Migration

The continuing romance set against the background of a science lab and the galaxy gone mad.

Well sort of. At least Mac is beginning to acknowledge the idea that Nic is possibly attractive and may have a few positive qualities. However Mac may not realise it she also has other options - Charles Mudge III - Oversight to her Norcoast salmon facility is around. First he's annoyed that he's been rebuffed from examining His forest land, and then he's annoyed that an earthquake's just destroyed most of it. Maybe that isn't Mac's fault, however as she's disappeared on holiday while the base gets rebuilt (again), maybe he can track her down and get some answers. In his obstinate manner he too gets transported to the IU consulate in NZ where, show more aliens are being alien, and Mac learns Oversight isn't the only person who's been trying to get in touch with her.

The beginning is very slow. Given that we already know how the Base works, it does seem to drag on a bit - but then officially Mac isn't part of the concerted effort against the Dhrym, and so we get to share her frustration, and the lack of news. We only get Mac's viewpoint, plus a few excerpts from various colonies about to meet the Dhrym (guess the alien species is fun, so unfortunately we don't find out much about the motivations of Oversight or Nic or any of the aliens. The aliens: Julie has had a lot of fun with these, proper StarTrek style fun, bodies, customs, habits and mannerisms, all vaguely sensible, all amusing, and all very different. However by restricting herself to only one or two individuals of a species, we don't get to see what variation between members can be like.

The action does pick up, and in a somewhat contrived manner Mac's scientific insights and team managing abilites suddenly combine to produce insights no-one else in the entire galaxy has managed before. OK science does work like that sometimes, but it still feels a little contrived - not enough/any incidences of going down the wrong road, before the correct one is found. The First idea is very very rarely the right one.

But it all hangs together very well, the characters are fun, the romantic tension permeating a lot of it, the aliens diverse, and the plot quite clever enough. Some issues are resolved and some new hooks created for the next book to finish it all off.
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After having identified what threatens the lifeforms of the Interspecies Union biologist Dr. Mackenzie Connor returns to her life as a salmon researcher. Trying to return to her old life proves difficult, though. Meeting the alien has not only provided a larger frame of reference but vivid nightmares and a feeling of inadequacy - she is worried that the people responsible for handling the threat are looking in the wrong direction.

Unbeknownst to her others are thinking the same and she ends up being part of a multi-species effort to find a way to tackle the combines Dhryn/Ro threat to life.

While part 1 (Survival) can stand on it's own Migration is very much dependent on it's successor (Regeneration) to provide an ending. This is, show more however, not a problem, because the tale holds the reader in constant suspense, making it imperative ;-) to have the concluding near at hand when finishing Migration.

I highly recommend the Species Imperative trilogy. Start with the first book, though, if you want to get things right. show less

Since I didn't read the first book in the series, the first chapter was a bit confusing, trying to sort out who/what matters. Basic adventure novel, with many novel species to sort out, some comic relief. I appreciated the attempt to make a salmon researcher's findings be relevant to the new problem. The action moves to swiftly too worry about how useful the story might be to my own life.

Part two of a three parter. and it jogs along nicely.The heroine finally starts to take control

The adventures of Mac the biologist continue on Earth. More aliens. More danger. Good times.

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