GRIMSPACE by Ann Aguirre
Title: Grimspace
Author: Ann Aguirre
Publication Info: Ace Science Fiction, Feb 2008
Genre: Science Fiction with romantic elements
Rating: <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
A spectacular debut novel! This action-packed deep space thriller has luscious world building and enough romance to keep both sci-fi fans and romance readers happy.
Plot:
Sirantha Jax has a rare gene that allows her to navigate space ships through the Grimspace – bending time and space to allow them to reach their destination in a fraction of the time. (If you’ve read a Wrinkle in Time – think Tesseract.) Most Jumpers burn out after ten years, but Jax has lasted longer than anyone predicted. It’s the only thing she’s been lucky in.
The ship she’s navigating crash lands with a congregation of delegates onboard–killing everyone but Jax. Jax is arrested and imprisoned. She doesn’t remember what happened, but she knows she isn’t at fault despite what her employer, the Corp, tries to tell her. She is broken out of jail by a mercenary (March) who wants to build a new school for Jumpers in direct opposition to the monopolistic Corp. His team takes Jax to a number of inhospitable outskirt planets hoping to find unregistered Jumpers with alien genes.
The Corp announces that Jax and crew are dangerous terrorists who murdered the delegation and have blown up a number of space stations. Jax must discover why the Corp is trying to kill her before the Corp’s bounty-hunters complete the job. They’re not the only things trying to kill her. Everywhere she goes, destruction follows. There’s no one she can trust, no one who hasn’t tried to use her for their own ends. Jax is determined to live – but she might finally have found a cause worth dying for.
Discussion:
This is one of the best debut novels I’ve ever read. I often hear agents and editors talk about the importance of “Voice.” Ms. Aguirre hits that ball out of the park. Her narrator comes vividly alive through her language and word choice. Her eloquent descriptions paint a thrilling, enthralling world that the reader can almost reach out and touch. She isn’t afraid to tackle big themes or kill off secondary characters. The novel has a gritty, hard edge that I often find missing in dark books. (And movies. Terminator: Salvation should have had this edge, but for some unknown reason all the secondary characters lived happily ever after in what should have been a dark, gritty movie. What gives?) Thank you, Ms. Aguirre for killing off your non-protagonists. THAT’S WHAT THEY’RE THERE FOR. I can’t believe the main character is in danger if no one but the bad guy dies.
I really appreciated how Jax struggles to do the right thing. I believed her character. Her transformation was much more powerful and believable because the reader sees her struggle. When she finally finds something worth dying for, I know how important it is because I’ve seen her naturally self-serving tendencies. Human beings are naturally selfish. Her actions are realistic. (Unlike every character in Terminator: Salvation.)
I am eager to read more by Ms. Aguirre. WANDERLUST and BLUE DIABLO are next on my TBR list!
