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The Galactic Captains #4
Destructive Forces
In the far reaches of the Kyleri Empire, young Captain Mahnoor travels around the system to escape the cultural pressures to marry. But his infatuation with a handsome imperial pilot leads him into a galactic war.
On Jiwani, Viscamon is attempting to consolidate his power, by blaming the Ingvar for the royal massacre and calling armies from across the Empire to track down the missing prince, and achieve his dream of destroying the Galactic Balance. However, Antari knows the truth about Osvai and must find the courage to stand up to the prince’s enemies, and his own, no matter the risk.
Meanwhile on Aldegar, Daeron is being held prisoner by the few remaining Ingvar forces and must find a way to break free to rescue his mother and the crew of the Daring Huntress once again, as well as the missing Prince Osvai, before the Kyleri come to take back what’s theirs.
Sallah, no longer the last Tevian, returns to Aldegar with no choice but to enlist the help of the man she hates and the woman she once loved to see her son again.
As the Galactic Balance tips ever more towards chaos, time is running out to save Ales from the destructive forces he has unleashed.
On Jiwani, Viscamon is attempting to consolidate his power, by blaming the Ingvar for the royal massacre and calling armies from across the Empire to track down the missing prince, and achieve his dream of destroying the Galactic Balance. However, Antari knows the truth about Osvai and must find the courage to stand up to the prince’s enemies, and his own, no matter the risk.
Meanwhile on Aldegar, Daeron is being held prisoner by the few remaining Ingvar forces and must find a way to break free to rescue his mother and the crew of the Daring Huntress once again, as well as the missing Prince Osvai, before the Kyleri come to take back what’s theirs.
Sallah, no longer the last Tevian, returns to Aldegar with no choice but to enlist the help of the man she hates and the woman she once loved to see her son again.
As the Galactic Balance tips ever more towards chaos, time is running out to save Ales from the destructive forces he has unleashed.
- GenresLGBTScience Fiction
ebook
First published April 22, 2019
1 person is currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Harry F. Rey
30 books98 followersHarry F. Rey is an author of over a dozen fiction novels. He's a graduate of Penguin WriteNow 2020, a member of the TV Foundation's New Writers Collective 2024, and has been Pushcart-nominated for his short stories.
Harry's main works include the MM royal drama series The Line of Succession from Deep Desires Press, the queer sci-fi series The Galactic Captains from Nine Star Press, the WWII-era gay historical novel Why in Paris? from Encircle Publications and the historical romance Six Days in Jerusalem.
His debut young adult gay romance - Of Gods and Boys - from Deep Hearts YA recently topped the Amazon teen charts. His other works include the rom-com All the Lovers from Deep Desires and the forthcoming sci-fi thriller The Dorvethan Conspiracy from Rebel Satori Press.
Harry's work has also been featured in anthologies including Not Meant for Each Other from Lost Boys Press and Queer Life, Queer Love from Muswell Press.
Harry can often be found scouring second-hand bookshops for the lost classics of gay literature, which he blogs about on his website and social media.
Harry's main works include the MM royal drama series The Line of Succession from Deep Desires Press, the queer sci-fi series The Galactic Captains from Nine Star Press, the WWII-era gay historical novel Why in Paris? from Encircle Publications and the historical romance Six Days in Jerusalem.
His debut young adult gay romance - Of Gods and Boys - from Deep Hearts YA recently topped the Amazon teen charts. His other works include the rom-com All the Lovers from Deep Desires and the forthcoming sci-fi thriller The Dorvethan Conspiracy from Rebel Satori Press.
Harry's work has also been featured in anthologies including Not Meant for Each Other from Lost Boys Press and Queer Life, Queer Love from Muswell Press.
Harry can often be found scouring second-hand bookshops for the lost classics of gay literature, which he blogs about on his website and social media.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 23, 2019
Terrific sci-fi series that is continued on here in Destructive Forces, well named by the way.
Great world building.
Missed the sexy times, but who has time when the universe is being unroyally fucked over?
The Galactic Captains are definitely being sorted out and the next book must surely see a lot coming to a (close to) conclusive head.
My only complaint with this book is the amount of POV. When the world building and the plot and subplots are so powerful and they're building further it can be frustrating to chop to the next POV, not to mention confusing while you collect your thoughts on who and where for a moment or ten. I get it, people are in different parts of the galaxy. Still, it needed streamlining.
While there is a key at the back you can't read this series without having started at book #1, you won't get the importance of Ales, as one example, without having done so. Antari won't mean much to the reader either without having been there for Daeron's belief in him and rescue on the Daring Huntress, then the rescuing of Osvai after the explosion on Jiwani.
Turo continues to piss me the hell off, I wanted him to fall through a crack between space and the ship and be burnt into a crispy little critter that floated around space for eternity being a nothing. Or, I wanted one of the women to cut his dick off and feed it to a Crejan - s l o w l y. Viscamon has equal loathing from me. Sallah and Sanyah can have at him, p a i n f u l l y. Two mothers who he has fucked over and would like to see him exterminated sounds right. But, hey, a Kyleri noble's crystal stiletto to the gut so he bleeds out sounds really good too. Lady Solafia can have at him.
Holy hell, you can't leave me here, Harry F. Rey - it's a cliffhanger and a half. Clearly based on the above ways to eliminate characters I don't like, the ending has me feeling mean...
This is such a good series. If you want something different and you enjoy sci-fi, this series is worth the time taken to spend in the Verge, and beyond Horizon Points, with some interesting and colourful characters.
Great world building.
Missed the sexy times, but who has time when the universe is being unroyally fucked over?
The Galactic Captains are definitely being sorted out and the next book must surely see a lot coming to a (close to) conclusive head.
My only complaint with this book is the amount of POV. When the world building and the plot and subplots are so powerful and they're building further it can be frustrating to chop to the next POV, not to mention confusing while you collect your thoughts on who and where for a moment or ten. I get it, people are in different parts of the galaxy. Still, it needed streamlining.
While there is a key at the back you can't read this series without having started at book #1, you won't get the importance of Ales, as one example, without having done so. Antari won't mean much to the reader either without having been there for Daeron's belief in him and rescue on the Daring Huntress, then the rescuing of Osvai after the explosion on Jiwani.
Turo continues to piss me the hell off, I wanted him to fall through a crack between space and the ship and be burnt into a crispy little critter that floated around space for eternity being a nothing. Or, I wanted one of the women to cut his dick off and feed it to a Crejan - s l o w l y. Viscamon has equal loathing from me. Sallah and Sanyah can have at him, p a i n f u l l y. Two mothers who he has fucked over and would like to see him exterminated sounds right. But, hey, a Kyleri noble's crystal stiletto to the gut so he bleeds out sounds really good too. Lady Solafia can have at him.
Holy hell, you can't leave me here, Harry F. Rey - it's a cliffhanger and a half. Clearly based on the above ways to eliminate characters I don't like, the ending has me feeling mean...
This is such a good series. If you want something different and you enjoy sci-fi, this series is worth the time taken to spend in the Verge, and beyond Horizon Points, with some interesting and colourful characters.
April 16, 2019
"Aren't you sick of everything repeating itself, over and over? Doesn't it make you wish you were already dead? To know you're destined to live a life already lived, a thousand times over?"
3.5 stars. Destructive Forces is the fourth installment in the Galactic Captains series, and it continues immediately after the events of book three. Ales has just inadvertently disappeared - for the first time in history - into another galaxy along with a large fleet of Ingvarian ships, and everyone is on the hunt to find him. In this book, we are also introduced to a new character, Mahnoor, a captain of a transport ship from a very rural and isolated part of the galaxy who finds himself tangled in something much bigger than he ever expected.
Most of this book, I feel, is setup for the next book, Altered Tides. We don't follow Ales in this one. Rather, we get more insight on the whole scope of the conflict as well as the powers fighting against each other. There are a bunch of reveals in this book but many more questions as well (of course, haha). We also get a lot of Turo's backstory, which explains why he is the way he is. Another aspect of this book (and this series as well) that I enjoy is the interesting portrayal of the different societies of each planet/culture and how Rey explores (as well as subverts) the typical notion of societal norms. For example, Mahnoor's home Jandor is a matriarchal / poly-amorous society, while in the Kyleri Empire, glass high heels, heavy makeup, and silk robes are a sign of the male nobility.
One thing to make note of in this book, however, is the vast amount of characters. As a result, because there are a lot of PoVs (around six), the pacing can feel a bit jarring at times, as there is a lot of switching around between plots. I'd also say the beginning is a bit plodding, but the there's definitely a lot of action-packed moments towards the end. Overall, this series has improved tremendously from the beginning, and I'm really excited to return to Ales' story in the fifth book.
Thank you NetGalley and NineStar Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
3.5 stars. Destructive Forces is the fourth installment in the Galactic Captains series, and it continues immediately after the events of book three. Ales has just inadvertently disappeared - for the first time in history - into another galaxy along with a large fleet of Ingvarian ships, and everyone is on the hunt to find him. In this book, we are also introduced to a new character, Mahnoor, a captain of a transport ship from a very rural and isolated part of the galaxy who finds himself tangled in something much bigger than he ever expected.
Most of this book, I feel, is setup for the next book, Altered Tides. We don't follow Ales in this one. Rather, we get more insight on the whole scope of the conflict as well as the powers fighting against each other. There are a bunch of reveals in this book but many more questions as well (of course, haha). We also get a lot of Turo's backstory, which explains why he is the way he is. Another aspect of this book (and this series as well) that I enjoy is the interesting portrayal of the different societies of each planet/culture and how Rey explores (as well as subverts) the typical notion of societal norms. For example, Mahnoor's home Jandor is a matriarchal / poly-amorous society, while in the Kyleri Empire, glass high heels, heavy makeup, and silk robes are a sign of the male nobility.
One thing to make note of in this book, however, is the vast amount of characters. As a result, because there are a lot of PoVs (around six), the pacing can feel a bit jarring at times, as there is a lot of switching around between plots. I'd also say the beginning is a bit plodding, but the there's definitely a lot of action-packed moments towards the end. Overall, this series has improved tremendously from the beginning, and I'm really excited to return to Ales' story in the fifth book.
Thank you NetGalley and NineStar Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
April 8, 2019
Ales has disappeared, taking an entire fleet with him. The STAR drive sending them to an unknown fate.
Daeron and the Kyleri Prince taken captive. Tortured but not really knowing the reason why. Both managing to keep the secret of the Osvai’s identity.
Turo is either the masters puppet or the puppet master, haven’t figured that out yet.
More new characters in this, the fourth book. With several people playing the long game I’m not really sure where this story is going. So many plots twisting around each other, all leading back to Ales and Turo. It was confusing at times to keep track. The books need to be read from the start to make any kind of sense.
I received an arc of this book from the author.
Daeron and the Kyleri Prince taken captive. Tortured but not really knowing the reason why. Both managing to keep the secret of the Osvai’s identity.
Turo is either the masters puppet or the puppet master, haven’t figured that out yet.
More new characters in this, the fourth book. With several people playing the long game I’m not really sure where this story is going. So many plots twisting around each other, all leading back to Ales and Turo. It was confusing at times to keep track. The books need to be read from the start to make any kind of sense.
I received an arc of this book from the author.
July 6, 2019
You'll find my full review of “Destructive Forces” at my web site.
April 15, 2019
It is imperative to read the previous books in the series before this one. I had not done so, so I stopped reading about 1/4 of the way through when I realized it was going to continually need information from the previous books.. What I read seemed well written and interesting, it just didn't make any sense without having read the other books.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews