So I started reading Vortex by S.J. Kincaid... (One of the most undervalued series EVER).

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Vortex, the sequel to Insignia, started off with a bang. It had me laughing in 5 seconds flat. That is the kind of book this is, and at the same time not. You see, Insignia is one of the most undervalued series out there. It is fantastic! It can be incredibly hilarious and yet in the middle of all those laughs you can find paragraphs that speak the bare naked truth. You won't find one moment were you are dozing off, it moves at a very quick pace and the characters are very entertaining.

Here are some of my favorite quotes so far:

Some background on this quote. They are using an interface that connects all their minds for the first time which is what allows them to speak to each other while battling in space.

"I wonder which one of them will think something embarrassing first? The words scrolled across the screen.
Don't think about Heather's boobs, Tom thought to himself, and to his mortification, the words appeared there.
Yay, it wasn't me! Wyatt thought. Then after the words appeared, she thought, sorry, Tom.
Tom. Wyatt. Try to focus. Heather thought. You can control your thoughts.
Boobs. Wyatt thought. Aah! Where did that come from?
It's called word contagion, and it's normal, Heather thought. You can break it by occupying your thoughts with something else. Try times tables.
2x2 = 4, 4x4= 16, 11x 11= 121... Wyatt thought. This works. Send. I'm surprised she had good advice.

Excuse me? Heather thought."

Another one:

Vik led him toward a pretty female executive sipping champagne by the window. Tom's neural processor said her name was Alana Lawrence. Vik was sure Tom would find it easier sucking up to a gorgeous woman, and Tom thought that was a fantastic idea.
"Now,"Vik warned him, "you know how if spies get caught in foreign countries, governments always disavow knowledge of them so they don't face any diplomatic consequences for their actions?
"Yeah," Tom said, guessing it. "So if I mess up..."
"We only met today and I disavow all prior knowledge of your actions. I didn't even notice you were here. In fact, I don't know who you are. Who are you? I don't know, Tom. I don't know."
"Gotcha." He had this.

Once more for the road:

"...as soon as he realized there was no hope—he was finally able to accept a cold, hard truth about life: the world rewarded sociopaths like Vengerov and destroyed good people like Yuri.
Tom finally understood why his father saw humanity as worthless. It was hard to see much fundamental value in anything when the bad guys always won.
Maybe this was simply what it was like to grow up."

And Finally:

"His heart seemed to swell, and he wished every single person on the planet could have this chance, just once, to see the horizon from above the skyboards rather than from below them. Maybe they'd all see that the universe didn't end at the boundaries of the Coalition of Multinationals but rather that this incredible, infinite stretch of possibilities existed beyond them.
No wonder the sky had to be blotted out by advertisements. The stars drowned with lights. If everyone could see beyond Coalition horizons, perhaps they'd begin to see the titans of humanity for what they were: tiny creatures, smaller than insects, and in the scale of things, every bit as insignificant.
Maybe more people would be willing to look a thief like Reuben Lloyd in the eye and laugh right in his face."

These are some of the reasons I love Insignia, and why Vortex is so kicking ass at the moment. Seriously guys, if you do anything today let it be you either getting Insignia, the sequel to Insignia, or both. You won't be disappointed.



First book in the series. Click for more info.



Quotes from an ARC copy of Vortex.; subject to change.