One of the team’s first quarterfinalists and a book with an unexpected change halfway through, I was eager to get started on this one. Check out the info below and then continue on to my review. This is my personal opinion and doesn’t reflect the Wayward Stars team as a whole.
About the Book
Title: In Reason’s Name
Author: William Gee
Series: The Ceti Conflict
Pub Date: March 27, 2021
My Reading Format: ebook
Length: 264 Pages
Add on Goodreads here.
Available to purchase and on KU on Amazon here.
Blurb
A dystopian Earth expanding · A rebellious pilot fleeing · An artificial intelligence bent on subjugation:
Adam is one of the few remaining pilots with real-world combat flight experience. Raised under a ruthless authoritarian regime following his childhood abduction, he harbors a hidden disloyalty that would condemn him to death if were uncovered. To escape that fate, he accepts the charge of piloting mankind’s first ever space vessel to a new solar system: Tau Ceti. Tasked with preserving him on the eighteen-year voyage is Voice, a prototype artificial intelligence. Untried and untested, the AI is cold, calculating and unknowable…
About the Author
Breakout author of VOICE and presently working on the sequel: ADAM OF TARAKK. Typically writing hard science fiction infused with elements of adventure and horror.
Decades working in cutting-edge STEM roles enhance the realism of William’s writing, providing compelling glimpses of possible futures; be they dystopian or utopian.
Review
In Reason’s Name by William Gee had quite the interesting blurb to draw me in and I was really eager to find out where this story would take us. It was an early hit for the team and was one of the first to be announced as a quarterfinalist.
To me, this book felt like two separate books with different writing styles put together. The first part that talks about how the main character’s history kept me at a distance with an almost report-style narration that had me struggling to form an emotional connection with the MC. I don’t need to find a character relatable to care about it but I do like building some kind of connection with it so I care about their story. This was missing in this part for me, so I struggled to make smooth progress and stay engaged. I honestly wasn’t even sure anymore what the book was supposed to be about until I reread the blurb because I couldn’t get a feel on the direction it was taking. Looking back now, I think it would’ve been better if this had been a prequel novella rather than part of the main book.
I enjoyed the second part of this story much more and would’ve rather had more detail there to flesh it out into its own full book. It had a better sense of direction, more emotional detail, and a good pace to keep me engaged throughout.
While the POV change to new characters was unexpected, it made sense due to what the MC was experiencing at that moment. What felt more jarring was the time jump at a later point that could’ve been done a little more smoothly.
I did appreciate the political insights we got in this section too, though I wish we had already gotten a better picture of that throughout the entire book to give us a better feel for the risks and reasons of the MC’s actions and feelings. His childhood experiences of course factored into that but having a better idea of the political setup in general rather than just his own direct history would’ve added some more dimension to the world.
In Reason’s Name gave me quite the conflicting feelings but the plot really took off in the second part and went to places I didn’t expect at all. I enjoyed the ending and am curious about how the story continues.
The Shaggy Shepherd 