Scan barcode
erdicooper's review
5.0
Why did I wait so long?
This book was fantastic! Somehow, the story never seemed to linger for too long at any point, and yet it managed to give every character (in a pretty big cast, for the story's lengthy) strong, defining moments for the reader to grab hold of!
I could go on about all of them (especially Chad, my favorite one of all), but this is Rebecca's story, right? I loved how genuinely she didn't want to be the hero of a space adventure. It wasn't played off as a gag, and she isn't whining the entire time about the plot making her be "more than she is" or anything like that. The story, instead, acknowledges this sort of character and instead delves into what that would lead to.
I NEED the next one.
This book was fantastic! Somehow, the story never seemed to linger for too long at any point, and yet it managed to give every character (in a pretty big cast, for the story's lengthy) strong, defining moments for the reader to grab hold of!
I could go on about all of them (especially Chad, my favorite one of all), but this is Rebecca's story, right? I loved how genuinely she didn't want to be the hero of a space adventure. It wasn't played off as a gag, and she isn't whining the entire time about the plot making her be "more than she is" or anything like that. The story, instead, acknowledges this sort of character and instead delves into what that would lead to.
I NEED the next one.
barb4ry1's review
4.0
I definitely read too little sci-fi and it's a shame as the books in the genre tend to engage me strongly. In short, Traitor was great. I devoured the book in two sittings.
The story develops after Obama's presidency is ended by an invasion from outer space. While I'm not American, it sounds like a valid historical account. Anyway, the book can be described as a Space Opera - there's a conflict, things blow and get messy.
On the other hand, in Traitor we don't follow a typical heroine. The story protagonist Rebecca St. Martin is not a hero or a martyr. She's a coward. She's just a woman who wants to live as long as possible despite her life being shitty. She's at the very bottom of her existence. She's depressed and moves through the station like a drone.
Why?
Well, she's a traitor. She decided to collaborate with the invaders and betrayed human race. Additionally, her family died and a woman she loved and wanted to marry cheated on her. Their relationship ended and it seems Kat died at the beginning of the invasion.
Also, and that's just my theory, there's no coffee in this world. There's just no way people can be happy in such a savage world.
Surprisingly, though, it's not a depressive book. There's plenty of humor, creative swearing and genitalia comments. Sure, we know and feel Rebecca's on the verge of a nervous breakdown but it simply doesn't obturate the plot.
And the plot is good, though quite straightforward and simple. And really fast. It doesn't develop. It races ahead. As long as you like mundanity :) I can see that some readers will describe the first half of the book as slow, but I burned through it fast. I love such intimate and cameral storytelling. In the second half of the book, secret identities are revealed, things explode and then there's sort of a cliffhanger.
For me, the characterization was done well. I could relate to Rebecca and care for her. As I've never been a depressive kind of person, I can't say if her state is described with enough gravity. Truth be told, I didn't focus that much on her pained existence but rather on following a rebellion through the eyes of a regular, troubled person who's forced to become involved in a conflict she would rather avoid.
Katherine and Zain were a bit one dimensional but still easy to imagine and dislike. I really like Mav and I hope I'll learn more about him in the future.
Overall, I really liked this book and I'll definitely read the sequel.
The story develops after Obama's presidency is ended by an invasion from outer space. While I'm not American, it sounds like a valid historical account. Anyway, the book can be described as a Space Opera - there's a conflict, things blow and get messy.
On the other hand, in Traitor we don't follow a typical heroine. The story protagonist Rebecca St. Martin is not a hero or a martyr. She's a coward. She's just a woman who wants to live as long as possible despite her life being shitty. She's at the very bottom of her existence. She's depressed and moves through the station like a drone.
Why?
Well, she's a traitor. She decided to collaborate with the invaders and betrayed human race. Additionally, her family died and a woman she loved and wanted to marry cheated on her. Their relationship ended and it seems Kat died at the beginning of the invasion.
Also, and that's just my theory, there's no coffee in this world. There's just no way people can be happy in such a savage world.
Surprisingly, though, it's not a depressive book. There's plenty of humor, creative swearing and genitalia comments. Sure, we know and feel Rebecca's on the verge of a nervous breakdown but it simply doesn't obturate the plot.
