I normally cross the store to avoid this badass chick stuff, but I guess I thought this one would be different. Maybe it was because I had been to three Barnes & Noble stores and still hadn't found anything I was interested in, so when all else fails, get the book with the pretty woman on the cover. (Hey it's worked for centuries.) You know how it is when you've got a gift card burning a hole in your pocket.

Dresdemona Devos, a.k.a. Dred isn't a vampire or P.I., she's a prisoner on an orbiting facility full of hardened criminals. A wretched hive of scum and villainy etc. etc. As such, I thought it'd be a lot grittier and even sexier than it was, but it's very tame, bland. We find out very early on that Dred is just a big softy deep down, and all her posturing is for show, so it was hard for me to buy her as the "Dread Queen" of Queensland (the name for the section of the ship she happens to rule.) She isn't even a criminal. Well, technically she is, but she was a vigilante hunting down worse ones. And I thought this book was going to challenge me to sympathize with someone unlikable.

Character development is a good thing, of course, but what is here is often repetitive and formulaic and it slows the story down to a crawl. There's an obvious budding romance between Dred and a "new fish" who has joined her faction. Maybe it'll have a surprise later, but at 99 pages in none of it is holding my attention yet so it's time to let it go and move on.

When Jael arrives on the prison ship Perdition, Dred and her men happen to be scouting for new bodies to replace the ones who died in skirmishes with other territorial rulers. Big, strong Jael passes the test and is recruited. While battling for their lives, they become closer and closer still.

This was the follow-up to the Sirantha Jax series that I wanted. It takes place in the same universe, but much, much later, and includes Jael, a character you'll remember--maybe not fondly--from the Jax books. I, however, liked Jael. I was torn by his betrayal. So I'm glad to see him again, learning to be a different and better person, and learning to care for himself.

But the real star of this book is the Dread Queen herself, Dred. No, she didn't pick the title. And she doesn't care for the whole queen-and-court idea. But living on a prison ship and trying to stay alive while controlling your territory and taking care of your people calls for a woman to make certain concession, and one of them is to constantly act the part of the badass queen.

Dred is... Well, if you liked Sirantha Jax, you're going to like Dred. She's the same type of person. She puts on a tough face in public and lets her guard down only with those she trusts, and she trusts very few people.

Also typical of Ann Aguirre is the excellent supporting cast. Dred is surrounded by the strong and devoted Einar, the sly Tam, the possibly dangerous Martine, Ike the wise old man, and Will, the psychotic psychic.

I'm really looking forward to further books in this series. ( )

liable characters - ok world building - plenty of room to continue the adventures - no great depth of meaning but a fun adventure - some minimally graphical adult situations
would probably read more by author ( )

I adore Ann Aguirre's Sirantha Jax series, but I think I may love Dred even more. She's fiery, tough, regal, amazingly human and real. Surprisingly I even found myself liking Jael after hating him in the Jax series. I don't think any other author could have made me feel that way about a character I thoroughly disliked. I look forward to the rest of this series. ( )

Loooooved it! I can't wait to read next book. ( )