3.5 Stars
Video: https://youtu.be/eLlHLaTmHd0

This was such an entertaining sequel within this cozy space opera series. I enjoyed You Sexy Thing so I was happy to return back to this world for another story.

As one would expect with a series this, the story itself felt lighter in tone with fairly low stakes. This was a fun romp where the reader will not have to worry about the wellbeing of the characters.

I would recommend this one to anyone looking for a comforting read in the vein ofthe Wayfarer series.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.2023-books science-fiction19 s The Captain1,138 446

Ahoy there me mateys!  I really enjoyed the first book in this series.  Though that book could be a standalone, I was happy to pick up the sequel.  The blurb for the second book is filled with spoilers and a bit misleading.  The pirate-king doesn't appear in this novel at all!

This was a good bridge book.  The highlight for me was seeing Thing (the ship) navigate its existence and the choices it chose to make.  The novel sets up a cliffhanger ending with no real idea of where the story will go next.  That said, I be excited by the possibilities.

The plot was a bit light.  The majority of the first part of the novel felt no plot and and all character angst which I don't tend to enjoy.  Captain Niko is fretting about her past and loses a lot of her strong leader characteristics.  While I understood Talon's pain, how he deals with it and how the crew fails to notice grew extremely tiresome.  Talon's choices were beyond stupid.  Atlanta also spends time trying to figure out her purpose.  Her journey was a bit more realistic to read about because she was trying to make progress.

The second half was filled with a lot more action and sped by.  I really loved the moments of humor (Thing's logo being a favorite).  It may seem a more negative review but I really did enjoy this quick read and really want to know what happens next.  Arrr!4 s Kara Babcock1,979 1,421

You would think that as I age and have more disposable income (at least in theory) and more control over my free time (at least in theory) that I would get better, not worse, at reading series … but no. So here I am, partaking in Devil’s Gun, having not read You Sexy Thing first. I don’t know if the first book in this series from Cat Rambo just passed me by or if I passed on it because the title made it sound not my kind of thing. If it was the latter, that was a mistake, for this series delivers delightful and surprisingly cozy space opera. I’m sure I won’t be alone in comparing this to Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers series (though I have also managed to somehow not read all of those as well). I received an eARC from NetGalley and Tor in exchange for a review.

Picking up on the events of the book I didn’t read, Devil’s Gun follows the now-legitimized crew of the You Sexy Thing, a sentient bioship. It’s a ragtag crew very much giving Farscape vibes, and I am here for it. They spend this book processing trauma from the first while trying to figure out their next move, which eventually comes down to finding the eponymous MacGuffin in the hopes that it will help them deal with the space pirate who is hunting them all. Oh, and there’s clones and con artists and all manner of discussion of food.

I took a chance that it was OK I hadn’t read the first book, and that gamble paid off big. Firstly, Rambo has written the book in such a way that despite definitely not being standalone you can slide into this world and still understand the characters and their current struggles. Secondly, this book provides a synopsis of You Sexy Thing at the start—thank you! I really do wish more series did this; it improved my experience of this book immensely. Thus, while I recommend you read the first book, you don’t need to.

The cast is delightfully diverse and varied in how they deal with situations. I think I am (re)learning how much I enjoy space opera involving heterogeneous crews rather than the military SF or adjacent setups of more rigid, hierarchal structures. Niko is captain, sure, but she has far from the last word about You Sexy Thing—and Thing itself has a startling level of “ask for forgiveness” attitude about it. This all makes for a great deal of drama and conflict, though it is often very low stakes. Through a hopping, limited third-person narrator, we get to know some of the characters more than others. Overall, I love how Rambo develops each of them. Atlanta is probably my favourite in that respect.

Similarly, I loved following along as Rambo fleshed out the larger universe. They draw easily on established tropes ( an extinct civilization literally called the Forerunners) to create their own unique take on a cosmopolitan, intergalactic society. I especially love how they set up what appears to be a great and dramatic mystery surrounding the Gates, arguably the most important Forerunner tech around, only to provide an anticlimactic solution near the end of the book in what is almost a throwaway line. This firmly establishes Devil’s Gun as “cozy” science fiction. Yes, there are hardships and existential conflict; on the other hand, the conflict is extremely interpersonal.

If you’re looking for space battles and military strategy or high-stakes, boots-on-the-ground combat, you won’t get it here. But if you want arguments, people sneaking around behind each other’s backs, a sarcastic sentient spaceship, and more such shenanigans—then, yeah, Devil’s Gun and the previous book in this series are going to be just your thing.

Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my and subscribe to my newsletter.

2023-read artificial-intelligence ebook ...more3 s Beth CatoAuthor 116 books613

I received an advance copy via NetGalley.

Devil's Gun is a sequel to You Sexy Thing, a space opera romp that mixes in a lot of fantasy elements along with some light-hearted foodie aspects. I highly recommend starting the series with the first book, as there's a lot of world-building and the narrative hops between perspectives in a broad cast.

Most of the protagonists are former soldiers/current restauranteurs. I'll avoid specifics to keep away from spoilers, but I shall say that the events of the first book resulted in the loss of their business as they came aboard a sentient space ship named Big Sexy Thing. A big bad guy sought revenge against them and somewhat succeeded, and the crew now seeks to eliminate him once and for all so that they can resume cooking in peace.

This very much feels the bridge book in a series. There's not a lot of action, and instead, the focus is on character development; there's also not as much cooking. That said, I still found it a fairly fast and breezy read. The combination of science fiction and magic fascinates me, and the developments here in book two make me very curious about how things will play out in the next volume.2023 fantasy netgalley ...more4 s William BentrimAuthor 63 books69

Devil's Gun by Cat Rambo
This is a sequel to You Sexy Thing. I almost didn’t read You Sexy Thing due to the title. I’m not particularly interested in sex in my scifi but it was just the name of the ship. The ship is a self-aware ship that illustrates some of the current concerns about AI. Some of the ship’s decisions are decidedly questionable. It is a major character in the book. Captain Niko and her mixed alien crew are trying to go on the offensive with the pirate Tubal Last. They pair up with a con artist and paladin and go on a quest.
Rambo does a good job illustrating the success and foibles of interpersonal relationships. Talon’s loss leads him into questionable behavior but is a good study of how grief can impact the logical decision-making process.
There is action, deceit, and acceptance.
I enjoyed the book.

3 s John Loyd1,205 30

Definitely a spoiler to You Sexy Thing, the first pages are a synopsis of book one. Niko receives a message that says Tubal Last is alive. The first order of business is to locate Petalia. Last is probably looking for them, they need protection and might know some weakness. As they set out in the direction where Petalia was dropped off, we then focus on the crew. Especially Atlanta who is trying to find her place, something that will make her a valuable member of Niko’s crew. Talon is melancholy because his twin died. They hear a rumor that the Gate is down, this is leftover technology from the forerunners and no Gate has ever been known to fail. When they find it is down and someone is coming who says she can fix it, it seems suspicious.

This didn't hook me right away, maybe I'm too focused on the football season, but it never mired into a slog either. The interaction between Atlanta and the ship was fun. The other story lines were good. When I got my focus it went quickly, four stars.1 Ruthiella1,580 64

This book picks up directly after the first one “You Sexy Thing”. There’s a helpful summary of that novel at the beginning. This really is a space opera, with all the OTT drama and silly plot twists that a soap opera implies. I think it’s important for me to keep that attitude in mind when reading, because I was a little let down.

For a good 60% of the book, nothing happens other than interpersonal melodrama and setting up a pop up restaurant. When the plot finally gets going, I enjoyed it more, though the resolution comes seemingly by accident. However, as Lassite would claim, there are no accidents in The Known Universe. LOL 2023 sci-fi-and-fantasy1 Rowen H.352 14

Solid continuation of a fun, extremely readable series. The characters are still charming, the actual plot still nebulous at best. I do think it's really doing something neat and interesting with the Thing itself as a character; the whole evolving sentience/learning emotions deal is a trope I always , but I'm particularly having fun with the way the Thing has this sort of 'rebellious teenager who hasn't figured out emotional intelligence because it's only just now getting a grasp on emotions as a concept to begin with, give it some time' deal going on. audio lgbtq sci-fi1 Angell436 199

This was good but good lord was it slow. This is not plot heavy. It is character heavy and is great at fleshing them out and the found family aspect. But not a lot actually happens. The big baddie Tubal doesn’t even make an appearance? But some new bad-ish guy shows up? Idk. It felt a little rushed at the end. 1 Chris211

The series continues to be fun. It channels Firefly and Farscape while managing to be its own thing. New folks enter, some exit, and ancient relics.1 Gina176 2

Devil's Gun has a lot to live up to, as sequel to You Sexy Thing. It's the housework between the first and third books. Niko is too stuck in her own misery over losing Petalia to lead them effectively. The crew have their own agendas. There's at least one traitor on board. The Thing is a toddler learning to exercising its free will, with sometimes disastrous consequences.

On top of that, they're stranded when the Gate they need goes down. An archaeologist turns up, claiming to be able to fix it, and she manages to get herself taken aboard the Thing.

There were a lot of threads in this book, a lot of switching between the POVs of the various characters, and a lot of exposition. I'm making it sound bad, and it's not. It was a good read, but it wasn't as...well-seasoned?...as You Sexy Thing.

Why you should read this: well, because, me, you loved the first book, and want to spend time with these awesome characters. You also really, really want Tubal to get their comeuppance.

Why you might not want to read this: lots of switching between POVs, lots of dithering by the characters, not a lot of cooking, and not a lot of action, overall, as compared to YST.

I received an advance copy from Tor via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Find this and other at redhatcat.com.

4 out of 5 stars. Recommended.1 Michael Dodd985 73

I loved You Sexy Thing – it was pacy, action-packed, great characters, and just a lot of fun. I’d been looking forward to the sequel for ages, but honestly I’m puzzled by Devil’s Gun. The characters are all there, and it was fun to spend more time with them and get to know them all a little better. The plot though, and the pacing…it just felt completely off. Nobody so much as leaves the Thing until 50% of the way through, and it hits 60% before the plot properly starts going. After that, the rest of the book is good fun, balancing action and excitement with interesting character development, but it all feels a little rushed. Which is no surprise really, after that slow first half.

Your enjoyment of Devil’s Gun may depend on how much you d the characters last time around, and how much you can appreciate just spending time with them talking, planning, training and cooking for a full half of the book. Oh, and also how you feel about head-swapping mid-chapter, which occurs with alarming regularity here – I got used to it, but I don’t love it. I think it probably happened in You Sexy Thing too, but somehow it seems more noticeable here.

Overall, I did kind of enjoy this in the end, and I do want to know what happens next, but it feels a very strangely paced book. Proceed with caution, I’d say.1 Marlene3,044 220

Devil’s Gun picks up the story of You Sexy Thing and its crew just after the moment at the end of the first book in the Disco Space Opera series, named after the ship and the damnable earworm of the song that the title comes from.

It’s the point where they’ve just learned that the evil space pirate they hoped they’d killed as they escaped his imploding, exploding ship/space station. Which, to be totally fair, was entirely deserved as he had already murdered one of their number and spent years brainwashing Captain Niko Larson’s former lover against her.

Pirate King Jubal Last is a bad, bad man, and the universe wasn’t going to miss him if he was gone. The only problem is that he isn’t. Meaning that Larson and her crew are on the run, away from Last and towards someone who they hope will help them figure out a way to take him out. Again.

If only they can find her. And if only she’ll give them the time of day. Because it’s that same brainwashed ex-lover that Larson still hasn’t gotten over. Just as the rest of the crew hasn’t gotten over the damage that Last did in their recent encounter.

And in the midst of Larson chasing down what once was, and one of her crew members trying to breathe life back into someone who has lost theirs, a new member of the crew searches for purpose while the sentient, sapient bioship that Larson is nominally – sometimes very nominally – in command of pursues its own interests for its own purposes. Specifically, for the purpose of creating drama and not getting bored.

It’s a recipe for disaster – but that’s not the problem it would be for most ship’s crews. Because if there is one thing that this crew is good at, it’s making a tasty dish out of a completely mismatched and even downright dangerous list of ingredients!

Escape Rating B: I picked this up because I enjoyed the first book in the series, You Sexy Thing, very much in spite of its unfortunate case of villain fail. The crew is as motley as you’d expect, but their bone-deep respect and reliance on each other – and the way they deal with their life and their livelihood through bantering away the stress made it an overall fun read with a heaping helping of heartbreak at the end.

But thank goodness that there’s a “when last we left our heroes” summary of that first book in the beginning of this second one, because it’s been over a year since I read it and almost two years since it came out.

I d Devil’s Gun but didn’t love it nearly as much as I did You Sexy Thing in spite of that villain fail. Jubal Last was just a bit too over-the-top bwahaha to make sense as a character. But I loved the crew and got invested in their situation more than enough to feel for them as things went down.

