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NightPiercer #3
Between Dark Places
Lachesis has no time for the guilt and doubt that plague her nightmares. Her ship is shattered, her crew is broken, and Rainer is increasingly unstable… and he’s pulling her into madness with him.
If Rainer has to rebuild NightPiercer from bones and skin, he’ll skin the crew, starting with Bennett. LightBearer's destruction unlocked horrifying nightmares that consume his mind, and a deep, primal drive he can’t control.
If civilization is to survive, Lachesis will have to face her deepest fears, Rainer’s nightmares, and the horrific reality that she and Rainer may be civilization’s last hope for survival… or the instruments of its final destruction.
Gaia’s most brutal game has begun.
Hard sci fi space opera meets fated mates in a dark, near-future where human and werewolves live on the edge of survival.
If Rainer has to rebuild NightPiercer from bones and skin, he’ll skin the crew, starting with Bennett. LightBearer's destruction unlocked horrifying nightmares that consume his mind, and a deep, primal drive he can’t control.
If civilization is to survive, Lachesis will have to face her deepest fears, Rainer’s nightmares, and the horrific reality that she and Rainer may be civilization’s last hope for survival… or the instruments of its final destruction.
Gaia’s most brutal game has begun.
Hard sci fi space opera meets fated mates in a dark, near-future where human and werewolves live on the edge of survival.
460 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 17, 2022
11 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Merry Ravenell
23 books336 followersMerry is a dark sci-fi and fantasy author that currently lives in rural Alabama. She enjoys tormenting her main characters and doing excessive research to make sure unrealistic things are as realistic as possible.
When she's not writing, she enjoys coffee, vodka, painfully bad movies of all varieties, documentaries, coloring books, and knitting.
When she's not writing, she enjoys coffee, vodka, painfully bad movies of all varieties, documentaries, coloring books, and knitting.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 8, 2023
3 stars. This third entry into a magical series was fine — and that’s about all I can say. It was an enjoyable read from start to finish, and I found myself turning pages quickly enough, but at the end of the day, there wasn’t much that actually happened, at least as far as major plot development goes. It’s not until the last 20% of the book that things seem to really pick up on that front, and just thinking in terms of the larger series arc as a whole… this book couldn’t help but feel like an obvious filler. An enjoyable filler, mind, but a filler nonetheless.
It undoubtedly does not help that I came back into this series after quite a bit of time away, and struggled to recall much of what had happened in the previous book. Usually, I don’t have this much of an issue stepping back into a series after a long hiatus, especially when it’s a series I’ve previously been so enamored with, but with this one… There’s next to no recap within these pages, and what little there is doesn’t really cover many of the important plot points from the second book. Still, I found it simple enough to just buckle up and go along for the ride, even if I felt a bit like a 20-something, smiling and nodding and trying to pretend I hadn’t blacked out and actually did remember what happened at the party last night.
I did notice this book had a fair number of typos and missing or doubled words — something I don’t remember being a problem with either of the two previous books in the series. This one just didn’t feel like nearly as polished, but even still, the errors that were present weren’t problematic enough to truly detract from the experience.
Overall, this was an enjoyable enough way to spend several hours, and I’ll probably always be happy to read anything Ravenell writes within this universe… but there’s really nothing to write home about in this entry. I’m looking forward to picking up the fourth book when it comes out later this year, but if I ever go back to re-read this series, I’ll probably just skip over this (or at least the first 80% of it).
It undoubtedly does not help that I came back into this series after quite a bit of time away, and struggled to recall much of what had happened in the previous book. Usually, I don’t have this much of an issue stepping back into a series after a long hiatus, especially when it’s a series I’ve previously been so enamored with, but with this one… There’s next to no recap within these pages, and what little there is doesn’t really cover many of the important plot points from the second book. Still, I found it simple enough to just buckle up and go along for the ride, even if I felt a bit like a 20-something, smiling and nodding and trying to pretend I hadn’t blacked out and actually did remember what happened at the party last night.
I did notice this book had a fair number of typos and missing or doubled words — something I don’t remember being a problem with either of the two previous books in the series. This one just didn’t feel like nearly as polished, but even still, the errors that were present weren’t problematic enough to truly detract from the experience.
Overall, this was an enjoyable enough way to spend several hours, and I’ll probably always be happy to read anything Ravenell writes within this universe… but there’s really nothing to write home about in this entry. I’m looking forward to picking up the fourth book when it comes out later this year, but if I ever go back to re-read this series, I’ll probably just skip over this (or at least the first 80% of it).
March 20, 2023
overdrawn
The biggest issue I have with this story is that we are in the third book and there is not much growth between the two main characters and their relationship. We’re in the third book now, third of four. All the growth should not be occurring in the very last book. Other issue I have is with the character Bennett. They are in the future. No one records his ridiculousness? No one records the extremely bad behavior of him that is indicative of someone who needs to be removed from command? No one’s comms or tablet records? My iPad records, you can’t tell me theirs don’t. Someone should have exposed him already with the technology they’re supposed to have. And the only thing I agree with him on is the captain’s extremely poor choices and judgment, how he just regularly compromises the already compromised health of Lachesis, which leads to the absolutely horrific turn of events in order to ensure her survival, so that they can survive. Bennett ridiculousness is too much, he is getting away with too much, while whining about Rainer getting away with too much, which he doesn’t really at all. And once again, having Rainer taken by security in silver chains is ridiculous.Tsu as captain does not ever really seem to have control. And this continued notion that no one is supposed to develop feelings for others. I’m sorry it’s just plain dumb. There should be more couples coming out to protest such.
The writing’s good, the execution is lacking.
The biggest issue I have with this story is that we are in the third book and there is not much growth between the two main characters and their relationship. We’re in the third book now, third of four. All the growth should not be occurring in the very last book. Other issue I have is with the character Bennett. They are in the future. No one records his ridiculousness? No one records the extremely bad behavior of him that is indicative of someone who needs to be removed from command? No one’s comms or tablet records? My iPad records, you can’t tell me theirs don’t. Someone should have exposed him already with the technology they’re supposed to have. And the only thing I agree with him on is the captain’s extremely poor choices and judgment, how he just regularly compromises the already compromised health of Lachesis, which leads to the absolutely horrific turn of events in order to ensure her survival, so that they can survive. Bennett ridiculousness is too much, he is getting away with too much, while whining about Rainer getting away with too much, which he doesn’t really at all. And once again, having Rainer taken by security in silver chains is ridiculous.Tsu as captain does not ever really seem to have control. And this continued notion that no one is supposed to develop feelings for others. I’m sorry it’s just plain dumb. There should be more couples coming out to protest such.
The writing’s good, the execution is lacking.
January 21, 2023
3.5 stars. I have been enjoying this series, that's a quirky sci-fi/fantasy crossover, with wolf shifters and humans in space, trying to survive on ark ships. LOL. The first part of this third book did drag for me though. It felt a bit repetitive and took too long to get anywhere. So I put it down and took a break for a while.
I picked the book up again and have finished it this week. Fortunately, it did pick up the pace in the second half of the book, with some more interesting and dramatic events. It still felt a bit repetitive at times though, with Lachesis' health issues being emphasised a little too often, and overall a bit too much angst for my personal reading tastes. I feel as if the book/series could have done with a bit of judicious pruning/editing and come out of it a tighter and better read.
Still, I like the concept of the series, and in spite of the angst feeling a bit overdone, I like Lachesis and Rainer and their still-developing relationship. I'm committed now, and look forward to the fourth and final book in the series (to be released later in 2023, I believe). The story takes place on a grand scale, so I hope the final book can draw the threads together and come up with a satisfying conclusion.
I would recommend reading the other two books first rather than trying this one as a standalone.
I picked the book up again and have finished it this week. Fortunately, it did pick up the pace in the second half of the book, with some more interesting and dramatic events. It still felt a bit repetitive at times though, with Lachesis' health issues being emphasised a little too often, and overall a bit too much angst for my personal reading tastes. I feel as if the book/series could have done with a bit of judicious pruning/editing and come out of it a tighter and better read.
Still, I like the concept of the series, and in spite of the angst feeling a bit overdone, I like Lachesis and Rainer and their still-developing relationship. I'm committed now, and look forward to the fourth and final book in the series (to be released later in 2023, I believe). The story takes place on a grand scale, so I hope the final book can draw the threads together and come up with a satisfying conclusion.
I would recommend reading the other two books first rather than trying this one as a standalone.
November 20, 2022
and so we are close to the end.
Another amazing novel from Merry. I was back with Rainer and Lachnesis. I felt their pain, I cried as they cried. I want them to survive and make it until the end!
Another amazing novel from Merry. I was back with Rainer and Lachnesis. I felt their pain, I cried as they cried. I want them to survive and make it until the end!
February 12, 2023
4.5 stars
October 30, 2023
4.5 because the romance can be better... but the drama is on point!
October 25, 2023
Hanging on the edge of my seat!
Third book in the series was everything I expected and more. I stand by my claim this is the best series Merry Ravenell has written to date. I can't wait for book 4 to see how this all ends. Well done Merry, you've reinvigorated my love of Sci-Fi
Third book in the series was everything I expected and more. I stand by my claim this is the best series Merry Ravenell has written to date. I can't wait for book 4 to see how this all ends. Well done Merry, you've reinvigorated my love of Sci-Fi
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews