Arthur

I enjoy a good military space opera. This one is no exception. However, I am rather annal about using the correct terminology especially when the author tries to explain a term in detail. In this case, either the author or the reader did not know the difference between the term ecliptic and elliptic. This was a flaw in both volumes of this work. There was a great deal of explanation in the book describing the meaning of elliptic when the term that was being defined was ecliptic. Even though I had to grate my teeth whenever the term was used, I enjoyed the book and recommend it.

In my opinion, this novel is not a finished piece. The length is less than half the previous two books. While not definitive, the book just ended leaving too much unresolved. It is an obvious segue way into more books in the series, but more than that, it leaves you the feeling that the book was rushed to publication unfinished just to get something out the door.

While, in general, I enjoy the series as it is well written and a unique concept, this book was a major stumble. The protagonist has devolved from a tough, self assured winner to a self pitying loser (at least in this portion). Perhaps if the book had been finished, we would be seeing a different outcome.

Simon R Green, prolific author of the Nightside and Secret Histories series scores another hit with the Ghost Finders. Ghost of a smile is the sequel to Ghost of a Chance and in order to understand much of what is going on here, you should really listen to (or read) Ghost of a Chance first. The protagonists, each somewhat off putting on the surface, have a much deeper depth of character and come together to become a cohesive and compassionate team who truly care for each other. The ending leaves no doubt more is to follow, and I look forward to the next installment. Whether or not you are lucky enough to be a fan of Green, I highly recommend this series.

After waiting years for this conclusion to be published, it was a major disappointment. The only good thing to say about it was that the narrator did an outstanding job.

The story was horribly overblown. Paolini never missed a chance to use 100 words where 10 would have sufficed. But, the worst part was the incredibly disappointing ending. It is obvious that the author is young. He resorted to the prosaic comic book super hero ending where the super hero must sacrifice his own happiness for the good of all and give up any chance for love, family, friendship and a normal life.

As has been stated in other reviews, the ending also left a multitude of story threads dangling with no resolution. If this was merely a ploy to garner support for an outcry for a followup to resolve all these issues, he has lost me.

This was a weak and unnecessary ending to what could have been a powerful series.