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A Way About
Colonel Esseline Robinson, the Planetary Police Chief of Ascendant, was on administrative leave helping her niece, Ariana, adjust to living with Essie after the deaths of Ari’s mother and father…Essie’s sister and brother-in-law.
The adjustment period was interrupted when Ari discovered a body at the archaeology lab where she worked.
Essie was now back on the job as Planetary Police Chief, and dealing with the emotions of her teenaged niece, her gallivanting parents, her detective partner, and sundry office politics.
Throw in some stolen artifacts that belonged to the previous inhabitants, an ex-husband, numerous murders, and some aliens determined to cause havoc with the human civilizations on ten planets, and you have a recipe for an exciting science fiction thriller.
The adjustment period was interrupted when Ari discovered a body at the archaeology lab where she worked.
Essie was now back on the job as Planetary Police Chief, and dealing with the emotions of her teenaged niece, her gallivanting parents, her detective partner, and sundry office politics.
Throw in some stolen artifacts that belonged to the previous inhabitants, an ex-husband, numerous murders, and some aliens determined to cause havoc with the human civilizations on ten planets, and you have a recipe for an exciting science fiction thriller.
ebook
Published June 12, 2012
24 people want to read
About the author
Roxanne Barbour
15 books211 followersI have been reading science fiction since about the age of eleven when I discovered “Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars” by Ellen MacGregor.
The years passed by while I had careers as a computer programmer, music teacher, insurance office administrator, and logistics coordinator for an international freight company.
I took early retirement and decided to put to use all the books on writing that I had accumulated over the years, and actually start writing.
Novel: REVOLUTIONS (2015)
Novel: SACRED TRUST (2015)
Novel: KAIKU (2017)
Novel: AN ALIEN PERSPECTIVE (2017)
Novel: ALIEN INNKEEPER (coming soon)
I also dabble in speculative poetry.
The years passed by while I had careers as a computer programmer, music teacher, insurance office administrator, and logistics coordinator for an international freight company.
I took early retirement and decided to put to use all the books on writing that I had accumulated over the years, and actually start writing.
Novel: REVOLUTIONS (2015)
Novel: SACRED TRUST (2015)
Novel: KAIKU (2017)
Novel: AN ALIEN PERSPECTIVE (2017)
Novel: ALIEN INNKEEPER (coming soon)
I also dabble in speculative poetry.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 25, 2015
This is the first book by author Roxanne Barbour and it has gives me high hopes for her future career. When I have gone back to the first book by many of my favorite authors, I have found that there is a bit of a learning curve to writing. Like any great art, practice is the key and here the practice involves writing more novels. What gives me such high hopes for the future of R. Barbour is just how close to great this book manages to be, with time I do think that she will write that great novel.
One big strength of the author is her characterizations. The persons who inhabit this story are real to me, with the exception perhaps of the villains, who were not fleshed out quite enough. Still, there are many high earning authors who are incapable of writing real characters, and instead fall back on archetypes.
The second big thing that I appreciate about this book is the female protagonist. Recently, I have been going back and reading the works of the great Science Fiction authors and one thing I find all too often is the lack of representation of ladies. That's quite opposed to the scientific industry, in which I work, were there seems to be equal amount of males and females. I find it interesting that culture has deemed the sciences to be masculine when many of the courses I took in University and the lab I work in currently, are/were 60/40 female.
What's more, the book does not approach this as being about males or females or make any intent to show Science Fiction from the other (less frequent) perspective. Rather, males and females simply are equal in this book and are shown working together with neither being better or worse or needing to somehow represent their gender. It is odd that I should look at this book in terms of gender, when it all but ignores this but as I stated it is in such stark contrast to most Science Fiction novels that I have read of late that I find it a welcome relief.
If I were to compare this book to another well known Science Fiction book it would be The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov. Both approach the Science Fiction genre through the Detective Novel/mystery genre. But of the two, I preferred the mystery, world, and characters found here.
The one thing that I found lacking in the book was a hook. I always enjoyed reading this and looked forward to opening it up again, but there was nothing that really drew me back - I had no drive or need to find out what happens, I just enjoyed reading it until I was done.
The best aspect of the book, for me, was the option left at the end for a sequel or series. While this book had a clear plot and story, it happened within a much bigger and more interesting world. I would like to explore that world, and as I mentioned at the front of this review, I suspect that the volumes will get richer as we move along.
One big strength of the author is her characterizations. The persons who inhabit this story are real to me, with the exception perhaps of the villains, who were not fleshed out quite enough. Still, there are many high earning authors who are incapable of writing real characters, and instead fall back on archetypes.
The second big thing that I appreciate about this book is the female protagonist. Recently, I have been going back and reading the works of the great Science Fiction authors and one thing I find all too often is the lack of representation of ladies. That's quite opposed to the scientific industry, in which I work, were there seems to be equal amount of males and females. I find it interesting that culture has deemed the sciences to be masculine when many of the courses I took in University and the lab I work in currently, are/were 60/40 female.
What's more, the book does not approach this as being about males or females or make any intent to show Science Fiction from the other (less frequent) perspective. Rather, males and females simply are equal in this book and are shown working together with neither being better or worse or needing to somehow represent their gender. It is odd that I should look at this book in terms of gender, when it all but ignores this but as I stated it is in such stark contrast to most Science Fiction novels that I have read of late that I find it a welcome relief.
If I were to compare this book to another well known Science Fiction book it would be The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov. Both approach the Science Fiction genre through the Detective Novel/mystery genre. But of the two, I preferred the mystery, world, and characters found here.
The one thing that I found lacking in the book was a hook. I always enjoyed reading this and looked forward to opening it up again, but there was nothing that really drew me back - I had no drive or need to find out what happens, I just enjoyed reading it until I was done.
The best aspect of the book, for me, was the option left at the end for a sequel or series. While this book had a clear plot and story, it happened within a much bigger and more interesting world. I would like to explore that world, and as I mentioned at the front of this review, I suspect that the volumes will get richer as we move along.
August 4, 2013
This book was rather interesting. It didn't reinvent the wheel but was entertaining. The main character came alive fairly soon. I was very interested in the concept of intergalactic travel. The idea behind it was rather novel. Unfortunately, the story didn't cover nearly enough about that (which was understandable considering the MC was NOT a space pilot but a detective).
Some scenes were from the POV of the bad guys which gave away a couple of the more interesting twists (fingerprints anyone?) but overall added to the story by providing a good angle on the artifact problem. All in all, a very enjoyable read.
Some scenes were from the POV of the bad guys which gave away a couple of the more interesting twists (fingerprints anyone?) but overall added to the story by providing a good angle on the artifact problem. All in all, a very enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews