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 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. ( )

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 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. ( )