2595: Ten years after The Fourth Spacer War with the rival Gigacorps. Naero Amashin Maeris works in her Clan's merchant fleet, dreaming of her own ship and developing psyonic powers without going nuts. After tragedy strikes her Clan in the Unknown Regions, agents from the Corps stalk her, believing she holds the key to secrets priceless and deadly: lost tek data from an ancient, godlike alien race.
Soon she's caught up in a white hot intrigue of raiders, assassins, and warring interstellar spies and fleets. Even worse, the greatest threat might yet lurk deep within herself. And Naero's Run has only just begun to heat up.
Mason Elliott grew up loving Science Fiction and Fantasy in all of their myriad forms. That love has transferred into his dedicated writing. Like most writers, he lives a Spartan lifestyle and yearns to devote his life even more to his writing, and someday retire on the Pacific Coast. So be a fan, buy his stuff, and enjoy! Reviewers and Bloggers, please contact Mason at:
I was a little hesitant at first to even start this book. I have never been a big fan of sci-fi whether it is a movie or a book. However, since the author was kind enough to award it to me through a random give away (I honestly did not know he was going to give away copies of this book until he contacted me). So, I figured that I would give it a look-see and I am glad that I did!
It all starts out where Naero is a Leftenant on her Aunts fleet while her parents are off exploring the outer edges of their galaxy. She is about to come of age, 20 years old for her people, and has yet to develop her powers and is afraid of being a “nub” – one of her kind without powers. She decides to use pills, injections, even a stimulator helmet, during a training session to attempt to bring out her powers. But doing so seems to have brought on an adverse reaction, and still no powers.
Shortly thereafter she, and her brother Janner, learn that their parents exploration fleet was destroyed by enemy forces. They soon learn that the reason was because their parents found a highly powerful weapon created by an ancient, extinct, race. But, nobody could figure out if they actually did find it, and if they did, where did they put it?
It was soon found that the code for this powerful weapon what somehow split and engrained in the DNA of both Naero and Janner, and their enemies would stop at nothing to get the code, including starting another all-out war. Now it was up do Naero to find a way to keep herself and Janner safe and alive until her people could figure out how to combine the two strands of code to see what it actually possessed. But, she would soon find that it wasn’t just her enemies that she had to watch out for.
This was a very intriguing book for me. As I said, I do not typically read sci-fi, but the writer was able to keep me wanting more. It had the right amount of action, romance, and horror. It kept me guessing what was going to happen next, and most of the time I was wrong! I had a hard time putting it down.
Three stars for the story, two stars for the writing. Such great phrases as "geisha black hair," and "alabaster skin" belong in a lurid romance, not a science fiction book. And it sure would be nice if every sentence actually contained a verb. At times the writing was so bad I couldn't focus on the story.
In fact, I'm amazed that I actually finished this, but it was just interesting enough to see where it went. It was not worth it. The interesting developments weren't explained, while everything else was. At times I couldn't figure out if the author was writing a romance, a YA coming of age novel, or space opera. This lack of a focus shows through as the characters and plot jump focus between military sci fi and something else...
Anyway, this focuses on Naero, a 19 year old spacer who the entire universe wants because of her link to a legendary data trove. This could have been interesting if we didn't add nearly godlike powers, mortal enemies who magically become best friends, and a lot of political speechifying. I found myself skimming through the combat scenes at they were mostly told through the issuance of orders. Orders by said 19 year old girl because of COURSE she should lead when experienced combat veterans are around. Anyway, inevitable betrayal, overwhelming odds and a last minute rescue all show up. Sigh.
Although I enjoyed this book there are some major flaws that will keep me from reading the next in the series. One of my biggest pet peeve is that in allot of the new books the supposed good guys go after revenge and get it then live happily ever after. I like science fiction / fantasy that may put someone in an unrealistic situation but then showes how they might realistically act. real humans either feel remorseful and unfulfilled after getting revenge or they move a step towards being a sociopath.
the second major flaw in this book is the main character never seeks, nor is able to learn anything significant unless forced to by the situation so the alien tech becomes a deux ex machina that is used based on feelings and not knowledge. On a similar note, when the main character feels that there's danger she always ignores it and then walks right into a bad situation but everything always comes out okay.
This book reminded me a lot of the pulpy Forgotten Realms, Dragon Lance or Shadowrun style books of my teen years but set in a far future universe. I would have to classify it more as Science Fantasy or Comic Book Science Fiction then pure Science Fiction. I found the book to be long for the amount that actually happens in the story. It felt like an excessive amount of description for the amount of action. All that being said, I liked the story enough to buy the second one to see what happens next.
I’ve had this book for quite a while, but the blurb always made me think this would be a book where the author just tries too hard, especially with phrases like; Even worse, the greatest threat might yet lurk deep within herself.
After half-a-dozen chapters I was still struggling with the author’s style, some of the descriptions were awkward and at times it felt like I was reading a teen novel. This gets better as I got used to his style and the story developed a bit of a flow.
I actually enjoyed the first half of the story although if I had to use a single word to describe it, it would be ‘frantic’, at times I think the author was guilty of trying to cram in too much all at once. There were a few things that irritated, some situations were so contrived they were nearly unbelievable and Naero’s nightmares and illusions became annoying after a while.
At the start of the second half the story seemed to lose its way and it wasn’t as interesting as it drifted into the realms of Fantasy. There is the customary big battle towards the end, but again the author just has to go over the top, even worse ‘stuff just happens’, it's so contrived I was just left thinking ‘where the hell did that come from’.
Overall the book was probably worth the read, which is why I didn’t give just one star, but I won’t be reading the rest of the series.
Naero's Run promises an action-packed space adventure featuring a kickass female protagonist - which it delivers. I just didn't expect the whole thing to be so... YA. The protagonist certainly kicks ass as promised, but she's also an annoyingly whiny and hotheaded idiot at times. The writing style needs improvement, especially the dialogue which is on occasion so awfully cliché-riddled that it makes me want to scream. From what I can tell, this was the author's debut novel, so I would hope the writing flows better in more recent works.
A coming of age space opera that piths corporations against the free born of the universe. Naero is a young woman from a spacer family grieving for her family and learning about her feelings. She and her brother share a deadly secret that others want badly enough to kidnap her.
I got this as a free book, wasn't sure I wanted to read it, but gave it a try. It was surprisingly good. I really enjoyed it, spaced out some of the more technical parts though.
Hadn't read this author before, but I will read more. Started a little slowly, but action and plot twists abound as you get farther in. I look forward to the next one!
I'd had my eye on this book for awhile and finally decided to read it. Overall, it read really quick for me. Elliott did a good job with pacing, and the twists were good enough. He seems to have created quite a fascinating universe and I look forward to exploring it more with his other books in the series.
While you read it don't stress out too much on the science and military protocol (or strategy) - just go with the flow and enjoy it.
As far as the content, I think it would be appropriate for most teens, though it has a little language. The violence is...violent, but not overly so (in my mind). But know that Elliott doesn't shy away from some decently vivid descriptions of injuries and torture. Worldview is secular, no real religious themes at all (though a secondary character does pray a few times). No explicit sexual stuff, which was tasteful.
All in all, fun quick read. Don't over think it and you'll enjoy it if you like a solid sci-fi action story with some military strategy thrown in for good measure.
I enjoyed the story and the characters in this book but felt that some things needed more explaining or attention. I couldn't figure out why Naero would be allowed on the front line or on missions due to her importance. I also would have liked to see more attention given to how people heal so quickly. There were times when this was glossed over entirely. How does one get a serious injury and then shortly after is back in the thick of things? Having said that though, I enjoyed the glimpse at the Spacer's lifestyle and values and I especially liked the interaction between Naero and her aunt. I look forward to reading the next book.
YA sci-fi, a vibrant universe, a coming of age story. Mason Elliott spins a wonderful tale of a teen girl, who wants nothing more than to live up to her parent's legacy. Like all good stories, what Naero wants and what she needs are two different things. There's a secret living inside her. An alien database that holds vast knowledge. Is it a boon, or a curse?
An action packed start to a good series. I enjoyed reading it and readily gobbled up the rest of the series. There's a lot of mystery and intrigue. Many times you don't know who the good guys and bad guys are. Everyone has their own agenda, which always makes for good fiction. An excellent read.
I think this book is a great read for people who love space opera. The political intrigue takes many unexpected twists and turns, upping the tension at all the right places. The characters are heartwarming and real, and plenty of space is given in the book for their development and interpersonal relationships while maintaining the intensity of the action sequences. The book started a little slow for me, but after that I couldn't put it down.
A great story and a exiting read. I stayed up all night to finish it. The writing is pretty bad though, and the author uses made-up terms that really annoyed me. I nearly gave it up several times, but I was too intrigued by the Psyonic (arrgh!) abilities to put the book down. I can't decide if I want to read more books in the series. 4 stars for the story, 2 for the writing, for an average of 3 stars.
I truly enjoyed this book. The author writes well and weaves an imaginative, coherent, and exciting story with intriguing characters and plenty of sci-fi action! The editing is much better than most self-published ebooks with errors usually so minor that it shouldn't affect flow for even the staunchest of critiques. Well done, Mr. Elliot, I enthusiastically look forward to reading the next book in your series! Highly recommended.
GREAT SPACE OPERA – Highly recommended. This one was hard to put down. Lots of action and a thought provoking plot – will Naero get her powers back and if so what will they develop into. And what has happened to Om and what exactly is Om? Mason Elliott has taken Taylor Caldwell’s “Captains and the Kings” into space with the “Corps” domination of space and treatment of their “employees(??)”. After almost 40 years of working for large corporations – I can relate.
I'm so glad I picked up this series! It has everything I've always enjoyed: strong female leads, believable characters, action and adventure, unique worlds and imagination. I highly recommend this book and this author. Can't wait to read the next book!
It was a bit disappointing, I was expecting a little bit more out of it. Just didn't hold my attention and I ended up skimming through quite a few chapters. It's still a ok book, not the greatest book tho. Probably pass on the second book unless I can read it for free like the first one.
This wasn't bad book. There were some continuity issues. I didn't like how he just came up with the fixers and now there was a solution to an improbable cause. It was enjoyable and I liked the characters. I will read the next one to see if it gets better.
Great characters and surprising twists! Good combat and fights. Nifty psionics and technology too. Great read and definitely recommended! Already got book 2 and about to dig in.