I have been interested in Grimspace since I saw the cover on a sidebar at Bam's blog. What can I say? I am a sucker for pretty colors. When I got the chance to win an arc from dearauthor I jumped at the chance. When I had it in my hands, the crappiness of the past couple of weeks seemed to fade away.
The first thing that struck me about the novel was the first person present-tense POV. He hardest tense for me to enjoy. The narrator has to be a character that is beyond interesting and well-rounded. I think I can count on one hand the number of books that have worked for me on this level. Grimspace was one of the better ones. Sirantha Jax is a jumper, someone able to navigate Grimspace with the aid of a pilot, allowing a space ship to travel faster than light speed. She is the lone survivor of a terrible crash that killed her pilot and lover, Kai, as well as numerous other innocent people.
Jax is a fantastic character to follow, she is incredibly strong but also very human. I appreciate her will to survive and her ability to get the shit beat out of her and then get back up and keep going. She isn't the best at everything, and there are some things she does that make me cringe when I read. Mostly because I am afraid that in a similar situation I would make the same choice. Jax came alive for me in ways that few other characters have and I think that the narration choice in this case made the book more powerful.
The hero, March, was more of a mystery because the reader doesn't get much time inside his head (although we do get some in a very clever way). I liked March by the end, although like Jax it took me awhile to warm up to him. He has a dark past, and a moral code that are revealed over time and make him a memorable hero.
Fans of science fiction looking for a strong heroine and a compelling story need look no further. I just don't know what I'm going to do until the sequel comes out. I really enjoyed following along with Jax's journey and would give Grimspace an A. You can pre-order it here, it will be released on Feb 26th.