Rating: 2.5 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novella
Hart knows the little planet is his last hope. In fact, it’s the last hope for everyone aboard the Midnight Run. After an accident left them hopelessly off course, the crew of the Midnight Run was forced to put its passengers into cryogenic stasis and look for a new home. Generations have lived and died aboard the Midnight Run, but time has run out. Other planets have proven inhospitable and if this new planet is the same, then the Midnight Run is doomed. Hart is sent to scout the surface, knowing that regardless of what he finds, he won’t be able to return to the ship.
Hart discovers a world that might just save the crew and the passengers remaining in cryo. But a sentient race calls the planet home and along with making first contact, Hart will have to manage a political crisis, an angry sibling, and a strangely attractive bird-man. To find a place to call home, Hart will risk everything, but in doing so he might just find more than he could have ever imagined.
Blue and Green Persuasion is one of those stories that starts off strong and then just goes so completely off the rails that I was left wondering what in the world happened. Initially, though the plot isn’t exactly original, it is well formed and the author does a good job of creating a palpable tension as Hart leaves the Midnight Run on a potential suicide mission. Hart has never known any home other than the ship and I appreciated his exuberance for fresh water and clean air. When he first meets Kes, a member of the planet’s sentient race, they can magically understand one another. It’s at this point that Blue and Green Persuasion tends to veer into the absurd.
This is a short work in which things happen too quickly and often without purpose. Kes and Hart declare one another mates after a single conversation and knowing one another for maybe an hour in total. We’re introduced to Hart’s half brother halfway through the story and he comes off as a cranky foil, but exactly what he’s foiling is never really clear. There’s also a refugee who, after being released from cryo, tries to bully his way to power, but is thwarted by an earthquake before he actually does much. So there was no point to him at all. The story is filled with these sorts of events and they lack believability and importance to either the plot or the characters. It left me feeling frustrated on multiple levels.
Blue and Green Persuasion had some potential and initially engaged me and created a strong emotional connection to Hart and his plight. But too soon the plot goes awry and characters end up wandering in and out of action without intent. As much as I wanted to enjoy it, I’d have to recommend giving this one a pass.
