Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "science-fiction"

The Terran Privateer by Glynn Stewart

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The consensus among the captains and admirals of the United Earth Space Force (UESF) is that their weaponry is fine, money need not be spent on advanced systems. Admiral Jean Villeneuve, the Chief of Operations, disagrees. It’s 2185 and piracy is rising at an alarming pace, which is one reason he agrees to meet with the chief executive officer of Nova Industries, who has arranged demonstrations of their newest interface drive and other inventions that will make them contenders should aliens invade Earth.

Annette Bond captains the Tornado, Nova’s latest vessel with a hyperdrive system, interface missiles, special armor, and the newest generation of heavy lasers. After taking the ship through her paces, she arrives at the research facility to come face to face with Villeneuve, the judge at the trial that ousted her from UESF. She’s now in command of the single ship that could destroy UESF, and her demonstration just proved that to him. But the Dark Eye Interstellar Surveillance System has been picking up disturbing signals and he needs her to rejoin UESF as Tornado’s commander. She accepts on one condition: this time he must back her up no matter whose toes get stepped on in the process.

With a crew that is half UESF and half scientists, Annette no sooner takes command of the new UESF vessel than Dark Eye’s emergency alert system sounds and twenty ships from the A!Tol (! pronounced like “tuck”) Imperium emerge from hyperdrive. These squid-like aliens announce they have annexed Earth’s solar system and a new administration will soon be put in place. Any and all resistance will be quashed. UESF has seventy minutes to comply. Tornado is UESF’s only hyperdrive warship and the alien armament will crush the others like bugs, but the admiral must try. Annette joins Alpha Squadron to attack the enemy, but Villeneuve also gives her special orders. Should the worst occur, she is to take Tornado to the other solar systems and wage war against the enemy as privateers. She and her crew are Earth’s last hope.

Thus begins Book One in the new Duchy of Terra science fiction series. While this adventure takes place in outer space, Stewart craftily blends science with the ways in which privateers of yore waged war at sea. Even one port of call is reminiscent of the buccaneers’ Tortuga, although not quite as safe as one might expect and where it’s best to remember the adage to trust no one. Stewart’s use of description and emotion punctuates just how alone they are in a world where the rules don’t always apply, nothing is known, and danger lurks everywhere. Imagination and cunning abound and Annette has just the right qualifications to deal with the complications arising from their encounters with slavers, kidnappers, pirates, and raiders. This is science fiction at its best in a realm where greed and corruption are rife, and every entity out for itself confronts those sworn to aid and protect. And the twist at the end is one few will expect.




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Fata Morgana by Thomas J. Radford

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In Book Three of the Free Lanes, skipper Nel Vaughn drinks herself nearly to oblivion on Vice. It’s the only way she can forget, to keep from dealing with the past. With each passing day, her former crewmate and navigator, Loveland Quill, loses respect for Nel, yet no matter how disgusted he becomes, he keeps intruding into her self-imposed oblivion. One day Tantamount’s deed and title appears on the notice board and all she has tried to forget comes crashing back over her: the loss of the ship, her friends, the captain, and living on the edge, skirting the law. Compounding these memories is the appearance of Castor Sharpe, the infuriating bane of her existence. He’s supposed to be dead, just like the others; then again, he never has been good at doing what he’s supposed to do.

When she awakens aboard the Fata Morgana, Violet recognizes Niko Kaspar and Brandon Gravel, whom she met once in a bar, but her fuzzy memory provides few clues as to how she came to be aboard an Alliance ship. All she knows is that her friends are dead and Tantamount was destroyed. Unlike her own vessel (a true sailing ship), Fata Morgana is a vessel of two halves that sails through the universe via steam. It is the creation of Captain Arlin Raines, who happens to be a Kitsune like herself. The elder fox – who has seven tails – is something of a legend for refusing to return to their world as custom demands. Having taken a liking to Violet, he provides her with a pair of special glasses that allows her to see color; seeing the world in black and white is a side effect from exposure following Tantamount’s destruction.

Sharpe is being hunted. He also knows that Violet is still alive, contrary to what Nel thinks. Having vowed never to forsake Violet, Nel is determined to find her. To do that she needs a ship and a crew. With help from Loveland and Sharpe, as well as some Draugrs and a man who actually prefers his prison cell to freedom, they steal a ship and set sail to retrieve Violet.

In the meantime, Violet is determined to escape from the Fata Morgana. No easy feat when she’s never sure whether she’s going up or down on the ship and she’s constantly watched. As she gets to know Gravel, she finds someone willing to help her. He, in turn, shows her three items he’s found in the bowels of the ship. One is a prisoner, locked in a cell without a door. The second is a friend from Tantamount. And the third is, unfortunately, the obsidian golem – a creature she helped throw overboard into the abyss of space. Like a magnet, the golem latches on to Violet and she’s unsure whether or if she can escape its clutches.

At times, especially during the first half of the story, readers may find themselves as confused as Violet is at times. This is understandable, given that Nel avoids thinking as much as possible and Violet has more questions than answers following their ship’s destruction at the end of the previous book in the series. What isn’t obvious to readers, at least initially, is that the events and perspectives unfold in two different timelines. Radford does provide hints of this, but they are not blatant and may be missed by readers. Even so, as the story progresses and the difference in time narrows, Radford spins a complex, serpentine adventure of domination, invasion, ingenuity, jealousy, and true friendship. A mesmerizing tale where secrets are revealed, surprises elucidate, and not everyone lives happily ever after.




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