Book Log #42: Wanderlust, by Ann Aguirre

[annathepiper]

The second Sirantha Jax book by Ann Aguirre didn’t strike me with quite as much awesome as the first one–but that’s not to say that I didn’t like the book, because I did. Wanderlust picks up in the aftermath of Grimspace, with Jax and her beloved March being interrogated while the Confederacy scrambles to reorient after the shock wave of what happened in the first book. Now out of a formal job, Jax is offered the highly unlikely position of Ambassador to Ithiss-Tor, only to discover that there are powerful parties who will stop at nothing to keep her from pulling it off.

Here’s the thing though: once Jax actually accepts this job, much of the rest of the book isn’t about it at all. Rather, it’s about getting her to it, and revisiting the world that much of Book 1’s events took place on so that March a plot-relevant excuse to actually bail on Jax for a while. Which is all very action-packed and exciting to be sure, but that whole part of the plot worked a little too hard to convince me that March had torn apart his own soul because of the Horrors of War and Oh Noez! He’s Going to Have to Do It Again! Also, Oh Noez! There’s a new gorgeous guy who has Romantic Rival for March Written All Over Him! And, Oh Noez! March is going off to war because he thinks Jax doesn’t actually need him!

So all in all there was a little bit too much Oh Noez! for me, this time around. But it wasn’t badly written and I’m still absolutely interested in seeing how Jax manages to pull off working her way into actually knowing what she’s doing with this ambassador gig, which one presumes will start happening in earnest in Book 3. For this one, three stars.

Mirrored from annathepiper.org.

Comments

[denelian.livejournal.com]

heh,

i loved the first book so much - and this one, all it really did was confuse me. hours or days spent trapped underground while being assulted and running through the tunnels to escape and...

what? i think i need to re-read it, because i just realized i don't remember *why* all of that was happening - and i don't remember because when i read it, it didn't make sense, so i started just skimming until i got to something i understood again.

thanks for bring this back to my attention, though - i had forgotten about this series, which is sad because i totally *adored* the first and was originally waiting avidly for the third - until i forgoted all about it.

[annathepiper]

You're very welcome! I can see how it would have been easy to lose track of things in this book; hopefully Book 3 will be easier to follow.

[denelian.livejournal.com]

Pete has the first two - the second is sitting on my re-read after i am off oxycotin pile (i am convinced that my current problems with some books is *just* the damned narcotics. and, gods willing, i will be *off* of them by November)

[seimaisin.livejournal.com]

I had a lot of the same feelings about this book. The completely invented love triangle-that-wasn't irritated me, probably moreso because the first book was so good. It felt like Aguirre had plenty of dramatic plot points she could have worked with without resorting to the romantic rival fallback. That having been said, though, I love good space opera more than just about anything, and this series remains good!

[annathepiper]

Definitely still quite entertaining, yeah, and I will be all over Book 3. :)