Devil’s Gun reads a middle book. It also reads as a chase for a macguffin that no one, least of all Niko Larson herself, is ever sure isn’t a scam. And it felt a collection of separate plot threads that don’t quite braid together into a whole, as several members of the crew have their own problems to pursue and keep themselves to themselves more than a bit.

With the ship in pursuit of its own goals – to the detriment of everyone and everything else – as the story goes along. Admittedly, that part is fascinating. It’s as though Moya in Farscape took the ship where she wanted to go instead of where the crew wanted to go ALL THE TIME.

Which would have been cool – even as the crew would have been infuriated. As Larson often is in this story.

The sentient ship You Sexy Thing will certainly make readers think of Farscape and its sentient ship, Moya, although You Sexy Thing has considerably more personality. I’m not sure about the regular comparisons between this series and the Great British Bake Off as there’s no food competition going on – although there is plenty of cooking and baking. There’s also more than a bit of a resemblance between this universe and its intergalactic ‘gates’ left behind by an ancient race of Forerunners and Mass Effect and its mass relay travel gates left behind by the ancient Prothean race.

In other words, there are elements of Devil’s Gun and the Disco Space Opera series that will ring a lot of bells and bring back a lot of memories for SF readers, (I’m sure I’ve seen the Devil’s Gun itself, or a reasonable facsimile thereof, in Simon R. Green’s intertwined universes) blended into a story that’s a whole lot of fun and rides or dies on the interpersonal relationships among the crew. Which is also not an uncommon element of SF and space opera in general.

So if that’s your jam as it is for this reader, take a trip on the You Sexy Thing with Devil’s Gun. And the fun – for certainly deadly and sometimes insane definitions of fun – isn’t over yet. Devil’s Gun, You Sexy Thing before it, ends on a mic drop. There is clearly more to come for this crew, and I’m looking forward to it!

Originally published at Reading Reality
Thistle789 7

Quick synopsis : In the last third of the book (the first 60% had no plot), the crew of You Sexy Thing had to deal with a small-time bad guy, an ancient and dead space moth, and a were-lion clone.

Plot : Book 2 of the Disco Space Opera trilogy; book 1, You Sexy Thing, was reviewed by me here.

The first two-thirds of this book had no plot at all. Nothing happened. The crew only talked about or thought about their backstories and relations with each other. This was completely pointless -- book one introduced them and we knew about them enough to continue with book one's plot. The plot of book two did not need to be held up for two-thirds of the book for more backstory.

At about the 65% point of the book, the plot started up. (Though honestly, by that point I had lost interest.) A small-time bad guy (a captain of a different ship) had serious anger management problems. Serious, serious, serious. He was about as realistic as the bad guy from book one (as in: not at all). Dealing with him was Plot A, including a romp through the corpse of a giant dead space moth. I skimmed about half of it.

Plot B was the slightly more interesting one. In book one, we met two were-lion twins. One of them was killed, and the other was over the top mourning him. Finally the small-time bad guy from Plot A slipped the remaining twin illegal cloning tech, so mourning twin made a clone of dead twin. Since the clone had no memories and a different personality and all that, this plot was the more interesting one to me, but unfortunately it got a fraction of the time Plot A got.

Writing/editing : I wish this trilogy had been organized differently. Take the two-thirds of a book of backstory from this one, narrow it down to the necessary bits, then add it into the character introductions in book one.

Other than that, the writing and editing were fine.

What I d/What I Didn’t : I need a realistic, believable threat in my stories, and unfortunately the bad guys in both books were just not believable at all.

Also, the captain of You Sexy Thing had love for an alien plant person that lasted through many many years of them not seeing each other, it just felt over the top and not believable to me.

Finally, I feel I've had the You Sexy Thing song stuck in my head for weeks now, and it's driving me insane.

Rating: 1-Hated / 2-Disd / 3-Okay / 4-d / 5-Loved : 2. I wish I could have enjoyed this book. I stuck through the two-thirds of character backstory part of the book to get to the plot part, but I should have DNFed it.

Sadly I won't be picking up the final book of the trilogy. Annie3,870 71

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Devil's Gun is the second SF novel featuring the cast and crew of You Sexy Thing (a space ship) by Cat Rambo. Released 29th Aug 2023 by Macmillan on their Tor imprint, it's 288 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out from the same publisher 3rd quarter 2024. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout.

