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The Asarlaí Wars #1
Warrior Wench
Vaslisha Tor Dain is a mercenary starship captain with a few simple rules: A good ship is better than a great man, in case of confusion always err on the side of blowing someone's head off, and never fall for a telepath or a member of her crew.
All of those are about to bite her in the ass.
Vas’s life takes a turn for the worse when she comes back to her crew after what should have been a two week pleasure trip to find out she’s actually been gone a month and has no memory of missing time. Her beloved ship, The Victorious Dead, has been sold for scrap and its pieces scattered throughout the galaxy. In addition, there are unmarked ships blowing apart entire planets and the Commonwealth government can’t, or won’t, stop them.
And that’s just her first day back.
Vas has to fight her crew, the Commonwealth, and a mysterious cadre of warrior monks to get her ship back and save a universe that may not want to be saved.
All of those are about to bite her in the ass.
Vas’s life takes a turn for the worse when she comes back to her crew after what should have been a two week pleasure trip to find out she’s actually been gone a month and has no memory of missing time. Her beloved ship, The Victorious Dead, has been sold for scrap and its pieces scattered throughout the galaxy. In addition, there are unmarked ships blowing apart entire planets and the Commonwealth government can’t, or won’t, stop them.
And that’s just her first day back.
Vas has to fight her crew, the Commonwealth, and a mysterious cadre of warrior monks to get her ship back and save a universe that may not want to be saved.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 24, 2016
537 people are currently reading
1094 people want to read
About the author
Marie Andreas
50 books251 followersMarie is a fantasy and science fiction reader with a serious writing addiction, and a few awards to go with it. If she wasn't writing about all the people in her head, she'd be lurking about coffee shops annoying total strangers with her stories. So really, writing is a way of saving the masses. Her fantasy series, The Lost Ancients, starts with The Glass Gargoyle. The entire six book, Lost Ancient series is complete for binge time!
There is also a completed space opera trilogy, with Warrior Wench, Victorious Dead, and Defiant Ruin. Vas and her crew of mercs launched a new series with Traitor's Folly which is also now complete.
A Curious Invasion-- a steampunk-is out and has two more books out as well. Vampires, mermaids, pharaohs, and TEA!
Essence of Chaos is the first book in a completed epic fantasy trilogy.
The Girl with the Iron Wing is a thriller/Urban Fantasy, and the first book in the Broken Veils series. The trilogy is now completed.
A trio of sisters is represented facing their biggest challenges in the Magic & Sorcery Chronicles--a clean romantasy trilogy.
A new paranormal cozy mystery fantasy series launches with Mischief in a Bottle.
More new books, series, and adventures coming in 2026!
When not saving the masses from coffee shop shenanigans, Marie likes to visit the UK and keeps hoping someone will give her a nice summer home in the Forest of Dean or northern Wales.
To find out more about the books, and future series, please visit her website at www.marieandreas.com--especially if you happen to have a small cottage to give her.
There is also a completed space opera trilogy, with Warrior Wench, Victorious Dead, and Defiant Ruin. Vas and her crew of mercs launched a new series with Traitor's Folly which is also now complete.
A Curious Invasion-- a steampunk-is out and has two more books out as well. Vampires, mermaids, pharaohs, and TEA!
Essence of Chaos is the first book in a completed epic fantasy trilogy.
The Girl with the Iron Wing is a thriller/Urban Fantasy, and the first book in the Broken Veils series. The trilogy is now completed.
A trio of sisters is represented facing their biggest challenges in the Magic & Sorcery Chronicles--a clean romantasy trilogy.
A new paranormal cozy mystery fantasy series launches with Mischief in a Bottle.
More new books, series, and adventures coming in 2026!
When not saving the masses from coffee shop shenanigans, Marie likes to visit the UK and keeps hoping someone will give her a nice summer home in the Forest of Dean or northern Wales.
To find out more about the books, and future series, please visit her website at www.marieandreas.com--especially if you happen to have a small cottage to give her.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 173 reviews
May 12, 2024
This book in a nutshell:
It's Super Extra Entertaining (SEE™)! It's fast-paced as fish! It's packed with twists and turns and surprises and stuff! And with priceless dialogues, too! And also with hilarious character interactions! Oh, and it features a glorious bunch of most diverse, deranged-yet-endearing mercenaries (think walking stick insects, feather-like hair, clicking mandibles, double-lidded eyes, razor-sharp teeth, and clawed, gender-switching scrumptiousness)! And bastard pirates! And psychotic monks! And a spaceship that looks like a fluffy pink whorehouse! Okay, so the plot structure makes the reader feel a little 🥴🥴🥴 at times, and not everything makes sense but who the shrimp cares?! Besides, this book is absolutely perfect for those times when you are feeling Certifiably Braindead™, so there.
📚 Vaslisha Tor Dain series:
1 · Warrior Wench (The Asarlaí Wars #1) ★★★★
2 · Victorious Dead (The Asarlaí Wars #2) ★★★★
3 · Defiant Ruin (The Asarlaí Wars, #3) ★★★★
4 · Traitor's Folly (The Code of the Keepers, #1) ★★★
5 · Destroyer's Curse (The Code of the Keepers, #2) ★★
6 · The Code of the Keepers, #3 · NOT to be read, thank you very much.
It's Super Extra Entertaining (SEE™)! It's fast-paced as fish! It's packed with twists and turns and surprises and stuff! And with priceless dialogues, too! And also with hilarious character interactions! Oh, and it features a glorious bunch of most diverse, deranged-yet-endearing mercenaries (think walking stick insects, feather-like hair, clicking mandibles, double-lidded eyes, razor-sharp teeth, and clawed, gender-switching scrumptiousness)! And bastard pirates! And psychotic monks! And a spaceship that looks like a fluffy pink whorehouse! Okay, so the plot structure makes the reader feel a little 🥴🥴🥴 at times, and not everything makes sense but who the shrimp cares?! Besides, this book is absolutely perfect for those times when you are feeling Certifiably Braindead™, so there.
📚 Vaslisha Tor Dain series:
1 · Warrior Wench (The Asarlaí Wars #1) ★★★★
2 · Victorious Dead (The Asarlaí Wars #2) ★★★★
3 · Defiant Ruin (The Asarlaí Wars, #3) ★★★★
4 · Traitor's Folly (The Code of the Keepers, #1) ★★★
5 · Destroyer's Curse (The Code of the Keepers, #2) ★★
6 · The Code of the Keepers, #3 · NOT to be read, thank you very much.
April 9, 2019
I stopped at around the 30% mark -- I couldn't finish it. This book is a collection of every sci-fi trope known to humanity, crammed together as tightly as possible. I could hardly turn a single page without reading about blasters or ship computers or yet another random alien race that seems eerily tailored to be perfect at some specific human profession.
And the characters... oh the characters. Even if I tried I could not create a cast of characters that so closely matches a specific set of boring archetypes. Deven the handsome, powerful, mysterious, do-gooder. Mac the haphazard schemer (but who is the best pilot ever!). Vas the sardonic, fearless, violent mercenary captain.
Or at least, the book tries very hard to describe Vas as sardonic and violent. They practically shove it down your throat. But then every one of Vas's actions go completely against that described personality; she never really hurts anyone (even Skrankle who destroyed her warship, her home and livelihood). She lets everyone on her crew push her around.
Oh, and the "sexual tension" between Deven and Vas is completely contrived and lifeless.
I could go on, but the summary is that this book is terrible. Even having received it for free I still lost out on the deal.
And the characters... oh the characters. Even if I tried I could not create a cast of characters that so closely matches a specific set of boring archetypes. Deven the handsome, powerful, mysterious, do-gooder. Mac the haphazard schemer (but who is the best pilot ever!). Vas the sardonic, fearless, violent mercenary captain.
Or at least, the book tries very hard to describe Vas as sardonic and violent. They practically shove it down your throat. But then every one of Vas's actions go completely against that described personality; she never really hurts anyone (even Skrankle who destroyed her warship, her home and livelihood). She lets everyone on her crew push her around.
Oh, and the "sexual tension" between Deven and Vas is completely contrived and lifeless.
I could go on, but the summary is that this book is terrible. Even having received it for free I still lost out on the deal.
