Paradise Drift

Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda #6

by Sherwood Smith

R and R Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Dylan Hunt and the Crew of the Andromeda Ascendant have been fighting the good fight to re-establish the Systems Commonwealth. They need some serious rest and relaxation. Fortunately, they arrive at Paradise Drift, an ideal spot for a quick vacation. In the drift, the crew can play at pirates, medieval knights, gladiators--almost anything imaginable--in the virtual gaming scenarios concocted for visitors' pleasure.

Since the drift wishes to join the New Systems Commonwealth, the crew is given carte blanche to enjoy all of the drift's facilities for free. This is a welcome gift for the weary crew, but it doesn't take long for complications to arise. First, Trance Gemini vanishes without a trace. Then their tech-wizard Seamus Harper visits a harem, only to be confronted by a woman from his past who has a knife and a score to settle. Even worse, Pilot Beka Valentine is relentlessly pursued by a bounty hunter who desperately wants to claim the price on her head. And Captain Dylan Hunt hasn't been worrying about his losing streak at a glamorous gambling parlor, until he discovers that gambling debts on the drift are anything but virtual. Little does Dylan know, he could end up paying for his debts with his head!

Meanwhile, back on the ship, warrior Tyr Anasazi and ship's AI Rommie are forced to defend the Andromeda Ascendant against aggression from an unlikely source. What follows is an exciting, suspenseful deep-space adventure that will surely satisfy viewers of the TV series and readers with a taste for space opera.

Genres: Science Fiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published June 8, 2005

About the author

I am a writer,( Patreon here) but I'm on Goodreads to talk about books, as I've been a passionate reader as long as I've been a writer--since early childhood.

I'm not going to rate books--there are too many variables. I'd rather talk about the reading experience. My 'reviews' of my books are confined to the writing process.

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, I have truly enjoyed everything I have read by Sherwood Smith. It is always a delight to read her work. Paradise Drift was no exception. I don't read this type of book very often (you know, TV shows or movies spun-off into a series of books written (usually) by well known authors in the genre. That being said, I was engaged and interested from start to finish. The only problem was, since I did not watch all of Andromeda (something I will soon rectify), I couldn't imagine the characters I hadn't encountered on TV. I think that is my biggest issue with this type of fiction. I already have a firm pictures of Dylan Hunt, Beka, Rommie, Tyr, Trance, and Harper. I remember them from the show. So it was weird to have a half-vision of the story. With books that are made into movies, I usually read the book first then see the movie and compare how my vision of the characters matches up with the movie.

Still, that's just a weird thought I had while reading an incredibly enjoyable book.