The Upstream Writer: Reader's Review: "Find Me If You Can" by Kelly Blanchard

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Reader's Review: "Find Me If You Can" by Kelly Blanchard

Synopsis from Amazon:

What if you were framed for murder and everyone was hunting you?

Kossrak created an omniscient machine for the Thymord Order. In return, they double-crossed him, seeking to eliminate him. He must survive the Day of Cleansing while being hunted by a vindictive assassin and a powerful sorcerer.
Vixen searches for Lorrek, desperate to find him before the Thymord Order does. She needs Kossrak's machine to do so.
Lorrek wishes Kossrak to erase him from the system so the Thymord Order cannot track him.

Who will find whom first? Can Kossrak survive either encounter?

Find Me If You Can is the seventh book in a riveting science fiction and fantasy series filled with near-misses, steampunk worlds, and cranky assassins.

>>>>>>>>>

My Review:

Oh, where can I even start? So much happened in this book, but every bit of it was epic!

Find Me If You Can picks up more or less where They Must Be Stopped left off--in the sense that it comes finally at the end of a two-book-long deep-dive into the history of the "Lorrekverse." Now we're back in the present with Lorrek, Radella, and Eldrila, still on the run from the Thymords, but also better understanding why they're being tracked and how the Thymord Order functions, all the better to stay beyond their reach and prevent them from taking over the entire galaxy.

That's right, the sword-and-sorcery series has just gone galactic. And yet, due to patient and thoughtful storytelling by Kelly Blanchard, no tech feels out-of-place; those characters who have never traveled beyond their own homeworlds are justifiably baffled by the strange technology--much like the space pirates are baffled by magic. Lorrek and Radella are finding the answers they need, so now the plot has reached the point of being able to act upon that information. Key moments from the last six books come to bear at last--and I think that's what I like most about this series. Anything that happens isn't just "one and done"... There's always some lingering effect, or characters that are introduced for one part of the story aren't discarded afterwards, but continue to have a role to play later on in the series!

Such a complex story--an assassination attempt and the political fallout, an attempted breakout from a prison planet, a crew of space pirates and a ship full of "ghost" soldiers (presumed dead, but very much alive) and families scattered among the stars--carries the potential to be overblown and complicated, rather boring and expository at times... But Blanchard keeps the action moving, and you'll want to keep reading for as long as you can!

Find Me If You Can is a manhunt of epic proportions, a touching story about friends, enemies, and family who could be both--I could ramble on for many more paragraphs about all the ways this series dominates all other examples of this genre! I give it *****5 STARS***** and add an unreserved Upstream Writer Certified WHOLE-HEARTEDLY RECOMMENDED endorsement.

The Chronicles of Lorrek moves in 3-book cycles (which makes the box sets handy--you'll be able to get the full scope of each "phase" of the story that way!) and thus Book 7 feels like it has launched the third and final "phase" of the epic series--It's little bittersweet to realize how close I am to the end! If you don't mind unique and sometimes unconventional character names (some sound similar, but the way the characters interact and behave is different enough to tell them apart while you're reading) and you really want something that will hold your attention for a long while, then there has never been a better time--or a better series--to begin the greatest adventure in Sci-fantasy fiction!

Further Reading: (Also By The Author/Space Travel/Epic Series/Compelling Adventure)