Dear Ms. Aguirre,
I don't read Science Fiction as a habit, but was intrigued by both the synopsis and the reviews comparing your novel to Joss Whedon's Firefly, a favorite T.V. show in my home. So, the same day an ARC of Grimspace arrived in the mail courtesy of Jane of DearAuthor.com, I started reading it, eager to throw myself into the futeristic universe you have created.
I really enjoyed the fast pace of the novel, with weeks of slow space travel skimmed over in two short sentences. While in some novels, I might miss the details, in Grimspace it added to the feelings of unadulterated boredom and tension that the crew suffers duing these time spans. The idea of navigators and pilots was very interesting to me and I throughly enjoyed the intricacies presented within this symbiotic relationship. Especially, it was excellent to see the vast differences between Sirantha's relationship and experiences with the two different pilots she flies with over the course of her life. To me, this was a superb way of showing how Sirantha has changed and matured from the teenager she was when she began navigating for the Corp, and the adult woman she has become by the time she encounters March.
Sirantha Jax is a sympathetic protagonist throughout the novel and it is easy to get caught up in her story from page one of the novel. However, as the novel progressed, I found myself less drawn to Sirantha, and more intrigued by the secondary characters. I found myself hoping for more about them, and less about Sirantha and her brainwashing at the hands of the Corp. To be frank, I was not impressed by the brainwashing plotline at all, which along with her anguished scenes while learning the truth, seemed very forced to me. I consistently found it difficult to grasp how Sirantha could have been employed by the Corp for thirteen years, fully believing them to be doing good in the universe and having no idea of the atrocities they commit, and yet could turn against them almost instantly on just the claims of several rogue fighters she has just met.
Likewise, I found the romance plot with March somewhat lacking and found it, at times, to appear to be based on physical attraction and steamy sex alone. While there is a friendship established between March and Sirantha prior to any romantic elements, I felt as though their relationship reeked of Stockholm Syndrome for at least the first two thirds of the book.
Of the entire novel, my favourite parts were the scenes in which the reader learns about the crew and their respective pasts. These scenes were rare at best though, and novel could have benefited from more background information on March, Mair, Keri, and a few of the other secondary characters. For instance, it is said that March has done horrible things in his past, but it's left up to the reader's imagination what he's actually done. Is he being too hard on himself and suffering from self-imposed guilt, or was he truly a violent animal, a straight-ip cold-blooded killer as he implies? Without more information, it was hard to tell.
Similarly, I felt like the Science Fiction aspects required more descriptions. I felt as though Sirantha's universe was constantly shaping and changing around her, as you created more aliens and creatures for her to encounter. The aliens were all described as creatures Sirantha had either heard about or encountered in the past, so few descriptions were given to the reader. Also, the descriptions of Grimspace were lacking for me. Descriptions of bright colours and mentions of Sirantha's inability to describe her experiences in Grimspace to anyone but another navigator, were not sufficient for me and frankly came across as your own inability as an author to pen her perceptions of navigating. Since the book was written in first person, from Sirantha's perspective, I thought more would have been needed to give the reader a similar sense of the awe, wonder, and amazement that Sirantha feels in navigating.
In spite of the challenges I had with the writing of a few aspects of your novel, by the time I finished the book, I was dissapointed not to immediately have another 300 pages (or more!) to read about Sirantha and March. B for this one. I look forward to your upcoming release of Wanderlust in September 2008, which looks to continue the story of Sirantha Jax.
Best regards,
Caitie
