Ganymede

What a total bummer. In the past, I've always counted on Cherie Priest to provide quick-moving stories with lots of twists and action. Some of them I was pretty lukewarm about, like [b:Boneshaker 1137215 Boneshaker (The Clockwork Century, #1) Cherie Priest https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1398725701s/1137215.jpg 1124460] and [b:Bloodshot 8140731 Bloodshot (Cheshire Red Reports, #1) Cherie Priest https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389139452s/8140731.jpg 12937194], but for the most part I had good feelings towards the Clockwork Century series, particularly after the awesomeness that was [b:Dreadnought 7911067 Dreadnought (The Clockwork Century, #2) Cherie Priest https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389139447s/7911067.jpg 10282187]. Ganymede was nowhere near that level though. Instead of the full throttle excitement of the previous book, all I got was a slogging journey with a few scatterings of zombies and a battle that the main characters didn't even have direct stakes in.There just never felt like there was any threat, any real complication in the story. Andan Cly's trip to New Orleans is easy enough, his meet up with an old flame is rather anticlimactic, as they are both mature adults and exceptionally over it. It takes a long time to get him in to the vessel that titles the book, and while its not an easy boat to drive, you never feel any peril. It reads more like a laundry list than a novel. For such a dramatic set up (submarines! battle at Barataria Bay! zombies!), this book is largely uneventful.The characters are alright I guess, entertaining and funny at times, but I never felt invested in any of them. Josephine is strong-willed and tough, so you know, good for her and stuff. Andan Cly is Andan Cly, big dude with a simple mind. Everyone involved is on the verge of settling down, not growing or progressing in significant ways that would drive the plot forward. Maybe everyone was just too good-intentioned. There was no antagonist to speak of, not even a spanner in the works. Even the pirates seemed like sweethearts.So this was a really surprising let down. I had been meaning to get around to reading this book for years, and this is what I was waiting for. I think I'm going to be putting Cherie Priest aside for a while now.