Primordial Threat

Overview: A well written dramatic tale with strong characters based in a fascinating depopulated future New York. Moral questions, character growth, action and a seasoning of humour make this well worth reading. After 1st Reading: Janet Edwards is an excellent writer. This is an exciting story with great characters that pull you in from the first page - leading you on a wild ride while driving home important issues of gender equality, tribalism and environmental issues in a powerful but non-preachy way. I shot through the book and hit the last sentence with a mixture of joy at a great story well told and a feeling of “Gah! But I want to know what happens next!”. I'll just have to put up with the pain of waiting for book 2 to come out. A few years ago [a:Anne McCaffrey 26 Anne McCaffrey https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1599324585p2/26.jpg] passed away and I was sad. Not only was I upset because an amazing talented and imaginative human being had passed from this mortal coil, but also because I did not know of another writer who could produce a very special type of story. It's as if you knew someone who could bake the perfect cake using a secret recipe - and then the recipe was gone. The key ingredients were as follows:* A main character you cared about.* A story that sucked you in from page one.* A setting that was as much a character as any of the people.* A cast of supporting characters that felt rounded and real, and who you cared about - even the “bad guys” (who could be really twisted) still felt like people with reasons for being as they were.* A dash of romance to spice things up. * A sense that, no matter how dark the setting, how dangerous the situation, in the end things would turn out more or less OK - so you could relax and enjoy the thrills. So I was sad that that recipe was lost. I searched high and low and discovered many great authors - but none that filled that void. Then one fateful day I decided to read a bit of fluff. I picked up what looked like a cheesy book for kids called “[b:Earth Girl 12962345 Earth Girl (Earth Girl, #1) Janet Edwards https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1330891351l/12962345.SY75.jpg 18120012]” (I mean, what kind of a silly title is that?). Bam! I was sucked right into an amazing and complex plot/setting that just kept revealing layer after layer - led all the way by a character that I got to care about so deeply that when she was in danger I practically went blue from holding my breath. This was top notch stuff, and felt very much like the perfect recipe...but was it a fluke, or was Ms Edwards a master word-chef? Well her next full novel came out: “[b:Telepath 31300289 Telepath (Hive Mind, #1) Janet Edwards https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1469938072l/31300289.SY75.jpg 51967177]” and I wasn't exactly grabbed by the cover, but I really liked her other work, so I thought I'd give it a go... A minute after opening the book and I was grinning ear-to ear at the brilliant take on a classic SF scenario. A few minutes after that I was starting to realise that there was a lot more to it than I thought. Half way through I'd decided this was just brilliant. Three quarters through I was gasping at how epic everything had got, and by the end I was imploring the gods of reading for a sequel.Oh, and there was no love-triangle, but there was a well written and non-soppy romance which I thoroughly enjoyed - no cheese involved. Now after reading Scavenger Alliance I have decided that Ms Edwards is the bee's-knees. Some of her book covers look like they are aimed at younger adults (and I would seriously recommend them to anyone in that age range) but I would say anyone with an ounce of imagination and soul should find something to enjoy here.On 2nd Reading: I remembered that I loved this book. On second reading I realised that it was better than I remembered. There were so many subtle character details that added depth. Ms Edwards seems to have an abhorrence of 2D characters - somehow she manages to let you know that everyone has a reason for the way they are, even minor characters have details that make you feel that there is a fully rounded person there even if we don't have the opportunity to discover their whole backstory. I'm just itching to explore this world again and find out what happens to Blaze and her friends and to Major and Cage...On 3rd Reading: Even though I'd read this book two times before, I was still sucked right in and found myself trying to find spare moments to jump back into the story - and very reluctant to put the book down. I guess this is what they mean when they call a book captivating. I'm going straight into book 2 and really hoping for a book three sometime.