Godeena Book Review
Godeena is complicated to review: the world building is strong, particularly the canvas of inter-galactic warfare and politicking, and the bones of the plot itself are excellent, from collecting disposable convicts from a prison megalopolis to explore the ruins of world controlled by a psychotic and malignant deity, all tied to themes of redemption and second chances. But it struggles with the execution of these elements.
There’s too many convicts/characters for the reader to properly get attached to them; most of them only have a couple of lines in the entire book. It’s not enough, and that crucial introduction stage where we’re supposed to be getting to know these characters is often intruded on by subplots, or other plot lines, which exacerbates the issue. We needed more interactions, and more of all just scenes for these characters to display themselves and shine.
The plot is strong, but suffers from being a bit too straightforward, with the solutions being given to them or readily available among their supplies, and weakens itself by giving the characters (and thus the readers) all the necessary information about the planet in advance. So much of mystery and the danger/tension is lost because the characters go to Godeena with those mysteries solved.
The prose is decent by too reliant on the passive/telling voice, especially when telling how a character is feeling (X was angry at the insult.)
The action versus narrative scenes are well balanced, as is the pacing of the book as a whole, with no overarching segments overstaying their welcome but also giving the readers enough time to enjoy them.
I found the core romance bit rushed, and that the characters lacked proper chemistry with one another.