Edge Effects is the second book in the Dominant Species Series by David Coy. I fell into the first book in this series and loved every moment of it, so it was natural to pick up the second book and continue the ride. There are some considerable differences between the first and second books. The first is set in 2006 the second is set in 3012. The first is set on earth and the second revolves around a distant planet called Verde’s Revenge. Odd name for a planet isn’t it. And the story of how the planet got named is how the book starts. I wasn’t sure if I would like the change in the feel of the story at first, book one has a very distinct conquest vibe and Edge Effects has much more of an exploration and discovery feel to it but as it progressed it was awesome.I loved the way this book is laid out. Each chapter is a vignette almost. The beginning chapters are seemingly fractured but everything links together and flows really well. You learn about the discovery of the planet and the initial clearing of the jungle, then it settles into the meat of the story. I really enjoyed Edge Effects. The characters are fantastic, the one guy makes my skin crawl every time he is on the page, well written, solid and incredibly detailed. The scenes are richly worded and vividly described. The story has a great flow that makes it easy to realize that it is 4 am before you know what happened. There are a number of characters in Edge Effects. Some are good characters, like Joan and Donna and some are really bad characters like Kelly and Smith. But each and every character seems to jump off the page when they enter a scene.My favorite character in Edge Effects is actually Donna McNeil Applegate she is a descendant of Linda in the first book of the series and has the same odd eye coloration. She is a strong and stubborn woman who faces unbelievable adversity and survives. In short she is awesome. My only disappointment is the story is the sudden and abrupt ending. That means you need to have book three ready to read or you’re going to be grumbling. Luckily I am jumping into book three of the series this evening. Filled with wonderfully written characters, vivid scenes and a fantastic story Edge Effects is definitely one You Gotta Read!.
An improvement on the first book in many ways. Gone are the alien abduction cliches, replaced by interesting political conflicts and a cool alien world. Also, lots of details about creepy crawly alien bugs that made me squirm uncomfortably. I thought the characters and dialogue were better too, although the good guys and bad guys are good and bad enough that there's not really any ambiguity.It might bother some people that this book is so removed from the first (by 1,000 years) that it doesn't feel connected. Also, this book never really resolves. Rather, this book and the next are just two parts of one long book.My only real gripe is that, after 1,000 years, civilization hasn't changed enough. There's a new global government, a new religion, and inter-planetary travel, true, but we're also still firing lead projectiles from contemporary pistols, cooking our food in microwaves, and living in trailers built by Airstream. It seems to me that this story would be more plausibly set 100-300 years from now. Oh well.
Do You like book Edge Effects (2012)?
I was really surprised by this book. I did not read the first in the series and didn't realize it was a series book ... until the end. There were a lot of really cool alien species on the Verde's Revenge Planet and they definitely seemed like they were going to take over everyone and everything. To find out which will become the dominant species on Verde's Revenge, I will have to read the next book in the series. Although this book didn't end with a cliff hanger, it also did not tell us who (or what) was going to win out as top dog. The way it stands ... I think the alien species will win!
—Squeak
