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This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the book.
That said, on to the review!
Note: cover graphic used with author's permission
Title: Taylor's ArkFor Doctor Shona Taylor there are only two organizations with the resources to provide her with steady jobs: the United Galaxy government and the Galactic Laboratory Corporation. She'd prefer government employment, but when nothing turns up and she feels a desperate need to work--a premature stillborn offspring can do that to a person--she has no choice but to go to the G.L.C., which immediately snaps her up. She soon lands postings at various colonies, taking with her a number of animals with special traits that can only help her work. She goes from world to world working miracle to miracle when she can and easing people from life when she can't. However, she belatedly learns that someone is cleaning up after her...really cleaning up. So thorough is the job that there's no one left to defend Shona from the accusations of incompetence and murder levelled at her. Can she put a stop to these mysterious deaths following her footsteps, or will she become the next victim because she knows too much?
Now this is a book I really like. It's divided into chapters, but to my thinking these aren't good indicators of sections. The book is more episodic, and the episodes usually span three or four chapters. On the one hand, an episodic division might risk the reader putting down the book after one section and never picking it up again because that story is done. On the other hand, the episodes are all directly related to the one before, with each episode overlapping and thereby pulling the reader along. In the end it doesn't really matter, because with an excellent author like Jody Lynn Nye, you don't have to worry about putting the book down: you're going to read it all in one sitting or torture yourself relentlessly until you can pick it up again!
Issues, issues, issues...well, the main issue that underlies everything else is corporate greed. Yes, this is the motivating factor behind sending Shona to those colonies and the termination of the colony's residents. Did I mention the premature birth and stillborn state of Shona's child? Well, that was a result of the same corporate greed. Another issue seems to be how readily people believe rumors, gossip, and anything they see on the news. Shona's reception at her last posting is clear enough evidence of that. There are other issues to consider, but some of these are too complex and potentially controversial for me to discuss, so you'll just have to read the book, yes?
I said it once, and I'll say it again: Jody Lynn Nye is an excellent writer. It's still a pity that I can't seem to find all of her books, but I'm glad I could find this one. It's very different from Waking in Dreamland--they're different genres after all--and I want it to be!
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