I've been a fan of the author for years and some of their short fiction is not just good, but sublime. The writing here is, as always, more than competent and eminently readable. The main themes here, of found family, finding one's purpose, and making the universe a slightly better place, sit side by side with LGBTQIA+ representation (which -hallelujah- does *not* drive the entire plot), adventure, and a solid mix of humor which surprised an audible chuckle in several places.

The titular "Sexy Thing" is an AI bio-ship central to the plot, and this is not a racy/sexy book by any salacious definition of the word. There is some inherent violence (it's a pirate space opera SF cozy mystery adventure), but again, not egregious, and the violence is integral to the plot. As in much of the author's oeuvre, there is heavy tragedy mixed in amongst the humor.

There is so much going on in the plot that it could easily have devolved into a muddled chaotic mess, but the author is skilled and technically so adept at the craft of writing that the whole gels into a cohesive and entertaining melange. Despite being the second book in a series (with a third due out in Aug 2024), it works fine as a standalone. The author provides enough backstory and context to enjoy the book without drowning the reader or info-dumping character background. The first book is equally delicious and this would be a great choice for public library acquisition, a long weekend binge or buddy read.

Four stars. All in all a good and worthwhile space opera with some foodie moments. The author writes very very well.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. netgalley1 Dan Trefethen890 43

Now, that's more it!

I criticized the first book in this series,'You Sexy Thing', for having too many continuity errors and other simple mistakes that kept pulling me out of the narrative. A shame, because I was enjoying this space opera romp.

This book picks up where the last one left off, and is a much smoother ride. As with a second book, we learn more about the background of the crew members. This is enhanced by the roving POV that puts us inside the head of each character in turn (including the bad guy, and the sentient spaceship).

Interstellar gates, mysterious ghosts, magic, strange weaponry, a formidable giant paladin – it's got a lot. Some of the parts I enjoyed most were the humor that kept cropping up. It's a strange crew, but they are (largely) devoted to each other and often find amusement with each other. The sentient ship in particular is done well, brilliant but emotionally immature and prone to mistakes in judgment it doesn't understand.

The larger message is about finding a supportive found family, and dealing with the loss of those you love. Grief and loss play a major role in driving the narrative..

The book it reminds me of is Alastair Reynolds 'Revenger' and its sequels. That book is unabashedly YA (and won the YA award from Locus). Thins in common include ghosts, strange transportation methods, space pirates with weird names, and siblings. This does not mean the book is elementary in any way, it rings the chimes on the space opera trope the way they should be rung. Both books can be enjoyed by adults or young adults a; it's just that there's nothing in this book that would make it not YA, and many themes that a young person could identify with. The character of Talon, in particular, would be most sympathetic to a YA reader.

I tagged a spoiler alert on this because it's clear this is not the last book in the series, despite what Amazon says. Stay tuned for more ghosts, space pirates, exotic weaponry, and questing through the galaxy, along with one of the most diverse and cleverly drawn crews in SF.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full reviewscience-fiction Chris460 27

*copy from Netgalley in exchange for a review*

The Devil's Gun is the sequel to Cat Rambo's You Sexy Thing, which I would characterise as a space opera in which an ex-admiral turned restauranteur has to save themselves and their found family from an ominous nemesis and their own feelings. Occasionally, they blow stuff up!
The Devil's Gun serves up a lot of the same dishes as its predecessor, but with some interesting new flavours. The crew, fresh from their defeat of Tubal Last - space pirate and general do-babder - are trying to settle into themselves after a fairly hectic period. They've had losses that they need to deal with. They've brought new members into their little family, including a sentient, star-hopping bio-ship with a bit of an attitude. They've lost people. too, and need to grieve. And even as they're doing that, new stormclouds are gathering, threatening to tear away at all they've built.

The team on the Thing are on a mission, a mission to find an old love, an old friend. And while they're doing that, they're still trying to rebuild themselves, physically and mentally. Most of the book feels a character piece, in a good way. An ensemble cast, whose views we get to see, whose weaknesses and fears are laid bare on the page, even while their actions set up their strengths. Some of them, Atlanta, one time Imperial heir, now occasional mushroom-chopper are feeling insecure and looking for purpose. Some of them, the Thing itself, are reaching out, trying to define their boundaries. Understand their feelings, and what provokes them, what makes them happy, and why, sometimes, you might need to do the harder thing. And some of them are deep in their grief. You can feel that roiling off them, a miasma that infects everything they do, and tries to define what they are. In some ways, large parts of the story are meditations on that grief; the way that loss shapes people, the way it makes them do things they wouldn't normally do, for better or worse. The way that living it can be horrible and hurtful and healthy, and clutching it too tight can be poison.

Which all sounds very dramatic, and in some ways it is. But the crew of the Thing spend a large amount of the story working alongside each other, a story in a bottle over a flame, slowly simmering away. There are, for those of you who were wondering, more twists, more betrayals, and more revelations in the world of Niko and her gang. Some of them are potentially galaxy-spanning in their impacts. Others are quieter - the click of a kitchen knife chopping vegetables, the fierce strength of someone digging in raw soil for their purpose.

I won't spoil here beyond saying that the Thing will run into enemies and friends old and new. Some of them are charming and rougish and e a delight to read; others are petty tyrants, with a sense of turgid malice about them that makes you grit your teeth, and feel catharsis when comeuppance occurs. This is The Devil's Gun, another story about the family that is the crew of the Thing. It's their stories, the complex notes of tragedy and joy over the base of action, adventure, and really wild things, those stories that make the meal. It's a slow burn, building context and emotional investment layer by layer, page by page, but the final product deserves, well, whatever a Michelin star is for stories. If you're new to the series, it's probably worth going back before you go forward, the story works better that way, has more weight, more depth to it. But if you're fresh off the first book and looking for more, don't worry.

The Devil's Gun does not disappoint.sci-fi Deborah1,382 26

I received a gifted copy of DEVIL’S GUN by Cat Rambo – thank you to Tor for the gifted copy!

DEVIL’S GUN is the second book in the author’s Disco Space Opera following Niko Larson. Niko has retired from the role of Admiral in the Grand Military of the Hive mind. Along with those who remain from her former command, they had created a restaurant, The Last Chance, in a station at the edges of the universe. In the first book they found their peace disrupted and they were drawn back into action with a sentient spacecraft up against a pirate king. In this second installment, the action begins not long after the first book ends.

With the first book I called it semi-cozy scifi and I think that still works for the series. There are definitely stakes in this and this book is dealing with the impact of everything that happened in book one and some of the grief and trauma the crew has to face. There is still a cozy element in the focus on food and found family. It also continues on with the eclectic mix of characters and I really enjoy seeing how they all interact with their often very different ways of life and motivations.

I had a really good time with this one and look forward to reading more from Cat Rambo! Michele Dancer378 3

In this entry in the series, the captain and crew of the bioship (essentially it has thoughts and feelings and can interact with the crew), You Sexy Thing, are trying to find the captain's former lover before the space pirate, Tubal Last, finds her first. As expected, they encounter all kinds of obstacles including a malfunctioning space gate, a con-woman, a giant space moth, and illegal cloning.
These are proving to be hard books to review. As soon as I started it, I felt genuinely happy to be back with this motley crew of travelers as well as the Thing itself, a character in its own right. But it wasn't long before the plot started to meander and splinter a bit. I realize there are a lot of characters and each has their own story to tell, but Rambo needs to tighten things up. At times, I felt I was reading three or four different books. Also, I hope the new character disappears quickly in the next book. She adds nothing to an already crowded cast and is super-annoying.
Lastly, they need a new copy editor. I found at least six really egregious errors in the book. Clara WardAuthor 9 books21

Put simply, those who loved You Sexy Thing will want to read this, even though it is very obviously a middle book. If Thing (the sentient ship) was one of your favorite characters, then you’re in luck, because Thing has many fine moments in this volume. Beyond that, I was quite happy hanging out with Thing’s entire found family as they all shared perspectives on autonomy, selfdom, personal boundaries (sometimes quite literal), and “pets.”

But I still wanted more! This led me to an exciting discovery: Twice Far and Beyond. This anthology contains all of Cat Rambo’s short stories from this universe. Most of them focus on other characters, but the depth of worldbuilding and shared references were a treat! However, what pushed me to post this review right away was that I could only find Twice Far and Beyond offered as part of these two very limited time bundles:
https://genconwriters.square.site/
https://storybundle.com/archives/the-...
Enjoy! Tim Hicks1,598 121

When you get into found-family space stories, which appear to be pretty big these days, there's always a risk of slipping into bathos, soap-opera heavy-sigh it's-all-so-HARD I-need-a-hug. This book did.

