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Grimspace
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Grimspace
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Grimspace
Audiobook9 hours

Grimspace

Written by Ann Aguirre

Narrated by Suzanna Duff

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

Unabridged, 9 hours

Read by Suzanna Duff

As the carrier of a rare gene, Jax has the ability to jump ships through grimspace-a talent that cuts into her life expectancy but makes her a highly prized navigator for the Corp. But then the ship she's navigating crash-lands, and she's accused of killing everyone on board. It's hard for Jax to defend herself: She has no memory of the crash.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateAug 2, 2010
ISBN9781101432297
Unavailable
Grimspace
Author

Ann Aguirre

ANN AGUIRRE is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author and RITA winner with a degree in English literature. She lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, and various pets. She likes books, emo music, and action movies. She writes all kinds of genre fiction for adults and teens, including the Razorland series and Like Never and Always.

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Reviews for Grimspace

Rating: 3.7110655225409834 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Tightly woven and moving at breakneck speed from page one, Grimspace is funny and fun. Aguirre writes a novel that would translate onto the big screen as a romantic comedy. March and Jax’s relationship has echoes of the Han and Leia relationship in Star Wars. While they begin their relationship hating one another, through a series of circumstances out of their control, a romantic relationship is built. It is a classic story of two people hating each other only to find they truly love each other when their relationship is really put to the test.Grimspace is the novel you have on your shelf when you need a little excitement, a little romance, but don’t want to work to hard to enjoy it.Full Review at Grasping for the Wind
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Fun girly Sci-Fi - Siri's got a special power, a traumatic recent past, and a FTL adventure and psychic romance.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is a good space adventure story. Not terrible, not excellent, but good.

    Sirantha Jax is a "jumper" who can find beacons in grimspace that help a ship travel from point A to point B the fast way. She has a troubled past, and is recruited by a badass crew who's mission is to research alien species to find ways to create jumpers that don't burn out, outside of Corp control. A really good concept, which lives up to about 60% of its potential thus far (there are sequels).

    The narrative voice is interesting and sharp, though also a bit dense/repetitive/unnatural sometimes.

    The characters of Sirantha, March and Dina are pretty cool, though the relationships are a bit rushed. Especially since we learn that Sirantha only just lost her lover/soulmate very recently.

    Overall, there are just things that niggle at you whilst reading, some scenes where I thought things were rushed/unnatural, where Sirantha's guilt was dialled up to the level of stupidity, where the word "fragging" is used too many times on one page. And I just didn't buy the ending, it felt fake and over the top to me. I think an extra hundred pages to develop things more would have really helped this book.

    Still, a good book, and a very quick and easy read.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I tried to read this book a couple of years ago when I saw it mentioned in an online discussion about the tv show Farscape: the poster compared the book's protagonist with the tv show's main female lead, which of course piqued my curiosity... Not being able to find this similarity, I abandoned the book in disappointment and would have forgotten about it if I had not recently read (and enjoyed) another novel by the same author, Enclave. This, together with the enthusiastic reviews from a blogger who has become a great source for additions to my reading list, compelled me to try again. Now I'm glad I did.

    In short, Sirantha Jax is a jumper, a space navigator who, thanks to a special gene, can interface with a ship and carry it across "grimspace", covering huge distances in a short time. At the beginning of the novel she awaits trial for the disaster that crashed her ship killing all hands on board, including her lover Kai. Jax is rescued from prison by a man who offers her freedom in exchange for cooperation in his project: breaking the Corporation's monopoly on the training and use of Jumpers. I leave the rest of the story for your own discovery….

    The book takes a while to get into gear (another reason I abandoned it back then) but when it does and the hints to a broader picture start to appear, it becomes quite interesting. The main character is a gritty heroine who defies the usual stereotypes of the genre (thankfully!): she's neither young nor strikingly beautiful, she has one hell of an attitude and, above all, she's massively flawed. Add to that the scars she's carrying, both physical and psychological, and you get a compelling protagonist – even if I didn't exactly like her, at least at the beginning, she offers an interesting mixture of strength and vulnerability, self-centeredness and capacity for sacrifice, her "better angels" coming to the fore as the story unfolds and we discover more about her and what makes her tick.

