part of galactic empires, edited by patty jansen.
i admit, i love gadgets. combine that with interstellar travel, interesting and flawed characters, a good plotline, a mad scientist with a sane AI, and a whodunit, i was entranced. ( )

Now this is a writer who is obviously having fun.

Admittedly there's a thin line between a writer having a lot of fun with a story and the story becoming a little ridiculous and this book does seem to skim a little close to that line on occasion, and then it's just up to the reader whether they might feel that line has been crossed. For me, at least, i just enjoyed this as a totally fun read. And right about now in my life i really needed a good fun read.

While my normal taste in sci-fi is rather highbrow - Le Guin, etc. - this book came like a refreshing breath of fresh air in it's nothing but a full on romp around the galaxy with broad array of characters and shenangians. Yes, there's a serious side to it, millions are going to die unless our protagonist can sort his shit out, but that doesn't hold Joseph back from having fun with it along the way.

As in all of Joseph's books, the characters are wonderful, widely varied and really brought to life, leaving you wanting further appearances in future books.

You can find this book for free on Amazon and then if you like it you can buy the rest of the series - so it's a proper 'try before you buy'. And i think that's another great thing about Joseph, in that he gives away the first books in his 3 series as tasters and then let's the reader make their own minds up freely as to whether they want more or not. I got hooked in this way on 'Book of Deacon' then 'Free Wrench' and now this. And that for me is the mark of a good book, do you buy the rest of the series or walk away and never come back? The answer to all 3 of Joseph's series is yes, yes and yes again for me. I bought the rest of the books to this series straight away and can't wait to read more.

So get yourselves over to Amazon and give Joseph's writing a try if you haven't already done so. For fantasy you want 'Book of Deacon', for steampunk 'Free Wrench' and sci-fi it's this book 'Bypass Gemini'. ( )

Very enjoyable read ( )

If you enjoy science fiction, READ THIS BOOK! I loved it! I haven't loved characters and clever storytelling like this since Firefly went off the air. I can't say enough good things about this book - it's so much fun! Fantastic! Best book I've read in years. ( )

Incredible that a fantasy author could write the freshest science fiction book I've read in a long time. Lallo's cleverness, on show in Bypass Gemini in terms of both plotting and technology, is astounding. I never failed to be surprised by what happened, nor to be delighted by Lallo's explanations of the gadgets his characters use (with the single exception of quantum entanglement, which is not possible).

The only formulaic part of the book was the ending. I was disappointed with the Engineered Public Confession and other hallmarks of mediocre story endings.

With that single exception, Bypass Gemini was a thrill ride for the brain. I strongly urge you to read it, and Mr. Lallo to keep on writing sci-fi! ( )