Lowell, Nathan. To Fire Called. Seeker’s Tale No. 2. Kindle, 2017.
In rereading Lowell’s Ishmael Wang books, I discovered I rated but did not review this second volume in the Seeker’s Tale trilogy in which Ishmael, now in business with Pip, takes his refurbished barbell freighter on a shakedown cruise into Toehold Space. In a trilogy about a man pursuing a murderer and seeking to deal with grief and posttraumatic stress, a reader should not expect that these issues will all be resolved in the second volume. Neither will readers who most value plot complications and breakneck action get what they want. Lowell is a writer who, quite literally, makes you stop and smell the coffee brewing on the mess deck. All we know for sure is that Ishmael’s heart, if not his head, is always in the right place. So pour yourself a cup and enjoy the trip. ( )