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Star Quest #1
Star Quest: The Journey Begins
Cara Bishop already saved the world. Now, with the war over and the aliens defeated, she's teaching other pilots to fly the alien ships that turned the tide. Until the government approaches her about joining a super secret mission, that is. Steve Hunter is the product of alien DNA. He was created in a lab, designed to destroy the aliens in a ground war that was never fought. Now, they're finally putting him to use as the leader of this new mission. Together with the scientist who created Steve and the genius who invented the ship, Cara and her captain set off on a final adventure. The U.S.S. Endeavor goes in search of allies among the stars. What they find is more than they ever bargained for. If their mission is to be a success, they will have to solve a mystery and escape destruction at the hands of an all new foe. All in a day's work for the Endeavor crew.
220 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2019
65 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 24, 2025
PATRICIA LEE MACOMBER is a author I was interested in checking out the works of since I had her writing recommended to me by a friend. I decided to check out STAR QUEST: THE JOURNEY BEGINS in large part because of the cover due to the fact I'm a big fan of STAR TREK and the author clearly communicated they were going to go for that sort of feel. I wasn't disappointed and found this to be a delightful afternoon read.
The premise is Cara Bishop is a fighter pilot who survived an Ender's Game/Independence Day-like invasion of the Earth where a large portion of the planet was devastated. Cara successfully destroyed the enemy mothership with a risky maneuver and became a planetary hero. This, despite the fact she actually had been sent on a suicide mission and wasn't supposed to come back.
Cara gets selected to serve as first mate on the reverse-engineered flagship of Earth's first starship, serving under Steve Hunter the world's first and only Spartan supersoldier. Cara and Steve have immediate and electric chemistry, which is problematic since they're boss and subordinate. Oh and about to depart on a three year mission to seek out and pester new lifeforms. We also have an eclectic supporting cast, including a Tony Stark-esque billionaire and Cara's Admiral father.
The book is divided into two sections with the first being Cara struggling with her decision whether or not to go into space (of course she is) as well as whether she can resist falling in love with her yummy captain (probably not). The second part of the story involves First Contact with a race of peaceful clones who need the crew's help in avoiding an interstellar incident. Honestly, I liked the first half a bit more than the second but I didn't dislike either.
If I had to describe the book's tone, I'd probably say this is closer to THE ORVILLE versus pure Star Trek. However, there's homages galore to lots of science fiction franchises I enjoy. The characters are a bit on the silly side and have even less military discipline than the U.S.S Enterprise but no one ever cared about that anywhere but Babylon Five. It also reminds me a bit of HALO and MASS EFFECT, which is not a bad thing.
This is a fun and lighthearted book which should be read fully with the intention of amusing rather than thrilling. Our heroes are more like Stephanie Plum in space rather than hardened explorers and that's not a bad thing. It was a great palette cleanser after a bunch of darker and edgier fiction I'd been reading. Those looking for the next epic drama should probably look elsewhere but that's not what this book is trying to be.
9/10
The premise is Cara Bishop is a fighter pilot who survived an Ender's Game/Independence Day-like invasion of the Earth where a large portion of the planet was devastated. Cara successfully destroyed the enemy mothership with a risky maneuver and became a planetary hero. This, despite the fact she actually had been sent on a suicide mission and wasn't supposed to come back.
Cara gets selected to serve as first mate on the reverse-engineered flagship of Earth's first starship, serving under Steve Hunter the world's first and only Spartan supersoldier. Cara and Steve have immediate and electric chemistry, which is problematic since they're boss and subordinate. Oh and about to depart on a three year mission to seek out and pester new lifeforms. We also have an eclectic supporting cast, including a Tony Stark-esque billionaire and Cara's Admiral father.
The book is divided into two sections with the first being Cara struggling with her decision whether or not to go into space (of course she is) as well as whether she can resist falling in love with her yummy captain (probably not). The second part of the story involves First Contact with a race of peaceful clones who need the crew's help in avoiding an interstellar incident. Honestly, I liked the first half a bit more than the second but I didn't dislike either.
If I had to describe the book's tone, I'd probably say this is closer to THE ORVILLE versus pure Star Trek. However, there's homages galore to lots of science fiction franchises I enjoy. The characters are a bit on the silly side and have even less military discipline than the U.S.S Enterprise but no one ever cared about that anywhere but Babylon Five. It also reminds me a bit of HALO and MASS EFFECT, which is not a bad thing.
This is a fun and lighthearted book which should be read fully with the intention of amusing rather than thrilling. Our heroes are more like Stephanie Plum in space rather than hardened explorers and that's not a bad thing. It was a great palette cleanser after a bunch of darker and edgier fiction I'd been reading. Those looking for the next epic drama should probably look elsewhere but that's not what this book is trying to be.
9/10
March 24, 2020
The premise sounds good: Aliens attacked us and where just barely defeated by the heroic action of one character who used her brains to survive what should have been a suicide mission. Now the richest man on the planet who is also an engineering genius (Tony Stark? No Tony Allen) is building a spaceship to search for other alien life that will hopefully be friendly.
The idea has promise and maybe the other books in this series will live up to that. I don't feel that this book did. It was very easy to listen to and enjoyable but there are several "BUTS".
The characters are almost caricatures. This book is like Iron Man meets Star Trek. Just a couple of the most egregious moments from the book:
The communications officer is an asian woman who is also psychic. She has become an expert in communication technology because she wanted to create something that would block her ability to constantly hear everyone's thought, but she hasn't been able to. Tony comes up with the solution in a day.
The alien race that they meet is humanoid with sparkly skin because gold is the most common element on their planet. Also they build with it and do everything with it. They are super advanced technologically but Tony Allen can dissect one of their pieces of tech and improve it in less than an hour. They are all genetically identical, grown to maturity and have no gender, sport, crime, music, etc.
They have enemies who evolved in a different direction to them so the enemies now want to kill them. The super intelligent race can't work out what took captain less than a day, thereby allowing him to solve a murder mystery (even though it wasn't really a murder because the person who was murdered actually wasn't murdered).
The smartest guy is a genetic anomaly and that's why he's the smartest. Tony and he become instant best buddies and swap all the knowledge of the two cultures. There's more, but you get the idea.
The worst is that the aliens all speak and understand English!
This is a fun book as long as you don't take it too seriously. I listened to it as a Star Trek/ Iron Man spoof.
I received a free copy of the audiobook and chose to write a review.
The idea has promise and maybe the other books in this series will live up to that. I don't feel that this book did. It was very easy to listen to and enjoyable but there are several "BUTS".
The characters are almost caricatures. This book is like Iron Man meets Star Trek. Just a couple of the most egregious moments from the book:
The communications officer is an asian woman who is also psychic. She has become an expert in communication technology because she wanted to create something that would block her ability to constantly hear everyone's thought, but she hasn't been able to. Tony comes up with the solution in a day.
The alien race that they meet is humanoid with sparkly skin because gold is the most common element on their planet. Also they build with it and do everything with it. They are super advanced technologically but Tony Allen can dissect one of their pieces of tech and improve it in less than an hour. They are all genetically identical, grown to maturity and have no gender, sport, crime, music, etc.
They have enemies who evolved in a different direction to them so the enemies now want to kill them. The super intelligent race can't work out what took captain less than a day, thereby allowing him to solve a murder mystery (even though it wasn't really a murder because the person who was murdered actually wasn't murdered).
The smartest guy is a genetic anomaly and that's why he's the smartest. Tony and he become instant best buddies and swap all the knowledge of the two cultures. There's more, but you get the idea.
The worst is that the aliens all speak and understand English!
This is a fun book as long as you don't take it too seriously. I listened to it as a Star Trek/ Iron Man spoof.
I received a free copy of the audiobook and chose to write a review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 23, 2019
Great fun... space opera with a lighter touch. Entertaining, engaging characters, interesting plot... looking forward to the next installment.
February 24, 2025
PATRICIA LEE MACOMBER is a author I was interested in checking out the works of since I had her writing recommended to me by a friend. I decided to check out STAR QUEST: THE JOURNEY BEGINS in large part because of the cover due to the fact I'm a big fan of STAR TREK and the author clearly communicated they were going to go for that sort of feel. I wasn't disappointed and found this to be a delightful afternoon read.
The premise is Cara Bishop is a fighter pilot who survived an Ender's Game/Independence Day-like invasion of the Earth where a large portion of the planet was devastated. Cara successfully destroyed the enemy mothership with a risky maneuver and became a planetary hero. This, despite the fact she actually had been sent on a suicide mission and wasn't supposed to come back.
Cara gets selected to serve as first mate on the reverse-engineered flagship of Earth's first starship, serving under Steve Hunter the world's first and only Spartan supersoldier. Cara and Steve have immediate and electric chemistry, which is problematic since they're boss and subordinate. Oh and about to depart on a three year mission to seek out and pester new lifeforms. We also have an eclectic supporting cast, including a Tony Stark-esque billionaire and Cara's Admiral father.
The book is divided into two sections with the first being Cara struggling with her decision whether or not to go into space (of course she is) as well as whether she can resist falling in love with her yummy captain (probably not). The second part of the story involves First Contact with a race of peaceful clones who need the crew's help in avoiding an interstellar incident. Honestly, I liked the first half a bit more than the second but I didn't dislike either.
If I had to describe the book's tone, I'd probably say this is closer to THE ORVILLE versus pure Star Trek. However, there's homages galore to lots of science fiction franchises I enjoy. The characters are a bit on the silly side and have even less military discipline than the U.S.S Enterprise but no one ever cared about that anywhere but Babylon Five. It also reminds me a bit of HALO and MASS EFFECT, which is not a bad thing.
This is a fun and lighthearted book which should be read fully with the intention of amusing rather than thrilling. Our heroes are more like Stephanie Plum in space rather than hardened explorers and that's not a bad thing. It was a great palette cleanser after a bunch of darker and edgier fiction I'd been reading. Those looking for the next epic drama should probably look elsewhere but that's not what this book is trying to be.
The premise is Cara Bishop is a fighter pilot who survived an Ender's Game/Independence Day-like invasion of the Earth where a large portion of the planet was devastated. Cara successfully destroyed the enemy mothership with a risky maneuver and became a planetary hero. This, despite the fact she actually had been sent on a suicide mission and wasn't supposed to come back.
Cara gets selected to serve as first mate on the reverse-engineered flagship of Earth's first starship, serving under Steve Hunter the world's first and only Spartan supersoldier. Cara and Steve have immediate and electric chemistry, which is problematic since they're boss and subordinate. Oh and about to depart on a three year mission to seek out and pester new lifeforms. We also have an eclectic supporting cast, including a Tony Stark-esque billionaire and Cara's Admiral father.
The book is divided into two sections with the first being Cara struggling with her decision whether or not to go into space (of course she is) as well as whether she can resist falling in love with her yummy captain (probably not). The second part of the story involves First Contact with a race of peaceful clones who need the crew's help in avoiding an interstellar incident. Honestly, I liked the first half a bit more than the second but I didn't dislike either.
If I had to describe the book's tone, I'd probably say this is closer to THE ORVILLE versus pure Star Trek. However, there's homages galore to lots of science fiction franchises I enjoy. The characters are a bit on the silly side and have even less military discipline than the U.S.S Enterprise but no one ever cared about that anywhere but Babylon Five. It also reminds me a bit of HALO and MASS EFFECT, which is not a bad thing.
This is a fun and lighthearted book which should be read fully with the intention of amusing rather than thrilling. Our heroes are more like Stephanie Plum in space rather than hardened explorers and that's not a bad thing. It was a great palette cleanser after a bunch of darker and edgier fiction I'd been reading. Those looking for the next epic drama should probably look elsewhere but that's not what this book is trying to be.
January 11, 2019
Sense of wonder, but weak setting & plot
Two dimensional characters, inconsistent and inaccuraye science, little or no real plot. Hearkens back to sensawonder sci fii. Planets of homogeneous people where hold is the most common substance on the planet (? More common than carbon or water?). Infinite energy weapons that are somehow inadequate. Wish i liked it more
Two dimensional characters, inconsistent and inaccuraye science, little or no real plot. Hearkens back to sensawonder sci fii. Planets of homogeneous people where hold is the most common substance on the planet (? More common than carbon or water?). Infinite energy weapons that are somehow inadequate. Wish i liked it more
May 18, 2020
Decent....not great
As a high school/college homage to Star Trek et al this is pretty decent. If you can get it cheap, and want mindless beach type reading——-yeah buy it. You want something more or have to pay more than a couple bucks? I wouldn’t.
Sorry to the author and others if that seems harsh but....
As a high school/college homage to Star Trek et al this is pretty decent. If you can get it cheap, and want mindless beach type reading——-yeah buy it. You want something more or have to pay more than a couple bucks? I wouldn’t.
Sorry to the author and others if that seems harsh but....
August 16, 2020
2 and a fraction stars. A weak and poorly structured 'Star Trek' light that I can't even compare to something more recent like 'The Orville' because the book is so flimsy. The technobabble is weak, there are scores of unexplained and questionable scenarios (why do we even still have cars?) and we even skip places, characters and more at random points. The characters are of little imagination and, quite frankly, if you're going to outright 'borrow' someone from another genre (Tony Stark = Iron Man) then at least have the decency to give him another first name.
Yes, I think I got this copy for free, so there is that. It is an extremely quick read and doesn't even get up to any kind of decipherable plot until well past the halfway mark. Up to then, most of the crew either behave like spoiled children or emotionally handicapped adults at best. The gung ho 'Space Force' background for the entire project is equally flat. A lot comes across as not even YA worthy but instead more of a middle grade graphic novel in terms of depth.
What really hurts this book though is terrible editing including both a host of errors and just extremely bad structure. There are passages where we obviously change situation, location, whatever but there are no breaks in the text. Add to that inexcusable grammar and spelling errors - come on, you can't spellcheck LIEUTENANT? - and it comes across as a very unprofessional effort. Yes, there are glimpses of some originality and interesting subplots in there but overall, I find myself regretting already purchasing part 2. Maybe I'm in for a pleasant and totally unexpected surprise. Maybe I'm in for another wasted reading session. We'll see.
Yes, I think I got this copy for free, so there is that. It is an extremely quick read and doesn't even get up to any kind of decipherable plot until well past the halfway mark. Up to then, most of the crew either behave like spoiled children or emotionally handicapped adults at best. The gung ho 'Space Force' background for the entire project is equally flat. A lot comes across as not even YA worthy but instead more of a middle grade graphic novel in terms of depth.
What really hurts this book though is terrible editing including both a host of errors and just extremely bad structure. There are passages where we obviously change situation, location, whatever but there are no breaks in the text. Add to that inexcusable grammar and spelling errors - come on, you can't spellcheck LIEUTENANT? - and it comes across as a very unprofessional effort. Yes, there are glimpses of some originality and interesting subplots in there but overall, I find myself regretting already purchasing part 2. Maybe I'm in for a pleasant and totally unexpected surprise. Maybe I'm in for another wasted reading session. We'll see.
October 29, 2020
I'm in two minds about this book, I found it an enjoyable quick read of the type of sci-fi (exploration and discovery, rather than relentless wars and combat), however it has it fair share of issues for me.