When one mostly-human girl is deciding whether to have sex with a squid, Rambo is being giving lots of stage time to her own version of Jar Jar Binks, who mesay is being fluent in English (or whatever they speak on board) except for mesay being having a speech blip that is being really annoying.

I also hate the Big-Bad-Pirate-Chasing-Me and he could be ANywhere, even in THIS CLOSET! thing. As I DNF'ed the book, I peeked ahead and it looks as if we suddenly have 20 new characters - too late! - and even some action - too late! - but, sure enough the Nasty Pirate never shows.. Feh.

I'm outa here. science-fiction1 Alicia3,245 34

https://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2023/0...

So I loooved the first book in this series, but d this one a little less. I am still into all the characters and their inter-relationships, and I LOVE the ship, who is hilarious in this one. But the plot is kind of all over the place, one plotline is a bummer, and the ending is not super satisfying because it’s clear another book is on the way. THAT BEING SAID, I will definitely read that book, because I am invested in everything at this point! I think this one laid out a lot of things that will be really interesting, it’s just very second-book-in-a-trilogy. B+.



__

A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August. Drew Osburn383 4

I thought this book was much better executed than You Sexy Thing. The pacing was much more consistent and the characters had much better chemistry with each other. I did think it dragged a bit in the beginning, there was a lot of everyone just hanging out on the ship and I was over halfway through the book before it got to the main plot point.
It still feels as if the author is trying to achieve something similar to The Wayfarers but not as much as in the first one. This felt much more it's becoming its own thing straddling the line of cozy.
Thing remains my favorite character and feels a mix of Nightblood from Warbreaker and Gregorivich from To Sleep In A Sea of Stars.
If I did half stars this would probably be more of a 3.5 stars than a true 4 Henry Lazarus1,194 10

Cat Rambo continues her tale of the crew of the bioship You Sexy Thing (paper). Most of them worked at a restaurant owned by Niko Larson, former Admiral in the Grand Military of the Hive Mind, and had followed her into exile. Then a Pirate attack on their station sent them to the pirate that they may have destroyed. Apparently, the pirate king not only survived, but is after them. Their only hope is an ancient weapon called Devil's Gun (hard from Tor) that exists on an ancient and very dead space moth, that can only be boarded with a Paladin. This is a quirky tale filled with quirky human and alien characters, including the bioship. Lots of fun with more adventures to come. Heidi1,246 6

I think I’m pretty much the target audience for this series. Character driven? Check. Not too violent and scary? Check. (Bad things do happen but it’s not the blood soaked grimness of some series.) Food and cooking as a sub plot? Check. Not hard sci-fi lavishing details on the science to the point of tedium? Check.
If you enjoy a lighter run of science fiction this series is an excellent choice. Five stars for me because it’s right up my alley but maybe 4 stars for general science fiction fans.2023-books-read GwenPeds235

Audiobook. Enjoyed this one a lot. I read "You Sexy Thing" a year or so ago, and d it, too. In this case, as in most cases, I didn't remember most of the details from the first book, so I actually went back and read it again, getting a lot more out of it this time. That very much enriched my experience with the second book. Now, I am interested in hearing the first book as an audiobook if it's available. More than that, I'm real eager for the next installment. Four stars only because--dang it!--This one does end with a cliffhanger.audiobooks Cressa460 2

We continue to follow the adventures of the You Sexy Thing. My heart aches for Thorn as he tries to deal with his grief over the death of his brother. (Not a spoiler as it happens in book 1) Atlanta is trying to figure out where her place is in the world. Niko is determined to protect Petalia.

This book was enjoyable, but it felt very much a middle book meant to take us from point a to point b.

I will read the next in the series.

ARC from netgalley.arc Dr susan2,529 39

Excellent sci fi adventure

The worldbuilding is fascinating, Thing is a genius adolescent and often hilarious (Spike made me laugh out loud), and I love the crew. But there is so much sadness (Talon, Niko, Dabry, and Millie each broke my heart) and new evilness (of course, there has to be an evil character). The story is engrossing, enjoyable, and very character-driven. I read a library book but will buy Devil's Gun as soon as I can. Rich Van Ollefen113

Virtually nothing happens for 90% of the book, and when something does happen it's not particularly exciting, and the whole thing ends with a whimper. I'd say it was a cliffhanger, but that implies some sort of suspense, which is lacking here. Character development is also minimal with the exception of the growth of the ships conciousness. I came close to not finishing this one, but fought through it. Liz1,592 42

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