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Jan222010
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Diving into the Wreck’ by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
by Carolyn • Posted in 4 Star Reviews, Authors Q-T, Book Reviews, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Reviews by Carolyn, Science Fiction
Title: Diving into the Wreck
Author: Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Publisher: PYR
Publication Date: Nov 2009
Paperback: 268 pages
Cover Art: Dave Seeley
Genre: Science Fiction
Source: Own Copy
Reviewed by: Carolyn
RATING: 8/10 – Brilliant.
GOODREADS SUMMARY:
Boss loves to dive historical ships, derelict spacecraft found adrift in the blackness between the stars. Sometimes she salvages for money, but mostly she’s an active historian. She wants to know about the past–to experience it firsthand. Once she’s dived the ship, she’ll either leave it for others to find or file a claim so that she can bring tourists to dive it as well. It’s a good life for a tough loner, with more interest in artifacts than people.
Then one day, Boss finds the claim of a lifetime: an enormous spacecraft, incredibly old, and apparently Earth-made. It’s impossible for something so old, built in the days before Faster Than Light travel, to have journeyed this far from Earth. It shouldn’t be here. It can’t be here. And yet, it is. Boss’s curiosity is up, and she’s determined to investigate. She hires a group of divers to explore the wreck with her, the best team she can assemble. But some secrets are best kept hidden, and the past won t give up its treasures without exacting a price in blood.
What Boss finds could rewrite history, cost lives, and start an intergalactic war.
REVIEW:
Boss is a loner – she seeks out old ships to dive, not to loot, but for its historical value. She also prefers her own company and doesn’t really interact with people or have any friends. When she finds a space ship that is five thousand years old, human made and shouldn’t be in this sector of space, she groups together a team to help her explore the ship.
Her interactions with her crew are somewhat cold and matter-of-fact, as is her narration. There’s no warmth or show of emotion, to her fellow crew mates or to the reader. But Boss is not hard, just closed off and as we read further the prologue becomes clearer and we get to understand why she is the way she is.
There is no real build up to the story as it jumps straight into the action and Boss finding the ship. But we soon realise that this isn’t the primary story but the lead up to it. As the story progresses, from finding the ship to being hired to find a man who has been lost to a place called the Room of Lost Souls, it becomes apparent that this is a personal story, Boss’s story and it becomes a personal mission and not just about the exploration of an historical ship or finding The Room.
The story picks up pace about half way through and becomes exciting as Boss learns about The Room of Lost Souls where she last saw her mother alive. She begins to offer glimpses into her past, her pain, her mother’s death and her strained relationship with her father and we get to see this more as she is reunited with him after years of ignoring his calls and messages. We begin to learn and understand why she is such a loner and so private. But as we get to know her so do the other characters in the book. She opens up more, shows emotion, especially with the deaths of her friends.
Boss is a complex character and although there is not a huge amount of dialogue in the book we get the feeling of so much history, so much has gone on in her life that she is an immensely interesting character and I enjoyed getting to know her very much. I wish there was a sequel to this book so I could keep up with her life and get to know her more.
The story is great too and if you are new to science fiction this is a great place to start as the sci-fi jargon is kept to a minimum and all scientific explanations are easy to follow. I enjoyed the descriptions of Boss’s world in space. I must admit the ending surprised me a little – to end with a ‘if you can’t beat them join them’ attitude was quite a change in direction and I felt went against Boss’s whole character. However, It didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the book and I wasn’t disappointed.
VERDICT:
I found ‘Diving into the Wreck‘ to be an exciting and thoroughly enjoyable read. For me my favourite part was peeling away the layers of Boss’s personality. If you enjoy a strong, complex heroine and an exciting plot, then this is definitely the book for you. I will certainly be checking out Rusch’s back catalogue.
I also absolutely love the cover too.
7 Comments
This sounds like a cool book to me filled with all the adventures and finding about old mysteries!! Thanks for your review
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I adore sci fi movies and tv shows, but have never been able to read sci fi books. This book sounds interesting & it looks like I've run out of excuses not to read sci fi.
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IceJewel – It does have adventure as well as a cool female protag.
Buckeye Girl – I would definitely recommend this. It's fairly light as it goes for sci-fi so a really good book to start with. Go read!
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I really like the idea of this. Sounds like something I could get into. Loved your review – thanks for sharing!
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I love sci-fi movies but I know few books. Thanks for your review.
I discovered the blog recently, but I'll start following you
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You review has me intersted in this book. Sounds like it is full of suspense, mystery and all the fun stuff I like..LOL
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