The Bridge Sequence, Nathan Hystad
Lost Contact (#1) May 2021
Lost Time (#2) June 2021
Lost Hope (#3) July 2021
Rex Walker is an anthropologist and adventurer, who teams up with a trusty sidekick and a mysterious billionaire to investigate possible alien artifacts. But the aliens may be on their way back, and the Believers, a mysterious organization, are trying to block Walker. As the series moves along, it becomes clear that the aliens are here for conquest, and the team starts to struggle as the odds of saving Earth get longer.
The series starts off with a reasonably strong opening. The first volume was reasonably written, decently paced and plotted, although it doesn’t break much ground. Solid. The trouble started in the middle volume, Lost Time. While things still move along, the extended pursuit of clues and artifacts started to feel like it was a little more Where’s Waldo and a little less Indiana Jones. Still, reasonably entertaining and not a hard lift. By the third volume, Lost Hope, I was starting to chafe a bit. There is plenty of action – almost frenetic in fact – as the story builds towards its conclusion. My attention span almost couldn’t survive this third and final volume, but I held out and was rewarded with a pleasing, if cheesy, denouement.
““Let’s see where we’re at.” She set the cup down and started listing things off while moving her fingers out to count. “Our parents might be aliens. We failed to find the help we needed across the Bridge. We’re about to dive into the enemy’s lair with nothing but a vague idea of what we’re searching for. And the President of the United States is probably stashed in a container heading offshore as we speak. Not to mention the fact the FBI knows everything we’ve done and who we are.” “You forgot to mention my gunshot wound,” I joked. It didn’t have the desired effect. “It’s not funny, Rex.””
Like much of its competition, this series started strongly enough but sagged a bit under its own length. Some of the twists and turns in the second and third volumes felt like filler. The writing also could have been stronger: I counted 44 uses of my least favorite word, “smirk” across 895 total pages. (To me, the smirk count is a good proxy for how deeply an author thought about their word choice because it mostly seems to be a stand-in for more complex and nuanced emotions or situations. Because of this it counts heavily on my personal rating scale.)
My theory is that pursuit of volume cuts writing quality. I think that’s the case here with the bolted-on plot filler and word choice examples. Obvious, there’s no problem with someone wanting to write a trilogy. (Or, self-/indie publishing being what they are, even an 8 or 12 volume series.) But form should follow function, and I didn’t feel like this totally did that. Two really solid books totaling a few hundred fewer pages might have been a better strategy. As it is, the books lack a hook that would help them really stand out in a crowded field.
““Stand down!” It was Jessica. She emerged from the trees, her high heels dangling in her fingertips.”
What did work was the generally light and approachable narrative style. While it would have been well served to have been shorter, the plot–even if it was just barely–held together across a remarkably ambitious span. Character development was minimal, and we’re left to fill in a lot of blanks. That’s fine, because none of the gaps are particularly deep or critical to the story. Overall, this was a pleasant read and a good premise let down by middling execution.
Smirk factor: Overdone: 0 pts (44 smirks in 895 pages is no bueno.)
Immersion factor: Shallow water: 1 pt
Writing quality: Average: 1 pt
Character/plot development: Average: 1 pt
Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt
Total: 4/10