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Exodus #1
Advance
Admiral Dael Caydoc heads up the Advance Fleet to find a new homeworld for the Oconodian people. Joined by Commander Aniwyn “Spinner” Seclan, larger-than-life, reckless, and not Dael’s first choice as CAG, Commander of the Air Group, she has to admit Spinner is a brilliant pilot.
Spinner finds Admiral Caydoc an uncompromising, rigid, pain of an officer in the Oconodian Space Fleet. Dael is also the most stunning woman Spinner’s ever met. When the two women clash immediately, it only confirms her suspicion it’s going to be hell to work with a woman who both exasperates and attracts her.
While running into countless dangerous situations, Dael and Spinner realize they have more in common than they thought. It takes brave words of love for them to persevere when disaster strikes, and it’s up to Dael and Spinner to save the future for the people of Oconodos—and each other.
Spinner finds Admiral Caydoc an uncompromising, rigid, pain of an officer in the Oconodian Space Fleet. Dael is also the most stunning woman Spinner’s ever met. When the two women clash immediately, it only confirms her suspicion it’s going to be hell to work with a woman who both exasperates and attracts her.
While running into countless dangerous situations, Dael and Spinner realize they have more in common than they thought. It takes brave words of love for them to persevere when disaster strikes, and it’s up to Dael and Spinner to save the future for the people of Oconodos—and each other.
264 pages, Paperback
First published December 15, 2014
7 people are currently reading
136 people want to read
About the author
Gun Brooke
43 books230 followersGun Brooke resides in the countryside in Sweden with her very patient family. A retired neonatal intensive care nurse, she now writes full time, only rarely taking a break to create web sites for herself or others and to do computer graphics. Gun writes both romances and sci-fi. She is the recipient of the 2009 Alice B. Medal for "body of work."
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 15, 2016
This is not a bad start to the series. With book 3, coming out shortly, I thought it was a good time to finally read this. I did like this, but it had some problems that stopped me from rating it higher. I'm always looking for good lesfic sci-fi, which is not easy to find. I'm glad I was at least entertained.
The story is about a group of people leaving their home planet in search of a new home. One of the small issues I had with the book, was not enough background. It took me a while to really understand why they even needed a new planet. And once you do figure out why, there is not a lot of detail to truly understand the people they are running from. I hope Brooke explains more in the next book, but this one needed more background.
There was some good exciting moments. When they encountered other aliens. Then again, this brought up another issue I had. Before the ship meets these aliens, they know who they are already. In the story they are suppose to be far away searching for a new planet. Obviously they are not really in new uncharted territory, if they keep bumping into people they know. I guess you have to suspend disbelief a bit, while reading this book.
When it came to the romance of the main characters, it was alright. I did like both mains very much. A stern, by the books, Admiral, and a hot shot CAG pilot. I thought it was a good pairing. My main complaint was a lot of the courting faze happened off screen. They spent a lot of time getting to know each other, but we don't see it. Then they are in love, and it seems quicker than it should. I wish we had seen more scenes between them, it would have helped with the chemistry.
In closing, this book has some good excitement, an okay romance, with some pretty good characters. It was entertaining for me, just not as good as I hoped. My fingers are crossed book 2 will be more my speed.
The story is about a group of people leaving their home planet in search of a new home. One of the small issues I had with the book, was not enough background. It took me a while to really understand why they even needed a new planet. And once you do figure out why, there is not a lot of detail to truly understand the people they are running from. I hope Brooke explains more in the next book, but this one needed more background.
There was some good exciting moments. When they encountered other aliens. Then again, this brought up another issue I had. Before the ship meets these aliens, they know who they are already. In the story they are suppose to be far away searching for a new planet. Obviously they are not really in new uncharted territory, if they keep bumping into people they know. I guess you have to suspend disbelief a bit, while reading this book.
When it came to the romance of the main characters, it was alright. I did like both mains very much. A stern, by the books, Admiral, and a hot shot CAG pilot. I thought it was a good pairing. My main complaint was a lot of the courting faze happened off screen. They spent a lot of time getting to know each other, but we don't see it. Then they are in love, and it seems quicker than it should. I wish we had seen more scenes between them, it would have helped with the chemistry.
In closing, this book has some good excitement, an okay romance, with some pretty good characters. It was entertaining for me, just not as good as I hoped. My fingers are crossed book 2 will be more my speed.
August 28, 2017
I have a feeling I am going to like this series.
January 4, 2016
Not my favourite by this author, but still very good and gives a sense of what the rest of the series will be about. Looking forward to the next book.
December 31, 2014
This book evokes the most mixed of reactions; on the one hand it is a story about lesbians having a rollicking action-and-adventure story in space. On the other hand, it suffers from Ms. Brooke's customary stiff writing (although I must acknowledge her valiance in writing outside of her native tongue), her equally customary reliance on "character driven plot" (making the aforementioned action feel episodic), and all built around an oddly one-dimensional, unconvincing romance.
But I sweep ahead of myself; Dael Caydoc in the Admiral in charge of a desperate mission to find a new homeworld for her people. Some of the population have expressed mutations giving them x-men like powers, and the remaining "normal" population is frightened enough to abandon their homeworld completely. (This strained my willing suspension of disbelief, as it appeared that the 'normal' people still controlled the military and political apparatus, and that apparatus had been happily and successfully oppressing those mutants. Isn't this a very expensive way to solve a problem which is being used by those in power for personal gain? No matter.)
Spinner - which I have to grant is a pretty cool callsign - is a hotshot fighter ace who no real military officer in their right minds would do anything but fire/brig/shoot immediately. Luckily however, Ms. Brooke is not a military officer in her right mind - she does none of those things; although Spinner's unprofessional behaviour is remarked on frequently and her behavior when in-flight is downright mutinous, no corrective training, punishment details, or any negative consequence flows back to her.
These two people fall in love, although I struggled with details such as "how" or "why". They interact poorly, until suddenly they don't. Then they think about it some and decide each loves the other. Sure - there was a kind of "off-screen" thing happening in the middle of the book where they were having breakfast together, but since we as readers were only privy to the first of these, this information had little power to convince. All in all while I found myself supportive of the whole thing, I was quite unsure why.
The plot could best be described as "Star Trek: Voyager". Different planets are found, mapped, problems solved, and then never really thought of again. The mission (hyped up as these people never seeing their family or friends again) seems to have taken less than a year - it used to take longer than that to sail from Britain to New Zealand, and people still moved back and forth with no problems; further, the whole universe is filled with aliens, and all of them have been previously met. What, you know all these random aliens already?! Why didn't you just *ask* them if they knew of a suitable new home planet? You clearly already communicate! Perhaps if the mission had taken ten or fifteen years I could have invested more heavily in the little fleet and its mission; perhaps if the aliens were unknown and unnerving I would have bought into the idea of its isolation.
So I dunno. It's worth reading and I'll be picking up the other books in the series. But that's more because lesbian science fiction is seriously underserved than because this is a quality example of the genre.
But I sweep ahead of myself; Dael Caydoc in the Admiral in charge of a desperate mission to find a new homeworld for her people. Some of the population have expressed mutations giving them x-men like powers, and the remaining "normal" population is frightened enough to abandon their homeworld completely. (This strained my willing suspension of disbelief, as it appeared that the 'normal' people still controlled the military and political apparatus, and that apparatus had been happily and successfully oppressing those mutants. Isn't this a very expensive way to solve a problem which is being used by those in power for personal gain? No matter.)
Spinner - which I have to grant is a pretty cool callsign - is a hotshot fighter ace who no real military officer in their right minds would do anything but fire/brig/shoot immediately. Luckily however, Ms. Brooke is not a military officer in her right mind - she does none of those things; although Spinner's unprofessional behaviour is remarked on frequently and her behavior when in-flight is downright mutinous, no corrective training, punishment details, or any negative consequence flows back to her.
