The Cold Between

The Cold Between by Elizabeth Bonesteel is the beginning of an interesting new SF series. Part military sci-fi, part space opera, part mystery and a little bit of romance. It’s an interesting and very entertaining book that has a nicely contained story that doesn’t leave you hanging, but still makes you want to continue the series to learn more about the characters and this universe.

Elena Shaw is a strong lead character who is driven, competent and no nonsense. Elena hooks up with Treiko Zajec, a retired space captain and erstwhile chef, for a presumed one-night stand. When Elena’s former lover winds up murdered, things quickly get a lot more complicated. Strong secondary characters, particularly Elena’s friend Jessica and show more captain Greg, add to a story that’s fueled by mystery and conflict involving both planetary and galactic governments. The mystery dates back to a 25 year old tragedy involving Greg’s mom and may just be the tip of something even more sinister.

Bonesteel does a good job of juggling different plot elements, but it is the strong characters that drive the story here. There’s a lot to like here and I’m looking forward to where she takes the story next in this new Central Corps series. Bonesteel is clearly a talented writer and The Cold Between stands out as something a little different than your typical military sci fi. Recommended read.

I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book. show less

This book was suggested to me based on my love for Lois McMaster Bujold. It's not *quite* as good as Bujold, but it does have several of my favorite aspects of her books: great characterization, a plot which mixes politics, diplomacy and action, people from different societies needing to coexist, love between mature adults, and positive gender relations.

Bonesteel (is that her real name?) has written a fast-paced, high-stakes story with plenty of twists and reversals -- a story which kept me up too late on a work night, which is of course one of the highest praises for any book.

I've bought the next book in the series and am looking forward to reading it, not just because I anticipate a fun plot but because I genuinely want to find out show more what happens next to the characters. show less

Unfortunately, a rather tepid read for me.

The underlying mystery and action sequences in this book were pretty well-rendered and the plot moves along at a reasonable clip. However, the dialogue was often awkward and character interactions also felt a bit contrived. The main set of characters are also either really moral and altruistic good guys or laughably hissable bad guys.

For a debut novel, it's not all bad and there is hope that Bonesteel will improve with time but this debut novel just didn't really grab me.

I think this has potential. It was readable and not confusing. I didn't like the instalove aspect but it has strengths in its characters. They are clearly defined and interesting. The plot was nothing original but it certainly has options for more novels. I'd pick up the next one to see where the author might go. She's not Bujold yet but she may get there.

The pacing was a little uneven, sometimes too fast, sometimes too slow. But I'm not really complaining, because it was a great read. I already got the next one.

But...Elena should have told the captain of the Penumbra to broadcast a distress signal, because that would have made Valentis clearly in the wrong.

There I go, trying to rewrite a book that I could never have written.

It does have bits of murder mystery and bits of romance (OK, a seriously steamy chapter), but it is space opera at the core and that is not a bad thing.

Rated 3.5 stars.
Starts off like a romance, but it's mostly a mystery. Actually, there are two main mysteries in this book. The current one is about the murder of a space ship crew-member. And the other is the mystery of what happened 25 years previously to a space ship that seems to have exploded for no reason.
The world was interesting and the characters were too, but the story didn't keep me as intrigued as other books. So it was a good story, but not super compelling. But I would read the next book.

A good story, and a great first novel, but it needed better world-building and less talk about feelings. Although I enjoyed the first 2/3 of the book, I thought it really fell apart in the last third. I had trouble following what exactly the characters were trying to do, and they seemed more concerned about who was in love with who instead of the potential disaster on their hands.

I will watch for more from Elizabeth Bonesteel, as there is a lot of potential here.