On a Rogue Planet

The Phoenix Adventures #3

by Anna Hackett

A sexy, deadly cyborg + a sassy salvage mechanic = a fast, action-packed space adventure

Unlucky-in-love salvage mechanic, Malin Phoenix, didn't intend to get caught up in a coup and kidnapped by a sexy cyborg. But she finds herself swept into an adventure to help the deadly, emotionless CenSec, Xander Saros, retrieve an ancient Terran artifact and save his planet.

Soon she's racing across uncharted space and is magnetically drawn to the cyborg whose strong arms and muscled body ignite a desire that burns brighter than a supernova. But Mal can never let herself forget that she can't fall in love with a cyborg who can never love her back.

The crowning glory of the Centax Security program, Xander is heavily enhanced, his emotions dampened to nothing to allow him to be the most efficient, lethal killer in the galaxy. As he and Malin hunt for the remnant of the galaxy's first computer, the Antikythera Mechanism, their quest leads them into the lair of a dangerous technomancer. But Xander can't identify his greatest threat--the enemy or the fascinating woman who's making him feel.

Note to readers: This adventure contains a lot of action (think starship battles, sci-fi pit fighting and very big robots), cool offsiders (some sexy deep space explorers and dashing treasure hunting brothers) and a steamy romance (lots of sexy times between a sassy salvage mechanic and a sexy cyborg). This is treasure hunting sci-fi style. So if you like it fast, and fun, and sexy, this is for you!

Includes preview of Book 5 of the Phoenix Adventures, Beyond Galaxy's Edge.

Genres: Romance, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Romance, Aliens, Fantasy, Ebooks, Adventure

193 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 16, 2014

About the author

I’m a USA Today bestselling romance author who’s passionate about fast-paced, emotion-filled romantic suspense and science-fiction romance. I love writing about people overcoming unbeatable odds and achieving seemingly impossible goals. I like to believe it’s possible for all of us to do the same.

I love hearing from readers and you can find me on Facebook, Instagram and my website: www.annahackett.com

Reviews

[Blacky *Romance Addict* · Rating 2 out of 5]

The artefact in this book is the world's first computer. In the book, they picked it up in their hands when actually the first computer was as big as a room. A huge room lol. Guess those astroarcheologists REALLY suck at their job haha

[new_user · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was between stars because this author doesn't get gritty or very complex -I actually like her climaxes best where she plumbs the emotional depths a bit- but she is much better at action than many I've read lately and what can I say, I love cyborgs and Anna Hackett actually develops their abilities, limits, etc. Also, love female mechanic characters. Sometimes you need a steamy, feel-good space adventure. Four stars.

[Penelope · Rating 4 out of 5]

UPDATE: ON A ROGUE PLANET was a reread for me. This is one of Anna Hackett’s earliest series and among my favorite of hers. On A ROGUE PLANET includes pretty incredible world building, one of the things I enjoy most about Anna’s books. The sexcapades and language is pretty salty and hot, and not for the faint of heart. Less intimacy scenes would improve the book, IMO. I end up skimming those.

ORIGINAL POST:
4 stars for ON A ROGUE PLANET which I truly enjoyed! The Phoenix family plans and executes their treasure and relic hunts together, but ON A ROGUE PLANET is truly cousin Malin Phoenix’s story.

Malin Phoenix/FMC is gathering salvage on a world filled with junked spaceships and discarded aircraft components when an inter-planet coup erupts. A high-level security cyborg/MMC, Gen. Xander Saros, intercepts Malin as she flees. He requests the assistance of her cousins, the Phoenix brothers, well known Treasure Hunters. An ancient Terran relic (which allows anyone in possession of it to rule his planet CenTax) was stolen during the initial attack on their capitol. Gen. Xander wants the Phoenix brothers to help him get it back, to regain his Prime leader’s right to rule, that he might vanquish the usurpers.

ON A ROUGE PLANET moved quickly with plenty of action, twists, and surprising obstacles for our heroes. The main characters Malin and Gen. Xander Saros (a security cyborg from a high-tech world) were believable as a couple and, importantly, I liked them and wanted them to survive their hunt and win their HEA. I have purchased and look forward to the next books in the Phoenix series, a new favorite of mine. I recommend ON A ROGUE PLANET for readers of action-adventures-romance novels, light fantasy or shifter romances, or light Space Opera romances with HEAs. The Phoenix series novels are always exciting, fast moving Space adventures but sexual intimacy is present, on-scene, quite frequent & steamy, especially Malin’s story with her (previously) emotionally-deadened cyborg. Therefore, I do not recommended this for young readers or those who prefer Clean novels.

ON A ROGUE PLANET could be read as a standalone title, but characters introduced earlier in the series play an important role in ON A ROGUE PLANET, as well. This is a series that continues to add depth to each character with every additional book.

READER CAUTIONS - NOT recommended for those who prefer Clean fiction. Not appropriate for YA readers.
PROFANITY - Yes. Strong language used.
VIOLENCE - Yes. The setting moves to a world of violent “pit” (illegal arena) fighting - to the death - and onto other similarly dangerous worlds in the search for the stolen artifact.
SEXUAL SITUATIONS - Yes. Adult situations beginning in Chapter 9. ON A ROGUE PLANET is a Space Opera adventure story with a strong sexual romance - the awakening of a cyborg’s love.

[Mstcat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short and quick review of On a Rogue Planet by Anna Hackett. On a Rogue Planet is the story of Malin Phoenix, female cousin to the Phoenix brothers. It is also the third book in the The Phoenix Adventures. Malin is a salvage mechanic whose love interest is a cyborg. Yes, a CYBORG! Okay, I seriously love this series. It's so much fun! We have action, adventure, and of course love. The characters are well developed and they are characters that you care about. The author has a great voice and is a master at writing sci-fi romance. I could go on and on singing the praises of this book, but action, adventure, and love pretty much sums it up.

This isn't a stand-alone title in my opinion so I think you'll want to read the first two books of the series for full enjoyment. That said, if you are a fan of sci-fi and romance don't worry you won't be disappointed! I'm giving this a 4 out of 5 rating.

*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review*

[Gail Koger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read

Nice, Fast paced book. I enjoyed the characters and story line. I look forward to reading more in the series

[Alex (HEABookNerd) · Rating 4 out of 5]

ON A ROGUE PLANET was a great action packed sci-fi romance and I particularly liked the storyline and characters in this one so they made it extra good for me. I loved the concept of the planet Centax, where everyone gets enhancements and cyborg parts. But the more enhancements a person gets, the more their emotions are dampened. Xander is covered in enhancements and he only knows duty, loyalty, and honor to his planet and his people. But when he meet Malin, things start to get complicated and he finds himself at odds with his priorities.

I loved how Malin treated Xander like a human from the very beginning and never looked down on him for his mechanical parts. She had a genuine appreciation for Centax from her previous visits with her father and the salvage relationships she had developed. She accepted Xander exactly as he was and I loved that. Xander quickly developed and accepted his emotions even considering all we're told about his emotionless state. I would have liked a little more tension and struggle in this area of Xander's life but considering this was only about 200 pages there's only so much space.

We also get introduced to the "other Phoenix brothers" who are cousins to the brothers. They're a little wild, intense, and always up for the challenge and I can't wait for their books!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am COMPLETELY in love with the crazy that pops up in these books. I mean, I was smitten with the treasure hunting alone. When cyborgs get thrown into the mix, I'm downright giddy. (That's a not-so-subtle hint to all the authors reading this that I am LONGING for more cyborg books. LONGING FOR THEM!)

So. Xander and Malin. Malin is an adventurous woman with a big heart. Xander is the supposedly emotionless cyborg who needs her help. Given his lack of social skills (because what do emotionless cyborgs need with social skills?), Xander makes plenty of mistakes with Mal. But his brutal honesty about what he wants also wins her over. His muscles might have helped, too.

Flat out, I liked Xander's battle with his feelings. He clearly feels something, but a good CenSec can't let emotion get in the way of his mission. But Mal's like magnetic north and he can't resist her.

I love it when the big, stoic ones fall.

Sexy times, a dangerous game of cat and mouse (err, person and robot?), and Xander's mission to save his planet had me hooked. *slow thumbs up*

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

[Maddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say... I obviously have a thing for emotionally cold heroes that eventually see the light and fall in love *dreamy sigh*. Plus cyborgs. Like come on. Cyborgs! Cannot resist that.
Seriously though? I liked the hero. But I like the heroine more. She was so fierce, so strong, awfully smart and capable, and endured every hardship without complaint. She was very realistic towards the whole "adventure" and "fling" thing and I liked how she didn't go into girly fits and giggles. Of course some chapters still required some facepalms and muttered choice words, because well..me. If I could choose the best man from the guys in the series, it would be Xander. He took everything so literally, it was hilarious :D However, his fierce loyalty, dedication, single minded focus on heroine's happiness and safety... I am in fictional love...

