A little above 4.5 stars

Completely absorbed by:
• The bond between Flick & Zed as friends and lovers, their bittersweet story exudes —until now— camaraderie, longing, desperation, fear, determination, grief and love, always love.
• That charismatic crew.
• A worldbuilding with new species, a technological evolution that feels perhaps a tad short, dystopian brushstrokes, and a mostly immanent human nature... If I do not go faster it's due to lack of time. ( )

I want to give this ten stars at least. It is astonishingly good in several ways.

First, it is straight-up good science fiction, rich in detail without being overwhelming. People keep comparing it to Firefly and that's fair, but it's more than that, bigger. Nastier. I'd compare it to Star Trek, but messier. Way messier. The cast is diverse in several ways and well-represented, I think.

Second but equal, and you get this in the first few chapters: War's just ended and PTSD and associated scars are everywhere, but the worst in the soldiers. Messy. The main love interest pair has been separated for years, and shit went down. Bad shit. In these two the scars are so deep most of them can't be seen, just triggered. Then things get complicated.

Third, you FEEL for the love interest. I cried and smiled and gasped and sighed and immediately when done bought Lonely Shore, book 2. This is not a cliffhanger but oh, you will want to know what's next. I do. ( )

[Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

Providing a spoiler-free synopsis for this title is really difficult. There's so much that happens here and it's all in service to the plot, but I will try.

Loop is on a mission. Having been released from service in the military after the war, he's lost touch with his teammates until he learns that one of them is wanted on another station. He knows it wasn't her fault and he can't help needing to go make sure she is okay. So he secures transport on a cargo vessel--at a high price--to get there, get her out, and get to safety. But when he gets on the ship and runs into Fixer (who he knows as Felix, a former lover he thought long dead) there is suddenly much more to this mission and this story than he expected. And the captain he hired now has a whole series of questions of his own.

Talk about intriguing! I really enjoyed the story that's here. Many times when I read genre stories with an m/m relationship, one aspect tends to overshadow the other. In this case, I feel like it was very well balanced. The story wouldn't be complete without either element, but neither element takes the focus. The characters have depth (and a healthy dose of mystery) and there's a well-developed story and character arc here that I found engaging and, at times, exciting. I'm definitely looking forward to the continuation of this series. ( )

DNF @ 53%
The writing is fine, it just couldn't keep my attention. I put it on hold and read two other books, and now I have no desire to go back to it.

DNF-ed at 55%. One star for what I could stand to read.

The following is my personal opinion and my own impression of the book. I understand everyone else is loving it to pieces, but I managed to only last 55% before my patience and pain tolerance ran out.

Maybe it's because I've just finished absolutely brilliant Magpie Lord series, maybe it's because the characters are flat, boring, repetitious and predictable comparing to the vibrant personages of yet another brilliant series, [b:Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts|17304775|Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts (Claimings, #1)|Lyn Gala|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1359491586s/17304775.jpg|23962861], but I found "Chaos" to be an excruciatingly painful read.

Just a few thoughts on the peeps in this book:

Captain Elias. Too flat of a character; at times, under enough pressure, he even manages to cave in into a negative dimension, where he becomes completely invisible, like an annoying mosquito you try to tune out. Can't seem to get pass two lines: "He (Zed) is dangerous." and "I want him/you (Zed) off my ship." That's after he got his greedy paws on a good lump of cash from the above mentioned Zed.

Zed, your average martyr. A poor (not in a monetary sense), damaged yet noble soldier on a mission to save his fellow sister-in-arms gone rogue. He suffers all kinds of suffers: from headaches to broken heart, to whatever else he chooses to suffer from at any particular moment. A shy, humble trillionaire, who doesn't want to impose on anyone or, god forbid, say hi to his own loving siblings. It might get them in trouble. Why? Flick is here to explain, of course.

And here is Flick himself. Fix. Felix. Whatever. He fixes shit. From microwaves to spaceships. A hacker with a golden heart. A poor (in a monetary sense, too), wounded, otherwise damaged, noble (you guessed it all) soul. He is here, it seems, for the sole purpose of explaining things and feelings to the other characters (aka "info dump" to us, readers). Maybe he is here for sex with Zed, too ...I don't remember, neither do I care.

All in all - a predictable, boring piece of writing, chaotic and redundant, looping onto itself every other page. Frustrating. ( )