Borderline

by Robert Appleton

Alone. Double-crossed. Pursued across thousands of miles of alien desert on his beloved hoverbike, Finnegan is holding onto two things dearer than life itself: the priceless biotech prize he’s stolen, and the opportunity for revenge against the treacherous employer who left him for dead. He’s never met her, but he knows all about her family, the most ruthless criminal syndicate of the inner colonies.

But when he finds a beautiful stranded woman badly wounded in the middle of nowhere, claiming to be Lori Malesseur, his employer, he has to make a choice. Either take her across the border and accept her offer of a huge reward, or leave her for dead. She claims she was on her way to warn him when she was ambushed and shot. But can she really be who she says she is?

Trusting one’s enemy is not something either of them knows how to do, but when the stakes are this high, going it alone might not be an option. The race for survival is on in this high-octane action adventure that puts the pedal to the metal and doesn’t look back.

88 pages, ebook

First published March 20, 2013

About the author

Robert Appleton is a British science fiction and adventure author partial to tales of survival in far-flung locations. Many of his sci-fi books share the same universe as his popular Alien Safari series, though tend to feature standalone storylines. His rebellious characters range from an orphaned grifter on Mars to a lone woman gate-crashing the war in her biotech suit. His sci-fi readers regularly earn enough frequent flyer miles to qualify for a cross-galaxy voyage of their choosing. His publishers include Harlequin Carina Press, and he also ghost-writes novels in other genres. In his free time he hikes, plays soccer, and kayaks whenever he can. The night sky is his inspiration.

His work has been nominated for several awards, and in 2011 he won the EPIC Award for Best Historical Fiction.

Be sure to follow Robert on BookBub for the latest on sales: https://bit.ly/3qLWVHu

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the previous books in this series. Way too predictable.

[Ilona Fenton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rather enjoyed this one, even though it was a bit on the short side. I haven't read any of the previous books set in this universe but it turned out I didn't need to as it stood up very well on it's own. The characters were interesting and the action was just right. I enjoyed the fast pace of the story and just wish it had been a little longer and followed the main two characters after they learned to trust each other.

[J.L. Hilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, fast-paced novella set in the same universe as the author's "Sparks in Cosmic Dust" (which I also enjoyed, but which was a much more complex, full-length novel). Entertaining read, finished in one night (though stayed up much later than I intended, that's what I get for reading before bed!).

[Diane Dooley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it. Fast-paced, non-stop action, full of danger, thrills, and adrenaline.