Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tales

Homebound (The Icarus Chronicles) by John David Anderson.

I read and reviewed Stowaway, the first book only seven months ago, so luckily it was still fresh in my mind.

I had really loved Stowaway, but this second one (the conclusion of the series) didn't work so well for me.

The main character is Leo, a 12 year old boy. His father is one of the most important scientists on Earth. Aliens arrive and invite Earth into the "Coalition" of good guy planets. But through Stowaway and this one, we learn things aren't so black and white. The family gets separated, and most of this book was about Leo (traveling with space pirates) trying to find his father and brother.

In this book, the author did something that often works for me but this time didn't: Half of this second story took place in the past, before the first book started. Sections alternated between the past scenes and the plot moving forward. For me, it really slowed down the story's momentum and eventually I just started skipping the sections set in the past.

I liked the first book so much, I wish this second one hadn't been such a slog for me. I considered DNFing it multiple times, but instead just pushed through hoping it would improve. Sadly it never did.

This author is so hit-and-miss for me. I loved Stowaway and another book (The Dungeoneers) from this author so much, but others by him just didn't work at all for me.