A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe

Although the beginning felt a little flat, and it took me a while to get past the inclusion of magic with the "hard" scifi elements, I'm glad I gave it a chance. Eventually, the story started to seem less formulaic, I came around to caring about the main characters, and I even started to enjoy the fact that when you've got magic in the mix, your space battles don't need to be so monochromatic. If you'd enjoy your space opera being a little gay and sparkly, give it a chance! Also, the ending of the story deals with political power and genocide, and has a satisfying denouement, so I wouldn't say it's pure fun romp. The writing of the action sequences is a particular strength of the author, I think.

It's a solid enough adventure story, and queer positive (which maybe I've become a little blasé about, but could make it very affirming for the right young adult). On the other hand the world of Expanse + Spells didn't really grab me. Maybe that's just me, but I want to be lied to a little bit, and have your magic pretend to be weird science.

I literally just finished this and I feel the immediacy of the writing should be reflected in the immediacy of reviewing. This was a rush, skipping along at pace from set piece to set piece. Basically, a wham-bam Hollywood action flick in novel form. A good one though, with actual characterisation and development. It is very American in its outlook, enjoyably so. A definite recommend and I will be pushing along with the rest of this series in due course.