Tetherfall

I kept waiting for Tetherfall to surprise me and it mostly didn't. The prose can be gorgeous — that opening line about rain on hot metal is great — but too often the plot moves from A to B on rails. Cass is clearly meant to be a compelling lead, but aside from her rig-riding swagger and a few sharp lines she feels underexplored, and the fledgling crew reads like checklist character types. Marla Voss is threatening, sure, but also a little one-note: visor, long coat, calm voice with teeth. The shard/device concept is promising but left me with questions about why it matters so much beyond being 'the thing everyone wants.' Also: a couple of convenient escapes (winch saves, perfect timing of skiff malfunctions) felt like authorial hand-holding. If you're craving neon action and don't need deep surprises, you'll enjoy the set pieces. For me, it needed more risk and fewer genre autopilot moves.

I wanted to like Tetherfall more than I did. The opening is strong — the imagery of the harbor and the salvage run is vivid, and that moment with the stranded drone and the shard is genuinely gripping. But as the story moves forward, a lot of familiar beats take over: corporate villainy as shorthand evil, a 'ragged crew' that feels assembled to hit genre beats rather than to be lived-in people, and a MacGuffin (the shard) whose rules aren't always clear. Pacing is uneven; action sequences are exciting, but long stretches of exposition and internal monologue sap momentum. The author leans heavily on noir-flavored tropes — rain-slick streets, visor-clad enforcers, the lone salvage runner with a heart — which is fine when subverted, but here many of those elements hit predictably. Also, some tech explanations wobble between too-brief and overcomplicated: the device that 'tastes wrong' is intriguing but not fully earned by the time the chapter ends. If you want a fast, stylish action romp and don't mind familiar sci-fi scaffolding, it'll work. If you're after something more subversive or character-forward, it falls short.

Okay, first: that drone's little AI voice saying 'Please. Keep. Safe.' hit me like a punch in the gut and also made me laugh because of how tender it was in such a brutal place. Cass is cool and messy in all the right ways — surfboarding on a rig, prying barnacled crates, snatching things that will probably get her killed. Marla Voss = corporate menace, 10/10. I loved the sensory stuff (neon bleeding down barges, salt and copper tang) and the tiny details (winch, sparks, the skiff cutting fog) that make the world feel lived-in. The only gripe: I wanted more time with the crew — they show promise but feel a smidge shorthand. Still, sharp dialogue, solid action, and a world that wants to be explored. I'm all in for a sequel. Bring on more Spine mysteries, please 😉

Tetherfall is tight, propulsive sci-fi. The opening sequence — dropping into the cargo maw, the cracked drone, the shard that fits like a heartbeat — sets up stakes and tone in under a page, which I appreciated. Cass's skillset (rig, harness, winch) and the city's physicality (stacked barges, neon, the tethered Spine) are conveyed with economical detail that never feels like info-dump. Marla Voss reads as a classic corporate enforcer, but her confrontation on the skiff is effective: the visored silhouette, the motorthrum, the calm voice with teeth. I also liked that the shard/device isn't just a magic box; it comes with consequences and choices. Pacing is mostly strong — action-driven, as promised — though a couple of expositional chapters slow momentum. Still, for fans of urban sci-fi and heist-adventure combos, this is a solid, well-crafted ride.

Tetherfall hooked me from that very first paragraph — the harbor description felt like standing on the deck with Cass: salt, diesel, neon bleeding into rain. The opening salvage scene (Cass prying open the barnacled crate, the drone's keening) was cinematic and tense. I loved how the tiny drone's 'Please. Keep. Safe.' lands like a moral seed that ripples through the rest of the book. Cass is a believable, hard-edged protagonist; the way she rides her rig, the harness singing against her ribs, made her tangible. Marla Voss is an effectively cold threat — the calm with teeth line still gives me chills — and the ragtag crew you meet later adds real warmth and stakes to the action. The Spire shard and the strange device felt mysterious without being hand-waved away, and the city itself is almost a character: neon, water, and that Spine pulsing through the smog. A few scenes could've used a bit more breathing room, but overall this is an action-packed, emotional read about loyalty and hard choices. Highly recommend for anyone who likes gritty sci-fi and fast pacing.