    The downside of it all – at least in this first book – is the sense that the author rushes a little through things, which prevents her from developing character arcs and situations at a believable pace. The main victim to this need for speed is the romantic side of the story: even though I knew from the start where a certain set of circumstance would lead, still I would have liked for that to happen over a longer stretch of time, especially considering the kind of emotional baggage Sirantha Jax has to deal with.

    The ending suffers a little from this same syndrome, and I believe that a slower pace would have served the story better, and yet if you let yourself go with the tide and manage to silence your inner critic, this becomes a very enjoyable and entertaining read. And sometimes that's more than enough...
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is the first book in the Sirantha Jax series. There are six books in this series and they have all been released. This was an okay book; I liked some of the witty banter between characters but didn’t like some of the story elements and the way the main heroine constantly over-explained things.I listened to this on audiobook and wasn’t a huge fan of the narration. Duff has a high pitched voice that made Sirantha sound little-girl like. When Duff did male voices they were kind of shrill and I had to turn down the volume on the audiobook because the male voices physically hurt my ears. So, I wouldn’t recommend listening to this on audiobook.In general the ideas in here were pretty typical Sci-Fi. Jax has a special gene that basically lets her travel through Grimspace (Grimspace seems to be similar to worm holes)....Farscape anyone? Jax is struggling after her lover/pilot/guide was killed in a wreck that Jax was blamed for. She’s been rescued by a rebel crew to serve as their Jumper; these rebels are trying to start up a group of non-corporate owned Jumpers so that they can move trade from corporate to more private.Jax is an okay heroine; she is rash and makes a lot of the same poor decisions over and over. She also tends to state the obvious and over-explain things to the reader. The other characters were similarly flawed and I didn’t really engage with any of them very well. Additionally I thought the way the story was tied up was a bit contrived and hokey.Overall this was an okay, but not great, sci-fi novel. It’s very urban fantasy in pace and tone and reuses a lot of sci-fi themes that have already been explored. I wasn’t super engaged in it and don’t plan on continuing the series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Sirantha Jax is not technically regarded as a prisoner for the Corporation but might as well be. She's a jumper, able to navigate spaceships through Grimspace to reach their destination. Unfortunately her last mission ended disastrously as the ship she was responsible for crash landed on a planet killing over 80 people, many of whom were high level diplomats on their way to an important conference. Her pilot/lover was also amongst the dead as Jax herself was the only survivor but is unable to recall what exactly happened in the final moments before the crash. Ensconced in a psych ward and forced to endure the events she does remember over and over again through dream therapy, Jax is given an opportunity to escape when a mysterious stranger offers her a route out of her current predicament. Obviously he's going to want something in return but will it be more than Jax can pay? March is his name and he and his crew want to break the monopoly that the Corp has on interstellar travel and Jax is instrumental in that plan.This is an extremely fast paced story, starting at breakneck speed and only increasing from then on with only a slight pause in the middle of the ride for the reader to catch their breath. The fact that there's no real hard science to get to grips with also makes this a very easy book to read. Character's are fine, starting out a little generic but there is some development as the story progresses. I think the romance develops really quickly but when two people are able to get inside each others heads then that can be readily explained. Despite the frenetic pace of the story the world-building is also quite strong. While there is some obvious info-dumping this is also handled quite well with Sirantha Jax being quite a naive person despite her extensive travels as a jumper but adapts to her new situation. While the ending is a little abrupt it's better than stretching out the story too much just for the sake of it. It's the first in a series and one which I'd happily spend more time with the characters that remain.