Grimspace by Ann Aguirre

Title: Grimspace
Author: Ann Aguirre
Format: book

It's been a long time since I've delved into the sci-fi genre, and this book will be my first reintroduction. That said, I'm no expert on the standards, so I'll be going into this virgin. As someone who's rather new to this field, I say it's been a spectacular ride. 

One of the things I enjoyed about this book is the characterization. I've read books where main couple doesn't really tug at my heartstrings enough. Either they're lacking some element in their personality that makes them seem very 2-dimensional, or the chemistry between character A and character B just doesn't mesh well to me. 

Jax and March are a peculiar couple, but I found their relationship to be entertaining to watch. They're quick witted, both have issues to deal with, and both have messed up personalities that somehow make them quite compatible with each other. It helps that the roles they play on the ship help them to connect in a way that very few can replicate. 

Speaking of ship, the scenes where Jax is plugged in and navigating grimspace were quite interesting. There are various ways that grimspace can be interpreted, and part of me thinks it hearkens back to Star Trek and warp speed travel. All that's missing is the presence of aliens.

Oh wait, no it's not. You can't have sci-fi without some aliens, especially not when space travel is involved. Though there isn't a lot of introduction to what other creatures live out there in the galaxy, we do get to see some hint that there are more than just humans roaming space when Jax and Co. face a few life-threatening challenges. Bugs seem to be the theme for the aliens in this book, as I have yet to see something mammalian show up. I'm hoping that will change in the next book of this series. 

Another things I'd like to see is a bit more stuff getting done for the team's mission. Grimspace definitely felt like nothing more than an introduction to the characters, world, and life that Jax and her team live. There were a lot of side trips and sidetracking involved in this book, and -- in part -- it felt random and unsatisfying. Nothing got done -- except for people, but that's a completely different matter. I hope that more of the mission gets tackled in the next book because I felt like I only got a taste. A tease. An awful tease. 

At least Jax was entertaining to be with. Her point of view on things run against the grain more often than not. Her personality makes her likable, as she's full of snark and wit and sarcasm. She also has a head full of crazy ideas, which can sometimes work out of her favor when she overthinks things, but also lead her to the right conclusions when the going gets rough. 

I'm sure Jax will continue to be entertaining as she and the crew continue on their journey. I'm interested to see how this will go because the ending left many questions unanswered. 

Overall: 4 out of 5