Review: WE ARE MERIDIANS: BOOK ONE

WE ARE MERIDIANS: BOOK ONE by S. Ghali
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Could definitely have used a little more work, but it still held my interest. The writing is just kind of terrible.

This is another book that I requested back in 2019 from NetGalley, and never got around to reading. I can't say it was worth the wait, but it wasn't quite as terrible an experience as expected.

The plot is pretty simple - A bunch of Meridians (a technologically advanced offshoot of humans) have to go to earth to recover a weapon but they must do so with the help of an alien prince. Basically.

I'll be real - I don't remember all the random names at all, really. The Prince and our Meridian cadet, Elmyra, have to form an uneasy truce, encouraged by the civilian Effra. There's not a whole lot of characterisation so I was never particularly attached to the characters, though they still have their own individual quirks that will entertain the less picky.

Mercifully, the action rampages on so that the story progresses rapidly and we don't have to flounder in bad writing for too long. Though that's not particularly fair - it's not that the writing is bad, per se, it's more that it feels amateur and under-developed.

Basically, there's a lot of potential here for a great space opera, but it falls short due to the lack of polish.

I didn't totally hate it - I was happy to keep picking it up, and there weren't any dull moments. There are plenty of things that could easily have been expanded on, but as it is the story is not without its moments. Highly predictable, but still fun.

I think with further development this could be a really solid entry into an epic sci-fi series, but as it stands it doesn't quite get there. Still, it's entertaining enough for those who might find themselves with a copy.

With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC

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