Rating: 4.5🌈
Skip Trace had several hurdles to overcome just by being the book that followed Lonely Shore, a novel that was full of huge emotional storylines, momentous moments, and blockbuster payoffs in terms of narrative development and character development.
Skip Trace picks up after Lonely Shore’s events , which saw the return of Zander Anatolius and the highly emotional reunion that is still unsettled between Zan and Felix.
Felix/Fix/Flick (this constantly changing name is a frustrating element here) is a man of numerous talents and untold problems. He has never dealt with the time he spent as a POW in a stin prison, the torture he endured and the long term effects that it’s had on him, like his mangled hand. And he hasn’t had time to process emotionally the impact that Zander return, his physical condition and abuse suffered has had on his mental health too.
The authors do a great job of writing a man who is mentally, physically, and emotionally under siege. The stress is unbearable, he’s not communicating with Zan or Elias or any of his friends/crew of the Chaos and he’s breaking down.
Zan, who is dealing with his own mental and physical issues, has some of the same challenges in that his own life is far more problematic and complicated. As written, he’s not a type of person who seeks understanding, or in terms of Felix, doesn’t understand the scope of his breakdown because there’s been a severe lack of communication.
The narrative has this complicated challenging relationship that’s trying to sustain itself amid a tangled galactic conflict between species and the world governing body still trying to hide its experiments on the soldiers.
Skip Trace starts off a with establishing the events of the last book and then dives right into the emotional state of Felix and Zan, and the crew as it tries to accomplish the missions and hold onto both men and their ship.
I enjoy how tough and realistic this story is about the effects of trauma and the need for healing and help. That time isn’t enough to overcome the horrors that war has inflicted upon the world and individual. Felix the Fixer isn’t fixed. But he realizes that he needs help. And to communicate.
Burke and Jensen don’t forget about the other aspects of their series arc as new characters and development are added to come together in another absolutely satisfying, dramatic climatic ending.
It’s not perfect. As I mentioned earlier, the ongoing usage of multiple names for the same character is frustrating and often irritating. While I understand that each is chosen to separate a different section of his life and where someone might stand in his life by what they call him, having to deal with a series of names for Felix in just a paragraph is annoying. It’s book three. By now this aspect of his story could have been explored and put away.
Two more books to go and a whole new adventure has just begun.
Can’t wait and I’m definitely recommending this for all lovers of science fiction adventures and romance. Read them in the order they are written.
Series – read them in the order below:
- Chaos Station 1
- Lonely Shore 2
- Skip Trace 3
- Inversion Point 4
- Phase Shift 5 – series finale
Buy link
Skip Trace (Chaos Station Book 3)
Blurb
Zander Anatolius has been revived from the fatal effects of the super-soldier program, but now he has to face his estranged family and tell a story few would believe. With his lover and the crew of the Chaos at his side, Zander returns home to a media frenzy, threats from the military and pressure to join the family business.
Felix Ingesson still struggles with the horror of believing Zander dead. And no matter how strong their emotional connection is, Felix feels out of place in the glittery world of Zander’s rich family. His lover would be better off without a broken, low-class ship’s engineer holding him back.
When the crew receives word that another of Zander’s former teammates needs rescue, Felix travels with the Chaos…setting Zander free. But when Zander is arrested for treason, the men realize they need each other as much as ever—not only to survive, but to make their lives worth living.
- Publisher: Ghost Ship Books; 2nd edition (July 30, 2024)
- Publication date: July 30, 2024
- Language: English
- Print length: 319 pages
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 