Scan barcode
a_reader_obsessed's review
4.0
Someone please tell me why this isn't serialized or at least a full length novel because the fact that it's a mere 85 pages is the only disappointing part!
You have Kyle who's been damaged physically, sent on a mission to capture an alien in the hopes that his reward will get him a better life. He catches a ride with a group of mercenaries that includes Grimm, a person from his home planet that he feels an instant connection with.
Soooo there's plenty of desire, intermixed with distrust. Is Grimm friend or foe? And in the end will it really matter?
This was an impressive little scifi space adventure with some intrigue and plenty of UST and smex. Of course it was way too short for my liking and definitely wishful thinking for a sequel - if only.
You have Kyle who's been damaged physically, sent on a mission to capture an alien in the hopes that his reward will get him a better life. He catches a ride with a group of mercenaries that includes Grimm, a person from his home planet that he feels an instant connection with.
Soooo there's plenty of desire, intermixed with distrust. Is Grimm friend or foe? And in the end will it really matter?
This was an impressive little scifi space adventure with some intrigue and plenty of UST and smex. Of course it was way too short for my liking and definitely wishful thinking for a sequel - if only.
mikibooks's review
4.0
Wow, esto sí que no me la esperaba. A ver, sí es evidente que uno se arroja a leer a ciertos autores con una base de confianza respecto de lo que va a encontrarse y aún en el "peor "de los casos termina leyendo un libro "correcto ". La temática "space western" me resulta particularmente atractiva, por lo que supuse que de plano iba a gustarme. Tenía cierta onda "Firefly ", de Whedon. Pero fue el giro argumental inesperado casi hacia el final de la novela lo que la catapultó a las 4.5 eatrellitas. Es difícil sorprender a cualquier lector con un cierto camino hecho. Hacia la mitad del libro me imaginaba quién era el "perseguido" por lo que cuando noté que tenía razón y concluí que ahí cerraba el nudo, el libro promediaba las aprobadas 3 estrellas. Pero no, error mío el haber subestimado inocentemente el talento de su autor. El último 10% del libro es alucinante precisamente por esa capacidad de sorpresa, completamente fluída y natural. Coherente. Es cierto que es corto, su final sin moño y papel, aunque creo que igual tiene lo necesario. Luego de años de leer a Murakami, por ejemplo, aprendí a valorar enormemente el respeto y reconocimiento que un autor muestra a su lector cuando deja que su imaginación dictamine el futuro de sus personajes. A fin de cuentas, ellos y nosotros no podemos existir sin el otro.
mxsallybend's review
4.0
For me, science fiction has always been a genre of ideas, offering an experimental, imaginative, limitless canvas upon which to explore the world. It offers a separation from the 'real' world, freeing readers to embrace those ideas outside of society's stereotypes and prejudices. When an author like Aleksandr Voinov immerses himself in the genre and deals with issues of humanity and sexuality, as he's done inIncursion, the geek gurl in me tends to . . . well, get a little excited.
Here we have a young man, crippled by a Glyrinny weapon, leaving him with a deep, dark, dangerous hatred for the shape-shifting race. In order to obtain the prosthetic surgery that would give him back a semblance of normality, he embarks on a mission to capture and kill a Glyrinny. Complicating matters is the fact that the captain of the mercenary ship he's hired is a member of a warrior class to whom he had once aspired, but is forever denied because of his injury.
The affair that develops between Kyle and Grimm is an interesting one, and one which explores multiple levels of physical and emotional distance. Kyle claims he doesn't want a relationship to complicate his mission, but the truth is that he feels inferior . . . damaged . . . and unworthy. That, of course, offers a very unique form of attraction for Grimm, who is part of a caste that sees it as their duty to offer comfort and healing to others, as a balance for their warrior duties.
Aleksandr also offers an interesting take on gender here, with the Glyrinny being a race of beings that can read minds and take on forms either terrifying or appealing, based on those thoughts. Their gender is completely fluid, depending on the shape they've taken, and their ability to shape-shift also extends to the ability to heal themselves. I won't say much more about them or their role in the story, for fear of spoiling the mystery/tension, but they are a remarkable creation.
This was such a wonderful read, well-written, and absolutely inspired in some places. The emotional dynamic between Kyle and Grimm is glorious to behold, and I appreciated the fact that Aleksandr doesn't fall into the trap of using sex to validate the relationship. As with all good science fiction, however, the relationship is only one element of the book. There is also a very strong plot here, full of tension, excitement, and adventure. The military aspect of the genre is usually my least favourite part, but here it works exceptionally well, illuminating the characters while driving the story forward.
Not what I expected, and all the better for it. Highly recommended.
As published on Bending the Bookshelf
Here we have a young man, crippled by a Glyrinny weapon, leaving him with a deep, dark, dangerous hatred for the shape-shifting race. In order to obtain the prosthetic surgery that would give him back a semblance of normality, he embarks on a mission to capture and kill a Glyrinny. Complicating matters is the fact that the captain of the mercenary ship he's hired is a member of a warrior class to whom he had once aspired, but is forever denied because of his injury.
The affair that develops between Kyle and Grimm is an interesting one, and one which explores multiple levels of physical and emotional distance. Kyle claims he doesn't want a relationship to complicate his mission, but the truth is that he feels inferior . . . damaged . . . and unworthy. That, of course, offers a very unique form of attraction for Grimm, who is part of a caste that sees it as their duty to offer comfort and healing to others, as a balance for their warrior duties.
Aleksandr also offers an interesting take on gender here, with the Glyrinny being a race of beings that can read minds and take on forms either terrifying or appealing, based on those thoughts. Their gender is completely fluid, depending on the shape they've taken, and their ability to shape-shift also extends to the ability to heal themselves. I won't say much more about them or their role in the story, for fear of spoiling the mystery/tension, but they are a remarkable creation.
This was such a wonderful read, well-written, and absolutely inspired in some places. The emotional dynamic between Kyle and Grimm is glorious to behold, and I appreciated the fact that Aleksandr doesn't fall into the trap of using sex to validate the relationship. As with all good science fiction, however, the relationship is only one element of the book. There is also a very strong plot here, full of tension, excitement, and adventure. The military aspect of the genre is usually my least favourite part, but here it works exceptionally well, illuminating the characters while driving the story forward.
Not what I expected, and all the better for it. Highly recommended.
As published on Bending the Bookshelf
teresab78's review
5.0
Wow! I loved this book and this world. My only complaint is that it was too short and I wanted to know more! There were twists and things I didn't see coming. I had to re-evaluate my perception of who was good and who was bad. I struggled with and felt for Kyle. I wondered over Grimm and found I liked the reality of him much better than the perception. I will probably re-read this again!
joyousreads132's review
4.0
If there’s one thing you can expect from this author, it’s his ability to give us new characters and story arches to love, regardless of the genre he’s tackling. I’m not a fan of Science Fiction just because there’s this consistent bleakness to its world that adds to my inability to connect with the characters. And as much as I’d like to say Incursion’s world isn’t as dreary and cold as any others I’ve read, it would be an outright lie. I think it’s safe to say that I’ll read anything this author would write within the confines of my reading comfort level, that is.
Incursion is a story of a retired hunter hired to find a spy morph. When the only lead he could find is by hitching a ride on a mercenary ship, he took a chance and found himself overly curious with its captain. But finding this rebel morph is a difficult mission. They have this ability to shift into whomever they want. Added to that is the restriction of having a prosthetic leg that he lost during a battle with one of those morphs and the growing suspicion that Grimm, the captain, could be the thing that he’s been assigned to hunt. Regardless of his attraction to Grimm, finding the Glyrinny spy is his ticket to getting his old life back.
To be honest, I’m having a hard time explaining what this book was about. I’ve committed the gravest of sin by focusing on the romance instead of the story as a whole. I’m very partial to Aleksandr’s men that I neglected to actually read the book in its entirety and skimming anything that resembles Sci-Fi’ish. And for that, I’m truly sorry. It’s not the book’s fault that my eyes glaze over with the detailed description of world set in this genre. It’s just not my thing.
The book wasn’t a total loss, however. I loved the aggressive captain who was not afraid to show his interest. I love the dynamics with the occupants of the ship. I love the intricate yet uncomplicated way Voinov explained how morphing works. But most of all, I love the romance between characters even though it was ill-timed and a bit problematic at first glance.
Give this book a go and ignore the ramblings of a person who’s got no business reviewing a Sci-Fi book. If you’re a fan of Aleksandr, read this and find out another reason why we love him.
Incursion is a story of a retired hunter hired to find a spy morph. When the only lead he could find is by hitching a ride on a mercenary ship, he took a chance and found himself overly curious with its captain. But finding this rebel morph is a difficult mission. They have this ability to shift into whomever they want. Added to that is the restriction of having a prosthetic leg that he lost during a battle with one of those morphs and the growing suspicion that Grimm, the captain, could be the thing that he’s been assigned to hunt. Regardless of his attraction to Grimm, finding the Glyrinny spy is his ticket to getting his old life back.
