The Ion Raider

The Dark Angels #2

by Ian Whates

The sequel to the Amazon UK #1 best seller in SF Books Pelquin's Comet.

As Drake receives his most unusual assignment yet – one which he suspects is a trap but knows he can’t refuse – his former crew, the notorious Dark Angels, are being hunted down one by one and murdered. Determined to find those responsible
before they find her, Leesa teams up with another former Dark Angel, Jen, and together they set out to thwart the mysterious organization known as Saflik, little dreaming where that path will lead them.

Praise for Pelquin’s Comet:
“This novel is a good, unashamed, rip-roaring piece of space opera that hits the spot…” – The Financial Times

“One of the most enjoyable Sci-fi books of the year, fast-moving, full of character and great fun.” – Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke Award winning author

“A natural story-teller, Whates works his material with verve, obvious enjoyment, and an effortlessly breezy prose style.” – The Guardian

“Whates’ space opera hits all the right notes.” – Simon Morden, Philip K Dick Award-winning author

Genres: Science Fiction

242 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 28, 2017

About the author

Ian Whates lives in a comfortable home down a quiet cul-de-sac in an idyllic Cambridgeshire village, which he shares with his partner Helen and their pets – Honey the golden cocker spaniel, Calvin the tailless black cat and Inky the goldfish (sadly, Binky died a few years ago).

Ian’s earliest memories of science fiction are fragmented. He remembers loving Dr Who from an early age and other TV shows such as Lost in Space and Star Trek, but a defining moment came when he heard a radio adaptation of John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids. From that moment on he was hooked and became a frequent haunter of the local library, voraciously devouring the contents of their SF section.

This early love of science fiction manifested most tellingly during his school days, when he produced an SF murder mystery as homework after being set the essay title “The Language of Shakespeare”, much to the bemusement of his English teacher.

Ian’s first published stories appeared in the late 1980s in small press magazines such as Dream and New Moon Quarterly, after which he took a break from writing in order to research his chosen fields of science fiction and fantasy. In other words, he read copious amounts of both. Clearly the research was extensive, because he published nothing further for some seventeen years. In the early 2000s he made the decision to pursue writing seriously, joining the Northampton SF Writers Group in 2004 after being introduced to its chairman, Ian Watson.

In 2006 he started submitting stories again, and has subsequently been surprised at how many otherwise eminently sensible people have chosen to publish him. A couple have even appeared in the science journal Nature, and one, “The Gift of Joy”, even found its way onto the five-strong shortlist for best short story in the British Science Fiction Association Awards. And it didn’t come last! Ironically, the award was actually won by Ken MacLeod’s “Lighting Out”, a piece Ian had commissioned, edited and published in the NewCon Press anthology disLOCATIONS (2007).

In 2006 Ian launched independent publisher NewCon Press, quite by accident (buy him a pint sometime and he’ll tell you about it). Through NewCon he has been privileged to publish original stories from some of the biggest names in genre fiction, as well as provide debuts to some genuinely talented newcomers. The books, their covers and contents have racked up an impressive array of credits – four BSFA Awards, one BSF Award to date, inclusion in ‘Year’s Best’ anthologies and recommendations and honourable mentions from the likes of Gardner Dozios and Locus magazine.

In addition to his publishing and writing, Ian is currently a director of both the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) and the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA), editing Matrix, the online news and media reviews magazine, for the latter.

His first two completed novels are both due to appear in early 2010: City of Dreams and Nightmare via Harper Collins’ imprint Angry Robot, and The Noise Within from Rebellion imprint Solaris, with sequels to follow. When not pinching himself to make sure this is all really happening, Ian is currently beavering away at the sequels… honest!

Reviews

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second book in the Angels series after 2015's Pelquin's Comet and definitely not last as it ends on a sort of cliffhanger, though it has some closure too as mysteries are solved, twists are revealed and the stage is prepared for the decisive encounter that will determine the fate of life, universe and everything as befits a space opera with super powerful presumed long ago dead aliens and their strange artifacts that humanity plunders for various uses

For a review of the first book (actually both on original read and on a re-read in may 2017 on publication of The Ion Raider) see here:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

For this one, i will only add that it is non-stop action from the first page when we are introduced to another former dark Angel, Jen/Shadow through the pov of the assassin just preparing to kill her and her husband in their middle of nowhere rural farm (hint: it doesn't go well for the killer!) and then it follows both the known dark Angels (Leesa/Jen) trying to stay away from the killers set on the trail of all of them and then Corbin who is given another mission scouting a potential investment involving an Elder cache, mission that turns to be much deadlier than the Pelquin one - again as expected

Fun, fat, furious, a great ending (sort of a cliffhanger though not quite) promising more for the next volume; highly recommended and another top 25 of the year

[Jojo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Pelquin's Comet followed immediately by The Ion Raider. My thoughts on both books are grouped together here.

Both books were enjoyable if what you are looking for is 1930/40's space opera. The characters could fit into the Marvel universe with special powers enabled by artifacts from the Elder caches.

The big problem with Pelquin's Comet was that we have no real idea who the Dark Angels were, what they did or why they were no more. A prequel was needed.

The Ion Raider is a mishmash of disconnected events that begins at some future time to Pelquin's Comet with no explanation as to what has occurred between the two books, what the characters did after their big score or what happened to the bombastic captain and his partner. Drake and Leesa and some minor characters are carried over from the first book.

The Ion Raider starts out interestingly but overall, the book reads disjointed, as if it was rushed to be written as some sort of contract requirement. It jumps to and fro until the ending, which leaves the reader completely hanging. Not a good way to end a book!

[Les · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following up the very entertaining Pelquin's Comet [my review HERE], this second book of an obviously ongoing series strikes pretty much the same chord, being a fast-moving short novel with many of the hallmarks of solid space opera. The story follows on chronologically from Comet and I'd say that you really need to have read that first to get the full grasp of the plot here. It continues to build the story, introducing more key players while also revealing more tantalizing facts and hints about the Dark Angels as well as the ancient and mysterious Elder aliens and their caches of artefacts scattered across the galaxy.

The more I read of Whates' work the more I like it, and his style is similar to some others I could mention, infused with a cool "pulp" style which makes it so entertaining. Reading this really is a whole lot of fun and it's a good flowing story with stacks of action, cool ideas and interesting characters along with a plot that keeps you thinking right up to the [sudden] end. It really is exactly like reading the first book, so if you liked that then you're going to get just as much out of this one.

In short, this book [and series] epitomises the reasons why I read this sort of stuff, being great entertainment and an effective escape from the "real world". If you haven't read Pelquin's Comet yet, do so immediately and then rip into this one soon after, you'll be left satisfied [and hanging out for book three] just like I have been. I'd put money on it. Enjoy.

[Maurizio Codogno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quello che mi dispiace è che il primo volume della serie, Pelquin's Comet, non è disponibile come ePub ma solo come cartaceo oppure Kindle, e quindi mi è più scomodo da comprare.
Questo libro (Ian Whates, The Ion Raider, Newcon Press 2017, &eur; 3.72 circa, ASIN B06XD2TDP3) non è un capolavoro. Tanto per dire, tra i personaggi Jan si perde nel mezzo della storia; quel che è peggio è che non c'è un vero finale, ed è chiaro che l'autore ha già deciso di scrivere un terzo volume e quindi ha bloccato il testo nel bel mezzo. Ma tutto questo non è un problema. Stiamo parlando di space opera: libri in cui cerchiamo azione, avventure, colpi di scena. Qui ce ne sono quanti ne volete, e la storia è comunque costruita in modo tale da far lentamente capire cosa c'è dietro tutto questo. È possibile che avendo letto il primo volume le cose fossero più chiare fin da subito: come ho detto non lo so, e se fosse così significa che Whates è riuscito ad evitare di scrivere in quello stupido modo da "riassunto delle puntate precedenti" che io odio a morte.
In definitiva, se vi piace il genere vi consiglio caldamente il libro.

[Tom Loock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This feels so much like 'the middle book' that I strongly assume The Dark Angels is going to be a trilogy; having said that both the setting and the strong cast of characters would certainly allow for more.

I did struggle a little getting into the narrative because I have the same problem with every trilogy (currently with Jemisin's excellent Broken Earth) published over a period of 3+ years: How much time do you leave between volumes? I try (!) to aim for spacing them out evenly. Does it help? Not really. *

The author also surprised me with the direction the story took, in a positive way I should add. No spoilers here though.

I can only hope that I do not have to wait too long for the next book. And let's hope it's a little longer than 240 pages.

Very much recommended.

* Maybe - just maybe - publishers will one day understand that putting a summary-of-sorts at the beginning of later volumes will notcause them to lose sales ...

[Kevin Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fast paced, easy read with strong characters driving the narrative. I very much enjoyed the first in this series (Pelquin's Comet) and this follow-up didn't disappoint. The perfect antidote to some of the weightier tomes in the SF genre that I have waded through over the years... this is a bright, breezy romp of a space opera. That's not to say that it doesn't deal with some absorbing issues, just that they are always addressed through the filter of the characters, which in my opinion is how it should be. Though it does tie up the threads of this particular story, it leaves a significant cliff-hanger to carry over into the next book, so I look forward to the publication of part three to see what happens!

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ion Raider is the sequel to Pelquin's Comet.

Drake's former crew, The Dark Angels are being assassinated one by one, whilst Drake is sent on a high risk mission to investigate a potentially lucrative cache of alien artifacts.

This was a fast (only 242 pages), well constructed story (the opening assassination was one of the best first chapters I've read in a while) with some great characters. We learn a bit more about reason for the stockpiles of strange technology, and the ending is very much a set-up for book 3.

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book of what must be at least a trilogy. I have now read books 1&2 of The Dark Angels series--the first is Pelquin's Comet. I am reviewing them together. Nice action and character development. Ian Whates gets better with every book--not just in this series, I think. Classic space opera, leavened with humor. Both books can stand alone, but the character development works better if they are read together. My only quibble is that there is not yet any word on the third book.

[Emz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A continuation of the previous book, not as good as the first. A bit on the slow side, until the end when it starts getting slightly better, setting it up for the next instalment, and I should imagine the grand finale. Drake and Mudball going their separate ways in a spectacular fashion, and delving into the past of the other crew members, bringing us up to date. I liked it, but unfortunately not enough to give it a higher rating.

[John Hodgkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This nicely carries on from Pelquin's Comet, expanding out now to cover the original Dark Angels. This is really good space opera, nothing fancy, but quite descriptive and there is always plenty of action. Not one for the more serious sci-fi fan and not much real science in it. However, it is well written and worth reading.

[Jorgon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The everything-and-kitchen-sink space opera continues, incorporating superhero and Lovecraftian tropes. This is quite awesome as a tribute and almost a meta-space-opera--and yet, there is something lacking. Still, a fun read.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing ground breaking here. Just a straightforward, enjoyable, science fiction story.

[Denis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing remains an obstacle, but when the action kicks in, the prose mercifully slips into the background. High art this is not, but as a quick and fun sci fi 'beach read' it works.

[Dr susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Ion Raider is an excellent sequel, answering many questions but posing many more. I enjoyed meeting more Dark Angels and learning they are simply people, not evil villains or saintly superheroes. Since the ending is a major cluffhanger, I hope the wait for book #3 is not too long.