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Paladins of Distant Suns #1
A Tangled Road to Justice
Sometimes it’s best to read the fine print. When former soldier Everett Cole signed on to help colony planets prepare for joining the Federation, his employers were disconcertingly vague about their identity and his duties. Yet, the pay was good and it got him off Earth and on the way to a fresh start. More reservations arose when - 11 light-years from Earth - he met his partner, Edgar Millen, an enigmatic man with a penchant for violent solutions and a fetish for the mythology and language of the American Wild West.
It wasn’t until they reached the colony world of Astrild that the mission became somewhat clearer. They were players in multi-faceted efforts to steer colony worlds in preparation for joining the Federation. Unfortunately, not all obstacles were amenable to diplomatic, political, or economic solutions. Cole and Millen were agents, troubleshooters, hired guns - or whatever you wanted to call them - tasked with removing impediments to civilized law and order - the methodology left open-ended.
Millen and Cole’s first mission to test their partnership? The backwater town of Justice was under the control of a strongman and his henchmen. All they had to do was convince the cowed citizens to rise against their tormenter. Formal authority and backup? None. Millen was blasé at the assignment. Everett’s first thought was, “What the—!”
It wasn’t until they reached the colony world of Astrild that the mission became somewhat clearer. They were players in multi-faceted efforts to steer colony worlds in preparation for joining the Federation. Unfortunately, not all obstacles were amenable to diplomatic, political, or economic solutions. Cole and Millen were agents, troubleshooters, hired guns - or whatever you wanted to call them - tasked with removing impediments to civilized law and order - the methodology left open-ended.
Millen and Cole’s first mission to test their partnership? The backwater town of Justice was under the control of a strongman and his henchmen. All they had to do was convince the cowed citizens to rise against their tormenter. Formal authority and backup? None. Millen was blasé at the assignment. Everett’s first thought was, “What the—!”
288 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2019
About the author
Olan Thorensen
17 books539 followersOlan is a long-time science fiction fan who has jumped into independent publication with all its pitfalls and unknowns. He thinks all colors go together: clash, what clash? A fan of Dilbert, Non Sequitur, Peanuts (even if old strips), and still think the end of The Far Side was a tragedy. Loves fireflies, rain, thunderstorms, is eclectic in music (classical, western, oldies, smattering of all other), and thinks four seasons are better than one. Gardens, plays piano poorly, used to jog until broke hip, now walks (to be honest, his jog was about as fast as his quick walk).
A sampling of favorite movies include Avatar, Master and Commander, The Last Mimsy, Six Days and Seven Nights, Aliens, Jumanji, The Big Short, Trading Places, World War Z, and A Miracle on 34th Street (original). If you can figure out a common theme, let Olan know. :>)
Born in Louisiana, but mainly grew up in a less populated part of Northern California. Played football in high school but did minimum studying so as not to interfere with his reading novels. Ironic is that he studiously avoided learning things like details of grammar and good writing. He knows how ironic that is now.
Worked as a forest firefighter several summers. In his youth, served in the US Special Forces (one year in Vietnam; SOG, running recon patrols in Laos and the DMZ). Attended university before and after the Army. Has a Phd in Genetics, with around 200 science publications as author and co-author on genetics, molecular biology, and bioinformatics, and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Worked with people with all the education and no common sense and knows people with little education and a world of smarts.
Retired now in the Blue Ridge country of Virginia and has time to pursue his avocation of writing books – mainly science fiction plus one police/action/character book writing as Kelsey Robicheaux. Thinks it's totally cool someone can read his stories and enjoy them. Loves hearing from readers from all parts of the US and international (his favorite of the latter was from Nepal).
His web page is olanthorensen.com, which has news updates, an occasion blog posting, and downloadable maps (by clicking on them) to help orient readers to the planet Anyar (highly recommended). He’s on Facebook, which also has maps, reader/listener comments, and his responses. He can be emailed at olanthorensen@gmail.com. He reads all emails, though he may not be able to respond to them all. Readers can request to be on a mailing list for news of releases. Advantages of the mail list also include Christmas short stories, new maps, and a coming novella not otherwise available elsewhere.
A sampling of favorite movies include Avatar, Master and Commander, The Last Mimsy, Six Days and Seven Nights, Aliens, Jumanji, The Big Short, Trading Places, World War Z, and A Miracle on 34th Street (original). If you can figure out a common theme, let Olan know. :>)
Born in Louisiana, but mainly grew up in a less populated part of Northern California. Played football in high school but did minimum studying so as not to interfere with his reading novels. Ironic is that he studiously avoided learning things like details of grammar and good writing. He knows how ironic that is now.
Worked as a forest firefighter several summers. In his youth, served in the US Special Forces (one year in Vietnam; SOG, running recon patrols in Laos and the DMZ). Attended university before and after the Army. Has a Phd in Genetics, with around 200 science publications as author and co-author on genetics, molecular biology, and bioinformatics, and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Worked with people with all the education and no common sense and knows people with little education and a world of smarts.
Retired now in the Blue Ridge country of Virginia and has time to pursue his avocation of writing books – mainly science fiction plus one police/action/character book writing as Kelsey Robicheaux. Thinks it's totally cool someone can read his stories and enjoy them. Loves hearing from readers from all parts of the US and international (his favorite of the latter was from Nepal).
His web page is olanthorensen.com, which has news updates, an occasion blog posting, and downloadable maps (by clicking on them) to help orient readers to the planet Anyar (highly recommended). He’s on Facebook, which also has maps, reader/listener comments, and his responses. He can be emailed at olanthorensen@gmail.com. He reads all emails, though he may not be able to respond to them all. Readers can request to be on a mailing list for news of releases. Advantages of the mail list also include Christmas short stories, new maps, and a coming novella not otherwise available elsewhere.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 10, 2024
The book started off interesting, but quickly stalled. I debated on giving up on it, but then the Western aspect kicked in when they got to the town and things picked up. It’s very much an old school Western, with the very common theme seen in Western towns expanding faster than society expected. Plus, Olan's Destiny' Crucible series is one my favorite series of all time, so I'd give anything Olan wrote a chance.
May 6, 2024
Space Western. A space marshal and his new deputy kick @$$ and take names. Love me some Olan Thorensen! You keep writing them Olen, I'll keep buying them.
November 17, 2020
Really enjoyed this Author’s other books (Destiny’s Crucible series). So I gave this one a try. Very happy I decided to try something a bit different. The Howdy Pard is amusing. Looking forward to the next book in the series I highly recommend this book, good story and characters.
October 7, 2024
This book was an odd take on Olan Thorensen's writing. The premise to this starts to be a space western but you can tell his style of academic background writing comes out in this. While very prevalent with Destiny's Crucible it feels like he wanted to branch out to a different style. The story was okay, pretty simple western, and while it had an interesting start I don't know where he really wants to go here. I started the second book after about a third the way through I just gave up. There's a little too much setup and too much minutia with the characters that haven't been developed enough for me to care more. Ah well, Crucible is enjoyable and I'll continue with that.
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September 6, 2020An Amazing Story!
I don't leave reviews as often as I should, and for me to leave two in a row for books from the same author is unpresidented.. I really enjoyed this very interesting and enjoyable story,. I found myself laughing out loud at some of the antics of the two primary characters.. I hope to see future storys about Edgar & Everret in the future! I highly recommend....
I don't leave reviews as often as I should, and for me to leave two in a row for books from the same author is unpresidented.. I really enjoyed this very interesting and enjoyable story,. I found myself laughing out loud at some of the antics of the two primary characters.. I hope to see future storys about Edgar & Everret in the future! I highly recommend....
July 14, 2025
3* loved the destiny crucible series by same author.
I also loved the concept, “wild Wild West” on other colonized planets (think Firefly) and I generally enjoyed the story but as I got to the end I realized I wasn’t too interested in moving onto bk 2 maybe I will later but moving on at the moment
I also loved the concept, “wild Wild West” on other colonized planets (think Firefly) and I generally enjoyed the story but as I got to the end I realized I wasn’t too interested in moving onto bk 2 maybe I will later but moving on at the moment
July 13, 2026
Good (relatively) grounded space western. The two main characters are fun to watch bounce off each other and the opening has a great hook that keeps you reading. The book suffers from it’s clunky intro chapter and habit of having characters go on pages-long expositional rambles but overall it’s a fun read
June 30, 2025
No space fuckery. No Starships battling each other with space lasers. It's a reboot of any western. Stuck on mud-ball of a colony, playing sheriff coz like every western the town has been taken over by a thug and citizens are scared witless. There's no law to speak of.
September 26, 2020
Dad gum good book
Enjoyed this book very interesting reading I have read other books by Owen thornson and enjoyed them as well. It's an it's a keeper worth reading.
Enjoyed this book very interesting reading I have read other books by Owen thornson and enjoyed them as well. It's an it's a keeper worth reading.
July 15, 2021
Good characters and plot
Good read. Not a lot of depth but a sf western type. Only thing missing was the hero getting the girl. Lots of fun.
Good read. Not a lot of depth but a sf western type. Only thing missing was the hero getting the girl. Lots of fun.
August 2, 2021
Great!
Fun story that was a joy to read and I finished in a day.
Good story line with realistic town politics.
Fun story that was a joy to read and I finished in a day.
Good story line with realistic town politics.
December 3, 2021
I love sci fi westerns. Not as good as some of this authors other books, but still a lot of fun and a series I’d be happy to continue.
October 2, 2023
This was a surprisingly enjoyable book to listen to. The setting and plot were fairly uncommon, which made it stand out. Space Westerns, we need more of them.
May 25, 2024
DNF. Usually live his books but couldn’t stomach the Wild West in space theme.
September 19, 2024
Cowboys in space.
October 4, 2019
Great start for a new series!
If you like SciFi and classic westerns you will love this one! A fun read throughout with hints of more exciting things to come in future volumes. Solid plot, lots of action and clever dialogue throughout. Looking forward to reading more adventures with Cole and Millen!
If you like SciFi and classic westerns you will love this one! A fun read throughout with hints of more exciting things to come in future volumes. Solid plot, lots of action and clever dialogue throughout. Looking forward to reading more adventures with Cole and Millen!
October 27, 2019
Quick, fun read
I've read all of this author's books. The man can tell a story. This book has some hints of America's Wild West influence. The main character is the assistant/sidekick to a professional taking action to restore order to a town in a distant planet taken over by a sort of organized crime. Fun story with some subtle old West humor.
I've read all of this author's books. The man can tell a story. This book has some hints of America's Wild West influence. The main character is the assistant/sidekick to a professional taking action to restore order to a town in a distant planet taken over by a sort of organized crime. Fun story with some subtle old West humor.
October 30, 2019
I'm a new follower of Olan Thorenen. Got hooked on the Destiny's Crucible series. So I took a chance on this one. Good choice. Characters are realistic. Plot believable. Dialog, action scenes, setting all excellent. Waiting for the characters' next assignment.
August 25, 2019
Nice western with slight touch of si-fi. I assume there will be more of the latter in the second book
August 14, 2020
Loved Olan's other books. This one is a story you've seen and heard a million times and does not deviate from any of them. Same story different setting.
October 25, 2019
Deadwood Like
This story of a soldier who leaves the service to take a job on a remote colony planet as a fixer was awesome.
This story of a soldier who leaves the service to take a job on a remote colony planet as a fixer was awesome.
November 2, 2019
JK
Great read, waiting for the next one. Well written, good character development, and plot line. Recommend this to all the authors followers which are many.
Great read, waiting for the next one. Well written, good character development, and plot line. Recommend this to all the authors followers which are many.
December 11, 2019
Another home run from olan
Read all of Destinies Crucible and because a fan.
Now hooked on the Paladins of a distant sun. Looking forward to more from this talented author.
Read all of Destinies Crucible and because a fan.
Now hooked on the Paladins of a distant sun. Looking forward to more from this talented author.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews