Chaos Vector by Megan E. O’Keefe – Review

Published: July 28, 2020

Publisher: Orbit Books

Series: The Protectorate #2

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 546 (Paperback)

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

Dazzling space battles, intergalactic politics, and rogue AI collide in the second book in this epic space opera by award-winning author Megan O’Keefe.
Sanda and Tomas are fleeing for their lives after letting the most dangerous smartship in the universe run free. Now, unsure of who to trust, Sanda knows only one thing for certain — to be able to save herself from becoming a pawn of greater powers, she needs to discover the secret of the coordinates hidden in her skull.
But getting to those coordinates is a problem she can’t solve alone. They exist beyond a dead gate — a Casimir gate that opened up into a dead-end system without resources worth colonizing, and was sealed off. To get through the dead gate, she needs the help of the enemy Nazca. But some Nazca are only interested in the chip in her head — and they’ll crack her open to get to it.

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The first book in this series was thrilling with so many amazing twists that I never saw coming. It was like being repeatedly and unexpectedly slapped. This book carries on with the non-stop greatness, but it didn’t have quite as many incredible twists. That’s not to say that there were none at all… there were a few!

In retrospect, I don’t have much to say about Chaos Vector. It was a great story and the majority of the characters are quite likable. I did like that the two storylines from Velocity Weapon come together and make the story feel more cohesive. Jules and Sanda in the same place/timeline was pretty exciting. 

This installment went stronger on characterization than plot which was good in a way, but I missed those jaw dropping surprises! I think that’s partially why this book didn’t rank quite as highly as the first. I thought the plot advancements were fab – Casimir gates, potential war, rogue Nazca – it had all the stuff I liked, but without as much pizzaz. 

Overall I think it is a solidly written series and I am definitely looking forward to getting my hands on the next installment. For me, this had the “sophomore slump”. Yeah, there were big events, big changes, but GOSH it just didn’t wow me like Velocity Weapon.