The Power of Two by Patti O'Shea
Sep. 28th, 2007 06:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganbmooreThe Power of Two is book 4 in the 2176 multi-author futuriistic romance series put out by Leisure a few years ago. The series, set in the year 2176, features a world world by the United Colonies of Earth-except for the pesky Kingdom of Asia. Lets just say that while one government claims to be a democracy, both governments would make most of us break out in hives. The series kicks off when a US pilot named Bree "Banzai" Maguire is found in stasis in TKoA. Banzai quickly-and without her permission-becomes the figurehead of a rebel faction(most likely led by Banzai's missing partner, Cam-dunno, haven't read the last book yet.) In The Legend of Banzai Maguire, Banzai escapes TKoA with her lover, Ty Armstrong, the son of the leader of UCoE's armies and has been in hiding from all sides ever since.
I loved the first book in the series, Susan Grant's The Legend of Banzai Maguire, sadly couldn't get into the second, Kathleen Nance's Day of Fire(ironically, the only author in the series who I'd read before) and loved the third, Liz Maverick's The Shadow Runners.
The Power of Two is about Cai Randolph and her partner, Jacob Tucker. A child prodigy, Cai was recruited my the military for her brain after her parents' disappearance when she was 16. There, she was drafted for an experimental procedure that, to avoid a long, involved explanation, uses cybernetics to bond field agents and computer geniuses. Cai, the "anchor" monitors and feeds information to Jacob and his team on missions and guides them and handles any technology they may have to face from her cozy little control room. In all such pairs, the link and relationship quickly became symbiotic despite never meeting in person, but five years later Jake and Cai are the only team where the anchor didn't burnout and sustain brain damage within the first year. When their commanding officer wants them to go on a mission to the Raft Cities-the future's version of tortuga-with Cai there in person, Cai jumps at the chance, believing that the man she thinks is responsible for her parents' disappearance is there.
I loved the first book in the series, Susan Grant's The Legend of Banzai Maguire, sadly couldn't get into the second, Kathleen Nance's Day of Fire(ironically, the only author in the series who I'd read before) and loved the third, Liz Maverick's The Shadow Runners.
The Power of Two is about Cai Randolph and her partner, Jacob Tucker. A child prodigy, Cai was recruited my the military for her brain after her parents' disappearance when she was 16. There, she was drafted for an experimental procedure that, to avoid a long, involved explanation, uses cybernetics to bond field agents and computer geniuses. Cai, the "anchor" monitors and feeds information to Jacob and his team on missions and guides them and handles any technology they may have to face from her cozy little control room. In all such pairs, the link and relationship quickly became symbiotic despite never meeting in person, but five years later Jake and Cai are the only team where the anchor didn't burnout and sustain brain damage within the first year. When their commanding officer wants them to go on a mission to the Raft Cities-the future's version of tortuga-with Cai there in person, Cai jumps at the chance, believing that the man she thinks is responsible for her parents' disappearance is there.
I'll be perfectly honest here. There are a number of things in this book, that, just with some of them and competent writing, I would have loved the book.
1. First and foremost, there's the remote relationship. I love relationships where a strong bond is created by a partnership where the leads either never meet in person, or where the bulk of the "partnership" relies on one feeding the other information from elsewhere and their learning to trust each other based on their field communication and the field operative havingto rely on the one safely tucked away. Hence-to various degrees-my love for early Birds of Prey, Dark Angel, Remote(drama, not manga as much) and a few other things. While the vast majority of TPoT takes place after Cai and Jake meet in person, it's the trust and friendship formed before they meet that's the dominant bond, and that carries the book.
2.Overprotective man and the woman who doesn't really need it. (this one is actually a common trend in tthe 2176 series, including the Nance book, and is a large part of why I like it so much) What can I say? I like heroines who can take care of themselves, and I like heroes who want to protect them anyway(as long as they still let her take care of herself and don't smother her or try to keep the world from touching her) While I think Cai adapted a little too well and quicly to field work, her being able to take care of herself was handled very well, as was Jake's instinctive need to protect her. He did, however, respect both her brains and her fighting skills(once he saw her in action) and was willing to let her take the lead when it was the better option, as opposed to trying to hide her from everything.
3. Age. Maybe it's because I essentially lived on historical romance novels as a teen, where there would oten be an age difference of 10 or so years, but I always appreciate an age gap for some reason, as long as it's handled well (and not TOO big...) In this case, the age gap is only 5 years, but the fact that Cai is only 21 is something Jake is very aware of(as is the fact that she was only 16 was she entered the military.)
4. PIRATES. What can I say? I'm a sucker for various takes on pirates. It's a weakness. I especially appreciate a good futuristic take on them.
There are others, but those are the main ones.
The fact that it had all these things most likely would have enjoyed the book. The fact that it handled all these things well, had good characters, and interesting world and a good, adventurous story made it a book I loved.
1. First and foremost, there's the remote relationship. I love relationships where a strong bond is created by a partnership where the leads either never meet in person, or where the bulk of the "partnership" relies on one feeding the other information from elsewhere and their learning to trust each other based on their field communication and the field operative havingto rely on the one safely tucked away. Hence-to various degrees-my love for early Birds of Prey, Dark Angel, Remote(drama, not manga as much) and a few other things. While the vast majority of TPoT takes place after Cai and Jake meet in person, it's the trust and friendship formed before they meet that's the dominant bond, and that carries the book.
2.Overprotective man and the woman who doesn't really need it. (this one is actually a common trend in tthe 2176 series, including the Nance book, and is a large part of why I like it so much) What can I say? I like heroines who can take care of themselves, and I like heroes who want to protect them anyway(as long as they still let her take care of herself and don't smother her or try to keep the world from touching her) While I think Cai adapted a little too well and quicly to field work, her being able to take care of herself was handled very well, as was Jake's instinctive need to protect her. He did, however, respect both her brains and her fighting skills(once he saw her in action) and was willing to let her take the lead when it was the better option, as opposed to trying to hide her from everything.
3. Age. Maybe it's because I essentially lived on historical romance novels as a teen, where there would oten be an age difference of 10 or so years, but I always appreciate an age gap for some reason, as long as it's handled well (and not TOO big...) In this case, the age gap is only 5 years, but the fact that Cai is only 21 is something Jake is very aware of(as is the fact that she was only 16 was she entered the military.)
4. PIRATES. What can I say? I'm a sucker for various takes on pirates. It's a weakness. I especially appreciate a good futuristic take on them.
There are others, but those are the main ones.
The fact that it had all these things most likely would have enjoyed the book. The fact that it handled all these things well, had good characters, and interesting world and a good, adventurous story made it a book I loved.