Book Review: This Alien Shore by Friedman (3 Stars)

This Alien Shore by C.S. Friedman

2.5-3 out of 5 stars

Read in February 2010

I guessed the criminal master mind behind this mystery cloaked as science fiction (more speculative fiction than science) within the first one hundred pages. The other 450 pages seemed to be a wild goose chase through inner and outer nets, space stations, nodes and multiverse rifts. Little or no character development left me cold and completely disconnected with the cast. In more than one case, a character was created and destroyed within a single chapter, never to appear again. Many questions unanswered and plot lines left tangled and dangled.

I kept pushing through this book as fast as I could, hoping it would evolve into something memorable or meaningful. I finished dissatisfied.

This was my first C.S. Friedman novel, but I have others on my shelf waiting to be read. I hope this was not the epitome of her writing career.