January 4, 2017
The first book in The Asarlai Wars series by Marie Andreas. Vaslisha Tor Dain is a mercenary captain back from r&r. But her 2 weeks turned into a month and her memory is sketchy. Time to find her ship and... Her ship is what? Her ship has been taken apart and scattered across the galaxy. So she takes another ship, the Warrior Wench and goes to find her crew. Odd things are happening and it looks like it's up to her and her crew to figure it all out.
While the story doesn't end in a cliffhanger, there are unresolved issues that will continue to the next book which is not out yet apparently :( I liked it. I will certainly look for the next book in the series whenever it come out.
While the story doesn't end in a cliffhanger, there are unresolved issues that will continue to the next book which is not out yet apparently :( I liked it. I will certainly look for the next book in the series whenever it come out.
October 12, 2020
Rating: 2.6/5
Review: A fairly mundane attempt at the 'Space Operatic' with bold characterization and fairly good world building.
The Bad: Vas, while being hotter than a two-dollar pistol, is also a borderline sociopath that kills with a justified contract or you just plane pissed her off somehow. She has tons of enemies that want to kill her yet remains underfoot within a crowded galaxy. Confused? Me too. Despite her tendencies towards the erratic, she is a pirate/mercenary/captain with a heart of gold. Not too deep down (as she lacks complexity) she has feewings for Deven and resists the urge to kill people here and there.
The Ugly: The idea that she and her crew will be the laughingstock of the entire galaxy because her new ship was once a flying brothel is not believable.....in the slightest. The insertion (haha) and subsequent transformation from a hard core space captain into a love-addled dolt really drove this novel into the dirt.
The Good: The supporting characters and their individual instances are quite funny and spin the novel in a direction not to be taken seriously....at any level. It is a funny space romp with a hint of seriousness and a dash of the inventive. The characters grow on you as does the ribald humor. Forget the strained scifi tropes and the patterned archetypes that reside within, and have some fun you tight-ass sumbitch.
I will not continue on with the series unless the author gives me a free copy or grants me Beta reading powers.
Review: A fairly mundane attempt at the 'Space Operatic' with bold characterization and fairly good world building.
The Bad: Vas, while being hotter than a two-dollar pistol, is also a borderline sociopath that kills with a justified contract or you just plane pissed her off somehow. She has tons of enemies that want to kill her yet remains underfoot within a crowded galaxy. Confused? Me too. Despite her tendencies towards the erratic, she is a pirate/mercenary/captain with a heart of gold. Not too deep down (as she lacks complexity) she has feewings for Deven and resists the urge to kill people here and there.
The Ugly: The idea that she and her crew will be the laughingstock of the entire galaxy because her new ship was once a flying brothel is not believable.....in the slightest. The insertion (haha) and subsequent transformation from a hard core space captain into a love-addled dolt really drove this novel into the dirt.
The Good: The supporting characters and their individual instances are quite funny and spin the novel in a direction not to be taken seriously....at any level. It is a funny space romp with a hint of seriousness and a dash of the inventive. The characters grow on you as does the ribald humor. Forget the strained scifi tropes and the patterned archetypes that reside within, and have some fun you tight-ass sumbitch.
I will not continue on with the series unless the author gives me a free copy or grants me Beta reading powers.
August 23, 2021
This was an exciting inter-galactic romp for a bunch of mercenaries led by a strong woman. There are many worlds and species and aspects of intrigue, but it never became confusing, nor were there any massive data-dumps. Information was presented during the story as appropriate to the situation.
The mercenaries are diverse, and they each have special skillsets, and weaknesses. The names were easy to follow. These guys have many enemies, and the situation changes on every page, but it still flowed well.
This is the start of a trilogy, so it ends a bit abruptly. I'll be reading the rest.
PS: This was included in a group of books from StoryBundle(tm).
The mercenaries are diverse, and they each have special skillsets, and weaknesses. The names were easy to follow. These guys have many enemies, and the situation changes on every page, but it still flowed well.
This is the start of a trilogy, so it ends a bit abruptly. I'll be reading the rest.
PS: This was included in a group of books from StoryBundle(tm).
November 30, 2016
This came across as a "firefly" type story. All was entertaining until the last 5% then I think the author didn't know what to do and started throwing in ideas that didn't gel with the story. Still enjoyable and I will read the next one.
January 12, 2020
I had high hopes for this book, which is probably why I am more disappointed than I should be that it turned out so poorly.
My overriding impression after reading about a quarter of the book was the author was just trying too hard as she threw in more and more unexplained information that didn’t make a lot of sense. It didn’t help that the heroine seemed to run around like a ‘headless chicken’ getting nowhere.
My overriding impression after reading about a quarter of the book was the author was just trying too hard as she threw in more and more unexplained information that didn’t make a lot of sense. It didn’t help that the heroine seemed to run around like a ‘headless chicken’ getting nowhere.
October 12, 2020
*thumbs up* - entertaining as heck!
Look, I chose this book because Warrior Wench is a hell of a good title. And, granted, I thought the lady presented on the cover was lovingly named the Warrior Wench. Because anyone that allows themselves to be nicknamed Wench and still be badass is cool, nay? Hahaa…Alas, I was wrong! Warrior Wench is the name of a spaceship, originally intended to be a space brothel – yup, sex sells in space, too – but, what has that got to do with anything, I will say not *wink-wink*
Vaslisha, or Vas for short, is the captain of a mercenary crew. The dashing redhead on the cover of the book is your badass female chief of chiefs! I liked her. I liked her a lot. That said, I liked the whole of her crew a lot. There was human and various other specimens of space population presented. So, diversity right there for you. And, if a character was mentioned in the book, you bet your ass there was something uniquely amusing about them to keep the good times rolling. Say, telepathy or infamous anger, or just the very simplest form of humane malfunction.
As far as spacey adventure goes, or even scifi, I don’t care if the book was full of tropes and genre specific cliches- it felt perfect for the likes of softcore scifi newbs like me. Not to mention, it was entertaining as hell! Really, my appetite for controversy was met, my need for quirky characters was satisfied, and importantly there was a bulky story behind it all what with missing spaceships, ancient alien race, spacey hide and seek… the list goes on. Main thing is – you’ll be thrown for a proper loop as the mysteries pile up without any answers until the very end. It’s irritating and puts ants in pants if nothing gets answered for such an amount of time and more ‘whodunnits’ and ‘whydunnits’ are thrown in the mix. I mean, some people like feeling itchy like that. I did. It paid off in the end!
So, to sum it up – Warrior Wench is fun, totally readable (e.g. no big scifi words or trying to imagine the scientific unimaginable), enjoyable and gripping. I got intrigued enough to fly through the book in speed of light and to want to continue with the trilogy! I would recommend to anyone looking for a racey spacey read *pew-pew*
Look, I chose this book because Warrior Wench is a hell of a good title. And, granted, I thought the lady presented on the cover was lovingly named the Warrior Wench. Because anyone that allows themselves to be nicknamed Wench and still be badass is cool, nay? Hahaa…Alas, I was wrong! Warrior Wench is the name of a spaceship, originally intended to be a space brothel – yup, sex sells in space, too – but, what has that got to do with anything, I will say not *wink-wink*
Vaslisha, or Vas for short, is the captain of a mercenary crew. The dashing redhead on the cover of the book is your badass female chief of chiefs! I liked her. I liked her a lot. That said, I liked the whole of her crew a lot. There was human and various other specimens of space population presented. So, diversity right there for you. And, if a character was mentioned in the book, you bet your ass there was something uniquely amusing about them to keep the good times rolling. Say, telepathy or infamous anger, or just the very simplest form of humane malfunction.
As far as spacey adventure goes, or even scifi, I don’t care if the book was full of tropes and genre specific cliches- it felt perfect for the likes of softcore scifi newbs like me. Not to mention, it was entertaining as hell! Really, my appetite for controversy was met, my need for quirky characters was satisfied, and importantly there was a bulky story behind it all what with missing spaceships, ancient alien race, spacey hide and seek… the list goes on. Main thing is – you’ll be thrown for a proper loop as the mysteries pile up without any answers until the very end. It’s irritating and puts ants in pants if nothing gets answered for such an amount of time and more ‘whodunnits’ and ‘whydunnits’ are thrown in the mix. I mean, some people like feeling itchy like that. I did. It paid off in the end!
So, to sum it up – Warrior Wench is fun, totally readable (e.g. no big scifi words or trying to imagine the scientific unimaginable), enjoyable and gripping. I got intrigued enough to fly through the book in speed of light and to want to continue with the trilogy! I would recommend to anyone looking for a racey spacey read *pew-pew*
January 1, 2017
I haven't read much sci-fi lately but the combination of the UF style cover, the fantasy style title and the blurb intrigued me.
Right from the get go I was immersed in an alien world of space mercenaries, alien species and a hard-talking heroine. To say that Captain Vas(Kisha) Tor Dain is having a bad few days would not be hyperbole. Right from the start it is clear to the reader that "something" has happened to her and her memories have been blocked/ altered.
On an adventure that includes (Stargate reference coming) giant wormhole aliens, monks, cults, mysterious ancient races, a psy second in command whose species is unknown, the Commonwealth, sarcastic doctors and maverick pilots this feels like a mash up of every sci-fi tv series you have ever seen and yet new and exciting at the same time.
Although my NetGalley version had some formatting issues I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and eagerly await the next instalment.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Right from the get go I was immersed in an alien world of space mercenaries, alien species and a hard-talking heroine. To say that Captain Vas(Kisha) Tor Dain is having a bad few days would not be hyperbole. Right from the start it is clear to the reader that "something" has happened to her and her memories have been blocked/ altered.
On an adventure that includes (Stargate reference coming) giant wormhole aliens, monks, cults, mysterious ancient races, a psy second in command whose species is unknown, the Commonwealth, sarcastic doctors and maverick pilots this feels like a mash up of every sci-fi tv series you have ever seen and yet new and exciting at the same time.
Although my NetGalley version had some formatting issues I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and eagerly await the next instalment.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
May 1, 2021
Trilogy review: A solid space opera with great characters, an interesting plot and a well-thought-through universe. Recommend.
I have very, very little experience in space operas, very little in sci-fi.
I actually picked up the fourth book of this series until, somewhere around 43%, I could no longer shake the feeling there were books before this one - and found the trilogy I rapidly read thought... well, if such thing is possible with all those pages.
On one hand, I am not entirely sure how much I enjoyed it - or maybe let's say that a lot of the enjoyment was objective instead of emotional - I respect and really like the main character (and finding a good female MC feels like such a win), I like the crew (even though the alien species are a funny bunch I can't exactly picture in my mind), I think the plot is pretty epic, the world complicated (even though I am not sure I understood or enjoyed all the complicated machinations/events/history behind what was happening)...
Not to mention the kick-ass romance - seamlessly incorporated into the story without any fuss or special attention or suppression. In other words, I like romance but that means that most of the time, any book I pick is maybe at least half made out of it. To see a power couple fall somewhat naturally in love and bed over the course of the trilogy was just so delightful - I respected them both, I respected how they treated each other, I respected the pace, the whole unobtrusive but neither hurried or fake... gosh, I just adored it all.
But when someone was in danger, if someone just died... the emotional impact was just not that pronounced. If I was to continue with the theory of having an author and reader side - the author enjoyed it, the reader missed something I could connect with more deeply.
Also, this totally just confirmed my theory sci-if is better on screen. I adore books and I prefer them but some things are just so much better in Technicolour - including aliens, space tech, space ships, space fights or even just normal fights with blasters or sharp objects. All of which this book was full of.
Still, I may be getting a new appetitive for this genre. We'll see.
I have very, very little experience in space operas, very little in sci-fi.
I actually picked up the fourth book of this series until, somewhere around 43%, I could no longer shake the feeling there were books before this one - and found the trilogy I rapidly read thought... well, if such thing is possible with all those pages.
On one hand, I am not entirely sure how much I enjoyed it - or maybe let's say that a lot of the enjoyment was objective instead of emotional - I respect and really like the main character (and finding a good female MC feels like such a win), I like the crew (even though the alien species are a funny bunch I can't exactly picture in my mind), I think the plot is pretty epic, the world complicated (even though I am not sure I understood or enjoyed all the complicated machinations/events/history behind what was happening)...
