Review: Company Daughter

I picked up Company Daughter, in spite of the cover, because I like to cook. Since you don’t see a lot of emphasis on cooking in science fiction, I was curious how this book would incorporate that element into the tale. It languished in my TBR pile for a long time, and I finally picked it up and started to read without high expectations (the cover… I do judge a book by the cover, and this one says ‘amateur’ or maybe ‘debut indie’ to me. Not a death knell, but makes me hesitate to see a photo on a SF cover.) company daughter

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the story itself drew me in and along, making me disinclined to put it down until I was done. Not always easy, given the pace of my life and the level of distractions. I was intrigued by the ogres – bio-engineered troops – and the cooking. The main character I wasn’t terribly sympathetic with, but…

Ok, here’s the thing. This is a Young Adult novel. Part of me says ‘woo-hoo! YA SF!’ because you just don’t see that very often these days (although, yes, it is starting to happen more) and the other part of me, the Mother-Thing, says ‘oh, child…’ as I follow Aleta’s decisions that lead her deeper and deeper into trouble. But as the story went on, I found I liked her more and she’s definitely a plucky, semi-competent (and learning!) child. This is also, in time-honored YA tradition, a romance. Sort of.

Some of the side characters are really well done. Others seem to come and go at the convenience of the plot but that’s ok. The story still flows on. The end is well done, satisfyingly enough while still leaving a sequel more than open. In fact, the teaser at the end of the book left me looking for that sequel and disappointed it’s not yet available. I followed the author on Amazon, so I’ll know when it comes out.

Overall, this is a fun story, aimed for a younger audience but not unreadable for the older set (heh. I’m such an old lady…). I’d recommend it to my readers, with the caveat that it does seem to be a debut novel, and I expect the author to get better. There is a bit of roughness to the writing style and action sequences. However, it is a fun read, and I’m looking forward to the next one!

And I Just realized I know the author… Hah! I have far too many books on my Kindle. Well, through my absent-mindedness you get an unbiased review (not that I would have been biased before, but, you know. I did buy the book.) I must remember to ask her for something to do ETWYRT on – maybe noodles!


Comments

4 responses to “Review: Company Daughter”

  1. Reality Observer Avatar
    Reality Observer

    My favorite “Sector General” novel is “The Galactic Gourmet.”

    I’ll need to check this one out, thanks; there isn’t enough cooking in my SF either. There are two “basic” needs of humanity – and far too much attention (IMHO) is paid to the other one…

    1. I really need to finish my read of the Sector General novels, I have them in hardcover omnibuses.

      I think SF as a genre pays more attention to the big picture problems. Saving the world, meeting aliens, and so on. Rightly so, most of the time. But stories like this one (and it reminds me a bit of the early Nathan Lowell books, like Quarter Share) are small, but intimate.

  2. Thank you for the review, Cedar–it’s always nice to graduate from the TBR pile 🙂

    1. I’m looking forward to the next one! That was a good teaser at the end.