Ocean’s Echo was, ultimately, a disappointment. After Winter’s Orbit, I thought I would at least like Everina Maxwell’s follow-up. Instead, I found myself bored for the most part and unable to see why exactly I should be rooting for the main couple.

Set in the same, nebulously described world as Winter’s Orbit, this book follows two characters I can’t even recall the names of (Tennal and Surit, as I had to look up). Tennal is the nephew of someone high up in government (whose power you just have to trust because it’s not exactly clear what role she really plays), but is a disappointment, and being so-called “reader”, also perceived as a danger to society. So, in an illegal move, he gets sent into military service, to be forcibly bonded to an “architect” (who, to me, seems more dangerous than someone who can read minds, someone who can write their will onto another person’s mind). Surit is chosen as that architect.

Perhaps it’s clear from this paragraph what my first point is going to be about, and that’s the worldbuilding. It’s flimsy to the point of basically being transparent. This, I’ll admit, is also the case with Winter’s Orbit and I think the reason I could let it go there was because I’d already read the story back when it was online. Now, though, there was a new story and I could see all the weaknesses more apparent. I basically can’t explain anything to you about this world because I don’t know anything about it. I haven’t been told anything except some handwavey explanations of readers and architects. It’s not even the more complex things that were left out, it was simple things like how the power dynamics of the world work, who’s in charge, how are they elected, do they live on planets, is this a kind of space empire, is it multiple regions all connected (I would lean towards this explanation, since apparently this book takes place in the same timeline as the first book, but across the galaxy. Don’t ask me how that works). As I said, flimsy to the point of being transparent.

I could forgive this, I think, if I had found anything compelling about the relationship. But I didn’t. The characters didn’t feel bland, per se—although given that they didn’t even stick in my mind well enough to remember names, it might be argued they were—but they didn’t inspire any sort of emotional connection within me. And in a book that pretty much relies on those characters and their relationship, that was a killer. I just didn’t care about anything that I was meant to. There were times I was reading it thinking, I’m supposed to feel something, and I just didn’t. There was nothing there to feel.

Maybe the only redeeming feature here was the writing, but even that was offset by the sheer length of the book. It did not need to be this long. The plot didn’t need to be so complex (and arguably the book didn’t have the range to do that complexity well anyway). Much of it could have been cut and then maybe Maxwell might have focused more on the emotions of it all.

As it was, I ended up reading… whatever this was.

Military and political drama full of twists and turns IN SPACE! Loved the characters, the romance, the sibling dynamic between the Halkanas, and the world building was exquisite!

Tennal is a self-destructive socialite dubiously conscripted into a divisive military and Surit is a by-the-books lieutenant trying to overcome his mother's treasonous legacy. Both men have genetic neuromodifications, but Surit's ability to control other's movements is seen as a valuable skill, whereas Tennal's ability to read other's minds is seen as dangerous, and the military is insisting that they "sync", which would give Surit free reign to control Tennal. Surit won't do it without Tennal's explicit consent and thus begins a deception which is further muddled by military politics, emotional baggage, and a growing romantic attraction.

The character growth was pretty good (always my favorite part of a book) and the sci-fi plot was solid. The main relationship never takes a back seat to the rest of everything going on, but none of the interactions feel trope-y (even when they are) or irrelevant. If you're looking for spicy, though, look elsewhere.

With the backdrop of an interplanetary political crisis, Everina Maxwell has written a stunning exploration of what it means to know a person and to love them, and the complex connections we have with the people we call family.

If you finished Winter’s Orbit and wondered, but how will she ever top “diplomatic marriage in space”? Fear not: the answer is “(fake?) soulbond of convenience in space.” The tropes are flying free and it’s delightful! We’ve got a high-strung, anxious hero for whom everything has gone wrong and whose only remaining weapon is flirting aggressively and his tragically upright and unyieldingly moral woobie of a love interest. Coups! Intrigue! Soulbonds! A rollicking good time.

3.5 stars of sci-fi political magical romantic morass. Not as romantic as I’d like, and more of a magic element in a sci-fi than I’m used to but a really great small-world political upheaval novel with two truly fantastic leads: Tennal, a ne’er do well, indulgent, playboy loafer and Surit, the orders-always, straight backed, overly moral army lieutenant who is charged with overwriting tennals mind. Throw in a bit of scifi fake dating! Fun stuff.

Thanks to Tor for the e-arc.

Maxwell's characters and world building just isn't there for me. This is the second book of hers I've tried and I don't think I'll be reading anymore.

