Grimspace By Ann Aguirre

Publisher: Ace
(February 26, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0441015999
ISBN-13: 978-0441015993

BLURB:

By all accounts, Sirantha Jax should have burned out years ago…

As the carrier of a rare gene, Jax has the ability to jump ships through grimspace—a talent which cuts into her life expectancy, but makes her a highly prized navigator for the Corp. But then the ship she’s navigating crash-lands, and she’s accused of killing everyone on board. It’s hard for Jax to defend herself: she has no memory of the crash.

Now imprisoned and the subject of a ruthless interrogation, Jax is on the verge of madness. Then a mysterious man breaks into her cell, offering her freedom—for a price. March needs Jax to help his small band of rogue fighters break the Corp monopoly on interstellar travel—and establish a new breed of jumper.

Jax is only good at one thing—grimspace—and it will eventually kill her. So she may as well have some fun in the meantime…

THOUGHTS: I haven't read much Science Fiction up to this point, truthfully none, and Grimspace was the perfect place to start.

In Grimspace, Ann Aguirre takes the reader on an amazing journey to different worlds, different, I guess you'd call them races as they weren't all different species, and so many different "abilities" within those races. I absolutely LOVED it.

I enjoyed Sirantha very much. She's a kick-ass heroine who doesn't put up with anybody's crap. She faces things head-on, no wussy-girl here. I love her strength and her resolve.

Then there's March. Wowza. He's been through some bad stuff and done some really bad stuff in his life, but there's something about Sirantha that calls to him on a deeper level, something that allows her to touch him on a deeper level. He doesn't put up with her crap either, and I really like that about him. Who wants a hero who lets the heroine overpower him? So not my cuppa. He finds what he needs for the present and future with Jax and I love that. Absolutely love it. Together they are amazing.

I so totally love that Sirantha and March can communicate telepathically and in a way that no one else has ever been able to do with him. That is so awesome and very sexy. They can see deep inside one another and that is a level of intimacy I never even pondered. Again, unique.

Dina was a hoot... "You stupid bitch. I don't need you dying for me. I need you to stick around because... you're my best friend." Gotta love her.

I liked Vel very much too. I queried Ms. Aguirre and it turns out that, yes, Vel will be in the next book. Woot!

The world Ms. Aguirre has created is unique, very exciting and so different from anything I've ever read. She took me to a place I didn't know existed, a place that was unlike anything I could ever imagine. Amazing. Truly amazing.

OVERALL GRADE: A.

Grimspace comes out on February 26 and I highly recommend picking up this book and venturing on journey like no other.

Read an excerpt here.
Pre-order the book here, here, here, and here.

The next book in the series, Wanderlust, is scheduled to release in September 2008.

Blurb:

Sirantha Jax doesn’t take chances…she jumps at them…

Sirantha Jax is a “Jumper,” a woman who possesses the unique genetic makeup needed to navigate faster than light ships through grimspace. Jax has worked for the Farwan Corporation her entire career. But now the word’s out that the Corp deliberately crashed a passenger ship, and their stranglehold on intergalactic commerce has crumbled—which means that Jax is out of a job.

She’s also broke, due to being declared dead a little prematurely. So when the government asks her to head up a vital diplomatic mission, Jax takes it. Her mandate: journey to the planet Ithiss-Tor and convince them to join the Conglomerate.

But Jax’s payday is light years away. First, she’ll have to contend with Syndicate criminals, a stormy relationship with her pilot, man-eating aliens, and her own grimspace-weakened body. She’ll be lucky just to make it to Ithiss-Tor alive…

Read an excerpt here.