Jean Johnson (1) (1972–)

I can't help it. I really like this series. I'm perfectly well aware that its heroine is larger than life. Ia's powers are humongous and one of them is precognition, so she never has to doubt her decisions. She knows exactly what the consequences of her actions will be. The evil guys are really evil. Well, perhaps not really evil, because in their case its just their particularly flavour of xenopsychology, but still. They don't know when to quit, so there's no reason to feel guilty about wiping out an entire race (and no, that is not a spoiler; anyone reading this series knows that that is what Ia has prophesied from day one). So, there's no need to worry, because everything will happen Ia's way, even if the tasks thrown at her are just as humongous as her powers are. That way Ia has an excuse to almost run herself into the ground several times (a ploy I'm not really fond of; I'd much prefer it if we could start admiring heroines who know how to take care of themselves instead of walking an talking burnouts waiting to happen).
But in the end, I just like Ia. I like her knowing everything. I like the world she creates around herself, the friends she makes, the loyalty she inspires. I'm very glad the book ends the way it does, anything else would have been a bit sappy. Now, it ends the way it should.

There were several bits in the beginning that were too disjointed for me, but then I was in tears in the last quarter of the book, so I think 4 stars is fair. I really have to see what else Mrs. Johnson has written...… (meer)

I rather enjoyed this book, but I must admit that it is not very good. The author gets too hung up on protocol descriptions. And clothing descriptions. And speeches. Those are arguably the worst. Yes, I understand the whole lack-of-jungen thing is a big deal, but the repeated speeches about how unacceptable the V'dan behaviour is can easily get on your nerves. Plus, it is seriously unbelievable in some places. I understand prejudice can be insidious, but the V'dan have been hit over the head with the error of their viewpoint. I am sure this does not always change the way they see things, but at the very least they know that those viewpoints are unacceptable, so to air them in a critical moment when giving medical aid to someone who has been attacked seems a bit much. Particularly when said medical worker blames the victim for being attacked. I don't believe a well-trained professional would have said anything of the kind if the victim had been a true juvenile., so that should translate to not saying it here either.
Despite all that, I liked reading this book. I guess I enjoy methodical descriptions and some self-righteousness at times... And one really good point is that both the Terran and the V'dan society are truly without misogyny. With the major cliffhanger at the end, I immediately continued in book 3.… (meer)

Shoot! This is the last book in the series so far, the next one hasn't been written yet. I hope Jean Johnson is a fast writer... Again, I loved this book. I had a moment of boredom during one of the battles at the beginning, but after I again enjoyed this book the way I did the previous two. I liked very much that there was a scene where Ia relaxed a bit (at one of the Wakes, the parties aboard the ship Hellfire), and I would have wanted a few more of those. Yes, I know Ia has to save the world and doesn't have time for parties, but it would have been nice if she could have saved the world with a few minutes to spare. It lightens up the book a bit. In this book, there were also some things that went wrong, which I think is a good thing with Ia being a massive precog. It shows some vulnerability on Ia's side. This book also shows a bit more about the Feyori, which was very interesting (and also resulting in a lighter scene that I liked very much).

Like I said in my previous reviews, I'm not sure why I haven't gotten bored with a protagonist who foresees everything yet, but somehow I still want to know how everything will play out, and I'm hoping the next one will come out soon. If it had been there already, I would have started it immediately, meaning I would read all four books in a row. Too bad I have to wait now...… (meer)