Cary CaffreyReseñas
Autor de The Girls From Alcyone
Reseñas
The Girls From Alcyone (The Girls from Alcyone #1) por Cary Caffrey
I liked the overall story and the direction the author chose to go. It was plausible, yet far reaching enough to engage my imagination.
What I didn't particularly care for were the seemingly random insertion of expletives and sexual scenes in the book. I'm not a prude and don't have a problem with adult themes, but they didn't fit the story and actually weakened it in my opinion. It appears to me as if they were simply put in to make the story more "grown-up" as they didn't add anything. Such a shame, too. Without these, this would have been an excellent young-adult/tween book that I would have readily recommended. With them, I'll have a harder time doing so.
*This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review at my request.
Sigrid gets her one chance to escape her captivity, shocked to learn it's six years after she was taken. She remembers nothing of her time as a prisoner. While she's on the run, trying to find a way off a planet that space transports were no longer available, she finds others that need her help to safety as well. Other girls like Sigrid. Sigrid also finds new friends and eventually old ones, who help her on the mission she takes once learning who's behind the actions of taking your woman.
Kristin has returned for the third book. Yea!!! I enjoy her many voices for the characters. She makes them each distinct and easy to differentiate while listening. She's even started using musical tones in reading the title page and between parts of the book. Cool. Kristin's voice has become Sigrid for me. I feel as though her emotions are present as Kristin voices her, along with all the characters.
We see how the world has changed with the war that's been going on, the Council of Trade and Finance is gone and Independents are fighting. Sigrid wakes and finds she's on Earth, a place she hasn't been in many years. And there is no transports leaving Earth since the CTF was killed by the Night Witch. Sigrid needs to get home. She wants to return to her friends and loved ones.
In the beginning of this book, I wasn't sure how it would all connect. I had my suspicions but wasn't sure. It seemed like the story was far from where we were at the end of book two, but we are six years later. The story had it's slower moments until we get to the point where things connect and turn for Sigrid. There are surprises in moments for Sigrid, in who she has to deal with and how they arrive.
The story comes around to connect and back to the one thing that drives Sigrid to attack. Though, through the story I still wondered how it was that she came to escape so easily in the beginning. I know a few tidbits were dropped, that she would eventually break their hold and all but in the end it seems as though it was a plan from the one who held control over her. Yet that person said she shouldn't have escaped. I'm not sure if she really broke their hold with distance being a factor, though with the ending it's possible.
Cary starts us into a different setting with new characters and plot to get the story rolling. We do come back to Sigrid and the one person she's after. Sigrid finds herself in fights and battles as she works toward her goal. But, with Sigrid it feels as she doesn't want to fight and kill. I love that Sigrid has a deep feeling for humanity and lives. Oh she's powerful and talented enough to kill, and we see that as well, but she doesn't want to do it.
This feels like the series is coming full circle with Sigrid. Earth is where the story started, so why not bring her back here. This is not the end of the series though. An end to an arc story, yes, but Sigrid, Suko, Lady Hitomi, and others of Alcyone will return in book four.
Sigrid, Lady Hitomi and all the girls have a price on their heads. But they need supplies badly in order to continue building their new home and survive. Sigrid is sent to acquire these, and ends up taking a job for supplies that are beyond valuable to them now, to learn that she was tricked. Now, the coordinates to New Alcyone is in the hands of another looking to make some serious cash. The deception opens up the possibilities of trouble for the girls. There are others hunting the girls of Alcyone, and have their own projects in process. And Sigrid is determined to keep them all safe, at any cost.
Dr. Farrington is determined to continue researching what Lady Hitomi Kimura has done with the girls. He's determined to do more than she did. Running to Bellatrix, he finds there are others here with their own facility, and working on what he wants to do.
Kristin is a favorite voice of mine. She does many different tones, accents, and emotions in her voices as we listen to the story. All these differences present help differentiate characters for me, and makes them more individual and personalized. As always, Kristin's voice is crystal clear in speaking and no background noise as well as seamless in flow. A pleasure to listen to.
This book starts like the previous ends, and my kind of story. Action and danger at each decision. I believe the girls would be in trouble if Sigrid doesn't act, yet it was her action that could bring danger to their doorstep and gives Sigrid the reason to correct what was started. There are slower times as they plan to protect New Alcyone by finding those after them. But I felt this was attracting due to the setting up of the people in positions and clues to where they are going and what they will look for. This book kept that feel throughout the story, adding more weight and backing to who Sigrid is after, and why.
We learn there is new research being done, and these prototypes might be more dangerous. The things these doctors are doing! They are just mad! But it's the next logical step in what they started to create with Alcyone. Scary.
This book feels more adult to me than the first book as well. The first book was them growing up and training, this is Sigrid and the first set of girls as they fight to survive. There are intimate moments with Sigrid and Suko. The private moments are rather detailed, so definitely adult content. These two ladies have a solid relationship and we see the romance between them through the book. Suko flirts more than Sigrid in stressful moments, but it helps them and us get through the serious moments and reminds that there is love there.
We do get addition POV's with Sigrid. In doing so we learn different directions and plans of others, slowly they come to light as we go through the book, all coming together. I feel there is more story and drive in this book where in the first book we got more of the girls growing up and training, which felt slow to me.
The ending... Oh my! Sigrid... Wow. I can't tell you but it takes the story to a new direction and makes me worry. What has happened? Oh, we were lead to this by everything in this book pointing to here, but it's still a shocker when we get there.
I was engrossed in this story the whole time. For me, this book was better than the first and I'm pleased I continued with the series. Where Sigrid is now... oh I am soooo looking forward to the next book!
The Girls from Alcyone by Cary Caffrey is the first novel in the series by the same name. In the 24th century on Earth, the world is controlled by corporations. Trying to escape financial ruin, many sell their children to mercenary companies, such as the Kimura Corporation. Sigrid is one such child. Her parents sold Sigrid to the Kimura Corporation for the money, but little do they know that Kimura sought Sigrid out because of her genetic make-up. This genetic make-up will allow them to alter her into an enhanced killing machine. Sigrid comes to Kimura scared and the runt of the group, leading to a lot of bullying. But as the girls at Alcyone develop and grow, they begin to realize that they are pawns in a greater war amongst the corporations. Sigrid and her friends must figure out a way to live as free women untethered to and unsought by any corporations.
This was an action filled story that followed the girls at Alcyone, the Kimura research facility, from the time they are girls to adulthood. Caffrey does a good job adding in parts throughout to highlight the relationships between the girls as they grow older. I especially liked the later parts of the story when Sigrid is on her own acting as a mercenary. That is the time that she is the most strong and smart and becomes her own self and a leader. There is a nice mix of getting to know more about the characters and action. However, even though the story had all the elements that I love in a story, somehow I didn’t love the character of Sigrid, I felt like there was still distance between the characters and the reader, and that I wasn’t completely engrossed in their lives. This might be because of how much time the novel covers. Additionally, the science aspect was glossed over considerably. Overall, there were a lot of twists and turns to the story and filled with adventure.
The narration by Kristin James was good. She was able to consistently capture the voices of the characters. There were some accents that I didn’t like, in that they felt a little off, but overall the characters were distinguishable and consistent. The production quality was good as well. I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes stories about rebelling against the controlling population and a story full of powerful women.
Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.
Sigrid's parents sell her to Kimura due to the debt they own. Kimura has found Sigrid has a rare genetic code, and it's perfect for their program. Sigrid grows up in the academy, taught to take care of herself and becomes stronger mentally and physically. Sigrid and the other girls don't realize they are a secret experiment. But when the secret gets out, Sigrid will have to fight to save herself, her love, and those she's grown to see as her sisters. Finding out who's behind the attacks will be harder than Sigrid expected, and safe harbor is needed for all the girls like her.
I do love listening to Kristin's voice(s). Each character truly feels as though they have their own voice and personality as I listen to her bring the characters to life in voice. Oh the music leading in at the title, wow. Seems to fit the image of the cover. I really liked it! There are a few accents in the story as the girls are from different places, a Kiwi one for Suko and Kristin voices it true. The little extras that are added to voice effects is a bonus for me. Kristin does this like when in water and water muffles talking as it covers a characters mouth.
There are many young girls brought together at Alcyone at a young age of 8-9. We see the girls grow closer as they are trained and suffer from the abuse of other girls bullying them. I found the beginning slow with this growing of the girls. The beginning is all about Sigrid and Suko at the academy and how others were cruel to Sigrid and how Suko came to her rescue. Other than Sigrid not wanting to be at the academy, I don't know what the direction of the story was. I guess that they are growing into and trained to be mercenaries?
Then things pick up. When the girls find trouble during a training exercise, men trying to take the girls, that's when the story started to pick up, which was in chapter 6, 2 hours into the 10 hour book. Then it calms again. When things go sideways for Sigrid and others like her, that's when the story became more interesting for me. There is a good bit of action in trying to take Sigrid and others along with how they react to stay free. This is the last third of the book. It feels as we get a lot of growing up and friendship and enemy bonds made in much of this book. For me, it's a bit slow in moving for all of this even though it's showing the world as a vast place and setting it up for the troubles that will come. I found the book moved better after the halfway point of the story.
Most of the book is Sigrid's POV. Then we start getting POV's from Carl, Suko, Selene, and a few others to see the different sides of the story. We also get views from the scientific side of the researcher through Dr. Lisa Garrett's journal entries. This tells us what they are doing to the girls to make them stronger, faster, and more enhanced. We also see how the enhancements work with the girls through Sigrid's story. It seems all done to the girls doesn't harm them, which is what they were looking for in the genetics so that none are harmed.
I found the book a space opera with the direction of Sigrid living a life. It was a soft story as everything Sigrid comes across in troubles, she easily dominates and works through it. Things seem to be easy for her, like the bully in school and how she just disappears. Then taking over a small vessel that was trying to capture her. Sigrid is powerful, but it doesn't seem like there is a challenge out there for you. I didn't have the worry of danger going into these scenes and for that didn't feel invested with Sigrid.
At the beginning I could have seen this story being a wonderful YA sci fi opera story except for the sex scenes that are present. Then as Sigrid and the girls grew up and ventured out on their own, the story aged too. They experience things and we start to see the conspiracies forming.
Oh, about the book description. It mentions that Sigrid and Suko are two special girls with a rare genetic structure. It's true, they are. But they are not the only two. The girls at Alcyone are all found to have the rare genetic coding. So there are more than these two, it's just that we see these two more closely in the story. Also, I took the fighting done by these two as they were a team together. Not always. Most of it is actually Sigrid and Suko's not aware of what's happening out in the universe as Sigrid is learning all the information.
By the end of the book, it was exactly what I wanted from my space operas. I am curious to see if the next book keeps up the pace that this book ended on.
There is some romance, but it takes a backseat to the action and intrigue. There are just too many earth-shaking things going on for the author to give it more space and time. I particularly appreciate the author's attention to the details of his future world...from the logistics of space travel through vast interstellar systems to high speed planet-to-orbit elevators. The plot is also relatively complicated (from teen angst to political intrigue and machinations) compared to a typical genre lesbian romance, but not so that you can't follow it easily.
After I read the book, I checked out amazon for the reviews. FF books normally only get about a dozen reviews. And cheap books like this would be lucky to get 1 single reveiw. This book got 140 reviews and about 110 are 4 or 5-star ratings. Impressive for a first time author. I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel. Its interesting to note that some people gave it 1-star rating because they were "shocked" by the idea of 2 girls falling in love.
btw, the romance is sweet and very well done even though the author appears to be a man.
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