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Elite: Dangerous #10
Elite: And Here The Wheel
Written by John Harper under official license from the creators of, and based in the vast universe of, the seminal space trading computer game Elite:Dangerous.
Robert Garry, ex-military officer, wants nothing more than to maintain his integrity and his team’s safety despite a career change to pirate leader but a cargo freighter he targets proves to be holding much more than he bargained for.
Will he escape with his own life, let alone the lives of his crew?
He has always shunned the ‘folk hero’ label but is he in danger of becoming an arch villain in the process…
10% of the proceeds of this book will be donated to the Wellington Cancer Society, a local division of a New Zealand wide charity that helps combat cancer with education, prevention, care, support and also runs local projects.
Robert Garry, ex-military officer, wants nothing more than to maintain his integrity and his team’s safety despite a career change to pirate leader but a cargo freighter he targets proves to be holding much more than he bargained for.
Will he escape with his own life, let alone the lives of his crew?
He has always shunned the ‘folk hero’ label but is he in danger of becoming an arch villain in the process…
10% of the proceeds of this book will be donated to the Wellington Cancer Society, a local division of a New Zealand wide charity that helps combat cancer with education, prevention, care, support and also runs local projects.
- GenresScience Fiction
312 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 30, 2014
17 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
About the author
John Harper
4 books3 followersJohn Harper is a science fiction novelist from Wellington New Zealand and the author of the upcoming Elite:Dangerous novel 'Elite:And Here The Wheel', due for publication early 2014 by Fantastic Books Publishing.
John’s writing career began in his first year of school when he stood before the school assembly and read out his ‘novelisation’ of the movie Short Circuit, a picture book of six pages. He spent the rest of his school years writing endless pieces of original and fan fiction, most of the action revolving around his first original hero 'Jack Hamilton', Awesome Ass Kicking Extroadinaire and Pontiac driver.
John likes spending time with his two children, and he follows cricket and the V8 Supercars religiously. He is a passionate writer at night and occupies his days working as a chartered mechanical engineer.
John’s writing career began in his first year of school when he stood before the school assembly and read out his ‘novelisation’ of the movie Short Circuit, a picture book of six pages. He spent the rest of his school years writing endless pieces of original and fan fiction, most of the action revolving around his first original hero 'Jack Hamilton', Awesome Ass Kicking Extroadinaire and Pontiac driver.
John likes spending time with his two children, and he follows cricket and the V8 Supercars religiously. He is a passionate writer at night and occupies his days working as a chartered mechanical engineer.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 5, 2014
I've read the galley. Fantastic. Can't wait for the audio and Ebook
September 6, 2016
A fast paced journey around a few parts of the Elite universe, with pirates and the odd secret agent thrown in to keep things interesting.
August 30, 2014
This is an action adventure played out across a wide canvass. Set in the world of Elite: Dangerous it’s the 5th of Fantastic Books Publishing’s Elite offerings that I’ve read. Having been bowled over by the first four, I set out with some trepidation into this one, knowing it was going to be different – every book has had a completely different structure and feel – but not sure if it would be as good as the rest. Well, I’m so pleased to be able to say that it is! It’s completely different in setting, tone and pace, but like the others, a delight to read. And Here the Wheel follows the trials and tribulations of a famed pirate, but nothing, including his fame, is quite what it seems. Throwing the pirate into an enforced and uneasy alliance with a woman who hates all pirates with a passion is a useful trick to generate tension and drama – and tension and drama abound in this action-packed space adventure – but the conclusion when it arrives is satisfyingly unpredictable.
July 26, 2014
For me this novel (perhaps alone out of all the Elite novels released so far) brings back memories of the two game sequels; Frontier 2 and Frontier: First Encounters. As I read through the books it felt exactly like I did when I used to play those games...and fond memories they are!
The lead characters are more complex than they first seem and John does a great job of taking you into a brutal, unforgiving Universe. Just what you'd expect from this type of book!
The lead characters are more complex than they first seem and John does a great job of taking you into a brutal, unforgiving Universe. Just what you'd expect from this type of book!
August 15, 2014
An excellent book for would-be explorers for the players of Elite Dangerous as it gives you a few clues of where interesting places might be found without giving away their location. For those that just want a space adventure, it has everything from from chases in spacecraft to chases in cars.
April 30, 2022
I would not recommend this book for anyone who has not played Elite Dangerous. That added a star for me, as otherwise I’d rate this book at 1 star. The plot is okay but predictable. I imagine anyone not familiar with the universe of Elite Dangerous would be pretty lost, as the book doesn’t do much of explanation .
The writing is… not great. I was especially annoyed by the dialogue, which was so melodramatic, so overdrawn, trying to garner characterization and sympathy on the cheap. By the end I was visibly cringing at some of the dialogue.
The writing is… not great. I was especially annoyed by the dialogue, which was so melodramatic, so overdrawn, trying to garner characterization and sympathy on the cheap. By the end I was visibly cringing at some of the dialogue.
November 18, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this chaotic and explosive blues brothers police chase around the galaxy.
October 6, 2024
Doesn’t have a sequel :(
June 5, 2017
This is definitely my favourite of the Elite: Dangerous books I've read so far. I've not read all the ED official fiction, but I've read the ones that are most talked about and, for me, this story is the best. It's a great Frontier: First Encounters story as well as an ED one, plus the number of characters with varying, unknown motivations kept me thinking all the way through. And, the end - wow, I totally didn't see that coming at all! It's a nice twist that gives another perspective on the main characters and enhances the poignancy of the grand finale - I like the way that it opens up options for follow-on stories.
For someone who's not familiar with the ED or FFE universes, don't worry. This is a great story with a good range of interesting characters, plenty of action, lots of stuff to keep you guessing and the author manages to produce some excellent mental imagery. It's not hard sci-fi, but unlike many "adventure in space" stories, in this book space and spaceships are fundamental and essential to the story, rather than being tagged on window dressing.
Now I've read the book a second time I realise there are a few subtle loose ends that could lead the wider story elsewhere in future, which I hope the author gets the opportunity to do. It will be best if the story can continue in game, personally I think it's got great potential, many different avenues to explore and mysteries to unravel.
For someone who's not familiar with the ED or FFE universes, don't worry. This is a great story with a good range of interesting characters, plenty of action, lots of stuff to keep you guessing and the author manages to produce some excellent mental imagery. It's not hard sci-fi, but unlike many "adventure in space" stories, in this book space and spaceships are fundamental and essential to the story, rather than being tagged on window dressing.
Now I've read the book a second time I realise there are a few subtle loose ends that could lead the wider story elsewhere in future, which I hope the author gets the opportunity to do. It will be best if the story can continue in game, personally I think it's got great potential, many different avenues to explore and mysteries to unravel.
August 21, 2014
While it gives a tour-de-force of the factions of the Elite universe, it does so by lurching from overly frenetic action sequences to long drawn out exposition dumps and back again, over and over again.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews