Project Eleutheria: The Singularity Wars

by Paige Daniels

Lyvia Bax-Dupree just wants to do her job as independent intergalactic transporter and maybe have enough money for a beer left over at the end of a run. But her ship is on its last leg, one of the Keeper’s goons just stole her last drone, and her best friend, Heidi, an android, is in dire need of repairs. So when a customer offers a fare that seems too good to be true, she has no choice but go against her instincts, and accept it.Lyvia soon finds that completing this job is the least of her worries and she must reconnect with her estranged husband and her outlaw parents if she wants to survive. But enduring her family, might prove to be more challenging than living through the biggest conspiracy the galaxy has seen.

298 pages, Paperback

Published August 28, 2019

About the author

Paige Daniels is the pen name of Tina Closser. By day she works as an Electrical Engineer and Mom mushing her kids from gymnastics and violin practice. After the kids go to bed, she rocks out with her headphones turned to eleven and cranks out books. She is an uber science geek. If she wasn't married to the most terrific guy in the world, she would be a groupie for Adam Baldwin.

Reviews

[Bradon Jurn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Project Eleutheria is an enthralling Sci-Fi adventure that fires on all cylinders, with a uniquely constructed universe and well developed characters.

We follow the exploits of independent intergalactic transporter, Lyvia-Bax Dupree and her trusty freighter, Niner Alpha Luna. Captain Dupree, along with her robotic companion Heidi, traverse worm holes, ice planets, and old dilapidated space stations.

After a run of bad luck they decide to take on a suspicious cargo that turns out to be more than they bargained for. Lyvia is soon reunited with her estranged husband-a man with unique abilities-and they must put their troubled past aside to elude sadistic bounty hunters and find their kidnapped Heidi.

Author Paige Daniels does an exemplary job galaxy building a very lived-in universe filled with corporate-ish "Keeper Factions"-that control various wormhole transit stations-and a their opposition: the Separatists.

Gifted humans know as the Blessed are being experimented on by the Separatists for precarious reasons-prompting Captain Dupree and crew to try and expose the atrocities.

We eventually meet up with Lyvia's biological mother, Kira, a career minded transporter, and her biological father, Hannibal, ex-"paladin" mercenary. The family dynamic is so well established, and their ribbing so relatable, you'll feel like you're at a dysfunctional family reunion!

I admire the author's ability to write characters who are funny, quirky, traumatized, and down right 'real' within a sci-fi setting.

This is especially evident in the relationship between Lyvia and her bot, Heidi, who is both companion and mentor for this down-on-her-luck freighter captain. Their banter and kinship keep things light when the narrative gets heavy.

We learn a little more about Lyvia-Bax Dupree-along with the universe she traverses-with each new character that is introduced. This made me more invested as a reader and made the book a page turner as it progressed.

'Eleutheria' also has it's fair share of two-fisted action and suspense. There are some particularly grueling sequences of traversing wormholes and evading Guild mercenaries that will have you on the edge of your seat!

Overall, I was very impressed with Project Eleutheria. It's a satisfying space western with a well established universe and likeable characters. I look forward to learning more about some of these characters in book two of The Singularity Wars: In The Service of the Guild.

[Chad Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very traditional science fiction book that plays by the numbers without standing out as doing/saying something interesting about any one area very strongly. I did enjoy reading about the universe the author describes, the mechanics of the ships and the social structures underlying the economics/politics, more so than I actually enjoyed the character driven parts of the story. I think there is a solid structure in the writing style and narration here, there's definitely good bones to the author's ability to create a story. It just didn't peak my interest much farther than reading the blurb and talking with the author for a short time.

I did enjoy the character driven arch for the robot(s); the author humanizes robots and due to my own weird personality I find it easier to become attached to human like robots or robots with human like emotions.