What do you think?
Rate this book
Outer Earth #2
Zero-G
ZERO-G is the nonstop sequel to Rob Boffard's Tracer , a brutal, gripping thrill-ride, where the hero moves like lightning and the consequences for failure are deadly.
The clock is ticking down again for Riley Hale.
She may be the newest member of Outer Earth's law enforcement team, but she feels less in control than ever. A twisted doctor bent on revenge is blackmailing her with a deadly threat. If Riley's to survive, she must follow his orders, and break a dangerous prisoner out of jail. To save her own skin, Riley must go against all her beliefs, and break every law that she's just sworn to protect. Riley's mission will get even tougher when all sectors are thrown into lock-down. A lethal virus has begun to spread through Outer Earth, and it seems little can stop it. If Riley doesn't live long enough to help to find a cure, then the last members of the human race will perish along with her.
The future of humanity hangs in the balance. And time is running out.
The clock is ticking down again for Riley Hale.
She may be the newest member of Outer Earth's law enforcement team, but she feels less in control than ever. A twisted doctor bent on revenge is blackmailing her with a deadly threat. If Riley's to survive, she must follow his orders, and break a dangerous prisoner out of jail. To save her own skin, Riley must go against all her beliefs, and break every law that she's just sworn to protect. Riley's mission will get even tougher when all sectors are thrown into lock-down. A lethal virus has begun to spread through Outer Earth, and it seems little can stop it. If Riley doesn't live long enough to help to find a cure, then the last members of the human race will perish along with her.
The future of humanity hangs in the balance. And time is running out.
442 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 19, 2016
17 people are currently reading
293 people want to read
About the author
Rob Boffard
11 books111 followersRob. Thirty-one. Author. Journalist. Sound Engineer. Snowboarder. Hip-hop artist. Tall. Basketball-player-length arms. Lots of tattoos. Glasses. Bad hair. Proud South African. Born in Johannesburg. Splits time between London and Vancouver. Digs New York. Doesn’t dig Vegas. Loves New Orleans. Not a helicopter pilot.
Debut novel. Tracer. On Orbit Books. Out now. Space stations. Parkour. Explosions. Good times. Two sequels. Huzzah!
Debut novel. Tracer. On Orbit Books. Out now. Space stations. Parkour. Explosions. Good times. Two sequels. Huzzah!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
February 15, 2016
Some of you may remember how much I loved Tracer.
So actually I was vaguely nervous about reading Zero-G because hey, you love a book then you think “hell, how can that be topped?” and you circle around the next one carefully – no need. No need at ALL. Seriously, trust the writers when they know what they are doing and Rob Boffard knows exactly what he is doing and does it bloody brilliantly, Zero-G was the most fun I’ve had with a book this year so far…
Scream if you want to go faster – and Zero-G will oblige, this IS fast, furious, terribly exciting edge of the seat stuff start to finish. But what about the characters I hear you cry? Well they are perfect and delectable, you’ll eat them up and if you were not in love with Riley Hale before this you will be after it. She is only the beginning too, the whole novel is beautifully imagined with a whole plethora of people peppering the pages for you to adore with a passion and hate with a fiery vengeance.
Heart stopping stuff right here, the story drags you along in its wake, with twists and turns and lots of hanging from cliffs by fingernails (that was just me) with an ending that will make you willing to sell your soul to get book 3 (drums fingers impatiently)
Not sure what else to say really. I’m certainly not going to spoil anything. You’ll feel like someone just threw you out of a plane without a parachute but boy it is one HELL of a ride.
Highly Recommended.
So actually I was vaguely nervous about reading Zero-G because hey, you love a book then you think “hell, how can that be topped?” and you circle around the next one carefully – no need. No need at ALL. Seriously, trust the writers when they know what they are doing and Rob Boffard knows exactly what he is doing and does it bloody brilliantly, Zero-G was the most fun I’ve had with a book this year so far…
Scream if you want to go faster – and Zero-G will oblige, this IS fast, furious, terribly exciting edge of the seat stuff start to finish. But what about the characters I hear you cry? Well they are perfect and delectable, you’ll eat them up and if you were not in love with Riley Hale before this you will be after it. She is only the beginning too, the whole novel is beautifully imagined with a whole plethora of people peppering the pages for you to adore with a passion and hate with a fiery vengeance.
Heart stopping stuff right here, the story drags you along in its wake, with twists and turns and lots of hanging from cliffs by fingernails (that was just me) with an ending that will make you willing to sell your soul to get book 3 (drums fingers impatiently)
Not sure what else to say really. I’m certainly not going to spoil anything. You’ll feel like someone just threw you out of a plane without a parachute but boy it is one HELL of a ride.
Highly Recommended.
October 5, 2017
I like this book far too much for something that makes me feel this unfit.
Zero-G, like all books in the Outer Earth series, is heart-pounding, exhilarating, and moves at a break-neck pace. Sometimes to its own disadvantage; there being so little time to really soak in the world and learn a little more about the characters. But it's action set pieces and intensity manage to sustain a breaking point through-0ut it's one hundred plus (albeit small) chapters. It's very difficult to put this book down, and you're constantly on edge and turning the page to find out what happens to the characters. The pacing is brilliant and the story goes to some very interesting directions I didn't see coming. It wouldn't be unfair to say this is a thriller wrapped up with science-fiction padding and almost no world-building. But if you're just after a shot of adrenaline and want to be taken on a crazy ride, you won't find much better pickings than this.
Zero-G, like all books in the Outer Earth series, is heart-pounding, exhilarating, and moves at a break-neck pace. Sometimes to its own disadvantage; there being so little time to really soak in the world and learn a little more about the characters. But it's action set pieces and intensity manage to sustain a breaking point through-0ut it's one hundred plus (albeit small) chapters. It's very difficult to put this book down, and you're constantly on edge and turning the page to find out what happens to the characters. The pacing is brilliant and the story goes to some very interesting directions I didn't see coming. It wouldn't be unfair to say this is a thriller wrapped up with science-fiction padding and almost no world-building. But if you're just after a shot of adrenaline and want to be taken on a crazy ride, you won't find much better pickings than this.
January 16, 2019
*2.5 stars
The writing is definitely better than that of the first book. The pace is steadier.
I realise now why the pace between chapters felt different in the previous book. Through out the series there are a lot of pov changes. And not just between characters. Majority of the povs are in 3rd person. Except for the main characters pov which is 1st. Turns out the 1st person pov is written very cleverly. It's like your reading a person's thoughts. It's not overly detailed because we don't think in a lot of detail. It's an accurate depiction of someone's inner thoughts.
While the way Boffard writes 1st pov is accurate and clever. It ruins the pace of the book. In my review of the first book I said the writing gave me whiplash because some chapters felt hollow where the others were incredibly immersive. And now I see why. The hollow chapters are the 1st person point of view chapters. While the immersive ones are 3rd person pov chapters.
1st pov example.
"Blood. My Blood.
Movement, at the far side of the room."
This is clever because yes it's how a person processes information. Short and straight to the point. However, it isn't immersive. And one needs to be captivated by a book.
3rd pov example.
"it's only when he shuts the door to his office that Prakesh finds he can breathe again. He sits down on the edge of his desk, letting his chin touch his chest."
Pov preferences are just that. An individual's preference. So while you may prefer one over the other, I think most of you would agree that it is unwise to switch povs through out a book as it completely throws off the pace. That being said, once you understand the author's method of writing and why it feels a little off, it's a lot easier to read.
Now, this book was a strong 3/5 star book up until the last 90 or so pages, where morals were just abandoned to suit the story line.
The main character has had to take lives before in order to not only save herself but dozens of others. And even though she did the right thing she still obviously felt haunted about taking a life.
But then this battle takes place where she is killing people left and right with no remorse what so ever. There's was no development at all telling us why her thoughts and feelings surrounding this might have changed.
You can't just have a character abandon their moral compass so that it better fits the story you want to tell. That's just not how it works.
One minute the main character is running someone over (with a vehicle) with no hesitation and the next she is grossed out by blood and bodies. And not long after that she considers mass murder. It's a constant back and forth with no reason behind the conflict. The author just choses certain morals for the character to possess at different tines so that it can better fit the narrative he is currently telling.
The one positive thing is that I love Aaron Carver. He's an incredible character. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have continued this series.
The writing is definitely better than that of the first book. The pace is steadier.
I realise now why the pace between chapters felt different in the previous book. Through out the series there are a lot of pov changes. And not just between characters. Majority of the povs are in 3rd person. Except for the main characters pov which is 1st. Turns out the 1st person pov is written very cleverly. It's like your reading a person's thoughts. It's not overly detailed because we don't think in a lot of detail. It's an accurate depiction of someone's inner thoughts.
While the way Boffard writes 1st pov is accurate and clever. It ruins the pace of the book. In my review of the first book I said the writing gave me whiplash because some chapters felt hollow where the others were incredibly immersive. And now I see why. The hollow chapters are the 1st person point of view chapters. While the immersive ones are 3rd person pov chapters.
1st pov example.
"Blood. My Blood.
Movement, at the far side of the room."
This is clever because yes it's how a person processes information. Short and straight to the point. However, it isn't immersive. And one needs to be captivated by a book.
3rd pov example.
"it's only when he shuts the door to his office that Prakesh finds he can breathe again. He sits down on the edge of his desk, letting his chin touch his chest."
Pov preferences are just that. An individual's preference. So while you may prefer one over the other, I think most of you would agree that it is unwise to switch povs through out a book as it completely throws off the pace. That being said, once you understand the author's method of writing and why it feels a little off, it's a lot easier to read.
Now, this book was a strong 3/5 star book up until the last 90 or so pages, where morals were just abandoned to suit the story line.
The main character has had to take lives before in order to not only save herself but dozens of others. And even though she did the right thing she still obviously felt haunted about taking a life.
But then this battle takes place where she is killing people left and right with no remorse what so ever. There's was no development at all telling us why her thoughts and feelings surrounding this might have changed.
You can't just have a character abandon their moral compass so that it better fits the story you want to tell. That's just not how it works.
One minute the main character is running someone over (with a vehicle) with no hesitation and the next she is grossed out by blood and bodies. And not long after that she considers mass murder. It's a constant back and forth with no reason behind the conflict. The author just choses certain morals for the character to possess at different tines so that it can better fit the narrative he is currently telling.
The one positive thing is that I love Aaron Carver. He's an incredible character. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have continued this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2016
Regular readers may recall that I was enormously impressed with Tracer, Rob’s first book. Indeed, it made it into my books of the year list for 2015. It was a *huge* amount of fun and when I met with Rob on his signing tour in Leeds (shameless namedrop), he assured me that the follow-up would be turned all the way up to 11…
Zero-G is *exactly* that.
Riley Hale is back. She’s joined the Stompers, part of Outer Earth law enforcement. The action kicks off on page one and never lets up until the final page. You thought Darnell was twisted in Tracer?
You ain’t seen nothing yet.
Riley is forced to do impossible things, to an impossible deadline, breaking all her rules, going against all she believes in if anyone is going to survive. The chapters are super-short and punchy, told from various viewpoints and demanding that you read just one more. Rob manages to pull off more cliffhangers than you’d think possible in a single book, but does so with style, and you just *know* he’s got an evil glint in his eye whilst writing it.
Hard to say much more without spoiling it for you. Go read it.
The ending will leave you wanting book #3, which is out later this year – question is, can Rob turn it up *past* 11?
On the form shown here, I wouldn’t bet against it…
Zero-G is *exactly* that.
Riley Hale is back. She’s joined the Stompers, part of Outer Earth law enforcement. The action kicks off on page one and never lets up until the final page. You thought Darnell was twisted in Tracer?
You ain’t seen nothing yet.
Riley is forced to do impossible things, to an impossible deadline, breaking all her rules, going against all she believes in if anyone is going to survive. The chapters are super-short and punchy, told from various viewpoints and demanding that you read just one more. Rob manages to pull off more cliffhangers than you’d think possible in a single book, but does so with style, and you just *know* he’s got an evil glint in his eye whilst writing it.
Hard to say much more without spoiling it for you. Go read it.
The ending will leave you wanting book #3, which is out later this year – question is, can Rob turn it up *past* 11?
On the form shown here, I wouldn’t bet against it…
July 11, 2019
3 competing plot lines all centred implausible around Riley our protagonist. Characters behave like idiots for the point of the plot, all resolved in the most ridiculous ways imaginable. Genuinely made me feel betrayed by the goodwill built up in the previous book and the final act was particularly unbearable to read. Throw in the compulsory pointless love triangle that all books with a female protagonist seem compelled to throw in since the twilight saga is particularly tiresome. Hope the third book turns the trilogy around.
September 17, 2017
Viel zu viele Handlungsstränge in zu kurzer Zeit
Nachdem Riley Hale die Station Außenerde gerettet hat, wird sie Teil der Sicherheitsleute, kurz „Stomper“ genannt. Aber sie wäre nicht sie selbst, wenn sie Probleme nicht magisch anziehen würde. Nicht nur, dass sie von einem irren Psychopathen erpresst wird, kurz darauf bricht auch eine Seuche in der Station aus. Dies nutzt eine Gruppe Rebellen aus, die Außenerde verlassen wollen, um zur Erde zurückzukehren, und dafür gehen sie über Leichen.
Der zweite Band dieser Reihe macht mich ein wenig traurig. Ich mochte „Tracer“ sehr gerne, es war eines meiner Lesehighlights. Aber die Fortsetzung reicht leider nicht an es heran.
Es fängt schon damit an, dass es zu viele Haupthandlungen gibt – auch wenn ich nie gedacht hätte, dies einmal zu schreiben. Wir haben hier nicht nur eine, sondern sogar drei. Oder noch mehr?
Ursprünglich beginnt es mit einem durchgeknallten Psychopathen, der Riley entführt und sie erpresst. Natürlich kann sie sich keinem anvertrauen und zieht die Nummer solo durch, was furchtbar schief geht. Wenn sie ihren Freunden von Anfang an reinen Wein eingeschenkt hätte, wäre das vermutlich nicht so eskaliert. Allerdings spricht sie an keiner Stelle jemals mit irgendwem, was für mich nicht nachvollziehbar ist. Ihr ganzer Charakter kommt mir vor, als würde er ihn einem Fieberdelirium handeln und ihre Entscheidungen ergeben für mich keinen Sinn. Nicht, dass das bei den anderen, außer vielleicht den „Bösen“, anders wäre. Und ich gehe jetzt mal nicht weiter darauf ein, wie sich meine Augen verdreht haben, als Riley dann plötzlich auch nicht mehr weiß, für wen ihr Herz schlägt ...
Dann taucht eine mysteriöse Krankheit auf, die fast alle auf der Station umbringt, außer die Abtrünnigen, die auch plötzlich da sind und zur Erde zurückkehren wollen und Riley in die Quere kommen. Relativ gegen Ende wird auch klar, dass Außenerde sterben wird, wenn sie nicht bald neue Rohstoffe von einem Asteroiden bekommen, weswegen sie die Abtrünnigen auf keinen Fall zu dem Asteroidenfänger lassen dürfen.
Was sich wie die Handlung von zwei oder mehr Büchern anhört, ist in dieses eine gequetscht, und keine bekommt auch nur annähernd die ausführliche Behandlung, die sie verdient. Das ist sehr schade, denn jeder Plot für sich ist eine sehr gute Idee, doch in dieser Masse wird es einfach unglaubwürdig.
Genauso unglaubwürdig, wie warum zum Teufel keiner auf die Idee kommt, auch mal eine Waffe aufzuheben, nachdem sie die Angreifer außer Gefecht gesetzt haben, oder ihnen einen über den Schädel zu ziehen, wenn sie in einer Tür feststecken? Mein erster Impuls wäre das ja, aber vielleicht bin ich einfach zu brutal. Stattdessen verspielt jeder handelnde Charakter mit einer Leichtigkeit seinen Vorteil, dass es fast schon fahrlässig ist.
Um es noch einmal zusammenzufassen: Es passiert zu viel in zu kurzer Zeit, so dass die einzelnen Handlungsstränge einfach zu unglaubwürdig erscheinen. Dabei habe ich noch gar nicht erwähnt, dass Riley kreuz und quer durch die Station rennt, nachdem ihre Knie aufgeschnitten wurden, und dabei nicht ein einziges Mal wirklich schläft. Außerdem sind ihre Entscheidungen und die ihrer Freunde für mich einfach nicht logisch nachvollziehbar.
Es macht mich zwar sehr traurig, aber ich kann diesem Buch nur 3 Sterne zusprechen. Bei mir hat es einfach für zu viel Stirnrunzeln geführt, um wirklich als ein gutes Buch durchzugehen. Trotzdem bin ich neugierig und möchte die Fortsetzung lesen, von der ich momentan aber noch nicht weiß, wann sie erscheinen wird.
Nachdem Riley Hale die Station Außenerde gerettet hat, wird sie Teil der Sicherheitsleute, kurz „Stomper“ genannt. Aber sie wäre nicht sie selbst, wenn sie Probleme nicht magisch anziehen würde. Nicht nur, dass sie von einem irren Psychopathen erpresst wird, kurz darauf bricht auch eine Seuche in der Station aus. Dies nutzt eine Gruppe Rebellen aus, die Außenerde verlassen wollen, um zur Erde zurückzukehren, und dafür gehen sie über Leichen.
Der zweite Band dieser Reihe macht mich ein wenig traurig. Ich mochte „Tracer“ sehr gerne, es war eines meiner Lesehighlights. Aber die Fortsetzung reicht leider nicht an es heran.
Es fängt schon damit an, dass es zu viele Haupthandlungen gibt – auch wenn ich nie gedacht hätte, dies einmal zu schreiben. Wir haben hier nicht nur eine, sondern sogar drei. Oder noch mehr?
Ursprünglich beginnt es mit einem durchgeknallten Psychopathen, der Riley entführt und sie erpresst. Natürlich kann sie sich keinem anvertrauen und zieht die Nummer solo durch, was furchtbar schief geht. Wenn sie ihren Freunden von Anfang an reinen Wein eingeschenkt hätte, wäre das vermutlich nicht so eskaliert. Allerdings spricht sie an keiner Stelle jemals mit irgendwem, was für mich nicht nachvollziehbar ist. Ihr ganzer Charakter kommt mir vor, als würde er ihn einem Fieberdelirium handeln und ihre Entscheidungen ergeben für mich keinen Sinn. Nicht, dass das bei den anderen, außer vielleicht den „Bösen“, anders wäre. Und ich gehe jetzt mal nicht weiter darauf ein, wie sich meine Augen verdreht haben, als Riley dann plötzlich auch nicht mehr weiß, für wen ihr Herz schlägt ...
Dann taucht eine mysteriöse Krankheit auf, die fast alle auf der Station umbringt, außer die Abtrünnigen, die auch plötzlich da sind und zur Erde zurückkehren wollen und Riley in die Quere kommen. Relativ gegen Ende wird auch klar, dass Außenerde sterben wird, wenn sie nicht bald neue Rohstoffe von einem Asteroiden bekommen, weswegen sie die Abtrünnigen auf keinen Fall zu dem Asteroidenfänger lassen dürfen.
Was sich wie die Handlung von zwei oder mehr Büchern anhört, ist in dieses eine gequetscht, und keine bekommt auch nur annähernd die ausführliche Behandlung, die sie verdient. Das ist sehr schade, denn jeder Plot für sich ist eine sehr gute Idee, doch in dieser Masse wird es einfach unglaubwürdig.
Genauso unglaubwürdig, wie warum zum Teufel keiner auf die Idee kommt, auch mal eine Waffe aufzuheben, nachdem sie die Angreifer außer Gefecht gesetzt haben, oder ihnen einen über den Schädel zu ziehen, wenn sie in einer Tür feststecken? Mein erster Impuls wäre das ja, aber vielleicht bin ich einfach zu brutal. Stattdessen verspielt jeder handelnde Charakter mit einer Leichtigkeit seinen Vorteil, dass es fast schon fahrlässig ist.
Um es noch einmal zusammenzufassen: Es passiert zu viel in zu kurzer Zeit, so dass die einzelnen Handlungsstränge einfach zu unglaubwürdig erscheinen. Dabei habe ich noch gar nicht erwähnt, dass Riley kreuz und quer durch die Station rennt, nachdem ihre Knie aufgeschnitten wurden, und dabei nicht ein einziges Mal wirklich schläft. Außerdem sind ihre Entscheidungen und die ihrer Freunde für mich einfach nicht logisch nachvollziehbar.
Es macht mich zwar sehr traurig, aber ich kann diesem Buch nur 3 Sterne zusprechen. Bei mir hat es einfach für zu viel Stirnrunzeln geführt, um wirklich als ein gutes Buch durchzugehen. Trotzdem bin ich neugierig und möchte die Fortsetzung lesen, von der ich momentan aber noch nicht weiß, wann sie erscheinen wird.
June 25, 2017
This is the second part of Rob Boffard’s debut Outer Earth trilogy. In the first book (Tracer) we were introduced to the Outer Earth space station and the storey’s central character, Riley Hale, the tough, independent and resourceful Tracer.
Whilst I was convinced by the first book of Rob Boffard’s skills as a storyteller, I was a little concerned that the pace and intensity might be slowed down a little. I needn’t have worried. Picking up the story six months after the events if Tracer, Zero-G starts on a high with a hostage situation that tests Riley to the limit, and it doesn’t let up until the cliff-hanger ending 450 pages later.
Riley is now a “stomper” – part of the stations security force and her team get embroiled in a conspiracy that ponce again threatens the future of then whole station, where personal animosities become a danger to everyone.
Riley once again finds herself having to make impossibly tough decisions, but her resourcefulness may be the only hope the residents of humanity’s last outpost have to survive.
Outer Earth is not just any orbiting space station. It is the home of the last of humanity after a cataclysmic nuclear war made Earth itself uninhabitable and wiped out all life on Earth. Or did it?
