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Dwarves in Space #2
Dwarves in Space 2: Family Matters
Family, it’s a kick in the teeth on every planet.
Five years have passed since Variel changed her name, her face, and her credit rating in order to leave the Knights. After kicking Sovann, the knight who came after her ship, out the airlock, she thought she was free of her past. Unfortunately, she forgot to take care of that pesky husband problem. Thanks to legal finagling, he’s tracked her down and has her ship and crew on lockdown unless she plays ball, but all Variel wants to do is knock his teeth up into his brain.
The Elation-Cru are on a mad dash across the galaxy to secure enough unicorn (the drug, not the horse - though consuming it will cause you to grow a horn and excrete rainbows) to pay off her husband and unlock the ship before it explodes. Drug dealing was the last thing Variel wanted to get pulled into, but Marek always brought the worst out in her. If he keeps pushing it, he’s going to see why she was a feared Knight of the Crest Empire.
All the characters are back; Ferra the elven engineer, Orn the sarcastic dwarven pilot, Monde the orc doctor, Brena the loopy bard, Taliesin the not-brooding assassin, and WEST. Can’t go anywhere without WEST, their not-quite-sane artificial intelligence, it would set the toaster on fire in protest.
Five years have passed since Variel changed her name, her face, and her credit rating in order to leave the Knights. After kicking Sovann, the knight who came after her ship, out the airlock, she thought she was free of her past. Unfortunately, she forgot to take care of that pesky husband problem. Thanks to legal finagling, he’s tracked her down and has her ship and crew on lockdown unless she plays ball, but all Variel wants to do is knock his teeth up into his brain.
The Elation-Cru are on a mad dash across the galaxy to secure enough unicorn (the drug, not the horse - though consuming it will cause you to grow a horn and excrete rainbows) to pay off her husband and unlock the ship before it explodes. Drug dealing was the last thing Variel wanted to get pulled into, but Marek always brought the worst out in her. If he keeps pushing it, he’s going to see why she was a feared Knight of the Crest Empire.
All the characters are back; Ferra the elven engineer, Orn the sarcastic dwarven pilot, Monde the orc doctor, Brena the loopy bard, Taliesin the not-brooding assassin, and WEST. Can’t go anywhere without WEST, their not-quite-sane artificial intelligence, it would set the toaster on fire in protest.
304 pages, Paperback
Published June 28, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 29, 2016
As somebody who read and loved the first volume of the Dwarves In Space saga, I was really looking forward to the sequel. I hoped it wouldn’t disappoint. I hoped it would be just as good as the original.
It did not disappoint and, if anything, it was better.
This may be just my take on it, but this one seems a bit more intense than the first volume. The humorous prose and dialogue is there, as always, but something about the story or the effect on the characters seems more acute; maybe because it goes to the core of Variel’s identity or maybe because the new relationship developments broaden the scope of the stakes. Or maybe it’s just all in my head. I feel like I want to go back and re-read the first book now that I have a wider perspective on the characters.
I’m going to resist giving out spoilers. Let it suffice to say that a lot of interesting developments take place. Hell, a lot of interesting developments take place before the story starts and then it snowballs from there.
This is the sort of story that I really prefer. It isn’t about a war or an alien invasion or the end of the world or the end of the universe. It isn’t, overall, a question of anyone being in deadly peril (although that certainly happens during the course of the story, given the danger to the ship and the harrowing sequence on the planet and so forth– ah, but I said no spoilers). The stakes are really entirely personal, and it’s all about the theme of individual identity and life’s baggage. The peril in the story, the danger, is to the sense of identity when a relic from the past shows up and threatens to take it all away. This is something a lot of people can relate to in an everyday kind of way, but this story, by couching it in both a literal and science-fictionally metaphorical way, raises it to a Shakespearean level, which is exactly what literature should do.
I also found, despite gloss of cynicism, that this is a generally optimistic and uplifting story, although it was uncompromising. Variel and Taliesin, and the other characters.... ah, but I said no spoilers.
Anyway, this is a great book, engaging and entertaining, with solid, likeable characters, an interesting universe, and a strong story. Just like the first one, only more so.
It did not disappoint and, if anything, it was better.
This may be just my take on it, but this one seems a bit more intense than the first volume. The humorous prose and dialogue is there, as always, but something about the story or the effect on the characters seems more acute; maybe because it goes to the core of Variel’s identity or maybe because the new relationship developments broaden the scope of the stakes. Or maybe it’s just all in my head. I feel like I want to go back and re-read the first book now that I have a wider perspective on the characters.
I’m going to resist giving out spoilers. Let it suffice to say that a lot of interesting developments take place. Hell, a lot of interesting developments take place before the story starts and then it snowballs from there.
This is the sort of story that I really prefer. It isn’t about a war or an alien invasion or the end of the world or the end of the universe. It isn’t, overall, a question of anyone being in deadly peril (although that certainly happens during the course of the story, given the danger to the ship and the harrowing sequence on the planet and so forth– ah, but I said no spoilers). The stakes are really entirely personal, and it’s all about the theme of individual identity and life’s baggage. The peril in the story, the danger, is to the sense of identity when a relic from the past shows up and threatens to take it all away. This is something a lot of people can relate to in an everyday kind of way, but this story, by couching it in both a literal and science-fictionally metaphorical way, raises it to a Shakespearean level, which is exactly what literature should do.
I also found, despite gloss of cynicism, that this is a generally optimistic and uplifting story, although it was uncompromising. Variel and Taliesin, and the other characters.... ah, but I said no spoilers.
Anyway, this is a great book, engaging and entertaining, with solid, likeable characters, an interesting universe, and a strong story. Just like the first one, only more so.
May 2, 2019
Another really good story in dire need of an editor. This author is very creative and I'm enjoying the series; however, the cumbersome grammatical errors throw me out of the fantasy.
June 18, 2019
Absolutely the most hilarious sci-fi space epic I've come across. that's all I'm going to say!
July 10, 2016
First off I'll let it be known that I was gifted a copy of the book by the author in exchange for a review.
Imagine, if you can, a world created by collaboration between Douglas Adams and J. R. R. Tolkien. If you can manage that, then you've at least got a bit of a handle on the Dwarves in Space series.
"Family Matters" is the second book in the series and carries on from the first book. This one explores Variel's background a little more when her husband turns up basically demanding money with menaces (or, in this case, lawyers, it all amounts to the same thing).
The plot twists and turns as Variel tries to find a way to bury her past, and this time have it stay buried.
Fast paced, quirky, and at times laugh out loud funny.
Higly recommended.
Imagine, if you can, a world created by collaboration between Douglas Adams and J. R. R. Tolkien. If you can manage that, then you've at least got a bit of a handle on the Dwarves in Space series.
"Family Matters" is the second book in the series and carries on from the first book. This one explores Variel's background a little more when her husband turns up basically demanding money with menaces (or, in this case, lawyers, it all amounts to the same thing).
The plot twists and turns as Variel tries to find a way to bury her past, and this time have it stay buried.
Fast paced, quirky, and at times laugh out loud funny.
Higly recommended.
August 8, 2016
Variel has done everything to put the past behind her, but it's about to catch up with her. With snappy dialogue and an immense fantasy world, this was a very entertaining book. I would recommend it to any reader who loves action packed fantasy adventures.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews