L.K. Rigel

In this re-read of a Pride and Prejudice variation we view the life of Charlotte Lucas and her marriage to Mr. Collins. Can either be truly happy in this marriage especially with the spectre of Lady Catherine hovering over their lives.
An enjoyable story bringing both characters to life.

The author of Spiderwork (In Flagrante Apocalypto #2) calls her series a romance, but I think that's doing it an injustice. There are bigger themes at work here – the breakdown of humanity and its rebuilding, with tyrants, political intrigue, city-states, manipulations, and the resurgence of old gods and ancient religion. In a twist of reader irony, Spiderwork's being more than a simple love story, is what frustrates me the most about this novella (perhaps the series?) even though I loved show more it.

Rigel has a lot of plates spinning in the air. Spiderwork is potentially a complex story, with good characterizations, including a capricious god who has no compunction against making an example (killing) her loyal followers for their very human foibles. There are characters who sacrifice power for love, and those who risk everything for power.

The redevelopment of an old religion is another pervasive theme, with two rival gods, and hints of opposing worship practices. This is precisely the flaw of the story though... too many hints, not enough words in this short-ish installment.

*mild spoilers ahead*

Some of the spinning plates are dropped. What happened to Sky and Tesla? Were they ever found, was the technology recovered? How did Alice and the bees survive Sameal's cleansing fire? Sameal's worshipers are only referenced, but clearly important, so in what way is this rival faith developing, and if it's not, why not? How is Garrick's industrial and oil-dependent city surviving in a world that has regressed to mostly pre- and early- industrial conditions? And we still know next to nothing about the Empani – who appear to be an empath/morph race or hybrid. How did they come about, and what are their motivations?*

In spite of these flaws, which mostly boil down to “TOO SHORT,” (I know! I'm harping, I'm a harpy!) I really love the story and the world-building that is occurring here. I read quite a bit of post-apocalyptic fiction, and rarely see stories where a science-based society is returning to a faith-based one. Spiderwork is more fantasy than science fiction, but it's still quite solidly in the middle of the two genres as a cross-over – with a world that is still looking to the development of technology as a survival mechanism, but has been thrown into undeniable contact with old gods, their schemes and their desires.

I'm definitely looking forward to the next piece of the tale.

*addendum: in response to some of these questions (posed here in this review, and elsewhere by other reviewers) Rigel has expanded this installment of the series. (Score one for indies, who can revise a new work if needed.) Some of the dangling plotlines are either resolved or explained - and a good job too, they weren't overdone, so it doesn't feel like a knee-jerk revision - and some seem to be left for a later volume.

Much more satifying. show less

This is the second book in LK Rigel’s In Flagrante Apocalyto series, being equal parts paranormal and science fiction. I liked Space Junque (book #1 in series) because it introduced me to a genre I had never encountered before. The characters were interesting, the plot was interesting, and the world was interesting. Well, I liked Spiderwork even more. My initial reactions upon finishing the book were…”excellent”! And I believe the main reason for that is the plot and the characters show more just felt deeper – more complex and each unique in their own ways. Being the second book in the series, we also learn about more parts of the world LK has created. For example, in Space Junque, I was disappointed that what Ms. Rigel called “ghosts” wasn’t explained in a way that I could understand what they were and exactly how they fit into the world. But that resolves itself completely in Spiderwork when one ghost plays an important part in the progression of the story. And may I add, I really liked this character and I’m hoping for more “ghost” action in any of her upcoming books.

The world is also changed from what we saw in Space Junque. What is left of the people that inhabit the planet are ruled by the laws of the goddess Asherah. It’s 8 years after the big war and this almost like having to learn about a whole new world (not quite, but L K has changed her world in some major ways and that takes a bit of getting used to). What I liked about this was we don’t just get one perspective, but two – those of Char and Durga. Both of these women know the same people and have great influence in the political realm but they are different enough we are allowed a glimpse into much more of the world by the split of perspectives. Both of their love stories are also fabulous and add greatly to the reader’s understanding of how these two women’s lives fit into the greater picture that is essentially Asherah’s world. And the souls! I really wish I knew a way to say something about this without spoilers, but um…that was great! The only thing I felt missing from the story was a deeper understanding of some of the peripheral characters. For instance, I would like to know more about Garrick and the chalices (Maribel and Faina come to mind). They are in the story just enough for me to want more but not enough to satisfy my curiousity.

So, if I were you, would I read Spiderwork after having read Space Junque? Yes! Would I read Space Junque just so I could get to some more juicy bits in Spiderwork? That’s a yes also!

Note: Spiderwork was quickly edited to add additional scenes and reposted to Amazon within a week of it’s release. This review is for the second, edited version. show less

Unlike the first two novellas in this series, which leaned much more towards SF/F than Romance, Bleeder is unapologetically a Happily Ever After (or Happy For Now) romantic fiction. Still, I think it would be a mistake to classify it completely as either Paranormal Romance, or Urban Fantasy, and in truth, I probably never would have read this except for the strong science fiction and fantasy influences that were present in Space Junque and Spiderwork.

All of this makes Bleeder both show more wonderfully and frustratingly unexpected.

Wonderfully: I am not a particular fan of the romance genre, for many reasons, primarily because beyond my teens (when I read mostly gentle classics,) I've read so few romances that were worth my time, being jammed full of brainless twits making bad decisions, having clichéd misunderstandings, in ridiculous situations, and still getting the guy (or girl) in the end. Bleeder had no brainless twits, although it did sport the requisite underdeveloped villain-as-catalyst. In fact, the story relied on very few of the typical romance ploys to move the story along, instead it developed an actual story – the remaking and recovery of a destroyed and nearly barren world – told from a limited viewpoint. As such, it works very well to drive a satisfying romance.

Frustratingly: There are such Big Ideas in this story. You have the concept of womb slavery, an idea that Margaret Atwood treated with such disrespect in The Handmaid's Tale. You have caste systems, and environmentalism. Oh gods! you have emergent religions! progressive and regressive politics! Eugenics! But each of these ideas are seen as if through the window of a speeding train. It was these ideas that really got me excited about the story, and ultimately so, so frustrated at the tease.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy the story. In fact, I enjoyed the hell out of it. The writing is excellent, and the lack of clichéd expressions in a romance novel, refreshing. Storyline loose-ends from the previous novellas were definitely addressed, deftly woven into the story. Definitely recommended. show less