Hybrid

Tales of the Acheron #2

by Rick Partlow

Sandi Hollande and Ash Carpenter are outlaws for hire.

After they managed to rescue an innocent hostage from the clutches of two rival criminal cartels, they’ve gained a reputation, both with families who want to retrieve lost loved ones from places the authorities can’t go…and with Fleet Intelligence.

Sandi, Ash and their friends the cyborg mercenary Korri Fontenot and the Tahni exile Kan-Ten are commissioned by an Intelligence agent to retrieve information from a cartel spy that could lead to the location of the Fleet cruiser Metaurus, thought lost in the war with the Tahni. A cartel ship has spotted it drifting through a distant system, far at the edge of occupied space, and Sandi and Ash are the only ones who can be trusted to investigate without throwing up red flags for the wrong people to see.

But the Metaurus isn’t just a mystery…it’s a graveyard, its crew slaughtered. And the thing that did it isn’t human…and it isn’t dead.

Join the crew of the privateer Acheron for their next thrilling adventure!

Genres: Science Fiction

315 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 3, 2018

About the author

Rick Partlow is that rarest of species, a native Floridian. Born in Tampa, he attended Florida Southern College and graduated with a degree in History and a commission in the US Army as an Infantry officer.
His lifelong love of science fiction began with Have Space Suit---Will Travel and the other Heinlein juveniles and traveled through Clifford Simak, Asimov, Clarke and on to William Gibson, Walter Jon Williams and Peter F Hamilton. And somewhere, submerged in the worlds of others, Rick began to create his own worlds.
He has written over 70 books in over a dozen different series, and his short stories have been included in many different anthologies.

He currently lives in norther Wyoming with his wife and their dog. Besides writing and reading science fiction and fantasy, he enjoys outdoor photography, hiking and camping.

Reviews

[RCDinsmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as rest of the series

I like this author, and have enjoyed all of the various series that take place in this universe, particularly the dropship trooper books. This series isn't quite as strong, but still has been fun. But this book had a significantly different vibe. If you are into the Alien movies, you'll probably enjoy it.

[john s moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good read

Another good read from Rick and if you enjoy learning what Ash and Sandi are up to you won't be disappointed. Maybe even a little surprised but certainly entertained. Read and enjoy just be prepared for lost time while reading lol

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different sort of combat

Sandi and Ash, along with the rest of their crew find themselves in a new kind of combat as they take up the job from the mysterious Mr Fox. Needless to say, they are never bored!

[Scott Shjefte · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 novels in the series, First is a military rocket fighter war story, the second is after the war as gangsters take over control of much of the frontier, this the third one is a monster horror-type tale. Borrowed this item for free with my Prime Reading membership on March 13, 2023.

[David Hyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aliens

A fun little read the continued adventures zo to speak. It reads like Alien. The moral of course is don't cross the Cartels and avoid Naval Intelligence.

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it, it was a nice change of pace. Adding the horror element into the military sci-fi.

[Deacon Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sandi has become a hired gun, or in her case piolet and net diver. Drummed out of the service after the war, and disgraced for going rouge to save her best friend, Ash, she turns to the pirate worlds and the cartels to make ends meet. She never imagined the deadly cost her willingness to transport unregistered cargo would cost.
After a transaction goes wrong, on the run she comes face to face with the family of a child killed in the cross fire between cartels and quickly learns it's not the life for her. Refusing to fly, she is pressed into the world of net diving where she learns that a high level military admiral has been selling military arms to the mob, and decides that information might allow her to buy her way out. Instead she finds her self on the run, the mob is gunning for her, a hitman is hot on her trail, and a murder charge looms large over head.
With no other choice she turns to her old friend Ash, and once more she drags him into her world of darkness and danger, while she tries to play both sides against each other, and somehow come out alive.

Part two of Rick Partlow's Acheron series is part wild west, part mobster tale, in a world that Hans Solo would have known all to well. Once more I enjoyed the novel and found it entertaining, but Sandi remains fairly unlikable, even as Ash slowly makes her redeemable if nothing else. I have a feeling the next book in this series will be outstanding. The pieces are in place, the stage is set, and maybe this time, Sandi won't come off as a selfish user, who thinks only of herself.