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Spineward Sectors #2

Admiral's Gambit

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Spineward Sectors Series Book Admiral's Gambit

When he set course for 'civilized space,' Jason Montagne thought he'd finally be able to take a deep breath and hand off sole responsibility for patrolling the border of known Space to the 'real' Confederation fleet. Unfortunately, things 'back home' in Sector 25 were in even more turmoil than he could have possibly imagined.

When an old friend of the family is caught red-handed in the act of piracy at Easy Haven, and is armed with a ship that outclasses Jason’s Lucky Clover by every measure except sheer bulk and ability to absorb damage, the Little Admiral is faced with a choice that could have consequences felt throughout the Spine.

The continuing Bug Menace hangs over the Tracto System like a genocidal plague, and piracy is on the rise as news of the Imperial withdrawal spreads like wildfire among the eight Confederate sectors which make up Admiral Montagne’s neck of the woods.

With the border going up in flames, Jason and the crew of the Lucky Clover will have to deal with a whole host of new problems including slipping morale, ingenious pirates, backstabbing cousins, a family reunion you wouldn’t believe, and the loss of those the Little Admiral has come to rely upon most.

Can even the infamous Montagne Magic be strong enough to keep this ship from breaking apart in an orgy of violence? With pressure mounting on every side and quickly running out of places to turn for help, it will be a miracle if he can get them out of it in one piece.

If he does, it will be forever remembered as the Admiral’s Gambit.


Find the answers in this second installment of the Spineward Sectors Admiral's Gambit

469 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 20, 2013

52 people are currently reading
94 people want to read

About the author

Luke Sky Wachter

21 books91 followers
Hey there guys. This is your friendly neighborhood Author, stopping by for a quick biography. As you probably guessed my name isn't Luke Sky Wachter. It is true that I'm publishing under my Son's name. As you can probably guess from that little factoid, I'm a huge Sci-fi buff, having named my son after such an iconic figure and all that.

For more information on the status of my current projects and general updates you can find me on:

My blog: www.joshuawachter.com
My Twitter: https://twitter.com/LukeSkyWachter
My Facebook Group: Multi-Sector Patrol Fleet
Not sure if this link will work but: https://www.facebook.com/search/group...

I've also put up a picture of myself and the real Luke Sky as well as the rest of the fam. Hope you all like the new pictures I tried to add!

For anyone who says the name is cheesy, what can I say? It probably is and I published under it anyway, out of love for my boy. For anyone who says the name is completely unrealistic, alas I have the birth certificate to put the lie in such assertions. Sorry guys but there is at least one father out there crazy enough to actually go saddle his kid with such a name and as a result there really is a living breathing Luke Sky Wachter! He's just not me. hehehehe But some day he'll be able to look back at what his dad has done and know I was proud enough to use his name.

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5 stars
289 (36%)
4 stars
317 (40%)
3 stars
148 (18%)
2 stars
32 (4%)
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0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
24 reviews
July 11, 2015
An interesting and entertaining read

This series is addictive. I have a hard time putting the book down. It is full of interesting characters and intrigue. The main character grows through all of his experiences.
Profile Image for Warrick.
14 reviews
October 2, 2012
If after finishing a book, the first thought is "when is the next one out?" you know it was good. Anything I say after that will be excess words. If you like Space Opera, then this one will not disappoint.
104 reviews3 followers
April 30, 2015
Fun Books!

Fun space opera with awesome characters! Every once in awhile it gets a little wordy, and occasionally repetitive in the inner monologue. Reading it on Kindle Unlimited, but if they sell them bundled I'll buy them.
7 reviews
June 5, 2015
Worth every penny !

I have read thru the series five times now. I never write reviews, but I enjoy the authors work. Read Admiral Who and if you like that book, the rest are of the same quality.
Profile Image for CHERI.
42 reviews
February 10, 2016
I'm so into this series!

The first book in the Spineward Sectors novels had a little more humor, but this still offered some chuckles, along with some intense adventure. I'm moving on to number 3.
19 reviews
July 14, 2013
I want more. I can't believe I have to wait. Buy it, read it, review it so the author can write more. It's a hugely fun space opera
29 reviews18 followers
March 26, 2015
not quite as funny as the first part, but more serious instead.

only bad part: too many "what happend before"-parts
still a good read, will continue to the next part
333 reviews1 follower
May 28, 2015
A twester

A story with so many twist and long explanations of the mind set of the admiral. A great story line . Good catheters
Profile Image for M.L..
283 reviews
January 27, 2016
This book expands on the first book and presents a grand tale of fleet management that does not get boring, to its credit.
11 reviews
October 17, 2017
Read it in a day. Easy to enjoy, full of action and a deeper background history than expected.
2,477 reviews17 followers
August 2, 2025
What a frustrating book. Everyone misunderstanding each other and being real idiots about it. Every time one thing gets resolved, another three things crop up. Plus, the conclusion - wait, there was no conclusion. Just a very aggravating experience all around.

Edit: also contains one of the most weird mistakes I’ve ever seen, replacing ‘decadent’ with ‘decedent’. On the very first page! “wining and dining anyone Parliament needed to impress or fob off in an appropriately decedent style.”
Profile Image for Frank Bertino.
1,771 reviews19 followers
February 15, 2021
Highly Entertaining Read

Jason, the "Little Admiral", again finds that duty, mayhem and intrigue stack to plague him. His love life confuses him with a gauntlet of wonderful delights to sarcastic disdain. As he feared, he gets drawn into another dual on his wife's home world. I like the action, humor, intrigue, and romance. I look forward to the next book.
254 reviews2 followers
February 18, 2021
What a waste!

I honestly tried to like this series. The author had an almost new approach to some space opera and a colorfully diverse cast of characters but either due to lack of experience (hopefully) or ability it was was just wasted by consistently replaying the same situations and dialogue in similar settings.
As for the execution of the series, I’m in favor of it.
Profile Image for Joseph.
18 reviews1 follower
May 23, 2018
Good enough to hook me!

It was very entertaining. I went back for book 1. I had to get the next book in the series. Thanks for the adventure.
Profile Image for Joseph.
24 reviews1 follower
September 20, 2021
Just finished Admiral's Gambit. A very BIG WOW! I love the writing style, makes you feel for the Admiral character, makes you laugh!
Now into Book 3 Admiral's Tribulation...
Profile Image for Melinda.
602 reviews9 followers
October 7, 2015
Liked the First Book More

This is the second book in the Spineward Sectors series. While this one included all the dark, self-deprecating humor of the first book, as well as the sassy, machiavellian Admiral, his Frankenstein crew, his warrior wife and his crazy situation, what it didn't include was any type of closure or ending.

It Just Stopped!

I call these MiT endings (Moment in Time), as the novel simply stops at a moment in time that has nothing to do with an ending. These types of endings are commonly followed by pages being flipped back and forth, or in the case of ebooks, fingers touching opposite sides of the screen in the vain hope that an ending can be found somewhere in the back of the book. Alas, one is never found. It's MIA.

Extreme Cliffhanger -
def: another name for a Moment in Time Ending. ex: That book had such an Extreme Cliffhanger that after the last chapter, the ending fell so far, so fast that the publisher couldn't find the text at the end of the manuscript, so it wasn't included.

When you add the Extreme Cliffhanger to the first few chapters that reiterated the last chapters of the first book, the new text is bracketed by useless or missing things. Whatever happened to the series synopsis that frequently fronts these types of novels? Whatever happened to epilogues?

Bottom Line: While I liked what text was there, it is a cheap and sleazy thing to do to readers, insuring that they buy the next book in the series because the book stops in the middle of a crisis. Now I have to decide if this disgusts me enough to give up the series, or keep going despite the sleazy tactics. I'll decide later. Just know, if you keep going, you are guaranteed more of the same sarcasm, space battles and marital discord, but no ending in sight, at the height of the final crisis. Bah!
7 reviews1 follower
February 25, 2016
Great reading. Great entertainment

The storyline had it's minor up and downs, but for the vast majority of the tale I was solidly entertained. Looking forward to the next "Admiral in Pain" chapters.
Profile Image for Guy L. Pace.
Author 4 books13 followers
April 20, 2015
As with #1, needs more editing. Lots of jarring misspellings and other errors.
Profile Image for Mick Bird.
820 reviews11 followers
June 3, 2015
A great read and follow up to the first book - Admiral Who. Give it a try you maybe surprised.
534 reviews3 followers
Read
November 1, 2018
Loved this continuation of the story! I THOUGHT HE DIED. My god he is the Dread Pirate Robinson. You think he is dead and yet he is still alive. He has really lived up to the title Wizard. Now he is a cyborg wizard. I can't wait to see how things develop.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews

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