station. In Bedford’s universe, spaceships enter foldspace via a jump gate to cross interstellar space. Psi-Tech navigators have brain implants which enable them to communicate telepathically with each other and help them to do their job of navigating folded spatial dimensions. And in foldspace, strange beings appear, slithering away into nothingness when Psi-Tech navigators perceive them, to the point that hero Ben Benjamin questions whether or not they are real. It took me a while to realise that jumps are in slo-mo, written in the present tense, to signify the difference between existence in realspace, and the strange experience of foldspace, where time runs at a different rate from the real world.
Jumps are catalysed by platinum, which is energetically, and often lethally, sought by the major corporations that run space exploration and planetary colonisation. Crossways is run by criminal gangs, with which Ben makes a deal. In exchange for sanctuary from the corporations, he gives up the mining rights he’s claimed for Olyanda, a planet incredibly rich in platinum. Ranged against Ben and his friends, including lover Cara Carlinni, are two rival corporations, Alphacorp and the Trust, which isolate the space station by spreading false rumours, effectively putting them under siege and forcing them to trade only with independent colonies. And just for good measure, the settlers from Olyanda have to be rehomed, while a missing shipful of colonists left over from the prequel, Empire of Dust, have yet to even be found. Throughout the story, this is one of Ben’s aims. Add in threats to some of Ben’s family members from the corporations and you have yet another dimension to the story.
The enmity between master manipulator Crowder and the Ben/Cara partnership runs through the novel like a thread, following on from plotlines established in the prequel. Another thread, and the one I found the most intriguing overall, concerns the beings which populate foldspace.
This densely-plotted novel abounds with various factions, set on a broad stage with a huge cast. It’s also a novel which is sometimes told, rather than shown; however, in view of its size, I understand why. I do think I was at a disadvantage by not having read the first story in the series, although I soon picked up the background as I read on.
Particularly at the start the novel is very pacey – more because things simply keep happening, one after the other, than through the use of classical pacing techniques. I felt breathless reading it, and the headlong rush only slowed at about chapter 5. Although the section of the book from chapter 5 onwards settles down to introduce threats and new ideas at a steadier pace, the story really hots up during the last five chapters again, and this is the part of the book I enjoyed most. It draws together and resolves all the earlier plotlines in a satisfying way, leaving just enough threads dangling to offer a tantalising glimpse of a further sequel.
Crossways is a massive space station. In Bedford’s universe, spaceships enter foldspace via a jump gate to cross interstellar space. Psi-Tech navigators have brain implants which enable them to communicate telepathically with each other and help them to do their job of navigating folded spatial dimensions. And in foldspace, strange beings appear, slithering away into nothingness when Psi-Tech navigators perceive them, to the point that hero Ben Benjamin questions whether or not they are real. It took me a while to realise that jumps are in slo-mo, written in the present tense, to signify the difference between existence in realspace, and the strange experience of foldspace, where time runs at a different rate from the real world.
Jumps are catalysed by platinum, which is energetically, and often lethally, sought by the major corporations that run space exploration and planetary colonisation. Crossways is run by criminal gangs, with which Ben makes a deal. In exchange for sanctuary from the corporations, he gives up the mining rights he’s claimed for Olyanda, a planet incredibly rich in platinum. Ranged against Ben and his friends, including lover Cara Carlinni, are two rival corporations, Alphacorp and the Trust, which isolate the space station by spreading false rumours, effectively putting them under siege and forcing them to trade only with independent colonies. And just for good measure, the settlers from Olyanda have to be rehomed, while a missing shipful of colonists left over from the prequel, Empire of Dust, have yet to even be found. Throughout the story, this is one of Ben’s aims. Add in threats to some of Ben’s family members from the corporations and you have yet another dimension to the story.
The enmity between master manipulator Crowder and the Ben/Cara partnership runs through the novel like a thread, following on from plotlines established in the prequel. Another thread, and the one I found the most intriguing overall, concerns the beings which populate foldspace.
This densely-plotted novel abounds with various factions, set on a broad stage with a huge cast. It’s also a novel which is sometimes told, rather than shown; however, in view of its size, I understand why. I do think I was at a disadvantage by not having read the first story in the series, although I soon picked up the background as I read on.
Particularly at the start the novel is very pacey – more because things simply keep happening, one after the other, than through the use of classical pacing techniques. I felt breathless reading it, and the headlong rush only slowed at about chapter 5. Although the section of the book from chapter 5 onwards settles down to introduce threats and new ideas at a steadier pace, the story really hots up during the last five chapters again, and this is the part of the book I enjoyed most. It draws together and resolves all the earlier plotlines in a satisfying way, leaving just enough threads dangling to offer a tantalising glimpse of a further sequel.
July 6, 2021
Perhaps I shouldn't review my own book. After all, I could just say best-book-ever, please buy it, and leave it at that, but I wrote Crossways in 2014 and it came out in 2015 and I haven't read it since... so taking time and distance into account, I'd forgotten some of the detail, and I ended up reading it as a reader, not as a writer... and... I enjoyed it. It's the middle book of the Psi-Tech trilogy, sandwiched between Empire of Dust and Nimbus. The pace is relentless and the multi-stranded plot plays out with main characters, Cara and Ben, whose viewpoints did the heavy lifting in Empire of Dust.
At the end of Empire of Dust, Ben, Cara, the psi-techs and the settlers sold the planet Olyanda and its platinum reserves to criminal-with-ambitions, Garrick, and took refuge on Crossways, rogue space station, or maybe space station of rogues. They'd outmanoeuvred two megacorporations and lived to tell the tale, but an ark ship with 30,000 more settlers frozen in cryo, is missing presumed lost in space. Ben has promised to investigate and Ben always keeps his promises. Cara is searching to find a new home for the displaced settlers before they drive Garrick bonkers with their unreasonable demands. The psi-techs have decided that since the megacorps want them dead, they'll stick together and form The Free Company (psi-techs for hire). Ben and Cara are on everyone's most-wanted list. They bested the megacorps once, but it doesn't mean that they have escaped free and clear. Expect ambush, treachery, space battles, family in peril, very strange aliens, and an impossible flight.
Cara is a top-grade telepath. Ben is a psi-tech Navigator, able to fly that liminal space beween jump gates. He's been trained to believe the 'visions' in Foldspace aren't real, but there's something sentient in the Folds that is certainly NOT an illusion - a big scary void dragon. In order to find the missing settlers they are going to have to brave foldspace again and again and Ben's not sure he can do it any more.
I recommend starting with Empire of Dust, but if you start with this one I don't think you'll find catching up a problem. I'm an author on Goodreads and always hapy to answer questions if you have any. Thanks for reading.
At the end of Empire of Dust, Ben, Cara, the psi-techs and the settlers sold the planet Olyanda and its platinum reserves to criminal-with-ambitions, Garrick, and took refuge on Crossways, rogue space station, or maybe space station of rogues. They'd outmanoeuvred two megacorporations and lived to tell the tale, but an ark ship with 30,000 more settlers frozen in cryo, is missing presumed lost in space. Ben has promised to investigate and Ben always keeps his promises. Cara is searching to find a new home for the displaced settlers before they drive Garrick bonkers with their unreasonable demands. The psi-techs have decided that since the megacorps want them dead, they'll stick together and form The Free Company (psi-techs for hire). Ben and Cara are on everyone's most-wanted list. They bested the megacorps once, but it doesn't mean that they have escaped free and clear. Expect ambush, treachery, space battles, family in peril, very strange aliens, and an impossible flight.
Cara is a top-grade telepath. Ben is a psi-tech Navigator, able to fly that liminal space beween jump gates. He's been trained to believe the 'visions' in Foldspace aren't real, but there's something sentient in the Folds that is certainly NOT an illusion - a big scary void dragon. In order to find the missing settlers they are going to have to brave foldspace again and again and Ben's not sure he can do it any more.
I recommend starting with Empire of Dust, but if you start with this one I don't think you'll find catching up a problem. I'm an author on Goodreads and always hapy to answer questions if you have any. Thanks for reading.
July 5, 2016
Not a horrible book, but I didn't feel it was worth my time at the end. Maybe I should have read the first book before hand, but I'm not sure that would have helped. The characters were less interesting that the world, and the most dimensional character, Kitty Keely, had her story line dropped off without substantial resolution. Judging by Crossways, Bedford could have written her out of the series without hurting the story line. Maybe it would have helped the overall glut of plot lines. Bedford attempts to weave too many story lines together and falls short. She should have reduced the number of view point characters, or given them more time.
Over all the characters felt flat, and in some moments cliche and two-dimensional. The main characters felt too good, too perfect, too flawless. The writing could be improved too.
Over all the characters felt flat, and in some moments cliche and two-dimensional. The main characters felt too good, too perfect, too flawless. The writing could be improved too.
December 23, 2015
3.5 rating. A great sequel to Empire of Dust! Less of the repetition issues from the first book, but the writing could still improve. There are more POV shifts between more characters in this book, & a couple times they didn't transition cleanly but overall were fine. I thought it was interesting that there was less of a focus on Cara, but it made sense due to the sheer number of plot points that were being addressed at once. I think this would've been better off split into two books?
STILL super fun, fast-paced, action packed & topped off with a huge battle at the end! I request nothing less to fulfill my space opera requirements. :D
STILL super fun, fast-paced, action packed & topped off with a huge battle at the end! I request nothing less to fulfill my space opera requirements. :D
December 3, 2015
Another good space romp to follow on from "Empire of Dust". The kid rather annoyed me - typical brat type who turns hero - I think eleven year old heroes should remain in Young Adult novels. I do like Fantasy rather more than SF, but I don't like it when the genres get too mixed together and some of this "fold space" stuff and s pretty close to magic. Of course, a big lampshade was hung on psi in the first place, so perhaps I shouldn't complain. An enjoyable read.
November 29, 2015
An enjoyable follow up. It felt rushed at times and that it might have been better as two separate books. I found it an addicting and enjoyable read, but certainly not a masterpiece. Again a warning about brief sexual scenes.
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January 2, 2016blah de blah
September 30, 2015
Even better than the first book, with plot twists and hair-raising adventures aplenty. Looking forward to the next one.
October 24, 2015
This is a perfect SF novel! Loved it! Well written with great characters and a plot that kept you interested through all 536 pages.
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