Without a Net by Lyn Gala

C

Not what I was expecting, and more than a little disappointed.

A huge problem with the story is that the circumstances of it being the future or AU is not clearly delineated when you start. All of a sudden, getting quips about Mars' colonies 70% through the story is disconcerting. All the technology is contemporary and there are no obvious identifiers that this is anything but a contemporary novel.

The gender politics speak is way too much, over-the-top and off-putting, an inelegant crash course in gender neutral terms. The beginning with all the cisgender calling out leads one to think that there is a transgender or gender fluid character in full play--nope. So, the rhetoric comes off sounding like an afterschool special.

Then there are continuity issues and startling coincidences. Characters are presented ambiguously so that one is constantly questioning everyone but Ollie, the main character and our pov. Problem: I never connected with Ollie.

The whole BDSM control versus shade clubs, definitely highlighting the divide among practioners and coming down on a side. In my opinion, it comes down trying to be more inclusive if emphasizing personal responsibility, but also implies that shade players have been either "broken" or "rewired" and that is why it works for them. 

Not thrilled with the easy target of corrupt police departments in today's atmosphere--I really don't believe we need fictional shit stirring that pot. There's enough real life problems.

Really not thrilled that a police officer refused to file charges against a person who kidnapped, tortured, and raped them. I don't care if you understand their motivations--it's the FUCKING LAW for a reason. You don't make arrests because you feel like and likewise, you don't not press charges because you understand. Trial decides guilt and an sworn officer should not be making that choice let alone being hired by the FBI. OH HELL NO. THERE'S A PROCESS. Ollie is unwilling to follow due process.This Disney ending is bullshit. 

At some point, I wanted to kill everyone in this book, more than once. And the fact that one character--Milan--was held up as acceptable is NOT ACCEPTABLE. There's morally gray and there's predatory, the line is pretty clear here and author tries to smudge it. So, I have a huge ethical issue with this character being presented as anything but unacceptable in a book that is making hay about ethics.

Frankly, it derided police, then pointed out how one FBI agent was so by the book he was wrong?, and then this not-going-to-happen ending. This plays the suspense card, but the holes, impersonalization, and mixed messages really takes away from the story. I'm torn between one and two stars, and may change my rating later. After my last Gala story which I rated five stars, this was a let down. 

Overall, a muddle of salacious taboo BDSM practices and gender politics.