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Valor At Vauzlee (2000)

by Thomas DePrima(Favorite Author)

4 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

Science Fiction

series

A Galaxy Unknown

review 1: I suppose it says something when I didn't hesitate to buy this as soon as it came out. I do wonder if the part of me that enjoys this book is the same part that enjoys beating grandma at Tekken or soloing the Deadmines at level 80. This is not your normal novel where the hero overcomes adversity to triumph at the end. This is a story where the main enjoyment is in seeing exactly how the hero will stomp the bad guys. The outcome is never in doubt.It is a direct continuation of the first book. Our heroine (the supermodel-beautiful, immortal kungfu-master/tactician/strategist who heals like wolverine and feels pain as pleasure) is placed in situations in which she saves the day. Ancillary characters perform as expected to allow her to showcase her variety of skills. Her oppon... moreents are suitably evil and competent just enough to present the facade of a challenge. Her supporters show the requisite adulation, heaping praise upon her that she richly deserves. In due time, she even earns the grudging respect of the token holdout character.The battle scenes are action-packed and fun to read. The pace is brisk and doesn't flag. The lack of any real dramatic tension is irksome, but I suppose this novel is more akin to a videogame than a traditional novel. It is probably difficult to generate dramatic tension when your protagonist is superman without the vulnerability to kryptonite. Mr DePrima has shown he can write pulp like a champion. I look forward to seeing what he can do once he gets a publisher and an editor.An experienced editor could have added a lot. In my opinion, these books could have been a lot better without the unnecessary embellishments. Does the protagonists' immortality really add anything? Was her regeneration really necessary to the story? Did she really need to be transformed into a supermodel? Was the whole S&M thing really necessary to the story or her character development? If all this junk hadn't happened, the entire arc would have been a lot more plausible. The entire "genetically modified to be an S&M slave in a process that is somehow lost so that no one else will ever have it" thing just struck me as a bit of literary masturbation rather than real storytelling. Keep in mind all these events were from the first book and properly aren't objections to this book.
review 2: I greatly enjoy books with a strong female character and Thomas has certainly created such in Jenetta Carver. As one might suspect from the title is is sci-fi, but in the believable category. Jenetta is definitely not a copycat version of David Weber's Honor Harrington although they share some characteristics. I highly recommend the Jenetta series (7 so far) for good entertaining reading. In this second book Jenetta further develops the characteristics that I enjoy: a strong, thinking heroine. less

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