Become the Hunted

Concordat #1

by Swycaffer Jefferson

Fugitive from terror Captain Athalos Steldan knows too much. Now he's on the run from powerful forces who want him silenced. He illegally jumps ship on the planet Chirkun, plunging at once into a twilight underworld of vice in a last-ditch attempt to escape his attackers. But the Concordat Naval intelligence has strict orders to bring Steldan back - dead or alive. Headed by Lieutenant Ron Gray - and by Commander James Tyler, a professional assassin who can kill with a smile on his face - the forces converge on Steldan, driving him deeper into the nightmarish world of City-South. There, among the devastation caused by a reactor fuel mega-blast, Steldan is cornered by a beautiful bounty hunter who comes to believe in him and his desperate mission to clear his name. But first Steldan must prove his innocence to the Concordat... and expose the top-level, multistrata conspiracy that hungers to obliterate him and his dangerous knowledge at any cost.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

160 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 1985

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Steldan is on the run and hiding on the crime-infested planet of Chirkun. The official Navy wants him captured to be put on trial, but those in power who know what Steldan knows want him dead.

The setup is fine, and Steldan is an okay protagonist, but the city never feels lived-in. I never got a sense that the world or universe as a whole was fascinating. I was bored. There were no weird and interesting characters or creative future tech. There was only a plot driving ever forward with a single detour for an absolutely unnecessary and nonsensical romance. If maybe there was some backstory to the two, it would have made more sense, but instead, we get enemies to lovers in the span of a page flip.

It was brief, and the internal politics of the Concordat began to pique my interest, but everything else was hollow.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent adventure. It rolls along pretty smoothly with one glaring exception. The rather clumsy attempt at a romantic interest midway through seems totally shoehorned in. The character comes out of nowhere and falls in love with the protagonist for no reason. Hopefully the author got better at writing female characters, because I still plan on reading some more of this series.

[Lonnie Veal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Athalos Steldan is being hunted by military intelligence and a master assassin and he has to survive long enough bring his knowledge to the Admiral who may soon as have him killed as listen to him.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fair book. Not precisely well written, but exciting and interesting at times.