Blindspace is an action-packed sequel.

PLOT: A lot happens in Blindspace, from the action, the world-building. As well as finding out more about the Stormtech and the beings behind it. A strong element in Blindspace is the relationship between the characters especially between Vakov and his brother Artyom.

CHARACTERS: I like how weird the main cast of characters are. And they are embracing their weirdness. As well as growing as they have more responsibilities.



WRITING STYLE: Jeremy style is energetic and it's great at making your heart race.

OVERALL: A enjoyable action-packed Sci-fi book with heart and a great cliffhanger.

My rating for Blindspace is 3.8 out of 5.

Thank you to netgalley the publisher and author for allowing me access to this eARC.

This is a cool epic fantasy steam punk mix book usually this is not my genre but I really did enjoy it with many details and great relationships between characters. The story is twisting and turning with many small issues that keep you intreasted throughout the whole book.

La verdad, he quedado decepcionada con Blindspace, la segunda entrega de la saga The Common de Jeremy Szal. Quería que me gustara, pero no he llegado a conectar en ningún momento con la lectura, me parece que el autor se ha esforzado tanto en hacer la obra más grande, más agresiva, más dura que la anterior que se ha pasado de rosca y ha conseguido que me sea indiferente, que es casi lo peor que le puede pasar a un libro. La longitud de la novela tampoco acompaña y es posible que a otro tipo de lector que busque más la acción desenfrenada el libro le encaje mucho más que a mí.


Recordemos que en la primera entrega de la saga, Stormblood, donde conocimos al protagonista Vakov Fukasawa, el autor se centraba bastante en los problemas de la drogadicción a la tecnología alienígena que infestaba el cuerpo de algunos guerreros de élite y que también se utilizaba para traficar con ella. En esta segunda entrega, sin embargo, decide centrarse en la transformación que está sufriendo Vakov a causa de este ataque parasitario y cómo oculta los cambios a todos sus conocidos para intentar protegerlos (pista, sale mal).

Szal parece que sigue empeñado en hacernos ver la parte humana de los luchadores, algo que comprendo, pero lo hace de una forma tan poco sutil que es como un ladrillazo en el colodrillo. Es un buen principio intentar hacer la contraposición entre la familia de cada uno (esa te la encuentras ya formada) y la familia escogida de cada uno, por intentar poner en situación lo que cuenta el autor, pero estoy segura de que habría formar más sutiles de hacerlo. No hace falta hablar de “my fireteam, my family” cada dos párrafos, mi capacidad de memoria es mayor que eso.

Los personajes son histriónicos, exagerados en sus reacciones y en su forma de actuar. Conoceremos a algunos alienígenas más pero todos están cortados por el mismo patrón, el de la violencia y la chulería como forma de defensa ante la maldad de los enemigos. Los planes de las distintas facciones son cristalinos y las “revelaciones” pues tampoco es que descorran un velo que había ante nuestros ojos, si ya sabemos que los malos son muy malos y les gusta torturar a la gente, os recuerdo que están experimentando con ADN alienígena parasitario para ver si consiguen mejorar a la humanidad, hermanitas de la caridad no van a ser.

No obstante, he visto muchas reacciones que ponen la novela muy bien, así que es posible que yo no sea su público objetivo o que no haya conseguido conectar con ella. Si buscas acción a raudales, enfrentamientos de todo tipo (espaciales, de combate cercano, francotiradores…) y no requieres mucha verosimilitud, este puede ser tu libro.

Book two continues the themes of family, ptsd, drug abuse and the effects of a war torn world on the worlds within the common. Jeremy continues to evolve the series and make you love a new cast of characters while your praying not to lose anyone during the heavy battles of which there is many.

Lots of anime style food porn in here to make your exhaustingly hungry as well as all the techno gable you want from a serious sci fi / cyber punk romp that leans heavy into similar territory we see in games like mass effect. Can’t wait for book 3!

Jeremy Szal’s debut novel, Stormblood, was one of my favourite books of 2020 and one of the finest, most captivating science-fiction novels that I’ve read in the past few years.

Chances are that if you’re reading this review, you’ve already devoured Stormblood; though perhaps not and you’re just tracking the series until it’s completed, at which point you’ll dive in. With that said, there’s a 99% chance that you already know how great a series ‘The Common’ is already shaping up to be.

BLINDSPACE, like Stormblood before it, is a brutal read, heaving with exquisite world-building and populated with wonderful agency-infused characters. All of the emotions, the gut-punches, and the constant sense of wonderment are back but dialled to eleven and delivered with a far more developed and assertive voice.

Stormblood, while gritty and frequently harrowing, now feels like Szal taking it easy. He knows the essence of his characters, but he also knows his reader, and with this knowledge, he can, and will, play you with the skill and relish of a sadistic conductor. Characters are pushed to their limits, tortured, punished, and you feel everything just as keenly as they do. The stakes are very much real, and you can’t take for granted the fact that a character will survive or that they’ll be in one piece if they do.

The characters themselves are fantastic, each of them unique and with their own rich backgrounds. Vakov himself demonstrates a colossal amount of personal growth throughout the book, with him struggling to transition from a one-man army to a responsible commander but also struggling with having Artyom back in his life.

For all the sexy, jaw-dropping tech on display, at its core, BLINDSPACE still feels primarily a story about, and an exploration of, brotherhood and relationships. There is a great shining web of connection between all of the players, and Szal masterfully plucks these strings in both the calmer moments of downtime, but also during the rabid rage of combat.

Rest assured that the tech is just as cool and drool-inducing as ever—suits, guns, ships, everything you want in your SF is here. The universe of The Common feels like a great playground of imagination, and you can tell that Szal is having a riot there; his passion and enjoyment are palpable and feed directly into his unique style of high-energy storytelling.

As a sequel, BLINDSPACE was everything I wanted and a whole lot more. While a great many questions were answered, so many more are left out there in the black.

Roll on book three, though whether my heart will be able to take it, I’m not too sure.

Space can be philosophical, quiet, awe-inspiring and yet I have to admit large explosions and adventure in space is also immensely satisfying. That frontier always holds danger and just a little thrill or two. In Jeremy Szal’s excellent exhilarating Blindspace we return to the universe of The Common and for this instalment we have an action-packed gritty adventure pushing our characters to their limit.

Vakov Fukasawa has moved on a lot from when we saw him living the life of a criminal in the huge asteroid world of Compass. His brother has been indoctrinated into an evil cult and he finally foud him freed albeit under arrest). Vakov also found out more about the secret alien DNA (nicknamed Stormblood) injected in him and many other soldiers during a hard war that turned them into an elite force known as Reapers. That was the calling card of an ancient evil known as the Shinoi who want to return, and many other ancient races are prepared to stop them and join humanity in the fight. Vak finds himself now working for a group dedicated to eliminating the House of Suns before they can turn any more people into cultists using the power of Stormblood.

If the first book in the series was the space opera focusing on Vak solving a mystery, then this is all action sequel. I love it when a series plays with tone and approach; and this did not disappoint. Vak was last seen as the reluctant warrior brought back into the fight this time, we find him front and centre leading a fireteam of hardened warriors also including his hacker friend Grim investigating where the Suns are hiding and trying to fight them out. Szal pulls out plenty of action set pieces each time very different – hand to hand battles on an asteroid, strange eerie monster encounters in a planet’s caves and finally an epic space battle. Each time the writing brilliantly brings these to life. You’ll feel every punch, shot, and move the team pull to stay alive. Two constant highlights are the variety of special armoured suits the team wear for each encounter, and each has its own special abilities and uses which get very inventive – especially as we start to see alien varieties of the technology. Also prepare for some truly punchy weapons and fistfights – this is the front-end of battle and Szal makes us see things from the front-line perspective in all its ugly glory.

The story happily does not sacrifice plot for action, and we move again the ongoing plot of Stormblood, the Suns and the mysterious Shinoi. On the one hand this is a standard powergrab between forces of democracy and criminals but we also start to see the Suns are acting as heralds to the Shinoi and that only through torturing others can they somehow call their gods back to this side of the galaxy. For Vak this is dangerous as stormblood calls him to the Shinoi too via a strange mental landscape known as Blindspace and Vak starts to find that his augmented body is behaving and changing in a very new aggressive way which becomes a daily battle for control just when a final epic confrontation is needed.

What really gels the book though despite these other two factors is the emotional journey Vak the loner goes on. He is not very used to leading a team and this creates conflict as the risky lone wolf forgets to explain things to his team. On top of that his younger brother is now in prison and the pressure is on Vak to show his brother has value to Compass and deserves freedom. Throw in his body unexpectedly changing on him and the pressure eof an all-out imminent war there is a lot for this character to process. Szal cleverly makes the internal journey for Vak about him learning to trust others and pull his mental walls down (not always successfully) and that for the reader especially as we are hearing this story in Vaks voice mean we hear his internal battle to do better for himself and others. The best words to describe Vaks is the big brother who wants to do his family right whatever it takes and now having a fireteam we see the emergence of a new found family for him to argue with but also bond and trust. For all the explosions and battles to enjoy this emotional heart keeps the story on an even keel and makes me genuinely interested in where the series goes next.

If you’ve ever played Mass Effect with the smart blend of space opera, politics and action then you will really enjoy Blindspace and its makes another instalment in some rather brilliant SF action adventure that confirms Szal is a name to watch in science fiction. It’s an enthralling read and a bit like Stormblood itself you may want another dose very soon! Highly recommended!

I loved Stormblood and like Blindspace as I found it a bit less gripping.
Fast paced, action packed, twisty but I felt it a bit off and I'm sure it's my mood not the book.
The author is a good storyteller and the world building is excellent.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

Having read the first book 'Stormblood' in advance for reading this ARC, I feel like I had a lot more knowledge before diving into this sequel. The journey that Jeremy Szal takes Vak Fukasawa on in this book ties in closely to what happens in the first one and improves upon what was built there. I loved the internal workings of his mind during this book, he was more uncertain than ever because of his newfound love for his team, which made him hesitant in a way he wasn't in the first. 'Blindspace' made the world of the Common bigger and grander, with more of a focus on the House of Suns cult and their reasoning behind their blind devotion to the Shenoi. His relationship with every individual- from the hacker Grim and space police Katherine to the aliens Jasken and Juvens- were forefront of this book, emphasising the importance of Vak not being alone again. His experiences with his brother, especially in the sections where he returned to his home planet for the first time, were some of my favourites.

This was an excellent sequel and incredibly well written, with fast paced action and powerful characters. I normally wouldn't read scifi like this, but I'm so glad I took a chance on this series and I hope there's more in the future.

The nitty-gritty: A nail-biting adventure that raises the stakes even higher, Blindspace was a solid sequel and a lot of fun.

I’ve been excited for Blindspace ever since I finished Stormblood last year, and I'm so glad I was able to squeeze this in for SciFiMonth. I’ll admit I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the first book in the series, but the elements that worked really well for me made up for some of the missteps. Jeremy Szal has created a fascinating futuristic world in which an alien drug called stormtech has taken over the satellite world of Compass and is threatening to spread to even more worlds, unless Vakov Fukasawa and his fireteam can stop it. Blindspace is full of high stakes, non-stop action, but Szal also knows when to dial things down and spend some quieter moments with his characters.

Vak is a Reaper, a bio engineered human who was injected with alien DNA in order to make him an unbeatable soldier. When the story opens, Vak and his fireteam—a group of trusted friends who have joined him in the crusade against stormtech—are gearing up to continue their battle against the Suns, a cult who is using stormtech to infiltrate every part of Compass and beyond. But something strange is happening to Vak. He’s starting to hear voices and have violent dreams, almost as if someone is getting into his head. When he realizes that his weird visions are tied to the Shenoi, the long dead alien race responsible for stormtech, Vak knows that he must shut down the Suns' operation once and for all. But that’s easier said than done, as Vak and his crew are about to find out.

One of my favorite things about Blindspace is the way the character development and the group dynamics were handled. Szal does a great job of setting up believable conflicts between his characters, and there was a natural ebb and flow to the way the team worked together. In order to do this right, you have to start with great characters, and in this the author succeeds with flying colors. Vak is the star of the show, especially since the story is told from his first person point of view. Vak struggles daily with the stormtech that invades his body. He’s learned to control it and live with it over the years, but in this story, something strange is happening to him, and the stormtech is starting to control him. This sets up a scenario where some of the relationships with his teammates are starting to fracture. Vak can’t always control his words and actions, and in many ways he’s pushing his friends away. 

The author continues to explore the ever-changing relationship between Vak and his brother Artyom. I won’t go into their past history, because you’ll learn a lot about it if you read Stormblood, but let’s just say they’ve hurt each other in the past, but the fact that they are brothers and the only family left makes their bond unbreakable, no matter what happens. There are plenty of ups and downs between them, but I was glad to see that they are able to move past some of the bad stuff and continue to help and support each other.

Some of the characters return from the first book, including Grim, who is almost like a brother to Vak; Katherine, the mission coordinator who is the (sort of) love interest for Vak; Quilan, a level headed Torvan, Saren and Jasken. We meet a new character named Mandy who turned out to be a favorite of mine. Mandy is a kick-ass, smoking, drinking sharpshooter with a wicked sense of humor, and Juvens is a Kaiji who joins forces with Vak and his fireteam. I also loved the interactions between Quilan and Jasken, who butt heads a lot of the time, mostly because of their differences. But little by little their relationship grows into one of grudging acceptance and friendship, and I thought it was so well done.

In fact, you could say the theme of Blindspace is change. One of the strongest elements in the book is the group dynamic, and I was fascinated by how Vak and his fireteam performed together under pressure. Even with interpersonal issues on the side, they know when to put their emotions in a box, necessary because they always seem to be fighting for their lives. But between fights, there is quite a bit of nice tension among the crew. Friendships are tested, hidden truths are revealed, but eventually most—but not all—of these conflicts are smoothed over. Vak, being the leader of the group, makes some awful mistakes and pays the price, but I thought the author did a great job of resolving these conflicts in a believable way.

The story has an abundance of high stakes action scenes, fueled with testosterone as well as stormtech. Readers who prefer their science fiction action-heavy will not be disappointed. Vak and his team are never far away from the next dangerous, life threatening assignment. The bad guys are truly evil, and not everyone makes it out alive, unfortunately. And while I enjoyed a lot of these scenes, I have to admit it was a bit too much at times. Szal relentlessly abuses his poor characters, putting them in some dire situations, and while there are quiet moments scattered here and there, most of the story involves deadly conflicts between the team and their enemies. At times the story takes on a grimdark quality, with extreme violence and even torture scenes, so do be aware if that isn’t your sort of thing. What makes this grimdark so addicting, though, is how different it is from fantasy. You won’t find swords or axes here, rather Vak and his team are armed with futuristic blasters and explosives, not to mention the stormtech that’s raging through Vak’s body, which is almost a weapon itself.

Once again, Szal’s world-building is fantastic. I love the dangerous underground world of drug trafficking and the horrible ways the alien drug can be used to change a person’s body. The author goes into detailed descriptions, and for the most part I loved learning more about the world. But here’s where the story started to lose me. This book felt so long to me, and took me almost two weeks to finish. I think it could have easily been trimmed by eliminating a lot of the descriptive passages, which go on longer than they need to. I get it, there’s a lot of cool world-building to explain, but I like it better when it’s presented organically through dialog or a character’s actions.

Szal’s dialog is strong for the most part, and I especially loved the banter between characters. It added a much needed lightness to the story, which is pretty grim and serious for the most part. What didn’t always work for me were the emotional exchanges that are scattered throughout. I’m assuming he was trying to add another layer to the story or counteract all the dark moments, but honestly, a lot of this dialog comes across as sappy, and just didn’t fit in with all the violence.

But these issues aside, Blindspace was so much fun. The story ends on a nail-biter of a cliffhanger, and it’s going to be torture waiting for the next book in the series! Readers who love tech-heavy, action-packed sci-fi should definitely catch up with this series so you’ll be ready.

Big thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy.

My feelings about Blindspace can, ultimately, be summed up by the fact that, at the point of reading it, I’m a different reader than I was reading Stormblood. Because, really, this book is as good as the previous one. The only explanation must be me.

The book is much the same as the first, in terms of the general aspects of it—fast-paced, action packed, it throws you in and doesn’t let up. It also makes very clear from the outset that no one is safe. These may be main characters we’re talking about, but, in the fight against the cult, now with the Jackal at its (local) head, any rules are tossed out of the window.

Which makes it a bloody and vicious ride (as a warning to anyone who might find those things hard to read). At every turn, it seems as though Vakov and his team are outnumbered and outmatched. The House of Suns are coming and bringing their aliens with them. Plus, there are thrown in some twists and turns, and new information you won’t see coming.

Perhaps, though, the difference between my feelings about Stormblood and Blindspace comes down to the centrality of Vakov and Artyom’s relationship. Yes, it still plays a big role in the plot (and you get some good flashbacks), but it’s somewhat set aside in favour of the bigger (life-threatening) plot. Which, really, should have been anticipated.

But if you enjoyed book 1 of this series, I can guarantee you’ll enjoy book 2. And if you’re wondering whether this is a series you should pick up, I would say yes to that too.

Blindspace is a rip-roaring read from the get-go, full of adventure, thrills and intrigue. This seems to be Book Two in a series, so i kind of wished I'd read Book One, but I was still able to enjoy this.
The author, Jeremy Szal knows how to play with his unique blend of characters to create conflict and story and I very much enjoyed this story. I will now have to go look up Book One!