The Drafter by Kim Harrison (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Detroit 2030. Double-crossed by the person she loved and betrayed by the covert government organization that trained her to use her body as a weapon, Peri Reed is a renegade on the run.

Don’t forgive and never forget has always been Peri’s creed. But her day job makes it difficult: she is a drafter, possessed of a rare, invaluable skill for altering time, yet destined to forget both the history she changed and the history she rewrote.

When Peri discovers her name on a list of corrupt operatives, she realizes that her own life has been manipulated by the agency. She joins forces with a mysterious rogue soldier in a deadly race to piece together the truth about her final task, unable to trust even herself."

My Thoughts:

The Drafter is one of the most original  science fiction/urban fantasy series that I've read in a long time.  I loved the world that Harrison created with this book and am very eager for more.  I always talk about those books that you can just sink down into and that is exactly what I found myself doing with this book.  It wasn't one of those books that I could set down so instead I found myself reading and saying "one more chapter" for long stretches at a time.  I really liked the fact that this book is so completely different from any other book that I've read.  The idea of being able to alter time but then to just forget what they have altered while also losing stretches of time was so unique to any other books that I've read.  The author used this to add such a thrilling layer of intensity to the book and it was just one of the reasons that I couldn't set this book down.

I'm trying very hard not to give too much away here but warning now for a slight spoiler.  One of the things that I loved most about this book is that the author wasn't afraid to make difficult choices in regards to her characters and the overall plot.  There were times that I was so frustrated but just made me want to keep reading even more.  It felt like a must to see how this would all play out and end.  Would Peri be able to figure everything out in time?  That was the question and it is what kept me reading late into the night.  I loved both her character and also Silas' character as well.  I liked that there is a hint of something more there and am hoping that we get to see more of it in future books.  I really don't think that we have learned fully all about Peri's abilities and that is also something that I'm hoping the author will explore more.  Excellent secondary characters also helped to make this book stand out for me.  The ending of this book left me unready to see it end.  I am absolutely pining for the second book at this point.  I'm also kicking myself a bit for waiting so long to read this one.  I loved the way the author ended this book and won't say more than that (other than it fit perfectly with the book in my opinion).

Final thoughts can be summed up as "Read it!"  A page turning read would be the perfect way to describe this book as well.  Obviously I don't have anything but good things to say about it.  I would love to find more books like this so I'm thinking that I need to stick my toes more in the science fiction genre.  I'm also planning on reading this author's Rachel Morgan series while I wait for book two to release in this one.  It is another series that I've always meant to read and put off but no longer.  If that series is half as good as this book was, then I'm in for a real treat!

Bottom Line:  A thrilling and great beginning to this new series!  I need more!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book for the publisher.