Boneyards [Paperback]

A highly skilled author, Rusch, makes this third book in the series sing. Please read the first two, since this one builds on the characters of the others. High space opera, not much romance, strong female lead, universe and friendship building, are all featured here. This one splits the focus into two narrators, but the series remains Boss' story and progression. The evil empire gets meaner, space gets bigger, and war looms. Come along for the ride

Boneyards continues the story started in Diving into the Wreck and City of Ruins. I really like this series and Boneyards did not disappoint. Boss is back and so is the Dignity Vessel and crew she found in the last book. Coop, the Captain of the Dignity Vessel Ivoire, is looking for clues to location of the Fleet. He and Boss are exploring the locations of Sector Bases that were under construction when he and his crew got caught in foldspace and sent 5000 years back in time.

Coop wants to find the direction Fleet was traveling and hopes follow even if it will be years and a totally new crew when they catch up with the Fleet.

The Enterran Empire is still trying to find how to build the ancient stealth tech that was on Fleet vessels. They are looking at everything wrong and keep killing the people doing the research. Squishy was once part of that research and wants to put an end to people being accidently killed. Unknown to Boss she puts together a team to wipe out the Empire's research.

Both of these actions collide with unexpected results. This was written so that it could be the last book in the series but I hope it is not. Boneyards is good old-fashioned space opera. There is action, suspense, great characters, and wonderful plot lines. The ending allows for further action or as a resolution for some of the characters. I will just have to wait and see if there will be further books.

The latest installment in the Diving series, Boneyards by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, finds wreck-diver Boss now the leader of a huge corporation researching the science behind Dignity Vessels and profiting from their discoveries. The Lost Souls company still seeks out wrecks of ancient Dignity Vessels, in part to keep them out of the hands of the Enterran Empire, and to rebuild them is possible for their own use.

Coop, the commander of a Dignity Vessel lost in time, returns with most of his crew and has Boss helping him track down the Dignity Fleet, if it still exists. Boss and Coop's crews work together in an uneasy relationship because they know the technology they're using can be deadly in the wrong hands.

Boss started as a solitary wreck-diver, exploring long-abandoned starship wrecks or leading tourists through them. With her exposure to Stealth Tech - Dignity Vessel technology - she's grown into the head of a large corporation and often has to rely on her team and people who know more than she does. She's still Boss though, no matter who she puts in charge of certain aspects of the company. Even though she tends to want to do everything herself, she knows her own weaknesses and struggles with letting others have control.

Diving into the Wreck, the first novella in this series was fan-freaking-tastic, followed by City of Ruins, another good novel. Boneyards is good, not as good as those first two - but still a fun read and I want more in this universe. There are some short stories that I need to track down. Boneyards seems to be one of those bridging the story novels that sets up the next book that I'm sure will be another excellent entry in this series.

Like City of Ruins, Boneyards features two concurrent stories. One plot line follows Boss and Coop as they eventually find the titular Boneyard. The second storyline features Squishy, a former crewmate of Boss, as she returns to the Enterran Empire's Stealth Tech research program in order to destroy their data and prevent more lives from being lost.

The initial transition to Squishy's story seemed abrupt to me. There was a chapter end and an obvious new section starting, but it still felt like the transition could have been smoother. I'm not sure why I feel that way: City of Ruins had alternating story lines and I didn't have a problem with it there.

Squishy's storyline also moves back and forth between the current time and various periods in her past that have relevance to what she's going through now. That, too, kinda bothered me, but not enough to keep me from enjoying the book overall.

The two storylines come together explosively at the end. The Boneyard awaits. I like the play in the title of this book. The Boneyard is the place Coop and Boss are trying to find; Boss has also spent most of her life diving the boneyards that are the wrecked ships she explores.

Boneyards, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, was provided to me by the publisher for review.