Firstly the narrative makes it feel that you've jumped into the second volume of the series rather than the first. Earth has apparently fought a devastating war with an alien species and the main character has played a major role in winning said conflict but this all mentioned in passing and rather sketchily. I actually looked on Amazon for a prior volume to this one because of this as the author seemed to expect you to already know what's happened as in having read a prior volume. Perhaps the author intention is to fill in this gap at some future date with a prequel.
Secondly, the main characters are far from original, the career minded hard nosed brilliant female pilot who struggles to deal with her emotions. The genetically modified super soldier who a boy scout at heart, the brilliant but flawed biologist, and the most derivative the super genius ultra rich playboy inventor who acts like a spoiled brat and has reversed engineered and improved on the aliens science.
The whole thing feels one step beyond typical fan fiction, but if you can get beyond that the basic story is pretty good and is more Star Trek in feel which for me is no bad thing. I wouldn't call it great literature but I enjoyed it once I got past it's issues. In fact I enjoyed it enough to order the follow up book.
Firstly the narrative makes it feel that you've jumped into the second volume of the series rather than the first. Earth has apparently fought a devastating war with an alien species and the main character has played a major role in winning said conflict but this all mentioned in passing and rather sketchily. I actually looked on Amazon for a prior volume to this one because of this as the author seemed to expect you to already know what's happened as in having read a prior volume. Perhaps the author intention is to fill in this gap at some future date with a prequel.
Secondly, the main characters are far from original, the career minded hard nosed brilliant female pilot who struggles to deal with her emotions. The genetically modified super soldier who a boy scout at heart, the brilliant but flawed biologist, and the most derivative the super genius ultra rich playboy inventor who acts like a spoiled brat and has reversed engineered and improved on the aliens science.
The whole thing feels one step beyond typical fan fiction, but if you can get beyond that the basic story is pretty good and is more Star Trek in feel which for me is no bad thing. I wouldn't call it great literature but I enjoyed it once I got past it's issues. In fact I enjoyed it enough to order the follow up book.
July 31, 2020
Good read but a bit Mary Sue -ish
Very good story and editing. The characters were well established but I feel that a couple were relegated to the background and could have had a bit more focus given to them. And although I don't hate 'Mary Sue' books, this one was on the edge of over doing it.
Very good story and editing. The characters were well established but I feel that a couple were relegated to the background and could have had a bit more focus given to them. And although I don't hate 'Mary Sue' books, this one was on the edge of over doing it.
January 21, 2019
Good adventure..want more from her.
Hope she follows up with these characters...I read alot of sci- find...best female author I've seen in sometime. No... I am not prejudiced!
Hope she follows up with these characters...I read alot of sci- find...best female author I've seen in sometime. No... I am not prejudiced!
May 21, 2020
Good read
Interesting plot. The characters were well developed and enjoyed their differences. Also enjoyed the excerpt of the next book in the series.
Interesting plot. The characters were well developed and enjoyed their differences. Also enjoyed the excerpt of the next book in the series.
May 25, 2020
I enjoyed book and will be looking forward to the next one.
July 16, 2020
Great writing, smooth.
Had a ball reading this and am most definitely going to read the next. No mistakes, the flow was great. Very little use of the word SAID.
Had a ball reading this and am most definitely going to read the next. No mistakes, the flow was great. Very little use of the word SAID.
September 16, 2020
Nice read, enjoyable
Recommended to Star Trek fans it’s like staring over with exploration the main thrust. Characters relatable and memorable to me.
Recommended to Star Trek fans it’s like staring over with exploration the main thrust. Characters relatable and memorable to me.
June 15, 2020
Good read
Good reading plot and characters were developed well . I hate when I give a rating they make me use more words than I choose to, so there I wasted words to give the proper count
Good reading plot and characters were developed well . I hate when I give a rating they make me use more words than I choose to, so there I wasted words to give the proper count
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews