For What It's Worth


Thursday, September 22, 2011

Review: Silver Shark by Ilona Andrews


Claire Shannon is a killer. She uses no weapons, only her mind.

Born on a planet locked in a long war, Claire is a psycher, a woman with the ability to attack minds and infiltrate a biological computer network where psychers battle to the death. But when the war abruptly ends, Claire must hide her psycher's ability to survive. She is deported to a new planet, a vivid beautiful place, where she meets Venturo Escana, a powerful psycher, whose presence overwhelms both her mind and her body.

She thought she had left war and death behind, but now she must fight for her new life and this battle might just cost her everything...

Note: Guest review by Tiger from All-Consuming Books

Review:
In this second novella of the Kinsmen series, Claire Shannon is a psycher on the planet of Uley. She has the ability to enter the bionet and attack the minds of other users who might be working for her enemies. But the two warring factions on Uley aren’t the standard land-greedy people groups: Uley is a mining planet colonized by two corporations who have been literally waging war on each other for almost 70 years. Claire isn’t really that much of a patriot; she simply has to work as a psychic soldier because she was born in the territory of one particular corporation. But when her side loses the war, Claire finds herself deported off-world and working as an administrative assistant for Venturo Escana, a powerful man who will likely kill her if he discovers that she’s a psycher.

Claire’s an incredibly talented woman, but most of the life and joy has been drained out of her by a lifetime of constant military service. On Uley, there is no such thing as recreation. Claire’s daily food is a tasteless substance consumed only for nutrition, her clothes are bland army-issued outfits, and her comrades aren’t allowed to have pets or even to keep a houseplant because it would be a waste of resources. In the city of New Delphi, though, the culture is totally flipped. The people wear bright colors, they laugh and sing, and though they’re serious about their work, they enjoy life as well. I love the differences in these two societies, because it makes the worldbuilding seem very real.

Venturo’s a great hero. Claire likes him right away, but she doesn’t think they could ever be involved because: 1. He’s her boss. 2. In her view, she’s quiet and mousy, unlike the lovely and vibrant women of her new city. 3. She’s a deadly psycher, just like Ven, and her life depends on keeping him in the dark about her real identity. Good stuff, yes? From Claire’s POV, we see what a great guy Ven is, how he has a volatile temper but he’s still the soul of kindness when it comes to handling his employees, clients, and family members.

In this novella, there’s action, mystery, romance, and humor, and it’s a pure pleasure to root for a strong heroine like Claire and hope that she’ll overcome all the obstacles surrounding her.

Rating: 4 of 4 stars

Karen here: I posted a mini review for Silent Blade, the first novella in the Kinsman Series here. If you're a fan of Ilona Andrews or want to get a feel for their writing style, which is rich in world building, give this one a try.

Thank you for the review Tiger!

Ilona Andrews: website, Blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
Buy the Book! Silent Blade (Book 1 Kinsman Series)
                         Silver Shark (Book 2 Kinsman Series)
Publisher: Samhain Publishing



3 comments:

  1. Wel what more I can, I'd read it :)

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  2. I have been following this book today and I thank you for sharing your review:)

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  3. I really need to get started on these books - both sound great. Especially one with a great hero type in it.

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