The 4th book in the Shining Smith series. She must now cope with all of the motorcycle clubs, some of whom want to claim her. After sorting out her position she next must pay attention to some of her neighbors who are in need of help.
This may be the end of the series, it is a logical place to stop and a good conclusion for the main characters.

read 9/30/2024 ( )

That was fun. 'Junkyard Roadhouse' was my fourth visit with Shining Smith. following 'Junkyard Cats', 'Junkyard Bargain' and 'Junkyard War'. Her world gets richer with each visit that I make.

I love that Faith Hunter has turned her hand to Science Fiction and produced something complex and intriguing, with a strong woman at its heart, delivered at a pace that keeps the action pumping but allows time for plots and conspiracies to be considered and for me to love or hate the characters. I think only Faith Hunter could have come up with a scenario where the people most likely to save the world are in Motorcycle Clubs.

The two AIs in this are a hoot. They're original, amusing but still credible. The mutated junkyard cats remain the scariest thing in the story. They see people as either servants or protein and what they did to that attack dog would make even the toughest biker give them a wide berth.

This episode moves the overall story arc forward by getting Shining Smith set up as the head of her own MC, running a Roadhouse that delivers services and provides neutral territory to the four main MCs. I wondered if that might make the story a little static, focusing on what happens in the Roadhouse and the Junkyard but Faith Hunter quickly gets Shining Smith involved in action in a neighbouring town. This action exposes the Dark Riders as more than opportunistic bandits, builds some new alliances and sets Shining Smith up for a larger scale conflict. I'm already keen to read the next book.

I like the novella format that Faith Hunter is using. It keeps the focus tight and the tension high. It's like watching a TV episode with a Three Act structure. The people, the problem and the context are introduced, the big fight happens, the consequences are worked through and the seeds of the next episode are sewn.

Junkyard Cats was originally conceived as an aubiobook only series. Now it's available in paperback and ebook but my strong preference is to settle down with the audiobook and let Khristine Hvam's narration light up the story for me. ( )