Everina Maxwell's OCEAN'S ECHO is an unfortunate follow-up to WINTER'S ORBIT. The characters are far less interesting and likable, and the opening scene--with Tennal in a casino--was so bogged down with worldbuilding and info-dumping that I wanted to throw the book away. Overall, it felt like a weaker book all around, and I was so disappointed because WINTER'S ORBIT had been one of the more readable LGBTQ sci-fi stories that I've come across recently.

Ocean's Echo was a mind-twisty, hilarious, and epically entertaining and romantic space adventure. Full of conspiracies, forced proximity, and otherworldly alien artifacts, this military sci-fi romp through the stars has excellent world-building that had me completely enmeshed in the story, and plot-points and pacing that had me flying through its 400+ pages in what felt like minutes. The relationship between Tennal and Surit was achingly tender and their individual character growth was just as compelling as the development of their relationship. Their interactions made me laugh out loud just as much as they pulled at my heart strings, and the balance between the plot and romance was perfect. I had a fantastic time reading this!

First of all, I am here for this trend of standalones set in the same universe! You don't have to have read Winter's Orbit to read Ocean's Echo, but if you liked one you'll probably like the other. Ocean's Echo is another great political/intrigue-filled sci fi with a central queer romance. The characters are well developed, the worldbuilding is interesting -- just a great, solid read that normalizes a diversity of genders and sexualities.

I blasted through this space opera so fast, I'm still vibrating. Ocean's Echo is a stand alone in the same universe as Winter’s Orbit and Everina Maxwell has constructed a story that includes political intrigue, romance, space chases, friendship, and morality quandaries of gene manipulation and military orders. I need to do two rereads, one for the intrigue and the other for the romance. Put together, best book I've read all year!

Maxwell had set a high bar for herself with WINTER'S ORBIT and I am happy to report that she has delivered yet another stunning, just-tropey-enough sci-fi adventure with slowburn disaster gays. I am even happier to report that despite initial appearances, it is very little like Winter's Orbit.

In a galaxy where the government has used alien technology to create neuromods, people who can either read minds ("readers") or exert varying degrees of mind control ("architects") are common, if not overly abundant. Primarily because of a more effective PR campaign, architects are considered upstanding citizens and readers are considered a danger to society. Because they're (theoretically) so dangerous, any reader convicted of (or framed for) a crime ends up as a military conscript and is involuntarily mind-melded to an architect, who then controls them for the rest of their life. Big yikes, but these pairings make great space pilots so what's a corrupt military military supposed to do? Tennal is a reader and the nephew of a high-ranking government official with a fantastic ability to self-sabotage. Surit is an architect and a low-ranking officer making salvage runs in chaotic space, the son of a disgraced general-turned-war-criminal. For reasons that aren't incredibly clear to either of them, when Tennal is conscripted, Surit is specifically assigned as the architect who is supposed to sync him. Joke's on whoever is trying to include this disastrous pair in their political machinations though, because Surit's near-religious adherence to ethics preclude him from syncing with a reader who does not consent. It doesn't take long for the two to realize that there's something fishy going on around them - and just because of who they are as people, that's <i>really</i> not going to go well for the people orchestrating the entire mess.

Initially it seemed like Kiem/Tennal and Jainan/Surit were very "same character different fonts" but within a few chapters it became clear that although there are surface similarities, the characters are actually very different. Tennal is a self-sabotaging disaster who is perpetually about six centimetres from throwing himself into a doom chasm because he thinks his existence is the worst thing about everyone's day, and Surit is defined by a single-minded determination to become a captain with the ability to bowl through everyone and everything in his way but a commitment to rules, regulations, and ethics that prevent him from doing so. I appreciated how smoothly their adventure jumped to and from space adventures and planetary politics, and I appreciated both the simplicity and complexity of the worldbuilding. It was clear that the world was very well fleshed-out, but Maxwell didn't overburden the text with details on the things the reader did not strictly need to know. Given how fast-paced this book is, it seems a bit weird to call the ending rushed, but the rapidity with which things escalated at the very end combined with such a large amount of info-dumping in such a small span of pages is what knocked this down a half-star for me but overall, the character development, the riveting adventure, and Maxwell's slightly quirky writing style make this a big win in my books.

This can be read as a standalone from WINTER'S ORBIT, and I would recommend it to everyone who wanted their space&politics sci-fi from the 80s and 90s to be gayer regardless of whether they've read WINTER'S ORBIT or not. For fans of Maxwell's debut, I would caution against going in expecting the same amount of romance, but highly recommend it all the same.

Ok this checked sooooooo many boxes for me. Space and brain science and military/political intrigue and exciting action and allies to friends to almost-lovers. (The pairing of rebellious and scrupulous characters was especially well done.)

And good trouble. So much good trouble.

:chef kiss: