This is one of the best books of any genre I have read for some time. Idyll is very much at the intelligent end of speculative science fiction. The technologies, once you start to understand them, may seem thin on scientific logic, but the philosophical speculation behind the storytelling process is extremely stimulating. How unique Derry's vision is I couldn't possibly say, as there is just so much brilliant and diverse science fiction out there now that the publishing walls have tumbled, but what I can say is that Derry is a good writer and an even better storyteller. There are certainly a host of books that cross the divide between the 'Western' and Scifi, in fact a huge sway of modern SF and Sci-fi books and films owe much of there appeal to 'Space Western' themes but Derry's creation reads as very original to me. I don't think, oh yes, this author has borrowed from Orson Scott Card, Michael Crichton or Alice Mary Norton; not a bit of it. Rather I think that Derry has absorbed a great deal of visionary depth from such writers, remodelled it brilliantly, and is himself adding must read copy to future SF authors.
   Apart from one particular continuity jump as the book started to build to completion which I felt needed a bit of smoothing, the plot line read very well. The interactions between the characters were truly fascinating. They would have worked in any genre setting. The book seems to have been finished with a sequel already well plotted. I hope that one soon emerges. Every now and again, at least for a while, one's favourite book becomes the one just finished. Derry has given me my recent favourite.

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I didn't love this, but I liked it enough that I'd be interested in reading the next book in the series once it comes out.

This novella is a mix of sci-fi space opera and Western and is set on the Rosewood space station. As a bounty hunter, Anelace's job is to kill the ravenous blobs that are a constant threat to those on the station. The less-habited areas collect blobs in droves, and it's rare for Anelace to come back unscathed. The person who patches her up most of the time is Meidani. Anelace has been interested in Meidani for years, but, as far as she knows, Meidani prefers men. She also figures that a good girl like Meidani could do better than a trouble-making hellcat like herself. Then Meidani asks her out and forces her to start thinking about what she really wants out of life and her relationships.

I most enjoyed the bits before Anelace and Meidani became a couple and the sweet moments early on in their relationship. Anelace may have been a cocky badass, but she was also adorable where Meidani was concerned. Although she'd spent years noticing just about everything about Meidani, she had enormous blind spots due to her belief that someone like her couldn't possibly have a lasting relationship with someone like Meidani. I loved that it was shy, soft-spoken Meidani who took the initiative and asked Anelace out (and made sure their date ended in Anelace's bed). Every time Anelace tried to hold back, Meidani nudged things forward.

Meidani knew that Anelace was a bit rough around the edges and didn't necessarily seem interested in changing her, but she couldn’t bring herself to be comfortable with Anelace's job and the amount of danger she put herself in. It put a wedge between them, and it took a painfully long time for Anelace to realize what her true priorities were and that there were acceptable alternatives to her bounty hunting work. That was one thing I didn't quite like about this novella – I wish that Anelace's final decision had come a little sooner. As it was, it felt less like she'd had an epiphany about wanting to stay with Meidani and more like

It was so frustrating when, only pages earlier, someone practically dumped a solution to her problems on her lap and she just walked away.

When I first started reading, the blob hunting stuff struck me as being somewhat silly. The hunting scenes quickly changed my mind. I would have preferred it if the blobs had been more consistent – either dumb things that just traveled towards vibrations, or smart and vicious hunters – but there was no denying that the damage they could do was scary. I'm crossing my fingers that Jones has plans to write a Rosewood Space Western starring a scientist whose work involves studying blobs. I'm still wondering how that enormous blob Anelace encountered early on even came to be.

All in all, this was a nice read with good action scenes and an interesting setting. I liked Meidani and Anelace's romance and just wish that there had been a little from Meidani's perspective and that it hadn't taken

for Anelace to get her priorities straight. Oh, and by the way, a note for those who hate baby-logues: this one has a kitten-logue. Hurray!

(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

I'm starting this one, even though it means I risk stalling on Skies of Dawn. "Lesbian space western" sounds pretty good right now.

I'm glad I picked this one up when I did. I was trying to figure out where I got it from and was a little confused when I wasn't able to find it at any of my usual e-book buying sites. It turns out that, at some point, the author yanked it from every online bookstore except Amazon.