Amazingly Dull, Dimwitted, Drivel YA Soap Opera, Not Space Opera
"The Dark of Light (Starhawke Rising Book 1)," authored by Miss Audrey Sharpe, is an amazingly dull, dimwitted, drivel of a book. It unsuccessfully attempts to disguise its leftist-progressive political agenda, as a space opera, when it fact, it reads like a insipid YA soap opera. The words "emotion," (or its derivatives), and "refugees," appear unrelentingly throughout the text.
[Spoilers Ahead]
Centuries in the future, a human (maybe) female, an empath, who also has the ability to project emotional force fields, commands an alien built ship with her small crew. The vegan, sentient AI imbued ship, was built by her jealousy-prone, "Jolly Green Giant" alien boyfriend(?), and lover(?). Captain Aurora "Roe" Hawke, and her crew are sent on a secret, scientific mission to the agricultural planet of "Gaia," to determine the cause of puzzling swaths of crop destruction. Roe's ex-boyfriend, leads a special ops team, already on the planet, sent in to secretly protect her and her crew. Roe and most of the main characters, all have "histories" with each other, from youth, and/or their Fleet Academy years. The teams find the source of the attacks, and in doing so, Roe discovers more about her true self.
It is all so very, very DULL. The author dribbles out meager information about the characters, or the plot, while droning on, and on, about emotions, feelings, and psychobabble. Farmers and their families, unhurt, who leave their farmsteads while the investigation unfolds, are referred to as "refugees" ad naseum. The vegan and/vegetarian lifestyles are extolled. It's all very liberal, progressive, "safe space," and unremitting plodding. Think "Star Trek Academy," "Friends," and tofu all blended together, without excitement, humor, or seasoning. It is blandness personified. Watching paint dry, would have been a more productive use of my time, in hindsight.
This book is not recommended and was fully read (skimmed a lot in the interests of full disclosure) via Kindle Unlimited.