Echowake by John G Stevens
I haven’t done this in a while, but it has been a long way coming with this review - so I hope you are ready.Â
I did this as an author exchange project: we all read 3 SF book, and 3 other authors read our book. If you’d like, you can see all reviews for Republic’s Chosen here.Â
I gave Echowake 4* on GR.Â
Trade is running. It seems every place he goes is another place he cannot stay, and even the comfort of new friendships cannot settle the nagging feeling that even at night, as he dreams, he’s not quite safe…
Echowake had a grabbing beginning – something I value in a book. It immediately gives us a mystery to untangle, leaving us with a lot more questions we had before beginning.
The book takes us on exciting adventures, from one planet to another, letting us explore this curious story world through the eyes of several well-built characters. It keeps a firm hand on intertwining storylines, while focusing on the main problem: that everybody seems to want something from Trede, while he just wishes to be left alone to deliver his cargo from point A to point B!
The only real issue I discovered with this novel is that it slows down the action considerably midway, just when a reveal ought to happen. A mystery, albeit engaging, can lose its charm if dragged out for too long. For all the exciting bits we got to read about which included Maej, we still didn’t get a clear idea of what his actual goal is.
And since Trede’s goal is to always run away from the problem, there is a risk that some readers might get bored halfway through.
But don’t lose faith!
The action picks up soon enough, with all the characters we’ve been getting to know suddenly launching into action. To give the author props, the events flow in a very nice and logical way at this point. It’s easy to follow the narrative as the final challenge unfolds, and no character gets simply left behind as a mere instrument to support the central hero.
 To that effect, I value good characters above all else, even above a great story or marvelous world building. A character is what keeps me going. And with the wonderful way Stevens manages to characterize his heroes, and to give them agency without forcing it, I can say there is a lot to stay for. I am particularly impressed by Cassidy, who is beautifully built, with an ambitious personality and an incredibly quick, intelligent mind – a person who is also kind, and passionate, and impatient, and unique.
Therefore, I hope in future works Stevens writes more than 1 woman main character in an entire group of engaging personalities to lead the novel. I think he’d manage it brilliantly.
(Which by the way reminds me to add that the secondary women characters have great agency and I cannot believe in this day and age I have to be grateful for it, but here we are, I am, and props to Stevens for writing real persons unlike many of our colleagues in the genre, amin.)
Overall, I enjoyed the story a great deal. Magic, sci-fi, science! Oh, the science! It’s used as a weapon as much as magic or you know—actual weapons, so I was so incredibly pleased with that.
I’d definitely recommend the book to a friend. And if you, dear reader, love to take your time with the action, this sci-fi will fit you!
Stay readin’,
Ro-ri