And the plot is good, though quite straightforward and simple. And really fast. It doesn't develop. It races ahead. As long as you like mundanity :) I can see that some readers will describe the first half of the book as slow, but I burned through it fast. I love such intimate and cameral storytelling. In the second half of the book, secret identities are revealed, things explode and then there's sort of a cliffhanger.
For me, the characterization was done well. I could relate to Rebecca and care for her. As I've never been a depressive kind of person, I can't say if her state is described with enough gravity. Truth be told, I didn't focus that much on her pained existence but rather on following a rebellion through the eyes of a regular, troubled person who's forced to become involved in a conflict she would rather avoid.
Katherine and Zain were a bit one dimensional but still easy to imagine and dislike. I really like Mav and I hope I'll learn more about him in the future.
Overall, I really liked this book and I'll definitely read the sequel.
tome15's review
3.0
Ball, Krista D. Traitor. Collaborator No. 1. Kindle, 2017.
Krista D. Ball is an indie writer of science fiction and fantasy with some pretty good character chops. Her protagonist, Rebecca, makes a deal to save her family from alien humans from outside the solar system. She is ostracized by her own community and finds herself doing indentured labor on a mining station on one of Jupiter’s moons. It is a grim joint. But when her old girlfriend shows up undercover, we learn that the other side is no more humane than the aliens. The action is fast, and the world-building is OK, but there are a lot of details left hanging. 3.5 stars..
Krista D. Ball is an indie writer of science fiction and fantasy with some pretty good character chops. Her protagonist, Rebecca, makes a deal to save her family from alien humans from outside the solar system. She is ostracized by her own community and finds herself doing indentured labor on a mining station on one of Jupiter’s moons. It is a grim joint. But when her old girlfriend shows up undercover, we learn that the other side is no more humane than the aliens. The action is fast, and the world-building is OK, but there are a lot of details left hanging. 3.5 stars..
edwindownward's review
5.0
This is my first SciFi from Krista and she's more than lived up to the promise carried over from her Fantasy works.
pearlc's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
happenstance's review
5.0
I loved everything about this book, but I especially loved Rebecca as a character. I also loved the intrigue and suspense of the world Krista's created here - it's so familiar and alien all at once.
This isn't a light and fluffy space adventure; Rebecca struggles with depression and self-loathing, and she's got little to no interest in being a hero. My favourite thing about her is that I could easily picture myself in her shoes.
While it's a grimdark kind of story, there are moments of hope and cheer, and it makes me look forward to the second book a great deal.
This isn't a light and fluffy space adventure; Rebecca struggles with depression and self-loathing, and she's got little to no interest in being a hero. My favourite thing about her is that I could easily picture myself in her shoes.
While it's a grimdark kind of story, there are moments of hope and cheer, and it makes me look forward to the second book a great deal.
errantdreams's review
5.0
Krista D. Ball’s Traitor (Collaborator Book 1) posits a world in which alien contact happens on Earth–only to find out they’ve been here before (a loooong time ago), and that the aliens are biologically human. The Coalition of Planets quickly overpowers and conquers most of Earth. Rebecca St. Martin reacted the way most of us would when she was seized by the newcomers: she panicked and froze. When they offered to protect her family in return for her training to work on one of their bases, of course she agreed, even though it means most people think of her as a traitor. She works from day-to-day scraping by in a very meager existence. Then one day, Captain Amelia Andrewson comes to the station and sends Rebecca to work on the security systems in the secret prison below the base. Rebecca makes an excellent patsy for the Captain, who’s actually a resistance member with forged credentials. Unfortunately the black ops equivalent of the Coalition already has Rebecca under surveillance, putting Andrewson’s op at risk. Andrewson’s goal is to rescue a group of rebels who are being interrogated in the prison, and once Rebecca gets a look at what’s happening to those prisoners, she starts thinking that maybe it’s time she stepped up.
It’s fascinating to for once see everything from the point of view of someone who isn’t a hero. She’s timid. She panics easily and freezes whenever something bad happens. She’s afraid to stand up to people. It’s all too easy for Andrewson to manipulate her and push her into a position where she’ll very clearly take the heat when things go down. I really like her as a character, and she’s such an unusual “heroine” for a sci-fi novel.
