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The Vastalimi Gambit (2013)

by Steve Perry

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Cutter's Wars (2)

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342708,031 (3.45)None
At the close of the twenty-fourth century, a series of revolutions has caused the galaxy to descend into chaos. With the Galactic Union Army stretched thin, mercenary units have arisen for those who have the need--and the means--to hire them...   Kay, the alien member of the Cutter Force Initiative, has returned to her brutal home world of Vast on a mission of mercy. Before she joined the merc team, she was a great healer. And now her skills are sorely needed. Hundreds of Vastalimi--including her blood-kin--are dying mysteriously.   But is the plague a work of nature? Or is it a bioengineered virus, purposefully unleashed? Kay and Doc Wink will have to find out the hard way.   With the Cutter Force light-years away, the two find the odds against them--and on a planet like Vast, where violence abounds and life is cheap, they may be facing a foe they can't defeat...… (more)
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This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer. Title: The Vastalimi Gambit Series: Cutter's Wars Author: Steve Perry Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars Genre: SF Pages: 304 Synopsis: Doc and Kay the Vastalimi, have returned to her home world to investigate a new plague that seems to be randomly killing various Vastalimi. The rest of Cutter's Crew puts out a little brushfire of a situation and then heads to Vastalimi to help out Doc and Kay. And the incorruptable Vastalimi police force is involved *eye roll* My Thoughts: After my initial rapture with the first book, I was all set to love this as well. However, either Perry's writing dropped a lot OR I used my brains and not my gun loving to read this one. Sadly, this was just plain mediocre. Cutter's whole crew should have been involved from the get go, not 3/4 of the way through. There was a LOT of profanity [which I don't remember from the first book, but it might have been there] and I dropped a full star for interspecies sex [albeit non-graphic]. There was lots of skulking, posturing and the occasional chase/fight/shootout/whatever, but it seemed very blase to me. I'm not sure why but this book just didn't click with me like the first book did. If a 3rd book ever gets written I'll probably read it but I won't be waiting for it, counting the days, etc, etc. " ( )
  BookstoogeLT | Dec 10, 2016 |
This book started out promisingly, but devolved into a muddled mess with a very disappointing ending.

I generally like Steve Perry books and I had read the first book in this series, which I thought was okay (just okay), so I thought I would give this sequel a chance. And he let me down. Oh well.

The book is about two members of the Cutter’s Force Initiative, a team of mercenaries — Kay and Wink. Wink is a human doctor and a merc. Kay is an alien Vastalimi, all of whom are stronger and faster than humans. It’s almost impossible to beat them in combat. Kay has been serving with Cutter when she gets a message from her brother telling her of a plague that has broken out on her home planet of Vast and asking her to return, as she’s an excellent Healer. Kay goes and brings Wink with her. However, it’s dangerous. The Vastalimi don’t like humans and they don’t like Kay either. Indeed, she’s challenged to a battle to the death, which she wins. We meet her brother, a doctor, and her sister, a member of the police. On Vast, the police are all powerful. They are judge, jury, and executioner and can kill you on the spot if they deem it warranted.

Meanwhile, Cutter and his crew are fighting a minor merc war on a backwater planet. This part of the book just seems like filler to me. It really adds nothing. So back to Kay and Wink. Wink determines it’s poison that’s killing off the Vastilimi and he and Kay start asking questions. Then they get kidnapped. They’re not heard from for several days, so Cutter and the others leave their planet and go to Vast to search for them. However, they’ve escaped and are out interviewing potential suspects. And on and on. It gets really boring, the interviews. It seems like filler too. Perry must have had a minimum words requirement to fulfill because this book could have been edited down.

*** SPOILER ALERT ***

The end is beyond anticlimactic. It’s deeply disappointing. The culprit behind the murderous plague is Kay’s sister. She thinks the police are going downhill, that they’re not getting the quality of the recruits they once got. So she concocts this plan to kill off various criminals, as well as innocents — including members of her own family — to throw people off the trail, just so the police would look good in solving the crime and so they could recruit better once again. Yeah. It’s utterly stupid. And to make it worse, Perry can’t write a book without gratuitous sex scenes, so Wink and Kay end up in the sack together, with Wink thinking about a threesome. And that’s it. The ending sucks!!! I can’t believe I read this. For part of the book, I was engaged. There were some exciting moments. But the slow parts drag it down and the ending kills it. Too bad. Not recommended. ( )
  scottcholstad | Jun 26, 2014 |
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Steve Perryprimary authorall editionscalculated
Bray, R. C.Narratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Keller, KrisCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Worrell, LesleyCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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At the close of the twenty-fourth century, a series of revolutions has caused the galaxy to descend into chaos. With the Galactic Union Army stretched thin, mercenary units have arisen for those who have the need--and the means--to hire them...   Kay, the alien member of the Cutter Force Initiative, has returned to her brutal home world of Vast on a mission of mercy. Before she joined the merc team, she was a great healer. And now her skills are sorely needed. Hundreds of Vastalimi--including her blood-kin--are dying mysteriously.   But is the plague a work of nature? Or is it a bioengineered virus, purposefully unleashed? Kay and Doc Wink will have to find out the hard way.   With the Cutter Force light-years away, the two find the odds against them--and on a planet like Vast, where violence abounds and life is cheap, they may be facing a foe they can't defeat...

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