But it is not just the relentless pace that keeps the reader gripped. Rob Boffard’s characters are both larger than life but also comfortingly vulnerable. Each is faced with conflicting loyalties, their decisions impacting on the lives of those closest to them. As Riley Hale is the driving force behind the plot twists and turns, she is not the only one who’s actions ricochet through the station’s population. Greed for power, desperation over resources and blind revenge all play their part on bringing Outer Earth to the very edge of destruction.
I was as gripped by the story as I was by the first. The dual narrative works well and I love the mix of thriller and science fiction.
Whilst I was convinced by the first book of Rob Boffard’s skills as a storyteller, I was a little concerned that the pace and intensity might be slowed down a little. I needn’t have worried. Picking up the story six months after the events if Tracer, Zero-G starts on a high with a hostage situation that tests Riley to the limit, and it doesn’t let up until the cliff-hanger ending 450 pages later.
Riley is now a “stomper” – part of the stations security force and her team get embroiled in a conspiracy that ponce again threatens the future of then whole station, where personal animosities become a danger to everyone.
Riley once again finds herself having to make impossibly tough decisions, but her resourcefulness may be the only hope the residents of humanity’s last outpost have to survive.
Outer Earth is not just any orbiting space station. It is the home of the last of humanity after a cataclysmic nuclear war made Earth itself uninhabitable and wiped out all life on Earth. Or did it?
But it is not just the relentless pace that keeps the reader gripped. Rob Boffard’s characters are both larger than life but also comfortingly vulnerable. Each is faced with conflicting loyalties, their decisions impacting on the lives of those closest to them. As Riley Hale is the driving force behind the plot twists and turns, she is not the only one who’s actions ricochet through the station’s population. Greed for power, desperation over resources and blind revenge all play their part on bringing Outer Earth to the very edge of destruction.
I was as gripped by the story as I was by the first. The dual narrative works well and I love the mix of thriller and science fiction.
May 19, 2022
This book was better than I expected it to be. I'm not typically a science-fiction reader unless it has elements of fantasy as well. There is no fantasy in this book. However, it's not really heavy sci-fi. I feel it is more of a fast-paced action novel that happens to be set in the future and in space.
I did have a hard time with constantly being reminded of how fast the main character could run, and it seemed like every new scene had her "running the fastest she ever had". I also had issue with the way the "big battle" went down, and reading the ending, wonder if my initial revulsion to it was accurately placed. While I could understand most of the main characters thoughts and choices, I didn't really like her much.
Now, I started this book not realizing it was the second book of a series. I looked it up about half-way through when it kept referencing a previous event that was becoming apparent was not going to be part of this book. It didn't hinder my ability to follow this story at all, so I do not feel like it's required. However it may have given more context to the story and some of the decisions made, and may have fleshed out some of the characters better for me.
It does have me a bit interested in the first and third books. Is it enough to pick them up? I don't think I will actively seek them out, but if I come across them I probably would.
I did have a hard time with constantly being reminded of how fast the main character could run, and it seemed like every new scene had her "running the fastest she ever had". I also had issue with the way the "big battle" went down, and reading the ending, wonder if my initial revulsion to it was accurately placed. While I could understand most of the main characters thoughts and choices, I didn't really like her much.
Now, I started this book not realizing it was the second book of a series. I looked it up about half-way through when it kept referencing a previous event that was becoming apparent was not going to be part of this book. It didn't hinder my ability to follow this story at all, so I do not feel like it's required. However it may have given more context to the story and some of the decisions made, and may have fleshed out some of the characters better for me.
It does have me a bit interested in the first and third books. Is it enough to pick them up? I don't think I will actively seek them out, but if I come across them I probably would.
July 13, 2022
Excellent plot pacing and interesting setting. Unfortunately, the main character was extremely annoying and repeatedly made the decision to compound the issues she was facing by not telling anyone about them. Even after this has caused some serious repercussions early on. Overall I want to like this book more, and I'll ruminate on it to see if I can find more redeeming qualities, but in the meantime the ending seemed to largely set up the third book and not resolve anything. I also just personally don't like books where
September 23, 2019
Boffard, Rob. Zero-G. Outer Earth 2. Orbit, 2016.
Riley Hale used to be a runner who carried messages. Now she is part of the security force who used to be her opponents on the huge, aging space station that contains the remnants of Earth’s population. Along the way, she has made a lot of enemies. A mad doctor has kidnapped her and planted bombs inside her body to force her to break a woman out of a high-security cell. Just to make things more interesting, a civil war threatens the station. Action like a TV movie. Think Running Man in space.
Riley Hale used to be a runner who carried messages. Now she is part of the security force who used to be her opponents on the huge, aging space station that contains the remnants of Earth’s population. Along the way, she has made a lot of enemies. A mad doctor has kidnapped her and planted bombs inside her body to force her to break a woman out of a high-security cell. Just to make things more interesting, a civil war threatens the station. Action like a TV movie. Think Running Man in space.
December 26, 2017
I thought this would be scraping the bottom of the barrel for storyline after Tracer, and it really is. The first half is pretty slow, and some of the situations in this are so implausible as to be ridiculous. Still, I read it to the end and I'll read the last one too.
May 24, 2018
Definitivt betre enn einaren. Riktig spennande, med korte, innhaldsrike kapittel. Likevel er det noko teatralsk over ein del av scenane, og eg får ofte følelsen av at eg les ei ungdomsbok.
Men som spenningsbøker alltid er, må eg jo lesa oppfølgaren òg.
Men som spenningsbøker alltid er, må eg jo lesa oppfølgaren òg.
May 16, 2017
Sure, it's non-stop action, like the first. But it isn't very coherent and it just seems to jump from scene to scene without much in the way of transition.
