Zen DiPietro

That was BUCKETS of fun! I am absolutely signed up for the further adventures of Em Fallon.

Translucid is the space opera equivalent of a cheeky Chinese takeaway after a long week at work: utterly delightful. We meet a badass heroine in a terrible situation - her memory ripped from her in an accident - and are left to figure out her life as she does.

For all its suggestive set-up, Zen di Pietro takes time to set out her stall and I found myself wondering whether this was actually the high show more stakes espionage thriller I automatically assumed or Regarding Henry in space. As it turns out, the slow build is an excellent tactic for some neat galaxy-building and gives the awkward situation between Emé and her newly-estranged wife Wren time to develop.

With a final act as high-octane as I could have wished for, Translucid sets up what promises to be a thrilling new series (with space espionage and covert treachery). It remains to be seen how complicated Emé’s love life can get (although coming from a reader who typically disdains a romance (sub)plot, it says a lot about the charm of this narrative and these characters that I'm delighted at the prospect).

Full review.

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. show less

On the land of Terath, a strange problem has occurred. A whole town, called Sorrow, has gone missing-reduced to a pile of ash, with no clues as to what happened there or who was responsible. This is the second time such an event has occurred on Terath and Magistrate Trewe has assembled a team of five experts to investigate the situation. Among the experts are Magistrate Trewe’s favorite nephew, Arc Wilding, a survival and wilderness expert as well as an archer; Will Azrith, a Blade and show more warrior; Luc Petrush, a manahi, one who can harness and control Terath natural energy source, mana; Izzy Gin, a reader and empathy; and a mysterious Shiv, called Justice trained in law, adjudication, weapons and combat. As the team searches for the force that destroyed Sorrow, they will come across strange beings in the far reaches of Apex, discover a mana holder who is dangerously powerful as well as working together to unravel more about each other and themselves.

Imaginative and exciting Seeking Sorrow was an awesome adventure with great characters. I enjoyed watching the characters grow and develop relationships. Each character was well developed and brought something different to the group; they also all seemed liked real people, even though some had extreme abilities. I especially liked Arc and the Justice and the relationship that they formed. Arc was very genuine and down to earth as well as talented and courageous. Justice was trained to be the middle ground, a fighter and emotionless, it was nice to see the Justice transform without losing identity as the search took place. The world of Terath and the mystery of Sorrow were very intriguing. The writing brought together, action, emotion, curiosity and a little bit of magic for a very exciting and fast-paced ending that I didn't see coming.

This book was provided for free in return for an honest review. show less

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars!

I have been looking forward to reading this one for over a month and it did not disappoint! Once I found out that Zen was another redhead like me I had to check it out! :)

This story was intriguing to me because it is about Mana. I play a mmorpg, called Ultima Online(it's an older one, before WoW), and mana is very important. However, it is even more necessary to the Guardians of Terath.

Zen show more DiPietro did an awesome job at building up the plot and characters. Once I got to the middle of the book, I couldn't stop reading. I stayed up into the early morning hours to finish it. I cannot wait for the next book. I am a fan now for sure.

I loved each character, especially the Shiv. I loved all the surprises in this book, and I won't spoil any of them. However, I did not see any of them coming, so it definitely was surprising each time! Zen described the characters so vividly I could picture them in my head. I loved Arc, his charisma never faltered.

This book had some violence, no sex or even kissing that I saw (Here's hoping for a lot of kisses in book two.), and just one bad word "dammit" if you consider that a bad word. So I would definitely recommend this for anyone 13+. I think male and females would equally enjoy this story as well!

The ending was great, but left me wanting me more. I cannot wait for book two to see what happens. I couldn't get enough of this story or the characters.

If you like YA fantasy(but really this book is for any age), awesome characters (especially the one with red hair!), and an awesome plot check out this book, you won't be disappointed! show less

This science fiction novel never quite clicked for me.

Translucid‘s protagonist wakes up not remembering anything about herself. She is soon told that her name’s Emé Fallon and that she’s the security chief of Dragonfire Station. She can remember basic information and all the tasks she was trained to do before her accident, but everything pertaining to who she was is gone. She can’t even remember her own wife.

My main problem with Translucid is that it felt really slow. The entire show more first third is just Emé relearning the station, performing her job as security chief, and trying to get a handle on who she was before the accident. There’s finally a hint at a plot beyond this, but doesn’t get developed on at all until during the second half. And even there, the plot development is lacking. I’m not sure if there was even a climax. If there was, I sure can’t identify it.

For whatever reason, I felt like Translucid lacked depth. I never found anything about it more than surface level – the characterization, the world building, the plot. Surface level can be compensated for with a fast pace and loads of action, but Translucid never delivered on that front. As is, it definitely feels like Translucid‘s missing something.

On the positive side, I think Translucid may be the only book I have ever read where the protagonist is explicitly pansexual. The word is even used, however not by Emé – by her wife when Emé asks her about what she was like before the accident.

I kept waiting for Translucid to come together for me. But even at the end of the book, I felt like not much had happened and that the characterization was one-note. I am not planning on continuing with this series.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page. show less