There are other fascinating characters as well. The resistance’s bomb-making expert, Tobi Rowe, is wonderfully snarky. Maverick (and his crew of captured resistance members) fights back against the torture with his sense of humor. Zain Ravi, one of Rebecca’s co-workers, is uncomfortably pushy and interested in Rebecca, with fairly obvious sexual motives. A few other characters demonstrate that not everyone in the Coalition is a bad guy.
There are currently two other books in the series, and I look forward to finding out more about the alien cultures. The fact that the aliens share a family tree with humans is a great excuse to make the military base kind of homey and familiar. That’s nicely done. There’s also some sort of war going on over whether implants and genetic modifications are deemed to be acceptable; Rebecca’s body rejects implants, so she doesn’t have any. I’m hoping to learn more about that, too, in the other books. Certainly I like this volume enough that I plan to read the rest!
Content note for suicide, depression, and mostly off-the-page torture.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2020/08/review-traitor-krista-d-ball/
It’s fascinating to for once see everything from the point of view of someone who isn’t a hero. She’s timid. She panics easily and freezes whenever something bad happens. She’s afraid to stand up to people. It’s all too easy for Andrewson to manipulate her and push her into a position where she’ll very clearly take the heat when things go down. I really like her as a character, and she’s such an unusual “heroine” for a sci-fi novel.
There are other fascinating characters as well. The resistance’s bomb-making expert, Tobi Rowe, is wonderfully snarky. Maverick (and his crew of captured resistance members) fights back against the torture with his sense of humor. Zain Ravi, one of Rebecca’s co-workers, is uncomfortably pushy and interested in Rebecca, with fairly obvious sexual motives. A few other characters demonstrate that not everyone in the Coalition is a bad guy.
There are currently two other books in the series, and I look forward to finding out more about the alien cultures. The fact that the aliens share a family tree with humans is a great excuse to make the military base kind of homey and familiar. That’s nicely done. There’s also some sort of war going on over whether implants and genetic modifications are deemed to be acceptable; Rebecca’s body rejects implants, so she doesn’t have any. I’m hoping to learn more about that, too, in the other books. Certainly I like this volume enough that I plan to read the rest!
Content note for suicide, depression, and mostly off-the-page torture.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2020/08/review-traitor-krista-d-ball/
smartflutist661's review
fast-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Any book that starts off with decapitation by hanging has my attention. A very good twist on "infiltrate the conquering (not-so-)aliens", and also a nice subversion of the "protagonist who thinks they're a coward but are actually the bravest person ever" trope. Fairly short, so it's a quick, fun read for when you want explosions, depression, torture, depression, and sniper drones. And depression.
captaincymru's review
2.0
This is not a fun book. The main character is riddled with PTSD, and is just in a bad place in general. She's also more than a little passive and I suppose that's why I didn't really like Rebecca. I bounced between wanting to give her a hug or a good shake.
Don't let my two stars put you off. Those of you who are more into grimdark than I will love this. Just not for me I think.
Don't let my two stars put you off. Those of you who are more into grimdark than I will love this. Just not for me I think.
clacksee's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Rebecca used to design fancy gadgets for a secret government agency in Canada. But when the Earth was a invaded, she made a deal with the invaders in order to buy her family's safety. Now she's an indentured servant on a prison planet – until a familiar face shows up.
This is not a happy book – Rebecca is depressed and suicidal. Most of her colleagues are horrible people. And the world the author paints is horrifying. But the story sucks you in and keeps you hooked. The characters are all deeply flawed, but most of them are ultimately redeemable.
Although I've not read the books (I know, I know – they're on my TBR list), the thing this most reminded me of was the Expanse – with a little dash of Tanya Huff's Confederation / Peacekeeper series.
I've been reading a lot of self-published lately and so many of them suffer from insufficient editing in one way or another. This one could have used another pass, but the story itself was solid enough to justify 4.5 stars.
This is not a happy book – Rebecca is depressed and suicidal. Most of her colleagues are horrible people. And the world the author paints is horrifying. But the story sucks you in and keeps you hooked. The characters are all deeply flawed, but most of them are ultimately redeemable.
Although I've not read the books (I know, I know – they're on my TBR list), the thing this most reminded me of was the Expanse – with a little dash of Tanya Huff's Confederation / Peacekeeper series.
I've been reading a lot of self-published lately and so many of them suffer from insufficient editing in one way or another. This one could have used another pass, but the story itself was solid enough to justify 4.5 stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, and Torture