Finished No Exit and I'd say your guys' thoughts on this novel were pretty accurate.
The start of the book is probably one of the best that I've read in the Alien series, I mean, it had me immediately! It was so different and unique and I really enjoyed how the author set the mood, for the first half of the book anyway.
If the book would've focused on Kramm as a "Alien Detective" solely, I probably would've been far more interested in the book but once he gets to the planet to investigate, he meets a character named Frances and it kind of dipped from there. Her character seemed at times to know a lot more of what was going on and then wouldn't understand anything so I found her character hard to like, hard to even understand.
It seemed that once they escaped the planet, the book looses steam and at times, couldn't quite figure out which direction to go. It would pick up in some spots and die in others.
I did like the planet idea, where the characters get diverted to, as a test subject hive location. A mouse maze so to speak where they're being monitored by scientists on a nearby moon.
When the action picked up in the third half it felt kind of clunky and although I like the character of Bjorn, it's never quite explained how this guy could have almost super human strength.
Kramm and Braley were great characters who should've had some more interaction time together. Hell, there should have been more of Braley but as Hicks pointed out in his review of this book, he just drops out about half way through and is never mentioned again, which is a shame.
I read the interview Hicks did with the author which really helped me in terms of where the author was wanting to go with the book as it ends abruptly. It's a shame because I would actually like to see what happens next with the remaining characters on the moon base.
The author did a great job of explaining Kramms fear of the dark and being in such closed spaces as vents and tunnels.
I still think this was one of the better stories from DH runs but still felt short of being really, really great! I wonder what the book would've been if the author had stayed with the Alien Detective part and still had Braley be apart of the story. Get rid of Frances and stick with Bjorn.
After reading back to back Aliens novels and fear of possibly getting burnt out, or not liking a future novel because I've read the same scenario just recently, I'm taking an Alien book break. Once I've finished My current book I'll be back at it with Out of Shadows.