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a 3.5-4 for me. I'd like to rate it higher because I really enjoyed the strong scifi aspect but I just didn't really get into the story.

[Ashley (Red-Haired Ash Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Series: Phoenix Adventures #3
Rating: 4 stars - It was really good

Malin Phoenix is on a salvage trip when she finds herself in the middle of a coup. She finds herself teaming up with an emotionless CenSex, Xander Saros, to retrieve an ancient Terran artifact to save his planet.

This was a wonderful fast paced sci-fi romance. Malin and Xander were a wonderful couple with amazing chemistry. I always enjoy a cyborg romance where the hero struggles with feeling emotions again, and Xander fits this perfectly. Xander is a protective alpha male but until he meets Malin his life is all about his planet’s security. I really enjoyed watching him struggle with his feelings and explore his sexual fantasies.

Malin was a wonderful heroine. She was sweet, tough, and smart. I loved that she was in a profession that was male dominated still and that she loves making souped-up vehicles. From the very beginning she treated Xander like a human, even though everyone else saw him as just a cyborg with no emotions. I really enjoyed Xander and Malin’s adventure of finding the artifact and falling in love.

Also this book introduces us to the other Phoenix brothers who are Dathan and the gang’s cousins. It was an interesting first look at them and they seem to be intense and wild, much like these three brothers. I can’t wait to learn more about them and their explorations in space.

You can also find my reviews at Red-Haired Ash Reads.

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published at Reading Reality

Take a smidgen of Firefly, a pinch of Babylon 5, a tiny bit of Deep Space Nine and a heaping helping of Linnea Sinclair’s Games of Command, and you’ll have something that might get within a couple of parsecs of Anna Hackett’s On a Rogue Planet - and I mean that in a totally awesome way.

So far, this series has simply been oodles of science fiction romance fun, while still telling a terrific science fiction story.

We have a bunch of space mercenaries, except these aren’t your usual mercenaries, well, not unless Indiana Jones was conducting his treasure hunting in outer space. (Wait a minute, there was this ship with the funny name and the furry co-pilot...but I digress, just a bit)

The Phoenix brothers, as introduced in the first two books of this series, (At Star's End and In the Devil's Nebula) are intergalactic treasure hunters. One brother is the business brains - also the captain - one is the pilot, and one is the xenoarchaeologist. Notice that none of these guys is a mechanic.

Phoenix Enterprises is a family company, so their engineer is also family. Malin Phoenix is more than a bit like Kaylee in Firefly, but not quite as innocent. She also isn’t just a mechanic or engineer, she also a genius at salvage, which is where this story begins.

She’s in the salvage yard on Centax, picking out the most excellent scrap with a friend, when the planet is attacked and she ends up running for her life across the salvage yard with a cyborg who wants to hire her brothers to steal the artifact that confers power on Centax.

Except Xander isn’t just a cyborg, he is the head of Centax planetary security, and he just got caught with his figurative pants down as his planet was betrayed. He’ll do anything to get it back. (That his brother is the planet’s political leader and has been captured also figures into his decision just a bit, even though Centax Security cyborgs aren’t supposed to feel much in the way of emotions. Xander clearly starts out with more feelings than he expresses or believes he has.)

When Xander seeks out Malin in the scrap yard, his only intent is to get off planet and hire her cousins. Meeting Malin adds a whole new dimension to his plans. He finds within himself the sense that he MUST protect and save her, no matter what the cost. It’s entirely possible that the EMP weapon that temporarily fried his cyber-circuits knocked out all his emotional filters.

But no matter how hard he tries, he’s never able to get those emotional filters back up. Everything else, absolutely yes. Suppress his growing feelings for Malin, absolutely no.

Malin can’t help but be attracted to Xander, at least when he shows her his more human side. The problem is that Malin knows that Centax Security cyborgs simply don’t have feelings. And even if Xander did, his planet needs him way more than one mechanic possibly could make up for. She knows he’s going to rip her heart out when he leaves. She just doesn’t know if he even has a heart to break.

Escape Rating A-: Just because I recognized some of the story's antecedents doesn’t mean I didn’t have one hell of a good time reading it. And want more.

Linnea Sinclair is an awesome fairy godmother for any SFR story to have. She always did an excellent job of integrating the romance fully into the science fiction world she created, and she always created a fascinating SF world, even if, or perhaps because, some of them were places you wouldn’t want to live in.

Xander Soros is very much like Branden Kel-Patten in Games of Command. Not just because he is a combination of man and machine, but because Xander, like Branden, is not supposed to have emotions. He’s certainly not supposed to feel love or even lust. Discovering that he does feel, and that he can love, is a revelation for Xander, and a miracle that Malin can’t make herself believe in.

She has a history of falling for men who use her, then let her know that they just aren’t interested in a woman with engine grease under her fingernails. As far as she is concerned, Xander is just a different kind of wrong, and she can’t compete with an entire planet that needs him back on his “A” game.

The prize they hunt for is an old Terran computer. While I still can’t figure out which one it might be, the point is that the rulership of Centax still belongs to whoever manages to hold and keep the old thing. Their quest to find it and steal it back leads to a planet without a star that travels its own route through uncharted space. The rogue collector on that rogue planet runs Xander and Malin through a robotic gauntlet that tests their ingenuity, their will to survive, and their ability to work as a team.

When they win through, Xander believes he’s won everything he never knew he wanted. Malin is certain it’s the beginning of the end. Which one of them is right?

If you enjoy SFR, particularly if you miss Linnea Sinclair’s marvelous tales, take a look at Anna Hackett’s Phoenix Brothers. You’ll be glad you did.

p.s. If you’re wondering about that SF pedigree I mentioned at the beginning, well, Malin is Kaylee’s sister from another universe, and they have to go into the uncharted black. By way of a stable wormhole (Deep Space Nine) that operates like a Babylon 5 jumpgate, complete with hardware. Enjoy!

[JML · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

Wow! I don't know what I was expecting but this far surpassed it. This was a splendid adventure filled with terrific action and a beautiful love story between two people learning what real love is. I love Anna Hackettt's version of. Cyborgs. She does a wonderful job of exploring feelings and what it means to be human with some extraordinary enhancements. Loved it.

[sharon e hochstetler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh. My. Loved it.

We only saw Malin briefly before. Now we meet her and feel her spunky determination. She is very smart and very funny. She calls for a cyborg intent on saving his planet and people. Xander enlist the help of the Phoenix brothers and Malin for a very dangerous mission. Loved it!!!!

[Kara Prem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty fun story with a crazy battle against robots in a maze towards the end of the book. Malin, the Phoenix brother's mechanic cousin happens to be on a planet when a coup occurs. She rescues a CenSec cyborg (well, he finds her and they escape the planet together). In order to restore order to his planet, Xander must find an ancient Earth artifact and does so with Malin and her cousins.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars A solid sci fi romance with feisty salvage mechanic and supposedly emotionless cyborg who fall in love while saving a planet from the bad guys. Rounded up for the very creative addition of the rogue planet that wanders the galaxy and its creepy technomancer owner with his creations and obsessive love turned to deathtrap.

[Aurrora James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and imaginative

I really liked Xander and some of the situations he and Malin got into were so creative and amazing. Especially Krypto. It's a good read but there are some annoying errors that took me out of the story.

[Patricia Kearns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phoenix adventures

These are a must read.👍
Indiana Jones eat your heart out....... these would make a fabulous films.
A Planet taken over with the help of mercenaries giants.
Valuable artifact stolen.
There is so much in this book. Great read.

[Jeniver Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book from Anna Hackett🤩.I love it. The action and romance was non stop. The main characters were a possesive alpha male and a loyal and beautiful female. I could not get enough of this book.

[Jennifer Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun series!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malin is great and so is Xander. Non-stop action with a cyborg that isn't quite invincible and a woman that had to save him. The Terren artifact was part of the first computer.

[Kbird · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great. Fast paced. Intense. Sexy.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book.

Like all Anna Hackett books this was a great story. I didn't expect the twists and turns. Can't wait to read the rest of the series.

[Connie Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another beautiful, amazing story.

Xander and Malin is a truly amazing story. This one was another pageturner! Anna has once again created truly amazing series.

[Heli - So Many Books - So Little Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Vera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do I have a thing for this genre? Or do I just have a thing for Anna’s books? TBD. 🧐

[Jenny Delandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

See review under Phoenix Adventures box set

[Heike]

I did not finish this book, thus I do not think I deserved the right to rate it. Most of the time the books I don't finish are just not the type of books I personally like while others may cherish them.

This book had all I could wish for: strong heroine who likes to play with tools, Cyborg hero *sigh*, aliens, space travel, treasure hunt, and last, but not least, a love interest.

That works so well for Linnea Sinclair, Ann Aguirre, G.S. Jennsen, Rachel Bach, Lindsay Buroker and even Ruby Lionsdrake (who is only a pseudonym Lindsay is writing under when she wants to include some rather detailed sex scenes), yet it fails here completely.

The characters are so dramatic, overreacting, and unbelievable as the story line is somewhat ridiculous all around. The heroine runs into a Cyborg, she knows that he can not feel emotions, yet she gets already hot when he touches her once. He saves her life (he better, since he endangered it first ...), than in utter gratitude she saves his life against a monster that even the Cyborg had problems to kill (tough girl ...); he wants to steal her ship, which seems to be fine with her ... and so on. When he tried later to have sex with her in public to maintain their cover, and the outcome on this adventure was so freak'n predictable that I was wondering why they did not just cut to the chase ... I gave up. 31%.

Lots of typos, words missing, wrong word use, goofs in the storyline (Lala was supposed to stay home, yet she was on the ship a page later ... why?).

This said - this book is more romance than sifi, and I am sure as this it is really not bad. But for readers who like their romances somewhat believable, a relationship growing, a story to follow where one could say "*yupp* - she/ he sure is amazing but I could imagine this happening" this book has too much of a dime novel.

[Jen (That's What I'm Talking About) · Rating 3 out of 5]

On a Rogue Planet is the third exciting adventure following the treasure-hunting Phoenix brothers and their cousins. The prior two stories shared how two of the three brothers found happiness and love while saving the galaxy. For the third time out into space, Ms. Hackett shares the story of Phoenix cousin Malin Phoenix. Loving her life as a salvage mechanic, she’s always felt lacking in the girly-girly department and unlucky in love.

While on the cyborg planet of Centax, Malin gets caught up in a violent coup and helps the head of Centax Security (military), Xander Saros, escape the uprising. She and her cousins are hired to help locate and retrieve an ancient Terran artifact that will allow Xander to restore order to his home world. What follows is a whirlwind of crazy action and intense emotional breakthroughs.

On a Rogue Planet is full of intense action, starting right from the get go. The classic sci-fi setting coupled with the non-stop excitement reminded me of something I’d see on Star Trek (which is a good thing). I enjoyed the multitude of humanoid beings that filled the pages, especially that the good guys aren’t always human.

Xander was identified for military action at a very early age. With the number of implants in his body, his emotions are dampened to such a point that he comes across as cold, hard, and scary. However, during the uprising, he was attacked and his emotional filters and dampeners were damaged. For the first time he experiences anger, lust, and more. I like how Xander's ability to experience emotions springs to life because of Mal and that it’s not just desire he feels, but also jealousy, possession, rage, joy, etc. His emotional growth is fulfilling, especially since it leads to finding love with Mal.

Although Mal is secure with herself, she is not always comfortable in her own skin. She has been hurt too many times in her past and won’t allow herself to fall for an emotionless cyborg who’s primary duty is to his planet. Telling herself that she’s just helping Xander experience some of the more pleasurable aspects of life, Mal assumes he too will leave. This makes her journey to love satisfying as she opens up to him, even knowing he will leave her.

Together the couple is smokin’ hot. WOW! Their sex scenes are passionate and Xander’s struggle with feelings of possessiveness made my heart race a bit. I really liked the pair together, which made me wonder why I didn’t feel a strong connection to the couple. Unfortunately, I think it was that the story had too many close calls and the action scenes started to overwhelm me. I found that towards the end, I just wanted the pair to get the artifact and move on.

One other thing that took me out of the story for a short while was the introduction of three additional Phoenix cousins. Instead of being excited by the new settings and more characters, I fell like I was being set up for subsequent books. Like when you are completely into a TV show and the story pauses so the developer can introduce characters who will become a spinoff show. It disrupts the flow of the current story, and I found I was annoyed rather than interested.

Overall, On a Rogue Planet is a fun adventure with plenty of action and some pretty hot scenes. While I didn't feel a huge connection to the pair, I did like them together and enjoyed watching them develop and mature throughout the book. The ending, while predictable, was emotionally satisfying. I’d recommend this enjoyable read to fans of sci-fi and adventure.

My Rating: B- Liked It, but I had a few small issues
Originally posted at That's What I'm Talking About
Review copy provided by author.

[Book Gannet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. Romance and adventure set in outer space, with aliens, ancient artifacts and sexy cyborgs – what’s not to love? And this time the Phoenix in question is the quiet female mechanic, Malin, who usually stays at home working with her beloved salvage and staying far away from treasure hunts. Until the day she gets caught up in a hostile planetary coup and ends up rescuing a sexy cyborg who isn’t nearly as emotionless as he’d like to believe.

I love Malin. She’s just an ordinary mechanic going about her day when events overtake her, but that doesn’t mean she’s incapable of being every bit as brave and daring as those infamous cousins of hers. In fact, given the chance, she more than proves herself. Not that she’s actively looking for adventure, but when the opportunity arises she’ll do anything to keep those she cares for safe – and that soon includes Xander.

Regarded by most as more machine than man, Xander has no emotions. He protects, that’s his whole purpose. Until he meets Malin. The way such a fragile seeming woman continually surprises him with her strength and bravery undermines everything he thought he knew – it’s no wonder he falls for her. Especially when she sees all of him and is neither disgusted nor frightened, nor ever considers him less than human. She’s not afraid to defend him, even when he doesn’t need it.

Not that things are perfect between them. Malin’s been hurt before in romantic situations, while Xander has absolutely no experience with emotions at all, so they both make mistakes. Most of them are Xander’s, of course, since he says hurtful things and keeps trying to push her away, even when he can’t help but move closer. Yet a lovely bond builds between them despite all that, made up of need and curiosity, affection and protection. They each see the good in each other that other people ignore, and when they work together they’re an incredible team.

That’s one of the things I love most about this series – the partnerships that form, which go far beyond just the physical. Xander and Malin might appear very different physically, but as a team they’re equals, balancing out their strengths, weaknesses, intelligence and skills. I loved how they became friends as well as lovers, and really got to know each other amidst the stress and excitement of their mission.

Then there’s the universe this is set in, with its dangerous worlds, lawless space stations and intriguing wandering planets. Each setting is different, with its own set of challenges and filled with incredible details and fascinating characters – many of whom are less than nice. We also get to meet the other Phoenix brothers, three more male cousins of Malin’s that are every bit as troublesome as the ones we already know. Oh, and Nera Darc makes another lightning appearance to mess some more with Nik’s head. I am so looking forward to reading their story.

Exploring emotions and inner humanity, with heaps of tech and mechanical moments, I think this has been my favourite of the series so far. The action is compelling, the characters are wonderful and the romance is gorgeous. I’m officially hooked on all things Phoenix.

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

On planet Centax, almost everybody has cybernetic implants. We aren’t given the gory details of the different types and what they do, but it seems to be a Better Faster Stronger idea. Centaxian government’s legitimacy is determined by possessing a certain artifact: the Antikythera Mechanism. At the beginning of the story, there’s a coup that also involves theft of the artifact. Malin Phoenix, salvager/mechanic, gets caught up in the violence. Xander Saros, head of Centax Security (essentially the planet’s police chief) rescues her, and accompanies her off-planet to find the Antikythera Mechanism out in space.
A side effect of all those implants is a dulled emotion. Effects are additive with the number of upgrades, and Xander has a ton. His emotional inhibitors get damaged when he overloads his systems to save the ship he and Malin area escaping on, and so he begins to fall for our heroine. Xander is the rare badass alpha who’s not a jerk, so I can see him becoming an adored hero for many.
Mal is a lovely, geeky young lady who is uncertain of her appeal because she’s been denigrated as ‘not a real woman’ for her technical talents and the grease that’s always on her overalls. Ouch. I’ve encountered this attitude (I’m a programmer), and it can sting something fierce. In Malin’s case, someone she loved pulled this one on her. This informs some of her behavior at the end of the story, so be kind to her—it can take quite a lot to convince people that they are lovable and desirable when they’ve only heard otherwise.
One thing that made me have to stop reading and laugh: I thought a military cyborg wearing black boxers so far in our future in space was incongruous somehow. I hope that isn’t a spoiler, since it’s not plot-relevant. In the future, people wear the same clothes we do, apparently!
Xander loves Malin’s skills and ingenuity, and thinks they add to her appeal. The scenes mentioned where the couple are just hanging out together and working led me to believe that a relationship was workable. The action sequences keep everything high octane, and the camaraderie between Malin and her family had me smiling.
I received a copy for review purposes.