Venturi

Fourth Fleet Irregulars #9

by S.J. MacDonald

The Fourth Fleet Irregulars have a new ship; the Venturi. Their mission - to make contact with the mysterious Chethari, the alien only Alex von Strada can see. Transported to a strange world far beyond the realms of human exploration, the Fourth must draw on all their resources and courage as it turns out that the Chethari have rather more in mind than saying hello.How will the Fourth cope when they find themselves stranded without weapons, supplies or money in a hostile port? Can they assist an alien ambassador to establish an embassy there? And what are they going to do with the LIA agent who wants Alex von Strada dead?Alex and the Fourth will have to go above and beyond to win through this mission.

Genres: Science Fiction

438 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 14, 2019

About the author

I am a primary school teacher living in Cardiff, Wales, UK. I live in a tiny house full of books, animals, rocks and fossils.

I love travelling by myself because you get to meet more local people that way. My favourite trips so far have been ice fishing in the arctic circle, the Canadian Rockies in winter and camping with my sister in Devon (Every bit as adventurous!)

I have been writing stories since I was a kid but have only recently taken the plunge into publishing. I've also recently started a science fiction review site http://www.starshipsandaliens.com which is nearly as much fun as writing.

Reviews

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part this was a very decent read, but there were some minor aspects of the story that were quite annoying. It is probably just me and most people wouldn’t even notice them.


We meet LIA intelligence agent again and like the last time he appears to be a bigoted paranoid moron. I can see why the author wanted this character, as a counter-point to the Fourth’s more liberal attitudes, but not only was his behavior so ridiculous and potentially destructive, I couldn’t understand why Alex even let him on board, especially with his previous experience with the LIA.

As for the League ambassador ‘Jilit’, this went way beyond belief, Alex was letting him not only block him, but also potentially insulting several other very powerful alien species.
At one point Alex says; ”Ambassador JDT is within his rights, so we just have to deal with the situation as it is”
No, he is an ambassador, his job is to deal with situations not pretend they don’t exist!
I don’t object to the author including the useless ambassador, but I do with Alex’s reaction. Later in the story he adds;
”you can’t fire someone for doing his job strictly according to the rules, can you?”
In the past he did exactly that to get a poor scientist sacked just because he wasn’t willing to introduce Monkeys onto a planet without even reptiles never mind any other mammals, so threatening this ambassador should have been the least he could have done.
As it turned out, the ambassador’s attitude was beneficial to the mission, but Alex didn’t know this at the time.

[Andy Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a definite step upward in the series. For Carreanis and Quarus, the emphasis has been on interpersonal issues and character development, and less on alien civilizations and technology. Alien civilizations are front and center in Venturi as well as technology.

I'm more interested in aliens and technology than I am in the personality issues S.J. MacDonald's lead character Alex von Strada has to deal with, so some of the books have been a strain for me. But if you focus on character conflicts and development, this whole series is full of that.

And it has a lot of technology and aliens too. Just not enough for me.

[Chad R. Merkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love these books

This series is great. It has space opera elements, but that's not the focus. It's more about exploration and interpersonal interactions. Good characters, good plots, many options for further stories. Just make sure to read the series from the start.

A comment about the writing style: usually, when I read dialogue, I tend to "hear" the characters with an American accent. That's just my brain's default. But here, there are many of the main characters who come out with British accents. I'm not sure how the author accomplished this, but it makes the books fun to read.

[Mick Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another great book

I have enjoyed each book in this series,and would recommend them to anyone who is looking for a interesting series. This time Alex and his crew have been sent out meet up with a new alien, but as we come to expect from the Fourth Fleet Irregulars, nothing is that simple.

[Neil D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant as usual

Love this series of books, can’t wait for the next one.

Unusual books as they are all about uplifting people to be the best they can be, wrapped in interesting stories where war is not the focus.

[Naomi Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the wait.

Love the series, love the author, hate the wait between books but ALWAYS worth it!

If you have any interest in well written fiction this series is a must.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good fun and hard to put down

This mark is for the series really

Not a gunshot anywhere of any significance...well a fee canon shots for target practice only

[Larry Payton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ready for the next book

Awesome series. Can not wait for the next book. Please write faster. If you have not read any of the books give it a chance!

[TJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thinking person's space opera

Thoroughly enjoyed this installment of the Fourth Fleet Irregulars. Love how well MacDonald handles the sociological interactions involving the different human groups. A great read as always!