Slow to develop

Up to chapter five you feel like it's not a real novel; more a collection of snark and humor stitched together in a bizarre format. Then a storyline starts to emerge. ( )

Slow to develop

Up to chapter five you feel like it's not a real novel; more a collection of snark and humor stitched together in a bizarre format. Then a storyline starts to emerge. ( )

Dwarves in Space is a fun adventure that reads like a narrative of a crazy role playing game session. Take your classic fantasy races like elves and orcs, mix in some space rogueishness, sprinkle with science fiction, politics, and humor, then throw it all in a blender. The characters were all interesting while leaving room for development, and the inter-relationships between the characters provided drama and humor. The character of the human captain Variel is slowly exposed over the course of the novel, and her dwarven pilot Orn plays the necessary role of smartass. Add in a feisty low elf engineer, sibling high elf "passengers," a mute "monster," a doctor, and a stowaway, all on an old cruise ship the Elation-Cru. Almost everyone has a secret, nothing seems to go as planned, and no one has the part they need in stock. Misadventures abound. I would very much like to read the sequel. I received this book from a LibraryThing Member Giveaway and I'm glad I did. ( )

This is a rather confusing piece of science fiction. The plot is obscured by space clutter. The action level does pick up however toward the end. The author displays great imagination in her use of low-brow language and imagining.

I received an electronic copy of this book in return for an honest review. ( )

*I received the ebook version of this from a giveaway on Libraything in exchange for an honest review.
**This will also be posted on Goodreads and Booklikes.

Rating: 3.5/5

'Dwarves in Space' is a scy-fi, fantasy type adventure that follows Captain Variel of the Elation-Cru and her group of oddballs: two assassin elves, a dwarf married to an engineer elf, an orc, a dijinn, and an accidental human passenger. Basically, Captain Variel is out in space running from authority and a bad past. This all comes back chasing after her as her and her crew make plenty of stops attempting to get a new, well-needed part for the Elation-Cru which they can't obtain as they always have to run off and escape the authority on their tail.
And while there is action and plenty of interesting situations, 'Dwarves in Space' does have the feel of being the introductory novel for a series, and for me, that made the beginning incredibly slow-paced and boring. To be honest, I would find myself getting easily distracted, and if there wasn't a distraction, I would make one. It took me quite a while to actually get into it, though when I did it was rather enjoyable.
I have to agree with others when they say the author clearly intended for there to be a great deal of humour, because their currency is cat videos, they trade chocolates for parts, and in a getaway Orn's pants catch on fire from the friction of his butt and the statue -I believe it was a statue. To me, that just screams that this was meant to be a funny book. And maybe it could have been, had the interactions between the races and most of the banter not come off as mostly just serious intercultural stuff. Having it be so serious, it was hard to see it in a light, humorous way.
But that aside, let's get to the characters. The characters are all interesting, and unique enough that it is easy to develop favourites (I may or may not have found my favourite to be the male Elven assassin, Talesin). They are all very different, with Gene being the dijinn made of smoke and the human being a major turn-on for orcs, and Variel having been a Knight at one time. I really enjoyed the characters. Sometimes they were witty, or snarky, and sometimes Orn was just being a smartass all the time, but what they all had in common was their strength. Yeah, it was shown in many different ways, and some were obviously physically stronger then the rest, but all in all, their strength was something they all shared.
Now, onto the world building, it was different. The planets and buildings and the way each different planet or place works was all very intriguing. I enjoyed each place was so different from the next. I won't say much on it, but it was well created. From what we got to see, anyway.
So, that's all. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys action, scy-fy or fantasy novels, and who doesn't mind a slow beginning. ( )