What a ride!
And I’m not just talking about the trip this book took to Canada because my husband couldn’t bear to put it down. No…from the beginning I felt like I was personally on the Kite, relaxing with Dash and free from any sort of schedule…and pants.
But really, not many envy the lax dress code and solitary life that Dash Mason enjoys on the Kite, an outer space vessel with enormous butterfly wings designed for sweeping up the errant debris left behind from the construction that took place above Earth long ago. But of course Dash is not alone during his three month stints, surrounded by Casinos, Space Stations, and joy-riding drunks who throw a little too much life into his rounds around Earth. And if not for his wife Janet and her continual upgrades with artificial intelligence, he might actually get some sleep. But Dash plays it all cool, knowing he only has a few more years until he qualifies for early retirement. He just has to stay out of trouble till then. Yeah, right.
Kite is a perfect blend of sci-fi and exploration, investigating the outer realm while looking deep into one’s soul to discover what it means to truly be alive. I was immensely pleased with the jargon and technological references that gave me a sense of newness without pulling me out of the story. And Dash’s favorite AI, Sheila was the perfect tie to all the worlds involved, encouraging rebellious AI’s, friendly would-be terrorists, trigger-happy aliens, and even the brilliant but jealous Janet to work together by the end.
Pants off–I mean hats off to Bill Shears for renewing the joy of exploration, because with our actual space travel beginning to wane, this book gave me a greater sense of hope that perhaps we’re not entirely through. That there’s so much more to discover if we’re simply willing to try. And in doing so, we may just find out what it means to be truly human.
I received a free copy for my review, but it in no way influenced my opinion. To acquire your own copy visit here, and to find out more about Bill Shears and his fabulous imagination you can visit his blog here.
Happy Reading everyone!
Karen,
Thanks so much for the review. I’m glad you, and husband, enjoyed the story.
Here’s a complete short story that’s set in the same science fictional “world” but a different time. Hint: The space casino is new. The Beekeeper.
Enjoy.
Bill S
I love that you have me on your sites to visit!!! this is a great blog too!
I decided to award you the Powerful Woman Writer Award.
Go to http://astorybookworld.blogspot.com/p/awards.html and pick up your award.
~Deirdra
Oh Dierdra how lovely!! Thank you so much. You are so talented and I feel so honored!