These two people fall in love, although I struggled with details such as "how" or "why". They interact poorly, until suddenly they don't. Then they think about it some and decide each loves the other. Sure - there was a kind of "off-screen" thing happening in the middle of the book where they were having breakfast together, but since we as readers were only privy to the first of these, this information had little power to convince. All in all while I found myself supportive of the whole thing, I was quite unsure why.
The plot could best be described as "Star Trek: Voyager". Different planets are found, mapped, problems solved, and then never really thought of again. The mission (hyped up as these people never seeing their family or friends again) seems to have taken less than a year - it used to take longer than that to sail from Britain to New Zealand, and people still moved back and forth with no problems; further, the whole universe is filled with aliens, and all of them have been previously met. What, you know all these random aliens already?! Why didn't you just *ask* them if they knew of a suitable new home planet? You clearly already communicate! Perhaps if the mission had taken ten or fifteen years I could have invested more heavily in the little fleet and its mission; perhaps if the aliens were unknown and unnerving I would have bought into the idea of its isolation.
So I dunno. It's worth reading and I'll be picking up the other books in the series. But that's more because lesbian science fiction is seriously underserved than because this is a quality example of the genre.
March 21, 2017
I tried this book because I really liked the author’s Sci-Fi series ‘Supreme Constellations’. In comparison this book is not as good but still an enjoyable read.
The book starts with a small fleet of spaceships setting off to find a new planet because the government have decided their home world must be evacuated. This is the first of my main problems with the book, the reason for the evacuation is that some of the population have a dormant gene that can cause them to mutate and gain special abilities. Why the world hasn’t embraced this? Why does this mean you have to leave your home planet? This was never really explained.
Once the mission starts the book concentrates on the journey and the developing relationship between Aniwyn and Dael. The story of the journey feels like a collection of separate short stories linked together, rather than a single story but it was still quite interesting. I thought the developing romance was well done but the book ended just as you wanted to know how it was going to develop. I presume this will be picked up later in the series, but I have the awful suspicion the next book will be about totally different characters. I have given the book 3 stars, but I would be quite prepared to increase this to 4 stars if this story is continued in the next book and not just left 'hanging'.
The book starts with a small fleet of spaceships setting off to find a new planet because the government have decided their home world must be evacuated. This is the first of my main problems with the book, the reason for the evacuation is that some of the population have a dormant gene that can cause them to mutate and gain special abilities. Why the world hasn’t embraced this? Why does this mean you have to leave your home planet? This was never really explained.
Once the mission starts the book concentrates on the journey and the developing relationship between Aniwyn and Dael. The story of the journey feels like a collection of separate short stories linked together, rather than a single story but it was still quite interesting. I thought the developing romance was well done but the book ended just as you wanted to know how it was going to develop. I presume this will be picked up later in the series, but I have the awful suspicion the next book will be about totally different characters. I have given the book 3 stars, but I would be quite prepared to increase this to 4 stars if this story is continued in the next book and not just left 'hanging'.
January 18, 2015
I think this is a great start to the series. It gives us insight into the world of the Oconodos people, even if it seems a bit vague as to how the mutations were first manifested. Dael and Spinner are strong, passionate, responsible women who have a heart of gold when defending those they care about. It was good to see the vulnerable side of Dael and the very protective, caring side of Spinner, making these characters real. The secondary characters are just as interesting and their interactions with Dael and Spinner brings much support to their plight in searching for a new home for their people. Can't wait for the next installment and I definetly recommend this book.
July 30, 2015
All Our Worlds Blog
(Thanks to Bold Strokes Books for the review copy!)
On a scouting mission to find a new planet after a series of "mutations" on their homeworld, by-the-book Admiral Caydoc and flashy ace pilot "Spinner" Seclan must learn to work together- and more than that- all while facing numerous challenges along their journey.
Most of the story is taken up with the exciting adventures the fleet runs into along the way. Spinner's talent for daring rescues saves the day multiple times, both impressing and aggravating Dael, who is no less heroic, but wants to do it properly. The fleet has to deal with refugees from a ruined planet, disease, hostile aliens, and thanks to Spinner and Dael, the heroics are all done in style. Which doesn't mean there aren't consequences- they can't win every fight.
The relationship grows slowly, as the two women come to care about each other more than they expected, despite their opposite attitudes. It takes time for both to recognize their attraction, and more to act on it, uncertain if their affections are returned.
A little more backstory might have been needed, especially about the "mutation" epidemic. Just enough of the characters' histories were revealed over time, but I'm left to wonder what really happened back home.
Advance is an exciting space adventure, hopeful even through times of darkness. The romance and action are balanced perfectly, interesting the audience as much in the fleet's mission as in Dael and Spinner's romance. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!
(Thanks to Bold Strokes Books for the review copy!)
On a scouting mission to find a new planet after a series of "mutations" on their homeworld, by-the-book Admiral Caydoc and flashy ace pilot "Spinner" Seclan must learn to work together- and more than that- all while facing numerous challenges along their journey.
Most of the story is taken up with the exciting adventures the fleet runs into along the way. Spinner's talent for daring rescues saves the day multiple times, both impressing and aggravating Dael, who is no less heroic, but wants to do it properly. The fleet has to deal with refugees from a ruined planet, disease, hostile aliens, and thanks to Spinner and Dael, the heroics are all done in style. Which doesn't mean there aren't consequences- they can't win every fight.
The relationship grows slowly, as the two women come to care about each other more than they expected, despite their opposite attitudes. It takes time for both to recognize their attraction, and more to act on it, uncertain if their affections are returned.
A little more backstory might have been needed, especially about the "mutation" epidemic. Just enough of the characters' histories were revealed over time, but I'm left to wonder what really happened back home.
Advance is an exciting space adventure, hopeful even through times of darkness. The romance and action are balanced perfectly, interesting the audience as much in the fleet's mission as in Dael and Spinner's romance. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!
July 1, 2015
This is easily my favourite Gun Brooke SF novel to date and a cracking start to what promises to be an exciting series.
Mutations (straight out of X-Men) have begun appearing on the Oconodian homeworld, causing a huge schism and terrible rioting. The unchanged have decided to look for a new home in space to keep themselves pure and separate from the changers. And so an advance fleet led by the beautiful Dael have set out to explore the universe and look for a new home. Along the way, Dael falls for her larger than life, reckless but caring CAG, Spinner.
Absolutely loved the characters - Spinner reminded me of Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica and Dael is like a young captain Janeway. They seem to gel together really nicely and the romance is believable.
The story is exciting too although a tad episodic - we have a battle with giant rats, a plague epidemic and yes an actual space battle!!! be still me beating heart. This is like... proper space opera :D
The writing is pacey and I'm excited to see that Ms. Brooke has moved away from sounding like she's writing Star Trek fanfiction - the terminology is suitably different from her SC universe. My one issue is the lack of description particularly of spinner - other than having curls I had no idea what she looked like and had to rely on the CGI cover image to build my mental image - Still not keen on the CGI covers in general, but this one's a definite improvement on Change horizons.
Over all though loved this one, its a rolicking space adventure with a decent lesbian romance. Can't wait for the next instalment.
Mutations (straight out of X-Men) have begun appearing on the Oconodian homeworld, causing a huge schism and terrible rioting. The unchanged have decided to look for a new home in space to keep themselves pure and separate from the changers. And so an advance fleet led by the beautiful Dael have set out to explore the universe and look for a new home. Along the way, Dael falls for her larger than life, reckless but caring CAG, Spinner.
Absolutely loved the characters - Spinner reminded me of Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica and Dael is like a young captain Janeway. They seem to gel together really nicely and the romance is believable.
The story is exciting too although a tad episodic - we have a battle with giant rats, a plague epidemic and yes an actual space battle!!! be still me beating heart. This is like... proper space opera :D
The writing is pacey and I'm excited to see that Ms. Brooke has moved away from sounding like she's writing Star Trek fanfiction - the terminology is suitably different from her SC universe. My one issue is the lack of description particularly of spinner - other than having curls I had no idea what she looked like and had to rely on the CGI cover image to build my mental image - Still not keen on the CGI covers in general, but this one's a definite improvement on Change horizons.
Over all though loved this one, its a rolicking space adventure with a decent lesbian romance. Can't wait for the next instalment.
November 6, 2014
Got an advance copy from netgalley for an honest review.
I have always been a fan of Gun Brooke and her space adventures and this one drew me in just like the others. To be in a world where almost everyone is changing because of a dormant gene was really interesting but her outlines always are. Dael and her nania Helden were truly wonderful and I’m glad Dael not only had her grandmother around for advice but to look after. helden might be old and has suffered a stroke but she doesn't’ let that get her down. I felt bad for Dael because being responsible for people is not fun, especially when those people start dying. Looking for a new homeland for the people of Oconodos was a journey and awakening for her and a chance at love that she finally gave in and opened her heart to Spinner was a miracle in itself.
Spinner was an interesting character too and I wasn’t surprised that people liked her ever if she is a gambling fool. She’s had a rough life but she did good for herself with a little help from a secretary that she saved on their home planet. The search to find a new world has changed a lot of things for her and bing CAG comes with responsibilities as well. Even though she takes risks she does what she can to save and protect her flight crew. Dael finally giving in gave her one more person to not only care about but protect. I also loved the personal logs they did as the journey went on. I have no problem recommending this book.
I have always been a fan of Gun Brooke and her space adventures and this one drew me in just like the others. To be in a world where almost everyone is changing because of a dormant gene was really interesting but her outlines always are. Dael and her nania Helden were truly wonderful and I’m glad Dael not only had her grandmother around for advice but to look after. helden might be old and has suffered a stroke but she doesn't’ let that get her down. I felt bad for Dael because being responsible for people is not fun, especially when those people start dying. Looking for a new homeland for the people of Oconodos was a journey and awakening for her and a chance at love that she finally gave in and opened her heart to Spinner was a miracle in itself.
Spinner was an interesting character too and I wasn’t surprised that people liked her ever if she is a gambling fool. She’s had a rough life but she did good for herself with a little help from a secretary that she saved on their home planet. The search to find a new world has changed a lot of things for her and bing CAG comes with responsibilities as well. Even though she takes risks she does what she can to save and protect her flight crew. Dael finally giving in gave her one more person to not only care about but protect. I also loved the personal logs they did as the journey went on. I have no problem recommending this book.
July 28, 2019
This was an ok start to a series, but I felt it lacked background. The information regarding the 'changers' was vague, as were the reasons for the mission itself.
The relationship between the two leads developed over a long time period, but a lot of it takes place 'off-screen'. We also get to see Spinner's take on the relationship through discussions with other characters, but Dael's feelings aren't really explored to the same extent.
There are also a few editing issues, missing words or grammatical errors, but not enough to detract too much from the story. Overall, it was a nice read and I'm interested to see what happens in the next part.
The relationship between the two leads developed over a long time period, but a lot of it takes place 'off-screen'. We also get to see Spinner's take on the relationship through discussions with other characters, but Dael's feelings aren't really explored to the same extent.
There are also a few editing issues, missing words or grammatical errors, but not enough to detract too much from the story. Overall, it was a nice read and I'm interested to see what happens in the next part.
December 5, 2014
It is a rare author who can combine sci fi and romance, and make both work. Gun Brooke has the experience to pull off this difficult combination. The sci fi elements are imaginative, and yet not so overwhelming that it’s like wading through a text book. I quickly entered the world Brooke had created, and quickly grew to like the main characters. The romance between Admiral Dael Caydoc and Commander Aniwyn “Spinner” Seclan was quite charming, and has enough authenticity to work within the demands of leadership of an armada of spaceships. My main question is, when is book two available?
November 6, 2016
Another good start into a space series from Gun Brooke.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews