Under Cover

Endurance #3

by A.C. Spahn

Alternate Cover Editon: B00IAOMQ3C

Areva Praphasat can't shoot anyone who is looking directly at her. Since she's a cop, this causes problems. Since she also works on a spaceship attempting to undermine an alien empire that wants to invade Earth, those problems grow a bit out of control.


When an espionage mission goes awry and Areva is captured by a group of spidery aliens who can't understand her language, she faces the reality that her desire to stay out of sight may hinder her work more than she realized.

Genres: Science Fiction

55 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 31, 2014

About the author

A. C. Spahn wanted to be an interstellar starship captain when she grew up. Since nobody was hiring, she became a writer instead.

She enjoys breaking boards with her fists, organizing messy rooms, and debating the physics of fictional technologies. When not commanding imaginary starships, she lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and kids.

She is the author of the USA Today bestselling Endurance series, the “Cara Watt, P.I.” stories on Daily Science Fiction, and other short pieces published by Flash Fiction Online, Star*Line, and more.

Reviews

[Ken Finlay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lieutenant Areva Praphasat is a shadow of her former self.
Haunted by her past - she's a killer who can no longer kill if the target is looking at her.
In this episode of the Endurance series she realises she can no longer function as a crew member - it's time to quit the United Earth Law Enforcement fleet.
"Under Cover" sees the Endurance seeking, and finding, another alien world controlled by the Haxozin. But, this time round, things don't go so well and Areva, Chris and Joyce, fall into enemy hands.
Can Capt. Withers find them before it is too late?
It's an interesting read and Areva is a complex character who is let down by the shortness of the novella. We get an idea of where her problem originated but there is no depth to it, or her.
I am curious as to whether the series would have been better had the author brought the novellas and short stories to full novel length. Personally, I think it would have been an improvement - but I am not Amy Spahn and I am sure she had her reasons for writing it as she did.
A solid 3 Stars.

[Scott Wozniak · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters got better--and so did the plot. Fun adventure (with comedy).

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

At least this installment passes the Bechdel test. The rest of it, including the back story for Areva's issues, eh.

[Jayda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given this 3.5 stars if I could. The story was good, but the ending felt unfinished. Overall, I did enjoy it.

[Shauna Bickley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read all three of the books so far in this series, and while they are more of a novella length, the author has created credible and convincing characters and none more so than Areva.

Areva's quirks puzzled me in the earlier books, and appeared somewhat over the top even for this crew. In this third installment, Areva is one of the point of view characters, and so we learn about her past and the incident that caused her quirky characteristics.

She enjoys working on board Endurance, but after an incident when she is forced to recognise her ‘problem’ is impacting on her ability to do her job, she has to do some deep soul searching about her future.

While this episode of the series takes place entirely in space, Any Spahn has created a very character-driven book, and I was rooting for Areva to escape the alien prison and to find an answer to her personal situation that she can live with. The ending poses a solution I didn’t want (or foresee) and I’m looking forward to more in this series

I received this book free from the author in return for an honest review.