e-book received from LT member giveaway

I tried to get into this one multiple times and just got confused. It definitely needs revision work. The bits that I picked up on seemed to be almost completely fight scenes and fast paced action. It needed some sections to slow things down. This book has "first season" in the title and it read like a tv show script. Just too tough to follow in book format. ( )

Really just had a hard time following the stoyline and this was a just a hard read. Needs a lot of editing. Story has no real flow to it. Good effort though. ( )

The story line morphs from a plausible Sci-Fi good vs bad shooter into a martial arts clan blood feud. There is no character development and characters have little depth.

The story moves along rapidly and should appeal to those who like action sci-fi and are not looking for an in-depth read. I lost interest when it became apparent that the book was about martial arts super powers. ( )

If "Criticality - The Complete First Season" by Edmund Alexander Sims was a television show, I would probably be one of the die-hard watchers. It contains everything a great television show should have: quirky characters, tragic heroes, explosions, martial arts, lots of action, awesome futuristic setting and a twisty-turvy plot that keeps you going - huh...how'd that happen? But as a book, I have to say it is not what I would call good read.

The story opens with and advertisement for "Second Earth", a newly terra-formed planet, as a potential relocation spot for people who want to start life anew. It highlights the amazing beauty as a planet, the economic fluency and the richness of its cultural centers. Then quickly clips over to meet our tragic hero, Peter Rogue, who wishes his misery was over, but just isn't man enough to do it himself. We follow Peter and Julian (Second Earth Special Police Force partner) as they deal with a hostage situation only to discover the plot thickens when the "Space Force" shows their faces and enlists the duo and other specially selected Second Earth Special Police Force officers to assist with a high priority assignment.

I had not really researched on the story before I read it so I was not prepared for the television script-like writing style. I was expecting a bit more descriptive writing that would draw me into the setting and paint the stage for the world I was about to experience. Instead I got a blank slate, the characters were never really described, and no physical attributes were ever given. The most prominent description I can remember from the books is how the main character Pete Rogue was rugged. The author used the word rugged it got to the point that if I read the word "rugged" in reference to him one more time I was going to scream. When I think rugged, I think Chuck Norris, and I hate Chuck Norris so you can imagine how I came to feel about the main character. The lack of character description left me with blank faced mannequins whom I never once turned into an actual person, caring for the character's well-being or relating to them as humans was impossible.

The personalities of the characters were inconsistent. One sentence they are angry and defiant, the next sentence they are meek and subordinate to the person they just acted all defiant to, with no explanations - talk about sudden mood swings. You get told they behave a certain way; the next moment they don't. I swear all the characters in this book are bi-polar. I fully understand that you don't disclose all of a character's behaviors in order to preserve the story line but if the main character is so eaten up with a need for revenge for the killer of his wife, he doesn't just move on to greener pastures without exacting a retribution of hell on that person after a little visit with them. These inconsistencies made the story plot anti-climatic.

Just as the characters were left blank so was the stage, almost no physical characteristics were given for the scenery, buildings, hallways, clothing; it was all a blank slate. If it is a futuristic setting surely things have changed physically - give me some detail!! It was like the author said: "Here, this is what the characters said and did. The planet is like earth. Figure out the rest on your own". This caused me great difficulty becoming submersed in the story.

Then just as I resigned myself to the lack of details on the characters and scenery, the author decided to leave gaps in the storyline. One minute the heroes are about to face a great evil foe who can destroy a crowd of armed officers with one sweep of his hand - then boom we jump to the police station where the heroes are being berated for causing all that damage. What damage??? When did that happen, last a reader knew was the characters were about to fight - where the hell is the fight scene!?!? This might work in a television script but in a novel, it's a big no-no.

I wanted to get to the end to figure out how it tied all together but the lack of supportive data made me give up at 200 pages, I just couldn't finish it. You can see that the author enjoys writing, it shows through in the plot with all the crazy tie-ins; he is truly a good television script writer. But as a novelist, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone to read. ( )