Hummingbird pilots for the mega-corporations have two goals, two ways to gain big bonuses: find resources and habitable planets. Floribeth Salinas O’Shea Dalisa is happy to take the risks and live the boredom of long space journeys by herself with only her AI and some holovids to keep her company. Until one jump takes her to what she thinks will be a huge payoff, but there’s someone or something else protecting it…
Fire Ant packs so much into a short 150-page novella. Military bureaucracy, team dynamics, and most emphatically, dogfights. Yes, they are good. But at the heart of this one, I was hoping for a little more balance between the character and the planes.
Bottom line: I didn’t feel pushed in this one. I love my books to challenge me in some way. Push me to think differently… Some of the problem in this one is I think the author is getting there and probably 150 pages isn’t long enough for the other shoe to drop. I really like the main character and there is so much to work with in this universe… I may get the next novella and see.
And yes, I have delved a little bit into the controversy around this title’s Nebula nomination. I hadn’t heard anything about it before I picked up the book and after reading I happened upon a link. I definitely had that feeling after reading the last page: Eh, this was nominated for an award?!?!?
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