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A review by mbfeeney
Streamline by Jennifer Lane
4.0
*review to be posted as part of blog tour*
26/3/13
Okay, I know some people have a big issue of the current P2P (pull to publish) trend. I want to make it known that if someone wrote a story as a fanfiction (twilight, Harry Potter... whatever) and then decides to pull it from whichever website it was posted on so that they can publish it, more power to them. They wrote that story, even using the basis of someone else's characters and settings, they OWN the storyline and if they rework it, change the names and locations, I wish them all the best.
Did you see the magic word in that little rant above? "Rework". If an author wants to P2P, then this is a must for me. there is nothing worse, than picking up a book and realising you've read it somewhere before because all that has happened is a find/replace of character names. No, that's lazy and cheapens the fans.
*disclaimer*
The above is my own opinion and is not in anyway endorsed by anyone else.
*end disclaimer*
The reason for the above 'rant' is that I first came across Streamline and Jennifer Lane in the world of Twilight fanfiction. The story was called "Swimming Against the Tide" and her penname was pbswimmer. I ADORED the story and very often stopped what I was doing when an update was posted.
The update schedule was as regular as clockwork as the story was already complete. as I got to know Jen (as well as you can via PMs on a fanfic site), I found out that she had written the story as an original, but had decided to adapt it and post as a fanfic using Edward and Bella as the main characters. Apart from their descriptions, these characters were as far removed from Meyer's characters as you could get.
Then, I discovered that Jen had reworked it again and had published the story as an original novel. I never got round to reading it as I just never seemed to find the time, then this birthday blog tour came up and I grabbed the chance.
Why the hell did I wait so damn long???
Yes, I did have that feeling of "i recognise this", but not as much as I had expected having read it before. It's like that feeling you get when you find the dogeared copy of your favourite book that you thought you'd lost 12-18 months previously. There was enough new material in the book, I never felt cheated or bored.
Now, I'm an army brat, so all the Naval Lingo was lost on me, but it didn't matter. While the navy is almost a character of it's own, I never felt bogged down by the terminology, the same with the swimming. I may not have understood it all, but it didn't cause the book to become unreadable.
Also, the story is told from multiple points of views, the main being Leo, which gives the reader a wider view of what is happening throughout the world she has created. In some books, this could be seen as confusing, but in Streamline, it simply enhances the story.
The research that Jen has put into this story (and the personal experiences) make it very real, and the subject matter add the edge of "OMG, what the hell is he doing" moments when I found myself chewing my knuckles so I wouldn't cry.
It's a ridiculously well written book, with many twists and turns that will keep you guessing right up until the very end, and the romance side of it will make you wish you were a teenager experiencing first love all over again.
I HIGHLY recommend that you buy this book, even if you have heard of and read the fanfiction. You will not be disappointed!!! Just beware that although you may fall for Leo or Jason, Benito may sneak up on you. He did me! Me Gusta!!
posted on my blog, with other reviews: http://michbookreviews.wordpress.com
26/3/13
Okay, I know some people have a big issue of the current P2P (pull to publish) trend. I want to make it known that if someone wrote a story as a fanfiction (twilight, Harry Potter... whatever) and then decides to pull it from whichever website it was posted on so that they can publish it, more power to them. They wrote that story, even using the basis of someone else's characters and settings, they OWN the storyline and if they rework it, change the names and locations, I wish them all the best.
Did you see the magic word in that little rant above? "Rework". If an author wants to P2P, then this is a must for me. there is nothing worse, than picking up a book and realising you've read it somewhere before because all that has happened is a find/replace of character names. No, that's lazy and cheapens the fans.
*disclaimer*
The above is my own opinion and is not in anyway endorsed by anyone else.
*end disclaimer*
The reason for the above 'rant' is that I first came across Streamline and Jennifer Lane in the world of Twilight fanfiction. The story was called "Swimming Against the Tide" and her penname was pbswimmer. I ADORED the story and very often stopped what I was doing when an update was posted.
The update schedule was as regular as clockwork as the story was already complete. as I got to know Jen (as well as you can via PMs on a fanfic site), I found out that she had written the story as an original, but had decided to adapt it and post as a fanfic using Edward and Bella as the main characters. Apart from their descriptions, these characters were as far removed from Meyer's characters as you could get.
Then, I discovered that Jen had reworked it again and had published the story as an original novel. I never got round to reading it as I just never seemed to find the time, then this birthday blog tour came up and I grabbed the chance.
Why the hell did I wait so damn long???
Yes, I did have that feeling of "i recognise this", but not as much as I had expected having read it before. It's like that feeling you get when you find the dogeared copy of your favourite book that you thought you'd lost 12-18 months previously. There was enough new material in the book, I never felt cheated or bored.
Now, I'm an army brat, so all the Naval Lingo was lost on me, but it didn't matter. While the navy is almost a character of it's own, I never felt bogged down by the terminology, the same with the swimming. I may not have understood it all, but it didn't cause the book to become unreadable.
Also, the story is told from multiple points of views, the main being Leo, which gives the reader a wider view of what is happening throughout the world she has created. In some books, this could be seen as confusing, but in Streamline, it simply enhances the story.
The research that Jen has put into this story (and the personal experiences) make it very real, and the subject matter add the edge of "OMG, what the hell is he doing" moments when I found myself chewing my knuckles so I wouldn't cry.
It's a ridiculously well written book, with many twists and turns that will keep you guessing right up until the very end, and the romance side of it will make you wish you were a teenager experiencing first love all over again.
I HIGHLY recommend that you buy this book, even if you have heard of and read the fanfiction. You will not be disappointed!!! Just beware that although you may fall for Leo or Jason, Benito may sneak up on you. He did me! Me Gusta!!
posted on my blog, with other reviews: http://michbookreviews.wordpress.com