Not to mention the kick-ass romance - seamlessly incorporated into the story without any fuss or special attention or suppression. In other words, I like romance but that means that most of the time, any book I pick is maybe at least half made out of it. To see a power couple fall somewhat naturally in love and bed over the course of the trilogy was just so delightful - I respected them both, I respected how they treated each other, I respected the pace, the whole unobtrusive but neither hurried or fake... gosh, I just adored it all.
But when someone was in danger, if someone just died... the emotional impact was just not that pronounced. If I was to continue with the theory of having an author and reader side - the author enjoyed it, the reader missed something I could connect with more deeply.
Also, this totally just confirmed my theory sci-if is better on screen. I adore books and I prefer them but some things are just so much better in Technicolour - including aliens, space tech, space ships, space fights or even just normal fights with blasters or sharp objects. All of which this book was full of.
Still, I may be getting a new appetitive for this genre. We'll see.
October 27, 2016
I received a free ARC from NetGalley of this novel for review.
Vaslisha “Vas” Tor Dain is a mercenary starship captain whose life is upended when she returns from what she thought was a two-week vacation only to realize she has actually been absent for an entire month with no memory of what happened in the interim. Her ship, “The Victorious Dead”, has apparently been salvaged and so she is forced to accept another ship, a pleasure barge named the “Warrior Wench” in its place. Fortunately the Warrior Wench has top of the line armaments and luxurious accouterments so…life could be worse. But add to this the fact that the Commonwealth Government has found itself without the ability to stop entire planets from being blown up by some unknown spaceships, and you got yourself a whale of a tale to be told.
It’s a nice set-up for an action-packed fun science fictiony read and that’s exactly what this is. The style is sort of a combination of Chris Wooding’s “Ketty Jay” series and Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty the Werewolf series. Throw in a bit of Star Trek, some Firefly, and a healthy dose of Buffy and you begin to get the idea. There is a lot of action, interesting alien characters, some romance, some intrigue and mystery, and a huge heap of ‘what the heck is going on.” The main character, Vas is fun to follow along with and most of the novel is seen through her eyes. However, I never felt like I got to know the other characters all that well. Most of Vas’ crew are alien species, and some are pretty strange but their unique natures were given only cursory attention and frankly, I struggled to identify with them most of the time.
If you’re looking for a fast-paced science fiction space mercenary story with a hot female captain, you could certainly do worse than taking a gamble on this book. No hard science here…sort of the thrusters/inertial dampeners/”All systems go, Captain” sort of science fiction. The plot is interesting but doesn’t offer much that you haven’t encountered before; in fact, at times I felt like I was reading a combination of other plots of books or movies that I had experienced previously. Often I felt like I was merely skimming the surface of the story while I was yearning to delve deeper into these characters and discover more of their backstories and how they came to be part of Vas’ crew. Perhaps that will come in book two.
This is the first of a projected trilogy and this first book left me wanting to know what happens next. I am hopeful the next book will provide a bit more depth and perhaps not spend quite as much energy towards full octane plotting. But for pure entertainment, it’s a good time.
Vaslisha “Vas” Tor Dain is a mercenary starship captain whose life is upended when she returns from what she thought was a two-week vacation only to realize she has actually been absent for an entire month with no memory of what happened in the interim. Her ship, “The Victorious Dead”, has apparently been salvaged and so she is forced to accept another ship, a pleasure barge named the “Warrior Wench” in its place. Fortunately the Warrior Wench has top of the line armaments and luxurious accouterments so…life could be worse. But add to this the fact that the Commonwealth Government has found itself without the ability to stop entire planets from being blown up by some unknown spaceships, and you got yourself a whale of a tale to be told.
It’s a nice set-up for an action-packed fun science fictiony read and that’s exactly what this is. The style is sort of a combination of Chris Wooding’s “Ketty Jay” series and Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty the Werewolf series. Throw in a bit of Star Trek, some Firefly, and a healthy dose of Buffy and you begin to get the idea. There is a lot of action, interesting alien characters, some romance, some intrigue and mystery, and a huge heap of ‘what the heck is going on.” The main character, Vas is fun to follow along with and most of the novel is seen through her eyes. However, I never felt like I got to know the other characters all that well. Most of Vas’ crew are alien species, and some are pretty strange but their unique natures were given only cursory attention and frankly, I struggled to identify with them most of the time.
If you’re looking for a fast-paced science fiction space mercenary story with a hot female captain, you could certainly do worse than taking a gamble on this book. No hard science here…sort of the thrusters/inertial dampeners/”All systems go, Captain” sort of science fiction. The plot is interesting but doesn’t offer much that you haven’t encountered before; in fact, at times I felt like I was reading a combination of other plots of books or movies that I had experienced previously. Often I felt like I was merely skimming the surface of the story while I was yearning to delve deeper into these characters and discover more of their backstories and how they came to be part of Vas’ crew. Perhaps that will come in book two.
This is the first of a projected trilogy and this first book left me wanting to know what happens next. I am hopeful the next book will provide a bit more depth and perhaps not spend quite as much energy towards full octane plotting. But for pure entertainment, it’s a good time.
September 28, 2016
A fun space ride! Cant wait for the next one!
Read
July 5, 2025Rating: minus 5 on a scale of minus 5 to plus 5.
I do not love doing these revisions but having settled on a format, it is easier. I doubt that anyone will read this.
Before I continue, I need to stop at the YouTube. This was made possible by - Doctor Who/Never Cruel or Cowardly -Ozar, fig tree, Welcome to Ukraine, Media is Fay, Mia Mulder, aidan knight, Red Glasgow, ScaredKetchup, Willow talks books, FAFO, Inside Russia, Anna from Ukraine, Anda Kent, Kelly-Ann Maddox, The New Enlightenment with Ashley, Kings and Generals, Jess Owens, Jake Broe, Parkrose Permaculture, Chris Norlund, CTV News, Professor Tim Wilson, Extinct Zoo, Gracey D, ScaredKetchup, Renegade Cut, Jack in the Books, Plant Based Bride, Omeleto, The Gaze., Welcome to Ukraine, Kyiv Independent, Fit 2B Read, The Historical Gamer, Ship Happens, Dr Fatima, Deerstalker Pictures, Squire, Political CUSTARD, Aid Thompsin, The Shades of Orange, Britmonkey, Diem25, Terry Talks Movies, Spacedock, Operator Starsky, Dark Brandon, LydLoves, Jess of the Shire, The Fantasy Forge, Crow Caller, Leena Norms, Books and Things, Don't F@ck with Ukraine, Books and Lala, UATV English, Books N Cats, Tale Foundry, May Moon Narrowboat, Crecganford, Sailing Melody, Ship Happens, Cruising the Cut, Cruising Crafts, Bobbing Along, Hawk's Podcasts, Mallen Baker, Elvira Bary, Kazachka, ThePrImeChronus, Sci-Fi Scavenger, Combat Veteran Reacts, Cindy's Villa, NFKRZ, NerdForge, Interesting Times, Silicon Curtain, SciFi Odyssey, Africa Reloaded, A Cup of Nicole, Kozak Siromaha, Lindsay Nikole, Big Board Gaming, Gutsick Gibbon. Dr Ben Miles, Planarwalker, Megalithhunter, Peter Watts, Geo Girl, Ben G Thomas, Writer Quest, Subha Reads, With Cindy, Red Dawn Daily, Adam Something, Nicole Chilaka-Ukpo, Discourse Minis, Little Wars, Times Radio, Zilla Blitz, Chess Vibes, DUST, Erutan, Northern Narrowboaters, Prime of Midlife, Lady Knight the Brave, Travelling K, Weirdo Book Club, Reedsy, Dungeons and Discourse, Remote Chess Academy, May Moon Narrowboat, Kazachka, ShelfClutter, The Miracle Aligner, Dark Side of Russia, Sarah Z, Abney Park, Roisin's Reading, Leena Norms, Asturia Quartet, Gingers are Black, AllShorts, Miranda Mills, Gingers are Black, Reads with Rachel.
I also watched Landscape with Invisible Hand, Dark Winds, Bodkin.
