Official Review: On the Rocks by Barbara Neville
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GKCfan
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Official Review: On the Rocks by Barbara Neville
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "On the Rocks" by Barbara Neville.]
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On the Rocks is a space Western set in an intriguing future. The greatest strength of this book is its narrator, Roxanne Rockefeller, a profane, feisty cowgirl. Neville has created a genuinely fresh and well-developed character in Roxanne, a young woman who rides out in her best riding finery, complete with guns, a knife… and grenades.
Early in the book, when it seems that Roxanne is a bit too prone to swearing (take a guess at which cuss word is repeated as the first seven words of the book!), Roxanne gives a spirited defense of her filthy mouth, which both humorously justifies her style of talking, while adding depth to her character. I would have thoroughly enjoyed it if the novel were all about Roxanne rambling about the state of the world and her opinions on everything, but as it stands, On the Rocks launches into a page-turning adventure, although some passages are confusing and I had to reread some chapters where certain events seemed to be worded in too vague a manner.
Neville’s wild frontier is set in what is probably the future, where the world outside of the free wilderness is ruled by a seemingly benevolent but truly manipulative government, where history is heavily edited to fit the regime’s agendas, and selling meat is profitable business on planets where people are compelled to be vegetarians. There are numerous elements of this fictional universe that remind me of one of my all-time favorite television series, Firefly, and this book can be strongly recommended to fans of the Firefly/Serenity universe.
Unfortunately, this futuristic setting is a bit more sparsely described than I would have liked– it would have helped if Neville fleshed out her fictional world’s mythology a bit more to show a bit more about its development. If On the Rocks is meant to be the start of a series, then I retract that criticism, since future books might by necessity expand upon Neville’s involving fictional world.
Over the course of this book, Roxanne explores, and meets a variety of people with diverse backgrounds, but these characters are united by their shared genuine love for the cowboy lifestyle. The great joy of this book is watching these characters go about their travels, interact, converse, and reflect upon what they want from life.
I give this book three out of four stars.
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Early in the book, when it seems that Roxanne is a bit too prone to swearing (take a guess at which cuss word is repeated as the first seven words of the book!), Roxanne gives a spirited defense of her filthy mouth, which both humorously justifies her style of talking, while adding depth to her character. I would have thoroughly enjoyed it if the novel were all about Roxanne rambling about the state of the world and her opinions on everything, but as it stands, On the Rocks launches into a page-turning adventure, although some passages are confusing and I had to reread some chapters where certain events seemed to be worded in too vague a manner.
Neville’s wild frontier is set in what is probably the future, where the world outside of the free wilderness is ruled by a seemingly benevolent but truly manipulative government, where history is heavily edited to fit the regime’s agendas, and selling meat is profitable business on planets where people are compelled to be vegetarians. There are numerous elements of this fictional universe that remind me of one of my all-time favorite television series, Firefly, and this book can be strongly recommended to fans of the Firefly/Serenity universe.
Unfortunately, this futuristic setting is a bit more sparsely described than I would have liked– it would have helped if Neville fleshed out her fictional world’s mythology a bit more to show a bit more about its development. If On the Rocks is meant to be the start of a series, then I retract that criticism, since future books might by necessity expand upon Neville’s involving fictional world.
Over the course of this book, Roxanne explores, and meets a variety of people with diverse backgrounds, but these characters are united by their shared genuine love for the cowboy lifestyle. The great joy of this book is watching these characters go about their travels, interact, converse, and reflect upon what they want from life.
I give this book three out of four stars.
***
Buy "On the Rocks" on Amazon
Latest Review: The Silent Shadow by Pat S. Clarke
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KittyFluff
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This sounds like a good book. Do you have discounts?
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qwarry
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The ebook is $2.99 on Amazon right now.
