Today, we released Chapter 8 to our list members. Kris has just been subjected to intense shopping. What lies in store now? Something even more unexpected? Two somethings? This chapter reveals all! If you aren’t a member, subscribe to read it and receive The Taking of Romeo Nine as our gift!
How do you think Kris will handle these new situations? Will she crash and burn? Or sail through with flying colors? Talk about it with your fellow readers in the comments!
Very much enjoying all the discussion! Thanks for your interest!
Are you talking about the shrink Kris saw on the Arizona? Dr Quillan? If you ask me, Rafe did her a favor, that doctor was trying to fry her brains. Kris allowed them to score victory over the slaver fleet too, and Rafe feels she deserves credit for that which is why he fought for her release. Besides all that, can you see Kris allowing anyone to force her into therapy? My take is that Kris would sooner blow up the ship than let anyone force her to do anything. Personally, and this is just my opinion, Rafe did her a favor by getting her released. Getting her enrolled in the academy was the best thing Rafe did for her. It allowed her a positive outlet to focus on.
I agree with you that it was irresponsible of them to put Kris in a situation where she came face to face with the man who tortured her but I believe Rafe owned up to that?
But I could just be biased, I like Rafe, despite him being a pain in the ass sometimes.
My criticism was that he charged in there, threatened them with his political influence, and basically abducted her. It’s true that Quillian (or whatever his precise name is) was debating different therapies (although not yet decided I thought), but the problem could surely have been mitigated by being more diplomatic about it. Maybe Quillian would have still gone on his crusade, but Rafe’s attitude certainly didn’t help. I certainly can understood being angry and frustrated being confronted by such a blatant display of government corruption ^^;
As for actual therapy – maybe, maybe not (she really only starts hating shrinks after her bad experiences with them, the way I understood her later comments), but I was thinking something more along the lines of someone explaining the tech around her, job opportunities, how her new society worked, how to function in that society and so on. Heck, she can’t even use her own kitchen. There’s some hints that Kym(?) that slave girls she rescues gets these things, but for Kris it’s never really mentioned beyond some brochures or something.
it just felt pretty rushed. But I get that somehow the time-line needed to make sense for what happened to Mariwen to happen fairly quickly, and so there wasn’t much time to do much with Kris until then, and afterwards she needed to be away/busy. Otherwise, there simply could have been a few months or a year or so time-skip before she joins the academy.
You make a good point with regards to Kris not being properly introduced to society. She does basically get a house and a ton of money and gets left to it. The scene where the walls changed color made me laugh so hard. Her reaction was priceless.
I wonder if not being properly acclimatized has anything to do with why she and Rafe broke up? She doesn’t really feel like she belongs anywhere?
On a different note, who are your favorite characters in the series aside from the main three? I love Trin, Nick and Baz, not to forget Min who I think is hilarious. Have you read The Taking of Romeo Nine yet?
Well, that’s the sort of problem therapy usually helps with, whether she likes it or not 😉 Though maybe Kris is just the classic “hero” type of character who always rides off into the sunset? And she also pointed out that Rafe’s houses weren’t really “home-y”, as he basically never really lived there. Probably didn’t help to keep her there.
What do you mean, “aside from the main three”? Rafe is of course my least favorite character, he’s not getting anywhere on that list *cough* 😉
It’s a fairly one-character series for me, with Kris in first place miles ahead of everyone else. Admittedly that’s fairly normal for me. I’m not too much into “ensemble” casts.
Mariwen is nice, but she doesn’t appear that often (probably changing now). Trin is pretty good, I agree, and I kinda like some of the military officers, even if they don’t appear much – Sabre and whatshername (his wife), and Kris’ chess-playing teacher at the academy. I’ll outright admit I’m horrible with names (especially of fictional characters). Oh, and Vasquez. She’s the right type of person to have around someone like Kris.
Min I don’t like too much; too … exuberant for my tastes. Since I also don’t like short stories too much, and prequels neither … well. So no, didn’t read that.
All this teasing kinda got me into reading the series once more. Great fun. Some scenes I could probably read a dozen times and still enjoy them, usually when Kris does something crazy. Altogether, it was exactly like I remembered yet at the same time not quite 😉
I think what bugs me most now in this whole Kris-Rafe-Mariwen business is that there’s some weird kind of progression there. First, Mariwen is a lesbian who doesn’t really know Rafe. Next book she’s still strictly homosexual, but now they knew each other. By the third book, they not only knew each other, they were lovers. And by the end of it she temporizes that she might have fallen in love with him, had she given it a chance.
Kind of makes me wonder what I should expect for the fourth book. Maybe they were actually briefly married? 😉
Just saying, but even if it’s heading towards some form of poly relationship, that doesn’t mean they all have to hop in bed with each other. It’s fine for Mariwen not to be interested in Rafe that way, her sexuality doesn’t need to change to fit into a relationship with the two of them …
This series just gets better and better for me 🙂 Especially with the new relationship dynamics 🙂
If I remember correctly Mariwen was under that mind control in book 1, so she wasn’t herself so didn’t really remember Rafe? Then after she went through the rehab her memories were spotty which explains why sometimes she remembers things and sometimes not.
So I don’t think that she is changing her sexuality, I think it’s more the connection she has with Rafe that she doesn’t feel with other guys?
I don’t think the mind control stuff works like that, although I’m sure one can come up with explanations as to why she didn’t say anything.
But even disregarding Mariwen’s take on herself; there’s for example in the 4th book a paragraph about Kris’ inability to comprehend homosexuality as she grew up in an environment where such notions simply didn’t apply, and that too mentions Mariwen’s preferences. And I find it a bit … well, I’m not sure I can put it into a word. Weak? Almost disrespectful, to be honest. Homosexual characters in scifi are rare enough, if there’s one, leave her in peace with it 😉 The idea that there’s some sort of exception frankly makes little sense (yes yes, happens in real-life, but in fiction it just smells uncomfortable of that “converting lesbians if the guy is just good enough” idea).
But either way although that’s kinda the topic we’re always talking about it it’s not really the only thing those novels are about 😉 and I agree, the 3rd and 4th are probably the best. The first, reading a second time, felt a bit too prologue-ish. Introduces the primary characters and such, but Kris didn’t yet do all that much yet. Second novel I love for “taking Kris along against their better judgment and it actually turns out to be a bad idea”. This is so rare in fiction – usually protagonists get to tag along for paper-thin reasons and it always turns out to be the right decisions, so, yeah, honestly nice to kick that trope into the garbage can for a change (although I felt people enjoy blaming Kris a bit too much at times). And the action parts of the 3rd and 4th novel are just fun throughout, don’t need to say anything about those 😉
This is my very first scifi series which I stumbled across by accident so I’m not really familiar with scifi tropes etc. I think that’s to my benefit here, I’m not coming in with any expectations : )
I love how flawed Kris is, the poor girl comes out of slavery and then has to navigate a minefield of customs and situations she has absolutely no idea about and keeps getting herself in crazy situations and messing up; like when she killed Mankho and then got that guy from her team killed and Rafe lost it with her (that was one of my favorite parts)
I also loved the part where she is floating around in space and thinks she’s going to die and the Baz comes back and saves her. I swear I cried ugly tears reading that part.
So I agree with you, there so much depth to these stories that keeps me coming back for more : ) And the romance girl in me is lapping up the relationship stuff. ; )
Yeah, but it’s part of what I don’t like so much about book 1, and some of the later scenes: that they’d let someone, who basically grew up in slavery, go after 2 weeks, without any further help (except for a bunch of cash) is a bit too ridiculous too believe. Rafe bailing her out, rather rudely, and never taking responsibility for making her situation with the Doc worse and not really helping out with getting her some alternate means to recovery also aren’t much better. So what did they think she’d do confronted with a man who’s tortured her for two weeks? Really, they only got to blame themselves …
I generally read all scifi with female heroines I can get my hands on (males too, but there’s far too many to read all of those ^^), as long as it’s not one of those with an annoying trope-ish romance. Urk. Can’t stand those at all.
I’m going to start repeating myself if you guys keep putting out such great chapters. It was great to see Mariwen and Kris with Mariwen’s family. I love that Kris will be Baz’ best man. I think it’s fitting since she’s the one who kicked his ass when he was trying to break up with Kenzie.
Can I just say that Mariwen is becoming one of my favorite characters in this series? She’s mischievous and fun and sweet and a breath of fresh air that Kris needs right now. I feel like they compliment each other perfectly, Mariwen’s fun and flirty side to Kris’s serious and deadly side. (Although Kris is holding her own in the fun and flirty department these days). Enjoyed it!