Grimspace

Sirantha Jax, Book 1

By: Ann Aguirre

Narrated by: Suzanna Duff

Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

As the carrier of a rare gene, Sirantha Jax has the ability to jump ships through grimspace - a talent which makes her a highly prized navigator for the Corp. Then a crash landing kills everyone on board, leaving Jax in a jail cell with no memory of the crash. But her fun's not over. A group of rogue fighters frees her...for a price: her help in overthrowing the established order.

©2010 Ann Aguirre (P)2010 Penguin

Critic reviews

"Jax's brutal eloquence will twist your heart when you least expect it." (Jeri Smith-Ready)

"Exciting, evocative and suspenseful science fiction romance...Characters and a world you'll think about long after the book is done." (Robin D. Owens)

Sci-fi hijinks and magic (of a sort)

I've been looking for this sort of book for a while and finally was able to scratch that itch. Lots of fun space travel, tense situations, and comradery. I liked the narration because I think it fits Jax's voice very well.

Great start to the series

Fist I have to say that I utilized amazon's "whispersync for voice" for this book and it was awesome.....I would listen on my way to and from work and when I got home I open the book and it syncs right where I left off...

While I listed to this one a couple of years ago and the next two I decided to wait until the series was finished before picking it up again.

This is a great start to the series, you get enough information to keep you interested but not the info dump that many first books give you.

On to the second book......

Meh,

I almost DNF and shelved it. hard time finding a character I could relate to.

Excellent Series

Listening now after reading this series a few years ago. Loved the books. The narrator took a few chapters to adjust to, she sounds a bit too YA and fast paced at the start. But eventually I was able to buy into her performance and enjoy the story. I've tried the author's books outside of this series and couldn't get into them, DNF for her other works, but this series is near the top of my list for enjoyable reads.

Eh, okay but not great sci-fi

This is the first book in the Sirantha Jax series. There are six books in this series and they have all been released. This was an okay book; I liked some of the witty banter between characters but didn’t like some of the story elements and the way the main heroine constantly over-explained things.

I listened to this on audiobook and wasn’t a huge fan of the narration. Duff has a high pitched voice that made Sirantha sound little-girl like. When Duff did male voices they were kind of shrill and I had to turn down the volume on the audiobook because the male voices physically hurt my ears. So, I wouldn’t recommend listening to this on audiobook.

In general the ideas in here were pretty typical Sci-Fi. Jax has a special gene that basically lets her travel through Grimspace (Grimspace seems to be similar to worm holes)....Farscape anyone? Jax is struggling after her lover/pilot/guide was killed in a wreck that Jax was blamed for. She’s been rescued by a rebel crew to serve as their Jumper; these rebels are trying to start up a group of non-corporate owned Jumpers so that they can move trade from corporate to more private.

Jax is an okay heroine; she is rash and makes a lot of the same poor decisions over and over. She also tends to state the obvious and over-explain things to the reader. The other characters were similarly flawed and I didn’t really engage with any of them very well. Additionally I thought the way the story was tied up was a bit contrived and hokey.

Overall this was an okay, but not great, sci-fi novel. It’s very urban fantasy in pace and tone and reuses a lot of sci-fi themes that have already been explored. I wasn’t super engaged in it and don’t plan on continuing the series.

Romance SciFi with some interesting thoughts

This book falls squarely into the romance section of sci find, or the sci fi section of romance. That aspect of the story is predictable to some extent. That said the universe the story is based in is interesting and the plot itself, while somewhat hokey at times does introduce interesting and unique concepts.

Overall, a book that isn't shy of its essential nature as a cliche romance, yet it stretches out to touch on the hard SciFi and space opera. Oh, and a plus for not inventing anything uterly impossible like many books in the romance SciFi subgenre do.

not the worst but also not terrible

I had some hang-ups here and there, especially with how selfish the lead was but I can see the effort of the growth that was made for the character. sometimes it just seemed shallow but it was enjoyable to say the least. debating if I want to continue the series...

Unique Science Fiction/Fantasy Novel

PJV Quickie: Welcome to ‘Grimspace’ a crazy, fast-paced, science fiction ride that made me think “Why did I wait this long to read this particular series?” I’m so glad I “read” this audiobook.

Review

In ‘Grimspace’, the genius that is Ann Aguirre (Enclave), introduces us to a science fiction world in which people with a rare J-Gene are able to travel through Grimspace, the new navigators of the future. Their rare ability is sought after far and wide. Sirantha Jax is a carrier of the gene. She knows the more she jumps, the closer she is to her body wearing down and imminent death, but there is nothing like grimspace and the connection she has with her pilot while transporting her ships. But, Sirantha’s latest jump didn’t go as planned and a crash landing killed her pilot and lover and left her with no memory of what happened and in some kind of Corp reconditioning/interrogation area.

On the brink of a breakdown because of the interrogations a strange man breaks into her cell and offers her freedom. March’s breakout comes with a high price though, she must join a small outlying community and help them break-up the Corp’s monopoly on grimspace travel.

This was a very exciting book. Jax and March are great characters and their interactions are priceless. Sirantha has a witty humor, with that sharp-edged sarcasm that I really enjoy in a character. I enjoyed every minute of this book. Aguirre has become one of my favorite authors with her quirky plots and over-the-top creativity. The women definitely has an imagination and that seeped into every aspect of this audiobook / novel. The far-reaching aspects of the science fiction might be a little much for some more down-to-earth readers, but I do believe if you are a fan of the genre, or an Urban Fantasy reader, you’ll really enjoy. I also have to relate that this book is not a “tell-me” science fiction tale. Aguirre introduces you to the world in a very creative and easy to follow way, it is not page after page of technogarbage forced down your throat that can bog down a lot of science fiction novels. Aguirre just tells it like it is and you get it, you understand what is going on. This is a rare talent in an author and I believe this is why I really enjoy her books.

Recommendations:
Adults-only read, this is a science fiction novel and fans of the genre will be elated with the space travel and broad political schemes. This is a good transition for Urban Fantasy fans also, because it is very reminiscent of that genre. Ann Aguirre fans will not be disappointed, this is one of her best series.

And now all I can focus on, is getting more of this series…
Want some more Science Fiction Audiobooks? Check out…

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Narrated by Stephen Fry

The Host: A Novel, by Stephenie Meyer, Narrated by Kate Reading

meh

glad it's on here but the book was predictable and not sexy. the reader also struggled to keep in character and use correct names.

A Good Story

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The narrator - she is skilled, but this book did not fit her voice. She was always in the same mode emotionally. She did not scale up for stress or down for the times Sirantha was breaking. It wasn't monotonous, just not a great acting performance.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Grimspace?

I could only ever make it halfway through. Aguirre's writing is excellent, but the narration just got me. I'll put this in the "to read" pile.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Suzanna Duff?

Allison McLemore

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Doubt it, the movie would lose out on the emotional roller coaster that Sirantha was on (as the narration did).

Any additional comments?

Excellent book. Excellent narrator - not a great acting performance (which I desire greatly in my audio books).