This book seems to have been written while the author watched various sci-fi movies. It appears to be a mix of "Riddick", "Dune", and "Star Wars" and you can almost tell where she was in each movie as she wrote. There is the possibility of a good plot in the prologue, but the author drops the ball in the 1st chapter with her "Pitch Black" tribute where the female lead, Lilly, meets the bound and blind-folded male lead, Shaun Phoenix, on a transport ship. He's already in cryo-sleep yet his subconcious mind is (gasp) aware! By the way, this Riddick-wanna-be also has the ability to see in the dark with his eerie silver eyes.
"Dune" is also referenced here as Lilly's home planet, Oasis, just so happens to supply most of the food for the known galaxy ("he who controls the food (spice?) controls the universe!") as well as when we discover her mother's planet of origin is Circe, ruled by women with amazing powers of the mind and who are only allowed to give birth to females (all males must be killed since they don't know what sort of powers a male Circe might have... hmmm). The surroundings aren't described in overpowering detail, Colby only gives you enough information to build your own mental image (which I actually prefer. I, personally, don't like being overwhelmed with the author's image. I like to "see" my own)
There are pages when the author actually writes her own story instead of borrowing ideas from others (she carries off the evolution of the main characters' love interest convincingly and the best friend is neither overpowering nor a mere after-thought), but not enough to actually distract you from the echos of previous books and/or movies. Colby Hodge has the ability to be a good author, she can hold your attention, she just needs to learn to write as herself.

those who don't mind a series of repeated "deja vu" moments.

the reveal of who Shaun really is. It's not a huge surprise, but Colby handles the discovery well.

the reworking of other sci-fi story plots into her own.

return it. It wasn't really worth the price, even WalMarts' price.

slightly cheated and waiting for more, although the ending made me chuckle.

has potential.

true sci-fi aficionados will be disappointed with the non-originality of the story line. If you're going to read it, borrow it from the library

When the 1st page of a new authors' book says "Advance Praise For..." it's probably a strong hint the "praiser" is a good friend. I've not read anything written by Susan Grant (author of "The Scarlet Empress") and her name is unfamiliar to me (maybe someone with more knowledge of sci-fi authors than I can tell us about her) so her "pre-praise" carries little weight. And,either Colby Hodges' editor needs to brush up on his/her knowledge of already published stories or he/she needs to actually read the books of their authors before they publish them.

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Created Apr 28, 2005 at 2:50am • Submit your own review...