July 18, 2017
I love the books! There are more than just good!
December 21, 2018
A bit too much breathless excitement and too many last minute escapes. Physics? Close and mostly believable (or at least suspendable).
April 28, 2021
I didnt realize this was the second book of a series when I started reading it but was good as a stand alone. I'm not huge on Sci-Fi/Space reads but this one kept the pages turning.
January 24, 2024
Enjoyed Tracer and this also had good propulsive story telling. Hard to put down. Need a breather before taking on the final book
September 18, 2016
I've gotten to where I'm leery of second books in trilogies. Lately, it seems like most of them aren't really novels, so much as they are a bridge between a self-contained first novel and the conclusion to a larger story tangentially related to the first one. I think The Matrix set this trend, and going into Zero-G, I expected it to be the case with the Outer Earth series, too.
On the bright side, Boffard did a good job of creating a story that's more-or-less self-contained. It has a distinctive beginning, middle, and end, but it also ends on an incomplete note, since this isn't the whole story. The plot of Zero-G is about a group of rebels who plan to return to Earth from the space station where humanity has lived for the past 100 years. Riley, the main character from Tracer, the first book, is the main character here, too, and to complicate matters, Boffard includes an unhinged doctor who wants to take revenge on her and Okwembu, the councilperson whose plot from the first book killed a woman he was infatuated with. There's also a third plot involving a sickness that overtakes Outer Earth, and all of it comes together in a gripping story that kept me reading.
(Spoilers ahead.)
Unfortunately, there are parts of the story that simply don't make a lot of sense. In my review of Tracer, I wrote about how certain elements of a story are sacrificed for an action story, and those elements are missing from Zero-G, too. Characterization is weak, as is any connection to other characters in the novel. The sickness I mentioned above wipes out 90% of the population of Outer Earth, but we only know this because it's mentioned in passing late in the novel. We see the effects of it here and there, but we're never given the scale of it all until then, and the other characters don't give the threat of it much concern, since it winds up they're all immune to it. Later, a breach in the hull of Outer Earth presumably wipes out the rest of the population of the station, but the other characters treat it like it's just any other day. There's no real emotion or concern over the loss.
Also like Tracer, Zero-G follows an odd structure where Boffard writes from multiple viewpoints in each chapter, though the lion's share of them go to Riley. I'm fine with him doing that, but what makes it odd is that Riley's chapters are written in the first person, and the other characters' are written in third person. He also notes at the start of each chapter who the focus is, so I didn't understand why he made that jump in voice. He could have made the entire book first person or third person and it would have been fine, but the alternating voices were jarring. Plus, as much as Riley narrates the story, it's odd that he brought in the other characters at all. I can see why he did it -- Boffard wanted to give additional perspectives to the story -- but I think it would have been a stronger story had he limited the perspective just to Riley.
Zero-G is also written in the present tense, which still throws me. I've read plenty of books written in the present tense, and in some cases I didn't realize it until much later after I had finished them. It doesn't work as well for me in these stories, though I'll admit I got used to it the more I read the book. I think doing so is an attempt by the author to give the story a sense of immediacy, but having it written in the past tense wouldn't remove any of the drama of the story. It just seems like an odd choice.
Speaking of the drama of the story, parts of it were lacking because of the way Boffard structured it. When there were moments where the characters were faced with a dilemma, it was solved by the next paragraph, or sometimes even in the next sentence. It's not unusual for a character to make a decision, have another character tell him not to, because of some reason, and then the other character to immediately change his mind. There was never a chance to feel the tension of the moment while the reader has to wonder how it's going to play out. This didn't happen all the time -- there were still key elements of the story that stretched out as one would expect -- but it happened often enough to make me question the motivations of the characters and the overuse of coincidence in the plot.
The story is still entertaining and engaging, but it lacks some characteristics which would have made it a great story. As it is, it's OK, at best (enough so for me to jump straight into the third book in the series), but I can see how, with a little more work, the story could have been extraordinary. For sheer story-telling power, though, the book succeeds.
On the bright side, Boffard did a good job of creating a story that's more-or-less self-contained. It has a distinctive beginning, middle, and end, but it also ends on an incomplete note, since this isn't the whole story. The plot of Zero-G is about a group of rebels who plan to return to Earth from the space station where humanity has lived for the past 100 years. Riley, the main character from Tracer, the first book, is the main character here, too, and to complicate matters, Boffard includes an unhinged doctor who wants to take revenge on her and Okwembu, the councilperson whose plot from the first book killed a woman he was infatuated with. There's also a third plot involving a sickness that overtakes Outer Earth, and all of it comes together in a gripping story that kept me reading.
(Spoilers ahead.)
Unfortunately, there are parts of the story that simply don't make a lot of sense. In my review of Tracer, I wrote about how certain elements of a story are sacrificed for an action story, and those elements are missing from Zero-G, too. Characterization is weak, as is any connection to other characters in the novel. The sickness I mentioned above wipes out 90% of the population of Outer Earth, but we only know this because it's mentioned in passing late in the novel. We see the effects of it here and there, but we're never given the scale of it all until then, and the other characters don't give the threat of it much concern, since it winds up they're all immune to it. Later, a breach in the hull of Outer Earth presumably wipes out the rest of the population of the station, but the other characters treat it like it's just any other day. There's no real emotion or concern over the loss.
Also like Tracer, Zero-G follows an odd structure where Boffard writes from multiple viewpoints in each chapter, though the lion's share of them go to Riley. I'm fine with him doing that, but what makes it odd is that Riley's chapters are written in the first person, and the other characters' are written in third person. He also notes at the start of each chapter who the focus is, so I didn't understand why he made that jump in voice. He could have made the entire book first person or third person and it would have been fine, but the alternating voices were jarring. Plus, as much as Riley narrates the story, it's odd that he brought in the other characters at all. I can see why he did it -- Boffard wanted to give additional perspectives to the story -- but I think it would have been a stronger story had he limited the perspective just to Riley.
Zero-G is also written in the present tense, which still throws me. I've read plenty of books written in the present tense, and in some cases I didn't realize it until much later after I had finished them. It doesn't work as well for me in these stories, though I'll admit I got used to it the more I read the book. I think doing so is an attempt by the author to give the story a sense of immediacy, but having it written in the past tense wouldn't remove any of the drama of the story. It just seems like an odd choice.
Speaking of the drama of the story, parts of it were lacking because of the way Boffard structured it. When there were moments where the characters were faced with a dilemma, it was solved by the next paragraph, or sometimes even in the next sentence. It's not unusual for a character to make a decision, have another character tell him not to, because of some reason, and then the other character to immediately change his mind. There was never a chance to feel the tension of the moment while the reader has to wonder how it's going to play out. This didn't happen all the time -- there were still key elements of the story that stretched out as one would expect -- but it happened often enough to make me question the motivations of the characters and the overuse of coincidence in the plot.
The story is still entertaining and engaging, but it lacks some characteristics which would have made it a great story. As it is, it's OK, at best (enough so for me to jump straight into the third book in the series), but I can see how, with a little more work, the story could have been extraordinary. For sheer story-telling power, though, the book succeeds.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 7, 2017
Zero-G - Rob Boffard
'Eight inches to go. Seven. I try to not think of what we were taught about the physics of space. And what happens to the human body in a vacuum.
"My tongue. I can feel it on my tongue."
Five inches. "Carver, we're nearly there." Four.
Suddenly he's screaming in my ears. "It hurts, Riley, make it stop, make it stop!"'
Earth has gone. And the remaining survivors now live on a giant space station called Outer Earth. Riley Hale, a recently hired law enforcement team member with much previous experience of being in dangerous situations including killing her team leader and even her own dad to save the lives of people on Outer Earth. With the result of these happenings, Morgan Knox wants revenge on Riley for killing a 'loved' one. His evil plan means that Riley is wrapped around his finger and becomes his own little puppet. With the challenges that Morgan gives to Riley, she discovers more important, dangerous goings on around Outer Earth that could mean disaster for everyone.
Zero-G is the second book in a Outer Earth trilogy. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to read the first book due to this being giving to me by the Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for an honest review. Although because of this, I did not in any way feel like I was restricted from understanding the narrative as Boffard brought up recent events very briefly but enough to get the gist. Despite that, I probably will still purchase Tracer (the first book).
I have never read sci-fi before and every time I've gone into my local Waterstones, I always walk straight past the sci-fi section and I don't even give a second thought. But now that I have read this book, it has sparked something inside me to read more stories about space. So if this is the start of a sci-fi craze that I'm going to go through, thank you Rob Boffard for being the first. So for all the people out there who have never read sci-fi, give this trilogy a go, I promise you won't regret it. The only reason that I can think of at this current point of time as to why I enjoyed it so much is because the concept is brilliant and believable and could possibly happen in the very near future.
This book has 105 chapters that only consists of a few pages to each chapter which then ends on a cliff-hanger, making it so easy to just keep reading into the early hours of the morning (based on real life events) as you want to find out what happens next.
So overall I LOVED ZERO-G!! And I can't wait for the third instalment of the trilogy, Impact.
'Eight inches to go. Seven. I try to not think of what we were taught about the physics of space. And what happens to the human body in a vacuum.
"My tongue. I can feel it on my tongue."
Five inches. "Carver, we're nearly there." Four.
Suddenly he's screaming in my ears. "It hurts, Riley, make it stop, make it stop!"'
Earth has gone. And the remaining survivors now live on a giant space station called Outer Earth. Riley Hale, a recently hired law enforcement team member with much previous experience of being in dangerous situations including killing her team leader and even her own dad to save the lives of people on Outer Earth. With the result of these happenings, Morgan Knox wants revenge on Riley for killing a 'loved' one. His evil plan means that Riley is wrapped around his finger and becomes his own little puppet. With the challenges that Morgan gives to Riley, she discovers more important, dangerous goings on around Outer Earth that could mean disaster for everyone.
Zero-G is the second book in a Outer Earth trilogy. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to read the first book due to this being giving to me by the Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for an honest review. Although because of this, I did not in any way feel like I was restricted from understanding the narrative as Boffard brought up recent events very briefly but enough to get the gist. Despite that, I probably will still purchase Tracer (the first book).
I have never read sci-fi before and every time I've gone into my local Waterstones, I always walk straight past the sci-fi section and I don't even give a second thought. But now that I have read this book, it has sparked something inside me to read more stories about space. So if this is the start of a sci-fi craze that I'm going to go through, thank you Rob Boffard for being the first. So for all the people out there who have never read sci-fi, give this trilogy a go, I promise you won't regret it. The only reason that I can think of at this current point of time as to why I enjoyed it so much is because the concept is brilliant and believable and could possibly happen in the very near future.
This book has 105 chapters that only consists of a few pages to each chapter which then ends on a cliff-hanger, making it so easy to just keep reading into the early hours of the morning (based on real life events) as you want to find out what happens next.
So overall I LOVED ZERO-G!! And I can't wait for the third instalment of the trilogy, Impact.
June 12, 2019
Great squeal still fast paced and action packed Cant wait for the 3rd book
May 7, 2017
Zero-G - Rob Boffard
'Eight inches to go. Seven. I try to not think of what we were taught about the physics of space. And what happens to the human body in a vacuum. "My tongue. I can feel it on my tongue." Five inches. "Carver, we're nearly there." Four. Suddenly he's screaming in my ears. "It hurts, Riley, make it stop, make it stop!"'
Morgan is a disfigured man who keeps himself to himself in his mansion on his estate, living with only one other person, his elderly housekeeper, Engel. One ordinary day, a baby is found by the back door and Morgan decides to bring her in and raise her as his own. But the next day, more children appear out of thin air, ‘Morgan was stand by the drawing room window and gazing out into the garden when a square of air above the lawn seemed to ripple as though it were silk and a knife had been drawn across it, and a child appeared on the lawn and began to walk towards the house, perfectly confident, it seemed, that she would be received.’ Every day, more and more children arrive, on their own or in groups. When the ministry of welfare turn up at his door, due to rumours of Morgan having forty-four children running around his estate, they end of taking the first child, Moria. Morgan and a handful of other children go out in search for her, ending up at a factory that his sister runs and turns out to be a family business, but what do they do with children there?
At the beginning of each chapter, Lambert writes a little sentence to sum up what’s going to happen in the following chapter, ‘Chapter Three... In which medical help us required and Morgan is shocked by an image in water.’ I found that this spoiled the book a little bit as it basically tells you what happens before you’ve read it.
Some of the content of the story was described in incredible detail that the horrific images are carved into my brain and won’t go away, no matter how many Disney princess film I watch.
I did find that this story with its 202 pages was too short for all the issues it raised. I’m also not sure what genre The Children’s Home would come under as I heard that it’s classed as a fairytale but I do not see that at all.
'Eight inches to go. Seven. I try to not think of what we were taught about the physics of space. And what happens to the human body in a vacuum. "My tongue. I can feel it on my tongue." Five inches. "Carver, we're nearly there." Four. Suddenly he's screaming in my ears. "It hurts, Riley, make it stop, make it stop!"'
Morgan is a disfigured man who keeps himself to himself in his mansion on his estate, living with only one other person, his elderly housekeeper, Engel. One ordinary day, a baby is found by the back door and Morgan decides to bring her in and raise her as his own. But the next day, more children appear out of thin air, ‘Morgan was stand by the drawing room window and gazing out into the garden when a square of air above the lawn seemed to ripple as though it were silk and a knife had been drawn across it, and a child appeared on the lawn and began to walk towards the house, perfectly confident, it seemed, that she would be received.’ Every day, more and more children arrive, on their own or in groups. When the ministry of welfare turn up at his door, due to rumours of Morgan having forty-four children running around his estate, they end of taking the first child, Moria. Morgan and a handful of other children go out in search for her, ending up at a factory that his sister runs and turns out to be a family business, but what do they do with children there?
At the beginning of each chapter, Lambert writes a little sentence to sum up what’s going to happen in the following chapter, ‘Chapter Three... In which medical help us required and Morgan is shocked by an image in water.’ I found that this spoiled the book a little bit as it basically tells you what happens before you’ve read it.
Some of the content of the story was described in incredible detail that the horrific images are carved into my brain and won’t go away, no matter how many Disney princess film I watch.
I did find that this story with its 202 pages was too short for all the issues it raised. I’m also not sure what genre The Children’s Home would come under as I heard that it’s classed as a fairytale but I do not see that at all.
October 15, 2016
Reunited with Riley Hale now a member of Outer Earths law enforcement team battles with her memories of what happened to her in book one: finding her father, a plot to destroy the space station and the dramatic death of her father to save everyone else.
Riley comes face to face with Knox, a madman high on revenge and cruelly inventing a way to get his own back on Riley while ensuring his plan to rescue a prisoner succeeds. Riley now blackmailed by Knox frees a dangerous prisoner setting in motion a plan to take a breakaway group back to Earth itself!
A fantastic, action filled second book, throwing in tense excitement, blackmail, mortal danger and a new deadly bacterial disease threatening to kill everyone on board outer earth... Zero-G is another masterpiece of scifi/ thriller.
Highly recommended and can't wait to read the final book - Impact!
Riley comes face to face with Knox, a madman high on revenge and cruelly inventing a way to get his own back on Riley while ensuring his plan to rescue a prisoner succeeds. Riley now blackmailed by Knox frees a dangerous prisoner setting in motion a plan to take a breakaway group back to Earth itself!
A fantastic, action filled second book, throwing in tense excitement, blackmail, mortal danger and a new deadly bacterial disease threatening to kill everyone on board outer earth... Zero-G is another masterpiece of scifi/ thriller.
Highly recommended and can't wait to read the final book - Impact!
September 5, 2020
Another pulse-pounding, unputdownable adventure. I kept getting a slight Nick Seafort vibe from Riley--everything happens to her, everything is on her shoulders--but unlike poor Nick, Riley had several months of relative calm between the events of Tracer and this book, so she was not (quite) pitched from the frying pan into the fire.
September 24, 2016
I was excited to continue the story of Riley Hale in this book. Action & story were great but I was a little bit saddened that there was no defined ending (like Tracer #1). Be sure to buy/read books 2 & 3 together or you will really not get all the enjoyment out of the story.
February 4, 2016
Heart pounding - even better than the first
August 18, 2016
Awesome read front cover to back. Enjoyed Knox; enjoyed his sick humour. Loved it when he checked himself out of the medical bay. Couldn't stop laughing. Can't wait for book 3!
November 21, 2016
A fun second part to a nice series. Can't wait for part 3.
March 14, 2016
I'm looking forward to the next installment of Riley's adventures
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews