Hecate

Serengeti #0.5

by J.B. Rockwell, Elizabeth Wiley (Narrator)

Black Ops-the intelligence arm of the Meridian Alliance Fleet came calling with an offer Henricksen couldn't refuse: a ship-an entire squadron of ships, actually-and crew to command. A chance to get back to the stars. Too bad he didn't ask more questions before accepting the assignment. Too bad no one told him just how dangerous this particular skunkworks project was. They call the ship the RV-N: Reconnaissance Vessel-Non-combat, Raven for short. A stealth ship-fast, and maneuverable, and brutal as hell. On the surface, Henricksen's assignment seems simple: train his crew, run the RV-Ns through their paces, get the ships certified for mission operations and job done. But an accident in training reveals a fatal design flaw in the Raven, and when an undercover operative steals classified information from a Black Ops facility, the Fleet Brass cancels the tests completely, rushing the faulty ships and their half-trained crew into live operations. On a mission to recover the Fleet's lost secrets. Out of time and out of options, Henricksen has no choice but to launch his squadron. But a ghost from his past makes him question everything-the ships, their AI, the entirety of this mission, right down to the secrets he and his crew are supposed to recover.

Genres: Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fiction

Audio CD

Published October 17, 2017

About the author

J.B. Rockwell is a New Englander, which is important to note because it means she's (a) hard headed, (b) frequently stubborn, and (c) prone to fits of snarky sarcasticness. As a kid she subsisted on a steady diet of fairy tales, folklore, mythology augmented by generous helpings of science fiction and fantasy. As a quasi-adult she dreamed of being the next Indiana Jones and even pursued (and earned!) a degree in anthropology. Unfortunately, those dreams of being an archaeologist didn't quite work out. Through a series of twists and turns (involving cats, a marriage, and a SCUBA certification, amongst other things) she ended up working in IT for the U.S. Coast Guard and now writes the types of books she used to read. Not a bad ending for an Indiana Jones wannabe...

Reviews

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read “Serengeti” last year and enjoyed it. Apparently, this book takes place before the happenings in the “Serengeti” book.

In this book the main character is a human being not a AI in a Starship. He is Commander Henriksen who is in command of the Meridian Alliance Hecate. Hecate is an Aurora-class vessel. He is led into a trap and the Hecate is destroyed. Henriksen is then assigned to a black ops mission. His new ship is RV-N (Reconnaissance vessel-noncombatant) named Raven; a stealth ship is an experimental design. A spy obtains information and the Admiral sends Henriksen and the Raven after the spy even though the crew is only half-trained and the Raven has a deadly flaw.

The story is well written and there is lots of new characters in this story. The plot twists and turns more so than most sci-fi stories. The pace is fast. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is almost thirteen hours long. Elizabeth Wiley does a good job narrating the book. Wiley is an actress and an audiobook narrator. She has won the Audiofile Earphone Award.

[Michael Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rockwell has the uncanny ability to make dramatic and interesting the day to day life of her characters. Few authors tell the slow story well, while keeping tensions high. I think it's even harder to do in Science Fiction. Hecate reads SO authentically. Its characters are fully drawn and they are people I want to spend time with. I say characters, when some of them are AI, which makes her abilities as a writer all the more remarkable. This is a wonderful character driven SciFi thriller, with an ending that pays off in spades.

You definitely do not need to have read Serengeti to enjoy Hecate but reading Hecate first will certainly heighten your read of Serengeti, so this is a wonderful addition to her universe. I'm a Rockwell fan. 

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was caught by surprise with this book. So as not to have you in the same position, I’ll tell you why. This book happens before “Serengeti”. I prefer to read my book series in sequence and don’t particularly like to go back in time. Still, this was a very good book although some of the military aspects are kind of strange. Our main character is a human this time, not a starship. He’s Commander Henricksen in Command of the Meridian Alliance Hecate, an Aurora-class vessel. Surprisingly, he’s seems very rank conscious for some reason. I, personally, don’t think this is very typical of most senior military leaders; they don’t worry about the next promotion, they’re too focused on doing their current job. Commander Henricksen gets preoccupied on several occasions with his desire for Captain “stars” versus paying attention to the mission at hand. That’s obviously not a smart thing to do.

The book starts off with a very precarious mission for the Hecate. She is suckered into a trap which Henricksen nor his crew recognize in time to prevent Hecate's destruction.
Yeah, that’s right. The name-sake for the book is destroyed in about the second chapter. So, the real story turns out to be about Henricksen’s next command. That’s another reveal right there. While his ship is destroyed, he and his bridge staff all survive to some degree. He then teams up with his former gunner, Chief Sikuuku, and they both form the leadership at his new command. It’s in Black Ops which is a real problem for Henricksen.

I think there’s some thing a little wrong the way the AIs seem to be in-charge of these starships. I don’t doubt they are smart and can come up with solutions a lot, lot faster than their human crew, but to just turn everything over to the AI and let it command a vessel, is not something I would want to do. Still, it happens throughout this book and the other books by this author. In this book, it’s especially bad because some of the AIs are not very experienced, yet they are making decisions without consulting their ship’s Captain. That would be a complete failure and I wouldn’t command a ship in those conditions. Also, towards the end of the book, the AI’s seem to get more and more insubordinate which make them very unreliable. That shouldn’t be tolerated at any level.

Ok, so now I know about Henricksen who eventually comes to “command” Serengeti. I don’t know if we had to have this information, but I guess it’s just another good book. I would encourage the reader to continue reading this author’s books and definitely read “Serengeti”.

[Kira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh Henricksen...

I was surprised to find that this story was a prequel! I read Serengeti and Dark and Stars, but to read about Henricksen in the Black Ops before all that was very cool. He is the perfect gruff, stubborn, yet surprisingly emotional kind of guy, and I love reading about his adventures. The AIs always steal the show though, which I also liked about all three books. I'd have given five stars but there were just a few too many typos for my liking. And I'm not exactly a huge fan of the short, choppy sentences that begin with verbs and adjectives. But that's just me being picky and not used to the author's style. All in all, if you liked the first two books, you'll love this one too. Henricksen is just the best kind of character for a sci-fi space novel.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beta read an earlier version of the this and loved it. Brilliant to hear Henricksen's story and learn about the RV-Ns, and the friendship between Henricksen and Sikukuu. Plus, there were lots of interesting new faces to fall in love with (FISKEEEERRRRR).

[Fiannawolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glad to see this series is still going strong. Loved the audibles too.

[K.C. Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome prequel/sequel to Serengeti and Dark and Stars, both of which I really loved. It was great to learn about the characters and events leading up to what happened in the first two books. It stands well on its own too. And of course it's a kick-butt, exciting book with lots of twists and turns!

[Josephine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boo hoo poor Hecate is dead and I am having flashbacks. When you know that Hecate is an "AI' ship the Captain sounds stupid even though he lost two thirds of his crew the loss of the AI is what traumatizes him. I hope this series improves.

[Scott S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid prequel to the Serengeti series. The weakest of the three, but still enjoyable.

Good narration.

[Nicole]

DNF at 75%

This was fine, but military SciFi isn't my thing. It took me 75% of the the audio to realize I just didn't care.

[Kim Hoag · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always looking for the good space adventure with a humanity that has been changed over the years. One that reveals more than just the ride it takes you on. And this is one of the good ones. You can see Rockwell's background influences in her books (I'm on the second now): dual bachelor’s degrees in anthropology and environmental science and currently working for the US Coast Guard developing and maintaining IT systems. Hecate is a ship that appears only in the beginning but its death — of the AI governing it — haunts Captain Henricksen throughout. This is a prequel to the Serengeti Series and while very helpful to backstories, it isn't necessary to read first. I feel that women who are good authors are often better at showing the nuances of feelings and attachments than men. (I'm a guy.) There are exceptions, of course, but Rockwell does a fantastic job of ferreting out the mesh of human/AI bonds. I was surprised that the author was a woman because of her characterizations of Henricksen and his best friend which seemed very masculine. That's all to the good. She also has a great space battle that is complex in its movements and happenings, as well as a revealing look of how black ops might work in the far future. The heart of this book is human, but on the periphery is the heart of the AIs who run the ships. Another good reason to read this one first before diving into the series. It gives you a heads-up to the state of the universe at this time and the life humanity had inadvertently created.

[PointyEars42 · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 40%.

[Dustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

great prequel novel. J.B. you have done it again! keep up the good work.....hoping for more Serengeti and Hendricks stories!