Reflections of a Swede's Reviews > Conduit Crisis

I feel cheated.
Sort of.

I can safely say that of all of Masters' books, this is my least favourite. Despite me being pretty psyched about finally getting Skye's story.

Conduit Crisis has all the same characteristics as the other ones in the series. The two threads in the story are the romance part and the paranormal "mystery" part. Everything that happens is centered around the Mannix estate, most of the story is conveyed through conversations, and a lot of those conversations are just people sitting around speculating about what's happening and what they should do about it - and never really coming up with anything or bringing the story forward.

A pervading problem (at least in my eyes) with Masters' books is the lack of real-time action. Conversations and romance are about 95% of the story while the remaining 5% is the aftermath of some sort of action. Mostly, the events of whatever mystery there is are retellings of events - which gets old real fast.

In Conduit Crisis, this writing technique failed quite spectacularly since neither the romance or the dash of action in the story were up to par.

First, about Skye and Daniel. Here we have a "straight" man who discovers he's bisexual. My first thought on that? *Yummy!* and *Emotional journey*. But there was none of that. Daniel is all of a sudden sexually attracted to Skye, kisses him, and the next night they're frotting and telling everybody they're dating. While Skye who's been in love with Daniel for years don't seem to be very apprehensive. I mean, I get it's a short story but still.
And the missed opportunities! For example, when Skye and Daniel became official, Skye's dad (who's married to the (male) town sheriff btw) invites them for dinner. That could have been a hilarious scene. It should have been. With Daniel all uncomfortable, maybe having his intentions questioned. But instead, that dinner was only referenced later using just a few sentences.
Also, Skye's and Daniel's "first time" was even off page! I mean, really!?! (Okay, I'm a lech, I'm not denying that.)

Now, about the mystery arc. There was a spirit that talked to Skye, and then all of the characters kept having meetings and discussing and speculating away. Until the end where there was a cliffhanger. Right, I'm exaggerating a bit here, but not by much.

To summarize, it wasn't the quirky fun I expected. And I'm disappointed.
I will still read the next and last in the series because, well, I want to know the ending since I've come this far.

Anyway, 3 frustrated stars.