Sean Sandulak

I suppose it's not the worst complaint to say that a book as too short. Normally when I hear that, I assume it's someone putting their own expectations on what a book should be instead of enjoying it for what it is. In this case, however, I think the book suffers somewhat for it. This could have been a much better introduction to the series, but instead it brushes past the MC's backstory, it leaves many of the characters underdeveloped and flat, and awkwardly tacks on a love-at-first-sight romance.

The writing itself was good, and the plot, while not expansive, moved along without a hitch. A solid 3.5 stars, rounded up for giving us a much better representation of nerd culture than other books I've read.

When I first started writing this book , I wasn't trying to construct a universe to contain some characters and a plot. Rather, I was building a platform to explore and deconstruct the paranormal romance and urban fantasy genres which I found often fell back on the use of clichéd tropes and plot devices. After listening to and reading many discussions about these topics, both through the Vaginal Fantasy Book Club and elsewhere, I wanted to try a different take which still incorporated much of the flavor that makes these books so appealing to so many.

Too often the protagonists in these stories are either hapless, passive victims or overpowered über women who can do no wrong. I chose to tell the story of a regular person, without any special powers or abilities, who is thrust into a series of extraordinary circumstances beyond her control. She is not a damsel in distress, however. She constantly struggles to be heard and take control of her own destiny.

I terms of the tone, I was shooting for a Buffy or Lost Girl balance of drama, horror, and humor. I find when you lean too heavily on one or the other, the writing starts to take itself too seriously. I wanted to push boundaries, but still keep the reader, as well as myself, entertained.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy it.

The list of things wrong with this story would be longer than the book itself. Seriously, the blurb has eight grammatical mistakes, and it's only two sentences long! One star for the book. Four stars for all the reviews of it.

DarkShip Thieves is written in the style of a classic YA space opera where the plucky outsider challenges the establishment. Set around a future Earth where bio-engineered supermen were driven off and replaced by a ruling aristocracy, one young woman finds herself caught between a struggle for power and a hidden society of enhanced humans who must steal to survive.
Like most space operas, the plot tends towards melodrama, but the story is well-paced and exciting enough to pull you along to the end. The world-building is well thought out and developed, and helps support the narrative rather than overwhelming it. The characters are unique and individualized, but I personally found it hard to relate to them. Athena is rebellious, bratty and overbearing, while Kit is brooding, melancholy, and self-sacrificing. Their relationship, which is supposed to be the transformative for Athena, seems to arise out of nowhere, but hey, that's what happens sometimes, especially when you're nineteen. All in all, a fun read, but not one to be examined too closely.

Wecker effectively uses middle eastern mythology and culture to great effect to explore humanity, morality, and our concepts of freedom. The turn-of-the-twentieth-century setting is a pleasant backdrop to a wonderful modern day fairy tale.