Book three of the Disco Space Opera series. In this one, Niko and crew of You Sexy Thing are back in action and en route to yet another awesome destination: Coralind Station during Festival Time! The plot of this one follows up on events in books one and two (You Sexy Thing and Devil’s Gun) with Niko trying to get the insurance money from the destruction of The Last Chance pop up restaurant (book one) while tracking down the evil Pirate King Tubal Last (book two). Mind you this is all going on as each crew member sorts themselves out and deals with private dramas and dilemmas. Hateful old Gnarl Grusson is back to be a pain in the ass bent on revenge. His machinations, while entertaining, lead to all sorts of issues and surprises for Niko of the legal and police kind! The whole story was engrossing and excellent.
To be honest, though, it felt like a ‘transition book’. I’ve talked about them before: the book that doesn’t really do much except expand on the characters, their backstories, and old events to sort of set-up the next book. It was a great read but, to me, more like a bunch of vignettes that were loosely linked together. I could see the wizard behind the curtain a bit much in this one.
I get it-Cat Rambo apparently had a lot going on personally while writing this one. And it shows. Ideas are scattered and the focus drifted; a few times I had to go back and re-read to figure out who was speaking or WHY someone did or said something. In one spot I was surprised by an abrupt scene change that made no sense until, later in the chapter, it sort of/kind of did.
BUT, dear reader, let me also heap praise where it is due. The characters are so well written and each one is so unique but they all fit together into an overall ‘team character’, if that makes sense! Even the Thing is evolving and that could be several books in itself; as really could each one of the individual characters. The world-building Cat Rambo does in the series is awesome on a grand scale. Not just the actual world of Coralind, which is extremely excellent, but the other species that our characters interact with or simply walk past in a hallway-the attention to detail will blow your mind. The way the characters move through this world and interact with it and each other, is writing at a level I only wish I could reach; very well done.
The plot did move along quickly without too much extra fluff. I wasn’t disappointed or let down at all with the story once I realized it is giving readers as much information as possible to help us move into the next book and beyond in the series. Rambo drops MANY clue crumbs as to where the series is headed. So, overall I give Rumor Has It 3 stars and I am ready to get on to book four. I was given a copy to read and share my thoughts: put this entire series on your “OTTER” read list immediately!