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Hellgate #2
Deep Sky
Continuing the massive saga which began with HELLGATE: The Rabelais Alliance
Six centuries in the future, Mankind faces our darkest struggles for survival, and our only allies are the last, fugitive remnants of the race long believed extinct...
Neil Travers and Curtis Marin are back in action in the second volume of the HELLGATE series.
While the Confederacy tries to use the DeepSky Fleet to crush the breakaway colonies, a handful of rebels may be the only force standing between the new human homeworlds and the shadowy enemy which almost exterminated the last race to whom these far-flung stars were home. The Resalq have survived ... but the threat is greater than ever. On one hand, the Zunshu strike out of Rabelais Space, also known as Hellgate. On the other hand, the government of Earth is determined to bring the unruly colonies back into line. Between the two, the humans of the frontier worlds and the last of the Resalq fight to survive, and the odds are against them. Nothing is what it seems, with allies within the Fleet and enemies among the Freespacers. And when Travers and Marin are assigned to the super-carrier Kiev on the Omaru block- ade, all bets are off, and it’s every man for himself.
Six centuries in the future, Mankind faces our darkest struggles for survival, and our only allies are the last, fugitive remnants of the race long believed extinct...
Neil Travers and Curtis Marin are back in action in the second volume of the HELLGATE series.
While the Confederacy tries to use the DeepSky Fleet to crush the breakaway colonies, a handful of rebels may be the only force standing between the new human homeworlds and the shadowy enemy which almost exterminated the last race to whom these far-flung stars were home. The Resalq have survived ... but the threat is greater than ever. On one hand, the Zunshu strike out of Rabelais Space, also known as Hellgate. On the other hand, the government of Earth is determined to bring the unruly colonies back into line. Between the two, the humans of the frontier worlds and the last of the Resalq fight to survive, and the odds are against them. Nothing is what it seems, with allies within the Fleet and enemies among the Freespacers. And when Travers and Marin are assigned to the super-carrier Kiev on the Omaru block- ade, all bets are off, and it’s every man for himself.
364 pages, ebook
First published October 15, 2008
3 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Mel Keegan
54 books71 followersA self-confessed science fiction and fantasy devotee, Keegan is known for novels across a wide range of subjects, from the historical to the future action-adventure. Mel lives in South Australia with an eccentric family and a variety of pets.
Every Mel Keegan book is strong on gay or bisexual heroes (also, often, on gay villains), and some of these heroes are the most delicious in fiction: Jarrat and Stone from the NARC series, Bill Ryan and Jim Hale from The Deceivers, Neil Travers and Curtis Marin from Hellgate, and many more unforgettable characters. Because Mel's books feature the same sex relationships, the partnership at the core of each book is integral: this is the relationship driving the story, and it can be very powerful indeed.
Every Mel Keegan book is strong on gay or bisexual heroes (also, often, on gay villains), and some of these heroes are the most delicious in fiction: Jarrat and Stone from the NARC series, Bill Ryan and Jim Hale from The Deceivers, Neil Travers and Curtis Marin from Hellgate, and many more unforgettable characters. Because Mel's books feature the same sex relationships, the partnership at the core of each book is integral: this is the relationship driving the story, and it can be very powerful indeed.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 10, 2013
Unlike the books in NARC series which are only loosely connected and each has a definite ending, the books in Hellgate series are connected in one big story. It's complex and it grows more so with every page.
Like I predicted, this book was much easier to read because the big blocks of world-building were established in the first novel. The group of people around Travers and Marin grows closer to the answers they seek, gets new members and prepares for the fight with elusive Zunshu. But, Zunshu are coming and already striking against the most remote colonies.
The undercurrent of fear runs through the novel that all characters feel and the reader with them - the danger is real, but has no face, its purpose and goals are unknown. And, humans, being what they are, play their power games, losing precious time and resources multiplying the potential disaster.
I am not a scientist though I once planned to be before I was diverted towards literature, but Keegan science sounds and reads solid and he expands on the current discoveries and theories. Even the fiction in science fiction sounds possible in Keegan's hands and it made me spend a few hours reading about black holes, gravity, event horizons and other marvels. While NARC was technological, Hellgate is scientific. We are in Stephen Hawking's playground here and it's mesmerizing.
Recommended for die-hard science fiction fans.
Like I predicted, this book was much easier to read because the big blocks of world-building were established in the first novel. The group of people around Travers and Marin grows closer to the answers they seek, gets new members and prepares for the fight with elusive Zunshu. But, Zunshu are coming and already striking against the most remote colonies.
The undercurrent of fear runs through the novel that all characters feel and the reader with them - the danger is real, but has no face, its purpose and goals are unknown. And, humans, being what they are, play their power games, losing precious time and resources multiplying the potential disaster.
I am not a scientist though I once planned to be before I was diverted towards literature, but Keegan science sounds and reads solid and he expands on the current discoveries and theories. Even the fiction in science fiction sounds possible in Keegan's hands and it made me spend a few hours reading about black holes, gravity, event horizons and other marvels. While NARC was technological, Hellgate is scientific. We are in Stephen Hawking's playground here and it's mesmerizing.
Recommended for die-hard science fiction fans.
September 3, 2014
You can find my full review of Deep Sky at my web site.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews