Honor Among Thieves

This felt like it had a bit of a slow start to me, but I think the issue was probably due to my expectations and not the book itself. Based on pre-release buzz, I expected to be out in space on page 1, but the story doesnt actually get there until the halfway point. All that time spent on Earth does good things for the worldbuilding and character development, so with properly set expectations (or no expectations to begin with) I suspect this wont be an issue for others.

When the story does go into space things really kick into gear. And the last 25% of the book just SINGS.

Zara is a somewhat prickly protagonist and I adored her. I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the story through her POV. I love her interactions with the entire cast of characters, but especially with Nadim.

Looking forward to reading the next installment!

I had previously read (and enjoyed) books by both Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre. So, I was looking forward to this young adult book series collaboration.

I also enjoy books about sentient ships (like Moya in Farscape).

In this case, the Leviathans appeared just as humanity was on the brink of catastrophe. Turns out that this is what they do. Yes, they are aliens resembling whales but they sail in space, not in oceans. They keep an eye on pre-spacefaring races and intervene (if they are in time) just before the last war where the race destroys itself.

In return, they ask for two “Honors” per ship, humans trained to be their crew, first for a one-year Tour and, if that goes well, for a longer Journey.

Our protagonist Zara Cole has been living on the street for some time, in and out of various rehab centers. She prefers her freedom and life of petty crime to what she sees as “regimented” ordinary life. She has skills – she’s a pretty good mechanic – but she does not want to be constrained by anyone else’s “rules”.

So, it comes as quite a shock when she finds that she has been chosen for the Honors program. Happens at a good time, though, as she has made one mistake too many and was running for her life just before being notified.

The Honors program is all over the media. The publicity is like that for Olympic athletes but on steroids. Plus having Zara as an “Honor” brings much prestige for her poverty-ridden ghetto and her thrilled family.

Highly recommended and I can’t wait until book two next year – Honor Bound!

I went into this book knowing that Ann Aguirre co-authored this. I didn’t need to know anything else. She hasn’t written a book that I didnt like yet.
It was filled with tension. I was asking myself questions the entire way through. I found, like Zara, that I didn’t trust anyone or anything that I was told. I wanted answers just like her. What’s the real purpose of the program? Why was Zara picked over other candidates? Will everyone survive? It’s hard to know who is telling the truth and what information is being kept from the honors as well as the public. The authors leave a trail if breadcrumbs for the reader to follow and try to piece together what is going on.
I loved the concept of a sentient alien spaceship! Nadim was a character all on his own. There were times when I forgot that he was a ship because he feels and knows so much. He and Zara are alike in a lot of ways but also different from each other. He is very open with his feelings and thoughts whereas she is guarded and protects herself using sarcasm and anger as a shield. It made for an interesting dynamic between the two of them. The authors did a great job with the rest of the characters as well even though they were only side characters. I think that readers may think that they are not fleshed out enough but I thought that a certain amount of mystery surrounding their backgrounds was an appropriate decision.
That cliffhanger is going to haunt me until the next book comes out next year. Overall, I have to say that this was a fantastic beginning to the series and I look forward to reading more.

Brilliantly written by two authors whom I never would have put together as co-authors, but somehow they made it work. Fans of the late, lamented Farscape TV show will love this take on apprentices aboard a living ship. It also reminded me of The Ship Who Sang series by Anne McCaffrey. Extremely engrossing and one of those books you can’t put down. Highly recommended.

I’ll admit that I’m one of those readers that have mixed feelings about Rachel Caine, loved the weather warden series, and was extremely disappointed at its conclusion. Couldn’t get through the Glass House series, but had to acknowledge it was well written. This first entry, I normally would have waited until there were more books to see if dipped my toes into it. But when it comes to space and sentient ships I can’t help myself, the story itself is definitely full of YA tropes, does handle them rather well, and the story itself is delightful. Yes it has a rather dark third act, but even with that is just a pleasure to read.