To be honest, I’m having a hard time explaining what this book was about. I’ve committed the gravest of sin by focusing on the romance instead of the story as a whole. I’m very partial to Aleksandr’s men that I neglected to actually read the book in its entirety and skimming anything that resembles Sci-Fi’ish. And for that, I’m truly sorry. It’s not the book’s fault that my eyes glaze over with the detailed description of world set in this genre. It’s just not my thing.
The book wasn’t a total loss, however. I loved the aggressive captain who was not afraid to show his interest. I love the dynamics with the occupants of the ship. I love the intricate yet uncomplicated way Voinov explained how morphing works. But most of all, I love the romance between characters even though it was ill-timed and a bit problematic at first glance.
Give this book a go and ignore the ramblings of a person who’s got no business reviewing a Sci-Fi book. If you’re a fan of Aleksandr, read this and find out another reason why we love him.
daydreamer45's review
5.0
4.5
Holy shit.
Strong, inspirational, full of hope. It made me sad that it ended. There just has to be more.
What is it with fiction that makes me rebel against set systems and want them to change/be destroyed? For almost every world built in the last 50 or something books. Again. And again. Even knowing a perfect world is not possible (and boring as heaven) doesn't stop me from thinking that the exact order is wrong and needs changing.
Whatever. My rambling stops here.
Highly recommended.
ETA:
“Mysterious stranger, yet familiar. No wonder I’m intrigued.”
It didn’t hurt that he was attractive and looked exceedingly familiar.
Is there something there or am I being too paranoid?
Holy shit.
Strong, inspirational, full of hope. It made me sad that it ended. There just has to be more.
What is it with fiction that makes me rebel against set systems and want them to change/be destroyed? For almost every world built in the last 50 or something books. Again. And again. Even knowing a perfect world is not possible (and boring as heaven) doesn't stop me from thinking that the exact order is wrong and needs changing.
Whatever. My rambling stops here.
Highly recommended.
ETA:
Spoiler
It wasn’t even probing so much as familiar...“Mysterious stranger, yet familiar. No wonder I’m intrigued.”
It didn’t hurt that he was attractive and looked exceedingly familiar.
Is there something there or am I being too paranoid?
hpstrangelove's review
5.0
(Audio book review. Narrator: Gomez Pugh) Another short story that felt way longer. Set in the same universe as Dark Edge Of Honor, although with none of the same characters, it's has the same dark tone to it. Kyle Juenger, a disabled vet (I love the jabs at social security and how Kyle can barely make it each month - guess things aren't any different in the future), is hired to hunt down a shape-shifter spy who's stolen secret documents of some sort. If Kyle is successful, he's promised all sorts of financial compensation - and with the funds, he'll be able to buy cyber legs to replace his useless ones.
The tricky part for Kyle is trying to work out who he's hunting when a shape-shifter can take on any physical form and memories of a person once the shape-shifter has killed them.
The seduction and sex is scorching - there's just something about sex with a person who might want to kill you as you climax that's just twisted and oh so hot. Gomez Pugh's voice didn't hurt either. He did a fantastic job of voicing Kyle's damaged personality.
The tricky part for Kyle is trying to work out who he's hunting when a shape-shifter can take on any physical form and memories of a person once the shape-shifter has killed them.
The seduction and sex is scorching - there's just something about sex with a person who might want to kill you as you climax that's just twisted and oh so hot. Gomez Pugh's voice didn't hurt either. He did a fantastic job of voicing Kyle's damaged personality.
kit_alexander's review
2.0
2.5 stars.
Neat world-building. The setup was fun and the background lore stuff was all interesting. But, man, that was a whole lot of plot to fit into sub 100 pages. Turn this into a full length novel and it's probably a 4 for me. But as it is, I feel like I barely got to meet any of the characters, much less become invested in their relationships with each other. I just wanted everything this story offered, but ... more.
I need to stop getting my hopes up with novellas. They always end up letting me down with their lack of depth even if I love literally everything else about them.
Neat world-building. The setup was fun and the background lore stuff was all interesting. But, man, that was a whole lot of plot to fit into sub 100 pages. Turn this into a full length novel and it's probably a 4 for me. But as it is, I feel like I barely got to meet any of the characters, much less become invested in their relationships with each other. I just wanted everything this story offered, but ... more.
I need to stop getting my hopes up with novellas. They always end up letting me down with their lack of depth even if I love literally everything else about them.