Scry’s review of Tumbler
Tumbler: A novel by Brand Gamblin
Libby is pretty young when her life falls into utter chaos. Young enough that is doesn’t fully impact her, but old enough to realize she needs a plan. When she makes one, it is to head out into the asteroid fields to make a killing as a miner.
Things do not turn out how she anticipated. Almost from her first step off the transport vessel, things just keep going wrong for her. And the one thing that keeps her going is also the one thing that keeps derailing her; her stubborn insistence on doing it herself.
As a reader, this story did the same for me as it did for Libby. I never quite anticipated where things were going. It wasn’t the OMG of a thriller, but more a gentle sweeping tale that bounced around instead of just taking the straight path. For instance, at one point in the story Libby finds that she has a particular talent for, well, I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. So let’s just leave it at Libby has a special talent. At that point in the story, I fully expected that Tumbler would now revolve around Libby’s struggles to get her vision accepted and would save the day by being the greatest at this talent. It didn’t. Libby was “just” a little better at it, enough to help her see a better way. As an outsider, Libby would have had that necessary distance to see things from a different angle, so it fit perfectly for me.
And the whole story went like that. It was quite good, but it never fell into one of the grooves that we’ve all learned to recognize from years of reading stories. I felt that it was quite refreshing and I give Tumbler a strong B or roughly 36 out of 51 stars.
Speaking of stars, the podnovel was read by SVAllie in a halting and lyrical manner that perfectly befit Libby’s uncomfortable awkwardness and her unending stubbornness. Whether or not that is some reflection of SVAllie’s personal life, she was the perfect choice to read this story.
If it isn’t clearly obvious, I am looking forward to whatever Brand and Allie decide to release next. I hope they can continue to surprise me at every turn.
I’ve been introduced to a girl and given a bit of her backstory while she rides into space for the first time. And… after chapter one, I can safetly say that I do not have enough information to even guess where this story is going. It’s been quite a while since I took a blind ride and since I haven’t even watched C4C, I’m -really- blind. I’m looking forward to finding out where this one goes.