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I've been long meaning to bite into the science fiction genre and I'd chosen Grimspace to cut my teeth on. I chose a series knowing it would prolong an experiment.I wouldn't call Grimspace a "light" read, but it was certainly entertaining. It might just be me, but there was some slang that had me confused, but despite that I whisked through the book wondering the closer I got to the back cover how such a huge story would be wrapped up. I think Aguirre was maybe too ambitious with this first book, trying to fit far too much into one novel. The breakneck pace of the novel keeps you engaged but kind of leaves some important things behind. Like some of the characters, for instance; They're vivid and engaging and I'm sorry that the quick turning of the pages cut some of their time short. The characters are also to blame for my forgiving a rather devious plot stretch :(possible spoiler) I still wonder that no one seemed suspicious of the "Corp" once the purpose of the conference is revealed; It's one of those glaringly obvious things you have to sit through as a reader while the characters plod on obliviously. If the cover didn't prove it, this series is obviously geared toward the ladies. There's some very nice sexual tension and romantic banter, but I'm glad to say that this was hardly the main focus of the plot, merely some spice for flavor.I'm new to the genre, but even I can say this is not a perfect novel, it has some troubles, but it's so entertaining that these can be overlooked. I'm looking forward to the followup.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Jax carries a rare gene that allows her to basically jump through space- have you seen Star Wars? She has the ability to become a hyper drive for a space ship. This makes her valuable as people with her ability burn out and die fast.On her last jump something went horribly wrong and the government for which she works has imprisoned her. The only thing is, she can't remember what happened on her last jump. All she knows is that she crashed and that she lost someone very close to her.Enter March and his space crew. They've come to rescue her- but not for altogether altruistic reasons. They need her.Jax, being no dummy, accepts his help and they bust her out of jail.Perhaps saying that March is not being altruistic is a misnomer, he does ultimately have the good of the people in mind- but does the ends justify the means? Because if Jax goes along with his plan- she may just lose her life.I enjoyed this book and read it in one day! From the time I opened the cover, I was hooked!It's not without it's issues however. Often I felt like the author was leaning very heavily on things we've already seen- Star Wars, Pitch Black, Firefly- at some point while reading this novel I felt twinges of all these storylines.But what she does well- the characters and their motivations- she does real well!I also liked that she didn't talk down to us... If you've been around sci fi/fantasy as long as I have- you don't need someone to spell out what The Butterfly Effect is or what Occam's Razor is- Spock did that just fine over 30 years ago. Anyway- Aguire did it right. I.E. she used the terms correctly- and in passing.I was wary of Aguire's heroine at first- some authors try to do smart ass and just come off annoying- fortunately she walked the fine line and Jax grew on me! It was March who made the book for me though. He knew right away Jax was his but he also was strong enough kept her on edge. They were a great match!All and all, a fun read!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Sirantha Jax has a genetic mutation which makes her one of the few people who can navigate through deep space, called grimspace, which means she’s an in-demand spaceship navigator. Her spaceship crashes and she loses her memory, which means she has to meet all of her crewmates again, and is blamed for the crash but can’t defend herself. Then there’s some conspiracy stuff.Not a good space opera; not a good romance. Too complicated but not interesting enough to keep my attention, even in audio. It’s dated down to the minute - space of the future has marriage for straight couples but state-recognized civil unions for gay couples - slutshame-y, and includes a few instances of the ableist r-slur. The romance was not particularly compelling and felt shoehorned in. The most enjoyable parts were when Jax was re-meeting her crewmates that she already loved, but I can read Becky Chambers for that. The audiobook narrator was fine.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Solid book, and my favorite character was an alien who appeared quite near the end. I really liked the world, so I may continue the series even though I found this story a tiny bit predictable.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    WOW! What an awesome start to a series. It pulled me in and never let up. Jax is a heroine you want to hug and hit. Sometimes at the same time. This future world is different yet recognizable. I got a big flashback to Firefly while reading this. I can't wait for them to explore other worlds. Aguirre left so many nuggets along the way I have to keep reading! What's the deal with the L-gene? What about the other worlds they were supposed to visit? Will we see Keri again? Will the lizard people find out Jax and company stole their baby and want revenge?

    The only thing I didn't enjoy was March. He's the standard broken alpha male hero and I really roll my eyes when they show up these days. Nothing wrong with him but nothing to make him memorable either.

    After a series of bland reads I was really happy to end up in Grimspace.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    bad fit of sci fi and romance. doesn't really work.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I've been long meaning to bite into the science fiction genre and I'd chosen Grimspace to cut my teeth on. I chose a series knowing it would prolong an experiment.I wouldn't call Grimspace a "light" read, but it was certainly entertaining. It might just be me, but there was some slang that had me confused, but despite that I whisked through the book wondering the closer I got to the back cover how such a huge story would be wrapped up. I think Aguirre was maybe too ambitious with this first book, trying to fit far too much into one novel. The breakneck pace of the novel keeps you engaged but kind of leaves some important things behind. Like some of the characters, for instance; They're vivid and engaging and I'm sorry that the quick turning of the pages cut some of their time short. The characters are also to blame for my forgiving a rather devious plot stretch :(possible spoiler) I still wonder that no one seemed suspicious of the "Corp" once the purpose of the conference is revealed; It's one of those glaringly obvious things you have to sit through as a reader while the characters plod on obliviously. If the cover didn't prove it, this series is obviously geared toward the ladies. There's some very nice sexual tension and romantic banter, but I'm glad to say that this was hardly the main focus of the plot, merely some spice for flavor.I'm new to the genre, but even I can say this is not a perfect novel, it has some troubles, but it's so entertaining that these can be overlooked. I'm looking forward to the followup.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Good light read with another indomitable heroine.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Okay, so Sirantha made up for the little phrasing that pissed me off by being just as pissed off. :D

    I liked this book! Some of it was a bit too obvious (the relationships) but the ideas are fresh and the writing was humorous and entertaining. Sirantha's emotions draw you in and make you become invested in her.

    I'll read the next one :)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It's sort of like if remake Starbuck met up with the crew of Serenity and they went on a trip to a galaxy far, far away. So that maybe gave it an extra half or whole star. The first two-thirds was awesome but then the pacing and plotting kinda fell apart a little. Great sexual tension but then insta-ovathatop-love. When there's going to be six books in a series, there's a whole lot of range for building a complex and meaningful relationship, without "you've been in my head, you get me, I now love you forever and ever". Similarly, the plot's conflict wraps up all of a sudden in an awkward manner that should have been explored over several instalments. It's like if Serenitythe movie was the third episode of the tv show, or Captain Adama figured out who all the cylons were in episode 1. Beating the bad guys who run the galaxy is the whole point so it just happening all of a sudden in a really easy manner is very anticlimactic. Like, really, no one else had ever thought to make a video about something they did wrong? That can really topple an all-powerful corporation? . Damn now I'm talking myself out of 4 stars! It was an enjoyable read though, and I love a female character who drinks, swears, sleeps around and punches dudes in the face.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Turns out I don't much like big-strong-man-vulnerable-girl romantic fiction, even if it's in a spaceship. Who'd have thought?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I did not see the ending coming. I like the detailed, expansive world Aguirre has built. I want to read more about many of the things that were mentioned in passing. I also like that there's a well-drawn lesbian character. I'm not sure how I feel about the relationship between Jax and March -- is it the gradual blossoming of something between two broken people pushed together by circumstance? or a forced and unnecessary romance subplot? I waffle on this by the minute.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I have a feeling Grimspace deserved more stars than I gave it but I don't read sci-fi, I watch it so this was a completely new experience for me.

    It took me a while to grasp the jargon which reminded me of Star Trek and also the style of writing which dumps us inside Sirantha's mind, experiencing her every thought and emotion. At times this is completely disorientating, Sirantha's suffered an enormous amount of trauma, both physically and mentally but she handles it with extraordinary strength and macabre humour, only the occasional psychological breakdown hamper her progress as she deals with her past and present but she learns from each and every one.

    In many cases, it's March that keeps Sirantha alive and kicking. His telepathy keeps him informed of her paranoid and suicidal thoughts so he can interrupt them but he can also provide hilarious commentary on her less fatalistic ones too. The relationship between them is a reluctant one but their need for each other is obvious.

    In general, the crew reminded me of Joss Whedon's TV show Firefly and it's more popular incarnation, the movie Serenity with the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants good-natured space pirates. However the Reavers bore a resemblance to the Teras in the book, striking fear in the hearts of those they come in contact with...before eating them.

    A lot of bad shit happens in this book and you can't blame Sirantha for thinking it's her, that she's "bad luck, bad ju-ju". She attracts trouble like it's going out of style. Many people die around her and as they fall a little piece of Sirantha dies too. It's a heavy load to carry and it's difficult to read without feeling depressed, the ending was the only thing that saved it from being a completely "hopeless" book.

    A very dark and gritty read, which I'd recommend to those who think they're strong enough to handle it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Super entertaining. If you enjoy Linnea Sinclair' work or the Star Doc series I recommend giving this novel a whirl. Did think it could have ended a little sooner than it did, kinda dragged a little at the end. But, pretty cool start to the series. 4 1/2 stars.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    3.5 stars. Really good, whole lotta grammar issues.

    The characters are the real draw here. The world, but not the plot (generally), feels kind of borrowed from Star Wars. The first three-quarters move at a nice pace, and the first several chapters in particular are incredibly exciting, but the ending feels rushed and doesn't have quite as strong an impact as I think was intended.

    I've already bought book 2; this is a fun summer series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I liked this book more than expected, really enjoyed everything about it, the characters, world, & storyline. Cannot wait to read more of the series!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    It was interesting. I liked the space opera aspect more than the romance. I'm not against romance, there's just some tropes in there I don't like and some of them were in here.

    The writing could be improved. Not that I want to be led by the hand as a reader, but I want to be led by the hand. One character giving another character a look, and I have a billion guesses as to how to interpret it, where if she'd just inserted the word 'interested', I would've totally gotten it. And a lot of characters are introduced early on, and I had to read back to figure out who the heck Carl was. I think it was Carl. So just things like that. A little help please. I don't know your thought processes. If I read enough of her books, it would probably get easier.

    I didn't appreciate the ableist language. It got hard to ignore with like the third or fourth metaphor. Or I guess simile. Or analogy. Well, whatever, they were there.

    Typos increased near the end.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book was my first of a sub-genre called, “Space Opera.” It had been recommended to me by NoveList Plus, one of the databases at work. Sirantha Jax, the heroine (even though she wouldn’t classify herself as one), is rescued from the Corp by March, the captain of the Folly. Jax has a special gift – she’s a jumper – a sort of special in-flight navigator who uses Grimspace to plot routes throughout the galaxy. There are not many non-Corp jumpers, and March wants Jax to teach others in a new Academy. But the Corp isn’t willing to let Jax go, so the hunt begins which sends Jax and her new crew on new adventures and exploits in this action packed novel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    **No spoilers or rehash.

    I LOOOOVED THIS BOOK.

    This book was full of fun, hilarity, action, & romance. From the first word, it was non-stop. I’m a huge Firefly fan and this brought me right back to that, but in no way is it a knockoff. This book is gritty and no holds barred. I’m a Lois McMaster Bujold fan and have been for some time, but it’s been a long while since I picked up a sci-fi book. Grimspace was a sort of coming home for me - a few chapters in and I was all “ahhhhh”. Like slipping into a warm bath – replete with assassins, bounty hunters, spaceships, aliens, and molecular displacers. FUN.

    Sirantha is my kind of heroine. She reminds me of Kate Daniels and I so love Kate Daniels. Sirantha is similarly snarky in her comments and inner dialogue, but likeable. She’s cutthroat, but has a heart of gold – even though she doesn’t always think so. She’s definitely the type to act first and ask questions later, but she’s smart and savvy. She’s flawed and she makes her mistakes, but they’re believable, unlike so many other “flawed” heroines that authors try so lamely to write. Sirantha makes a few bad choices and while you want to shake her, you can simultaneously understand where she’s coming from. She realizes that she doesn’t really know herself and lucky for us, we get to join in on her quest to find herself. I’m loving and rooting for her.

    Aside from a kickass heroine, there is a plot. An actual, real plot and it doesn’t suck. I found myself feeling anxious and on the edge of my seat throughout the book. While there are slower parts that allow you to take a breather from the action, there’s a lot going on and I found myself dying to get back to reading after every break. Great book and I’m super-excited to see where all of this is heading.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    8/11: Re-read #1, after finishing AFTERMATH I had to come back and revisit where it all started. March and Jax have an explosive start, I hard forgotten most details other than their meeting (which always reminded me of the "rescuing Leia scene from Star Wars"). I completely forgot how Vel appears, though I have a minor beef about him showing up in his ex-wife's attic without turning a hair, given the story as told in AFTERMATH. It's a small universe, I guess.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    One star for originality but four and a half stars for plot and character development. Heroine is a smart-mouthed, "don't tell me what to do," amazing at her job but on the run navigator who is one of only a few people who can do what she does because of a special gene. She has recently suffered a devastating loss. Love interest is at turns tender and dangerous, just and immoral. People In Charge are out to get her, she keeps messing up, has difficulty trusting, but her friends are loyal and love her anyway. Sound familiar? But Aguirre handles it well and I couldn't put the book down. My one complaint is that too many place and people names are taken from other books or sound-alikes. I have to add that this gene can't be that rare because anyone who looks like she does has it and she looks like my sister. (Does that mean I have it, too? Excellent.)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I felt kind of like I was reading portions of Battlestar Galactica (maybe mixing in a little ST, The Matrix and Stargate) as a book--and I mean that as a total compliment. I enjoyed the space drama and the descriptions of the universe and the ships they flew, as well as the descriptions of jacking in to grimspace and sharing experiences.

    My one major gripe was with the description of the main characters. Obviously every character has flaws--I get it--but if you keep trying to make a character sound like she is hideous (old, skinny, covered in burn scars, crazy hair, etc.) why the heck would I want to read about her getting it on? I had a hard time picturing what basically all of characters looked like.

    However, the story, sense of humor and dialogue were great. I am definitely going to keep reading this series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    4.5 stars.

    i sincerely wish i could remember what individual or book group recommended this to me, because it's absolutely all it was cracked up to be. a dark, edgy heroine (she carries the ultimately fatal gene necessary for interstellar travel that allows her to manipulate in-between-space, so she's rarer and more valuable than imaginable, yet fatalistically damaged) zips all over known space with a rogue's gallery of off-the-grid mercs to figure out why the company that trained her gave out her burn notice. a cracking good adventure tale with a touch of romance, swarthy pirates, buggy aliens, and a light hand with social commentary thrown in to boot.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I rarely like stories told from the first person viewpoint, but Grimspace is the exception to my rule. I enjoyed most the character development of Jax, the protagonist. It's a no-holds barred look at her as a "rock star" jump navigator, accused mass murderer, psych ward patient/victim, fugitive, coward and finally almost martyred.

    Oddly, the romance between March and Jax or Kai, her dead pilot, and Jax, didn't sit well with me. Even though March and Jax supposedly connected psychically, I wasn't convinced of their attachment, yearning, or love.

    The action and mystery are well done and the pay off at the end is satisfactory. It almost qualifies as a space opera.