Better Off Undead by D.D. Barant

Title: Better Off Undead
Author: D.D. Barant
Format: book

So far, we've seen Jace tackle the challenge of going home. She was brought to Thropirelem against her will and employed to find and take down the bad guys. After doing that, she pursued the task of trying to get herself home via hunting down the man responsible for bringing her to Thropirelem in the first place. After having failed that, what's next?

Why, struggling with the challenge to keep her humanity intact while chasing after a mentally unstable man in power. As if a girl doesn't have enough to deal with simply being the only illegal alien on the whole planet. 

Better Off Undead brings a chapter to Jace's life and opens her up to a new question. Her identity. What is she? Who is she? What is her place on Thropirelem? What is her place amongst the people she works with/for? Yes, she's an agent, an employee, an asset and fighter for the greater good -- but what else? When the one thing that makes her unique in NSA gets taken away from her, what is left? 

Jace battles more than just the threat of becoming non-human in this book. Something more personal, more psychological, rears its head as she does her work. And dealing with it isn't easy when her work is just as difficult to handle. 

We haven't seen the last of Tair, or his devilish antics. He's the Joker in the card deck and plays his part well. Jace doesn't get a break while Tair interferes with her personal and professional life. 

I believe that the events in this part of Jace's story are part of a turning point. A new step that sets her up for something greater. Something more complicated than we've seen so far. The shift in character dynamics isn't hard to miss, and it leads me to wonder how things will progress from this point onward. Especially after coming to the end, and witnessing the newest development in Jace's life, I think it's safe to say her life is slipping into another interesting curve. 

So what next? What now? What sort of challenge will she be faced with now? Who knows. But I'm very interested to learn the answer. This feels like it's just the beginning. Just a milestone. There's still much for Jace to do and settle. Her life on Thropirelem has truly just begun.  

Overall: 4.5 out of 5