Fringe Station

Fringe #2

by Rachel Aukes

The fast-paced sequel to Fringe Runner! Word of a fringe rebellion has been spreading, but getting recruits to sign up is proving to be a challenge. The Collective Unified Forces has put the colonies in a chokehold, restricting all actions and resources. Cut off from their supplies and potential recruits, Captain Aramis Reyne and his two fellow captains devise a reckless plan for building a torrent army. With enemies coming at them from every angle, they soon realize that no one, not even the fringe, wants them to succeed.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Audiobook, Fiction

178 pages, Paperback

Published October 31, 2016

About the author

Rachel Aukes is the bestselling author of over forty books, including 100 Days in Deadland, which made Suspense Magazine’s Best of the Year list. She writes in a number of genres, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, thriller, and more. Her series includes Waymaker Wars, Space Troopers, Flight of the Javelin, Fringe, Deadland Saga, Colliding Worlds, and Guardians of the Seven Seals. Her novels have repeatedly been Amazon Top 100 bestsellers and #1 bestsellers in Horror, Post-Apocalyptic, Space Fleet, Space Marine, Galactic Empire, Colonization, Alien Invasion, and Cyberpunk. When not writing, Rachel can be found flying old airplanes with an incredibly spoiled dog over the Iowa countryside.

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fringe Station picks up a year after Fringe Runner finished, and you're thrown straight back into the action. It's another non-stop action led book, but it's not so much in space this time as the characters spend more time on the planets around the Fringe.

This second book didn't flow as well as the first one, there's a lot of information dumps here and a lot of catch up on what happened in the first book. It's a short book anyway and there was just too much time spent explaining things.

I found the writing often confusing, I got lost a few times with where the characters were and what they were doing and I had to go back and reread pages to find the bit I'd missed. Often it was just one sentence saying that they left one place and were now somewhere completely different.

There's also a lot of telling us what the characters are doing instead of showing us.

Rachel Aukes has created a big world here, and it shows that there's a lot of thought gone into it, but I wanted to be shown around this world, not just told about it.

But despite this it is fun to read, it's space adventure escapism with a good story and it would have been 3 stars if there were just fewer information dumps.

I received a free copy from the publisher in return for an honest review.

[Steelwhisper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the fifth book by Aukes, and like all of them, they were fast, action-laden reads I couldn't put down. Can't wait for the third in the series!

[Vfields Don't touch my happy! · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This was a seamless continuation from the first book in the series.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was a quick little read but was every entertaining. It is the 2nd book in the Fringe series by Rachel Aukes. It is a Space Opera with a cast of likeable rogues who are fighting an oppressive government for equality and freedom. It has plenty of action and space battles. I highly recommend it!

[Walter Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the first novel in this series: Fringe Runner. A few months passed before I read Fringe Station. I found it difficult to connect with the action that was taking place in the first chapter, and had to go back to the proceeding novel to get oriented. From there, Rachel Aukes well-crafted and conspiracy-drenched plot line moved ahead with that mastery of characters, setting, and action that drew me to the first novel. This is a cliché-free zone, and a story delivered with the sureness of any of the top science fiction novelists today.
And then, there was an ending that left me with a WTF moment. Fringe Runner was a standalone that you could read, set down, and then either go after the following novel, or try something different. Not so, Fringe Station.
Putting myself in the place of a reader who picked up Fringe Station, and started turning the pages, I would have been extremely frustrated. Basically, you have to read Fringe Runner first, and have the “upcoming” Fringe Campaign on hand to help alleviate the shock of having just hit a wall because the story was not finished, but the novel had.
Bottom line is that that Rachel Aukes writes an action-filled, fully-realized story, but the full appreciation is only going to be achieved by reading all three novels (the third being a promise, not a surety) in sequence. I highly recommend just that.

[RobF15E · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book and book #3 before I finished the first book. I was traveling for work so I knew I'd have some time while flying and after the daily meetings. Now I have 150+ books that I have downloaded but not read, so I didn't need to buy more books, but I was hooked on the series and wanted to ensure I didn't end up "jonesing" for a book I couldn't download. I was only partially successful. I did read all 3 of these in 3-4 days, but there is a 4th book that isn't out yet..... OHHHH the agony..... Come on Rachel, get out of that cockpit and start writing. LOL Actually she has 4 books coming out this year. A new series "Colliding Worlds" is being released at the end of the month. I was fortunate enough to get an advance copy of that book and her writing is better in that series than in this one. Note, that isn't a knock on this one, just saying that one is even better.
So mini spoiler here, stop reading if spoilers bother you. Rachel starts killing off some of my favorite characters... Yep, not everyone survives... No fairy tale ending here.

So just go out and buy the books, they are definitely worth the money.

[David P. Duffy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boredom Continues In A Rebellion Story

Read “Fringe Station,” right after finishing book 1. The boredom actually increased, as did the nonsense storyline. Amazing that an experienced author with two (2) editors listed, produced such a bland, stiff story. Reading “Fringe Station,” is like eating rice cakes-no taste.

The book was fully read via Kindle Unlimited.

“Fringe Station,” is not recommended.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

As part of a series, which I have only read the first two books, this may be significant. However, as a stand alone "book" it is lacking. There are several interesting "episodes" that merely hint at an overall plot. The characters are partial, with insufficient context to be evaluated. It appears that several characters develop more fully over the series, but in this episode their allegiance is not clear.

[Silvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

I love a good sci-fi book. This wasn't good though. IT WAS GREAT! This book has it all: action, fighting, spaceships, alpha males, strong females, plus toss in some humor to round it out. The plot is suspenseful and smartly written. The characters are intelligent and have a lot of depth. Brilliant!

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

While I really enjoyed the first book of the fringe series book 2 was even more exciting. I’m looking forward to book 3. Then story so far is filled with familial love, suspense, sadness at the loss of some of the team members and determination towards a common goal. Well worth the read.

[Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining!

Rebellion, prison break, power hungry megalomaniacs (redundant, I know), retribution, forgiveness, spaceships fighting, political intrigue. All the stuff which makes fun Space Opera. On to the Campaign!

[C.A. Knutsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fast-paced action continues...

The second book in this series picks right up and continues the work that needs to be done to free the Fringe colonies from the Collective. You won't be disappointed with this one.

[Christopher B. Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun

Nice pace, good characters and storytelling. Waiting for the third book to see how things play out. It's a good read.

[Woody James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Working my way through the series. The first one was better but she cleared up some information left hanging from the first book. Looking forward to the next one.

[Adrian Chant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good book

Just finished the second book of the series and it is as good as the first, looking forward to the next one.

[DeWanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

4*

[Cecile · Rating 4 out of 5]

After having read the first of the series, my expectations were that the rest of the series would be action-filled with lots of implausibility. I wanted pure entertainment and so I’m not going to drill down on how hard the science is. On to the next one!

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

With this second book, the character POVs widen but the story itself narrows quite a bit. In fact, this felt much more like a heist book than a worlds-spanning science fiction space opera as our main characters break into a prison to free Torrent prisoners. There is plenty of action but most of it takes place on planet. Although I enjoyed the book, I have to admit that this feels like a typical 'middle book' filler that doesn't advance the main arc so much as create a mini arc to pad out enough to create a trilogy. It's not bad by any means but less satisfying as a result.

Story: A year has passed since the events in Fringe Runner. Reyn, Critch, and Heid have been hiding low but it is clear Mason and Ausyar have plans that are going to come to fruition soon. The crews need supplies now that they have been fully outlawed. But even more, they need Vim Patel freed - a move that will not only be dangerous but require a questionable alliance with another station manager. As they plot their heist, betrayals will come to haunt them yet again as they work to outmaneuver Ausyar and especially Mason.

Heid played less of a focus in this book in favor of Critch. We're also given a wider set of characters but the focus is always on Reyne and Critch (with a bit of Heid). Aukes smartly allows for more hard decisions by the crew, causing them to question what they will sacrifice and why this time their rebellion will succeed. If I had a problem with the characters, it's that we're not really shown why Mason has gone bad - we're only told over and over again through Heid and perhaps Patel that Mason has perverted the Founders goals for his own power gain. The 'bad guys' feel very nebulous and undefined, which does impact the immediacy of the danger. Ausyar is a complete cipher.

There are some very poignant moments in this book - deaths aren't showy and even tragic in their pointlessness. But the great scenes come between very large info dumps for the worldbuilding that perhaps could have been spaced out better so they weren't so egregious. As well, problematic in both books is the cliche of the 'villain boasting and revealing all his evil deeds' that left a sour note in the first book and makes a small appearance in the second. It's another example of too much tell and not enough show that hounded both books in the series.

In all, I enjoyed Fringe Station and look forward to the next book in the series. The characters are interesting and their story interesting to follow. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having grown up reading Anne McCaffrey, Space Opera tends to be a comfortable place for me. So it was a delight to be able to return to the world of Captain Aramis Reyne, Critch, Throttle, Heid and the other players. This story is complex, as nothing in the Collective is simple. As the worlds on the fringe of the Collective seek independence and full citizenship for the inhabitants, Reyne and Critch need to bury the hatchet in order to become the motivational force they once were as leaders of the Torrents. But to do some means overcoming betrayal (aka learning the truth), and seeking those who would join their ranks. But sometimes the Collective is one step ahead, and resources can be closed down at a whim. We also get to know more about a mysterious group who like to run the Collective from the shadows, so to speak.

An exciting space-romp that is a pleasure to read, with plenty of action, strange worlds and compelling characters.

[Mark Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for sci-fi. I saw Fringe Station on NetGalley, and emailed the author for a copy of Fringe Runner.

Fringe Station is an action adventure sci-fi story much like Firefly/Serinity. It felt more like a caper heist story than the nomad feeling I got from Fringe Runner. The shadowy cabal that runs the universe is much like many other shadowy cabals in other fiction, but in the case with Aukes, it felt like the “hands of blue” bad guys from Serenity.

Like Fringe Runner, I’d give Fringe Station four stars and look forward to the next novella in the series.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread. Like the characters and story plot.

[Tibanu Maximus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Airplane or buss

Ok book for killing time! Easy reading and fast pace. Characters and action plans underdeveloped. The story is nice though

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

I had not read the first book in the series, but found this a exciting space opera.
My only problem was it was too short.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good second book in the series.

Would have liked it a bit longer, but hopefully the stories continue and get longer.

[Randy Slocum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it enough to read all three books.