Pacifica

Alden Northcliff #1

by Chris A. Jackson

He’ll have to harness the storm to save his homeworld.

Sailing in the Circum-Pacifica Cup is an honor and privilege most Pacificans dream of, but this time Alden Northcliff isn’t racing ahead of the water-world’s global storms for glory. He’s doing it so he can stand on the winner’s podium, shake the governor’s hand, and kill him.

With his fifty-year career in the Federal Fleet left in tatters after a mistake that cost millions of lives, Alden is fighting to save his homeworld—a quest that feels like redemption. But it’s not just leviathans and hurricane winds Alden has to face. Racers are being murdered. The police are cracking down on local communities. Offworld mercenaries strike from the skies. Corporate greed is destroying his homeworld, and the governor is at the center of it. One way or another, this Circum-Pacifica Cup may be Alden’s last.

From Pathfinder and Shadowrun author Chris A. Jackson, comes a brand new science fiction adventure series set in the massive and ever-expanding FiveFold Universe!

438 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 6, 2021

About the author

From the sea to the stars, Chris A. Jackson’s stories take you to the far reaches of the imagination. Raised on the back deck of a fishing boat and trained as a marine biologist, he became sidetracked by a career in biomedical research, but regained his heart and soul in 2009 when he and his wife Anne left the dock aboard the 45-foot sailboat Mr Mac to cruise the Caribbean and write fulltime.
With his nautical background, writing sea stories seemed inevitable for Chris. His acclaimed Scimitar Seas nautical fantasies won three consecutive Gold Medals in the ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Awards. His Pathfinders Tales from Paizo Publishing combine high-seas combat and romance set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Not to be outdone, Privateer Press released Blood & Iron, a swashbuckling novella set in the Iron Kingdoms.
Chris’ repertoire also includes the award-winning and Kindle best-selling Weapon of Flesh Series, the contemporary urban fantasy Dragon Dreams, as well as additional fantasy novels, the humorous sci fi Cheese Runners trilogy of novellas, and numerous short stories.
To learn more, please visit jaxbooks.com.

Reviews

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Commander Alden Northcliff worked for Fleet, but on his last assignment things had gone awry and 1.62 billion lives had been lost, he was now on probation and on his way back to his home world Pacifica. This was a water world and he had been away from home for fifty years, so was not prepared at all for the changes, none for the better, which he found upon arrival. Foreigners were running the country, at the head of who was Governor Remefir, a man with a dirty past of bringing many a planet to its knees through exploitation of resources, and greed for power and money. The whole of Pacifica was roiling, as the indigenous people were being disrespected, starved out and angered beyond measure at seeing the sea, their lifeblood being drained of all its resources. Something had to be done if Pacifica was to be saved and Alden just would not stand by and do nothing, so he entered as a contestant in the great boat race around the planet during hurricane season, planning on taking out Remefir at the end of the race during the prize winningceremony. However he and Wheke, his AI bot never imagined the trouble they were getting themselves into as one by one the participants lives were threatened but Alden was not one to back down ever. In the end his innovative thinking saved the day as he managed to de-escalate the rising tension by turning an enemy into an ally. This is a nerve wrecking story, of battling the sea in all its furious glory as well as battling enemies unseen and unscrupulous. I love the character of Alden, his courage to save others is amazing, but more so I really enjoyed the sarcastic wit and loyalty of Wheke and the romance building up between Alden and Ra’i. I look forward to more books about Alden and Wheke and of course Ra’i.

[K.L. Nappier · Rating 5 out of 5]

*CAUTION: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*

With the drop of his latest novel “Pacifica,” anyone who follows Chris A. Jackson is going to want to follow him right into the FiveFold Universe. This multi-author science-fiction universe is set in the far future of humanity, and Jackson’s contribution to it takes us to a truly unique world with a culture I’ve never seen explored in sci-fi.

“Pacifica” is a wonderful, swashbuckling Herman Melville-meets-Arthur C. Clarke-meets-George Lucas kind of tale. Full of action, it’s set on a truly unique world based on a culture that’s entirely unique in sci-fi. It’s uplifting without being pollyannaish and peopled with well-rounded, charismatic characters who are willing to bare-knuckle and McGyver it when the need arises. All this, plus a nail-biting regatta that circumnavigates the globe during the turbulent season of Afa Time.

Fleet Commander Alden Northcliff has spent fifty years dedicated to keeping the human species from annihilating itself. But in a single, horrific incident, through no fault of his own, his decades of good works have unraveled. Broken, forced into a leave of absence, and wanting to make sense of what his future should be, he returns to his homeworld of Pacifica, a lush water world he hasn’t seen since leaving to serve in the Federal Fleet.

But Pacifica is not what it once was. Its local government has been taken over by outsiders who care little for her people’s ancient culture of respect and love for global harmony and balance. And Northcliff is prepared to be a political assassin if that’s what it takes to stop them.

New to the work of Chris A. Jackson? You couldn’t choose a better introduction to his novels than “Pacifica.”

[D.J. Bodden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pacifica starts slow and builds to a surprising ending. It's a homecoming story, and that speaks to me after coming home for the first time after 10 years and seeing all the changes, good and bad, but it's deeply a story about the sea in a sci-fi setting and I haven't seen that very often. The seamanship part felt very authentic--I've only spent a little time on sailboats and other sea craft, but it's clear to me the author has spent a lot of time on the ocean. There's some light romance and some government conspiracy stuff, but it shines in its love of the water.

[Kelen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

I loved this book about a mostly water planet, colonized by Polynesians. It was full of action from beginning to end, mysteries, conundrums, ethical considerations, romance, aliens, and wickedness in high places. It had a little something for everyone, including eco-friendly natives, and strip mining mega-corporations. There was even paranormal activities. I'm looking forward to reading more about the commander and his "gifts".

[Bruce Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Polynesian Restoration

Entertaining and ethno logically authentic. A tale that shows you can go home again, but it helps to have AI minders.

[Ellissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did I read this and immediately decide I need to buy a boat and sail to some tropical island? Yes. Did I expect to get that feeling from a sci-fi book? No.
This felt like a fun take on science fiction, it had the classic elements I've come to expect from FiveFold Universe books - cool body modifications, a feel like it really was in the future, a smart, competent, but not goody-two-shoes hero, and a plot that I didn't fully see coming, but it also had some nice looks at environmental protection and the idea of sci-fi on a non hi-tech world. It starts a little slow but then dives right into the story, where you really feel like you're in the race.
Overall, very fun read, with a very cool and fresh perspective, I consider a welcome addition to the world of sci-fi.