Welcome to Litsy!

This is a re-read so I can read the entire series. Lots of action, interesting world creation, and smart, capable characters.

Just starting (1/10th in). All the names are confusing at the beginning especially when they're given their proper name the 1st time we see them but a nickname (without explanation) at their 2nd mention. Plus, a lot of names are similar: Ma/ Max, Nika/Zika all on the same crew but not related. Though Nika has an adopted sister with a completely different name.

The story reminded me of Chambers' Wayfarer books, without the aliens, but with a wonderful diverse found family.

The switching between the 'space coast guard police procedural' parts and the 'military Olympic games' parts were annoying, because I wanted to stay with the current storyline and not switch.

Not as strong as the other trilogies I've read by Wagers, but I'll read the next book in the series.

Soft pick!

This science fiction space opera is set up around the Boarding Games, a set of competitions between ships in the Near-Earth Orbital Guard. The Games are shrouded in a life-threatening mystery that the Zuma‘s Ghost crew must solve to save millions of lives. K. B. Wagers does a good job of conveying complex ideas with a sprinkle of humor through idioms to create this story.

I appreciate the found family cozy space opera aspect and plethora of LGBTQ characters, but pretty much everything else isn't working for me:
- two plotlines the author has not convinced me to care about
- uneven pacing
- thin, superficial world-building
- implicitly pro-military
- apparently the two women characters I was shipping both end up with bland dudes, which makes no sense as their chemistry and emerging relationship was the best part!

Competitive games in space? Family drama? A century of corporate espionage? Sign me up.

Listen, this has a SLOW 1st 1/2. Difficult to get through as all characters have names, ranks, and nicknames. And we bounce around a lot of POVs, even in chapters. I would have liked more background on the games. This felt uneven at times and abrupt at the end.

But so many amazing, diverse ladies and non-binary! And exciting, fun space adventures. 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