Larissa is a hot-tempered young woman with an usual talent for alien sports, used to looking out for herself since her mother's gruesome murder left her in the care of her well-meaning but absent father. But when a fight at school leaves a classmate dead, she bolts off-world and finds herself wandering as she puts her skills to work.

This style of action-adventure fighter story is a pretty common tale in sci-fi, but rarely does it come with a black, woman hero. (Yes, the character's race comes up several times, and the publisher put that very white-looking girl on the cover anyway!) The author gives Larissa a great voice, and writes with a compelling blend of humor and grit that carries the reader through the loose plot. Most of the side characters aren't all that developed, but given Larissa's straight forward, "stab first, ask questions later" worldview, I didn't find it as irritating as I might with a different viewpoint character.

Added to the Sci-Fi Bookbox

I'm claiming this from the SF bookbox.

Later: The opening line grabbed me: "This may sound deranged, but I think I owe my interest in knives to the serial killer who murdered my mother when I was nine." Yikes! She goes on to describe the night of the crime in ghastly and terrifying detail - and I suppose it does explain a lot about her character later in life, not to mention her ability to survive under traumatic circumstances. [The "knife first, questions later" aspect does indeed help her out, though it gets her into trouble too.]

There's plenty of action, loads of characters - many of them exotic and/or alien - and, of course, violence, with occasional bouts of calmer waters to let the reader breathe again. My favorite bits came near the end, though, first with the wild-animal exhibit; Larissa sights the scorpion woman who has poisonous creatures crawling all over her, and a scorpion the size of a cow on a leash, and notes that she was a very attractive woman if you didn't mind all the stingers and mandibles and such. And then there's the battle-to-the-death arena, in which Larissa somehow finds herself a combatant - strange how this kind of thing seems to happen to her...

Those final scenes are impressive, but also quite quick, with some frantic battles and last-minute rescues. Oh, and a big revelation, at least one that's significant to Larissa and her people; to me it seemed a bit underwhelming, though I can imagine the effects it'll have in-universe.

I plan to leave this book on a bench or window ledge inside the Tap House at around 5; hope the finder enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

*** Released for the 2017 Keep Them Moving release challenge. ***