In The Presence Of My Enemies

Kestrel Saga #4

by Stephen A. Fender

With a war against the Meltranians a forgone conclusion, the Unified Collaboration of Systems has agreed to a temporary truce with their once-hated enemies, the Kafarans.

But, with both sides dangerously short on manpower and vessels, one more ally is required before the new threat can be pushed back into The Darkness—a nearly lifeless void of space on the far side of the Kafaran Empire.

Under direct orders from the Unified Council, and with no official backup to support him, newly promoted Commander Shawn Kestrel must ferry a brash yet charismatic Unified ambassador to Rugor, a planetary system governed by the same ruthless pirates that have plundering the sector for years. Making matters even worse, and Shawn’s mission all the less enjoyable, is a high-ranking Kafaran officer who has also been dispatched with the small team—a Colonel with a particular dislike of Sector Command and all they stand for.

Finding himself at odds with every turn their mission takes them, and with uncertainty looming around every corner, Shawn must learn to put the past behind him in order to ensure that humanity has a future.

Genres: Science Fiction

259 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 20, 2014

About the author

Born and raised in Southern California, Stephen A. Fender joined the Navy at the age of 18. During his last deployment in 1999, he decided to take up the keyboard and write his first story.

Since that time, he's produced seven novels, the first of which was published in June of 2013.

Stephen lives with his wife and two dogs.

Reviews

[Thomas James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now THIS is a good ending

Maybe not of the whole series, but an ending that reflects what I always say, "War is stupid!". We have so much more to gain by working together than by trying to kill each other. Sometimes, it takes an even greater enemy to point that out to us. Good job, Mr. Fender.

[Bill Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still a virtual page turner

Good writing and editing. Exciting story with a coherent plot. Looking forward to #5. Here are the six more words required🤡

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely my favorite of the series so far, I really loved this book. Exciting, good movement on the story, interesting new characters and of course further development on our existing characters, some of whom I've come to be quite fond of. I love how character driven these books are because I do so love good characters.

I was super excited to see that it's to be continued but the question is when ahhhh! I hope the author continues with many more of these, I consider myself invested now in this series and can't wait to find out more!