Chilling Effect

Well shucks. In reading this review, take into account the fact that I skimmed the last third because I just couldn't take it anymore. I like the idea of a found family crew, a badass female protagonist, various hijinks, emotional investment in relationships between characters. But I don't enjoy so much bad luck heaped on our heroes that the jam-packed action scenes leave me nothing but tense, especially when they are frequently accompanied by the self-flagellation shame spiral of the protagonist, and the frequent vacillation of interpersonal relations. It took four missions for Eva to realize things had to change; considering the risk to her crew mates in missions two and three, that is an absurd buildup for no other reason than bulking up the text and ratcheting up the tension, at which point, I just get pissed off and impatient. When the plot shifted to accompany the inevitable eventual epiphany of Eva that she couldn't keep this up, yet more shit hit the fan, again in an emotionally overwrought fashion. Somehow this character has time to get in and out of all kinds of trouble despite the amount of time she spends worrying about family, crew, friends and potential lovers, upcoming plans, recent and past mistakes, etc... it's just exhausting. I fear I'm failing to convey what bothered me because it all looks reasonable typed out. Maybe there are those who have the patience/temperament for it, but this wasn't leisure/entertainment reading for me, it was big ball of stress reading and I don't need that from my erroneously pitched as wacky  ‘it's got psychic cats and fish emperors!' sci fi. No, I will not be reading the sequel.