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A review by mjsam
Catalyst by Fletcher DeLancey
5.0
I re-read the others in this series (books 1-3) before reading this, because I knew it focussed more on Ekatya and Lhyn than books 2-3 did. While the Caphenon was my least favourite of those three, it provides invaluable background for this story, and I appreciate those details more now.
Before reading this I thought it was going to be set during the same period as the two Without a Front stories, and I was partially right, as that part is told in flashback, but we spend almost equal time in the present and on Alsea, and those parts were absolutely my favourite.
The past storyline wasn't as interesting as the present, at least at first, but it did provide further depth for Ekatya and Lyhn's relationship. I admit to skimming through the torture scenes, I'm not a fan of that sort of thing, and there was just too much detail for me, but the scenes with Ekatya and Lyhn during those chapters were amongst the best in the book.
This books spends a lot of time exploring the bonds between the two tyree pairs, and the third, less expected (by the characters anyway) pair, in Andira and Ekatya. While I loved all of the revelations these discussions bought forward, I'd still like to know how Lyhn feels about Ekatya and Andira's bond or whether she even knows about it. Salomon hints at the four of them needing to discuss it, but that doesn't happen, I'm hoping it's because it'll come up in the next book.
We're also provided with the side storyline of Velmar and Lanaril, which I could have lived without, I’m not a huge Vallmar fan and wish she wasn’t paired with Lanaril, who is a favourite. We also get to spend some fun times with many of the other supporting characters from the previous books, and a wonderful new addition in the ship's doctor. But in all honesty the meat of this book, for me anyway, was the ties between the four main characters, and watching them interact with each other.
Before reading this I thought it was going to be set during the same period as the two Without a Front stories, and I was partially right, as that part is told in flashback, but we spend almost equal time in the present and on Alsea, and those parts were absolutely my favourite.
The past storyline wasn't as interesting as the present, at least at first, but it did provide further depth for Ekatya and Lyhn's relationship. I admit to skimming through the torture scenes, I'm not a fan of that sort of thing, and there was just too much detail for me, but the scenes with Ekatya and Lyhn during those chapters were amongst the best in the book.
This books spends a lot of time exploring the bonds between the two tyree pairs, and the third, less expected (by the characters anyway) pair, in Andira and Ekatya. While I loved all of the revelations these discussions bought forward, I'd still like to know how Lyhn feels about Ekatya and Andira's bond or whether she even knows about it. Salomon hints at the four of them needing to discuss it, but that doesn't happen, I'm hoping it's because it'll come up in the next book.
We're also provided with the side storyline of Velmar and Lanaril, which I could have lived without, I’m not a huge Vallmar fan and wish she wasn’t paired with Lanaril, who is a favourite. We also get to spend some fun times with many of the other supporting characters from the previous books, and a wonderful new addition in the ship's doctor. But in all honesty the meat of this book, for me anyway, was the ties between the four main characters, and watching them interact with each other.