An idiot whilst insulting a trans female essayist, complained to her that I list channels with trans female creators. I now insert trigger warnings to these idiots. My listed channels include economist, cis, Australian, bi, historian, mathematician, Scottish, gay, tall, trans, physicist, redhead, older, Irish, het, librarian, WOC, artist, socialist and other female creators or as the sane refer to them Women. Almost as awful are the channels featuring science educator, other BIPOC, German, ginger, short, physicist, anarchist, archaeologist, French, hobbyist, philosopher, other LGBTQ+, literary critic, Russian, neurodivergent, communist and other creators collectively known as Human Beings. If the voices insist you torment yourself on these channels, I recommend emergency pastoral counselling, a hobby (not to include assault against women, which is mental illness) or our Catholic exorcism. My feelings towards these morons mirror that of the 13 Ukrainian marines defending Snake Island when their surrender was demanded by the Russian navy. Their response was "Russian warship, go f@ck yourself". Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the Heroes. Crimea is Ukraine.
Where there is no serious worldbuilding, there is no point to talking about characters, the plot or anything else. That seems an unpopular opinion from my occasional scans before Goodreads no longer Allowed me to read for close to two years. I do not understand how characters with no personal history performing actions with no apparent consequences against a blank background are meant to be a story. So much of Amazon's loans fall into that framework, it must be a new bulk US science fiction standard.
The small merry band are crew of a ship of unclear size. I think it must be a "Freighter" with no cargo space and I imagine that it was armed. They are mercenaries possibly but it was not clear how they paid for wages, supplies, fuel, other ship needs. It was unclear what services they offer or who pays them. There is no hint of what capabilities such a tiny crew has to offer any galaxy wide organisation.
The crew have no history and no emotional connection. They are more of a gang than a crew. They do not exhibit loyalty with the exception of an uncharacteristic, lukewarm attempt by one crewman. The captain has less connection to her crew than they did to each other.
This little ship is built with technology that allows it to travel across billions of light years in days. That is common in Low Effort space adventure. A spaceship smaller than an 80 meter airliner jumping across many tens of millions of light years, would not be my choice of vessel. Her technology is all magic but that is become the standard. This is the unlimited technology which always functions perfectly until it stops. Instant communication between galaxies without a technobabble explanation might have been the final straw.
Time for chocolate or maybe coffee and I have to find a snack before I move onto the next bit. This section is brought to you by YouTube's - Maggie Mae Fish, fig tree, Omeleto, Aidan Thompsin, Lady of the LIbrary, Between the Wars, Jay Exci, Chris and Shell, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Ukraine Calling SOF UA, Nikki Carreon, Tom Powell, Reese Waters, James Tullos, A Lil Bit Mads, Combat Veteran Reacts, Skip Intro, Science of Science Fiction, Bookslike Whoa, The Grungeon Master, Books and Things, Sumatha Reads, Yarmak - Ragnarok, The Ritual Kitchen with Laura May, OrangeRiver, Diary of a Ditch Witch, The Book Leo, UATV English, CriminOly, Ben and Emily, UNTV, Twinshangout Kenya, Think Ukraine, Scallydandling About the Books, Encyclopedia of Medieval History, Anda Kent, Anna from Ukraine, May, Emma Thorne, Breakeven Books, Up and Atom, Hej Sokoly, A Clockwork Reader, TVP World, Cam Reads, Amanda The Jedi, Lexi AKA NewlyNova, Science Asylum, Riley J Dennis, Art Deco, TIKHistory, Chess Vibes, Shrieking Shrew, Library Ladder, Vasya in the Hay, Russian Media Monitor, Ukraine Matters, Girls Rock Asia, Lily Simpson, Rowan Ellis, Artur Rehi, Narrowboat Pirate, Liene's LIbrary, A Cup of Nicole, The Book Castle, Homo Ludens, Russian Dude, Sanctioned Ivan, Kiko1006 -Empire of Angels, Gutsick Gibbon, Real Time History, Russian Dude, Natasha's Adventures, Roomies Digest, Puddles Pity Party, Living Anachronism, Eugenia from Ukraine, Think That Through, Cecilia Blomdahl, The Cosy Creative, Unlearning Economics, Ember Green, Your True Shelf, NerdForge, Philosophy Tube, Jean's Thoughts, ATP Geopolitics, Nomadic Crobot, Cruising Alba, Well Deck Diaries, Electro Swing, The Interesting Times, The Leftist Cooks, Fraser Cain, Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox, Kings and Generals, Roisin's Reading, Nakia's Hideaway, Jordaline Reads, Daley Tactics, Battle Order, ConeOfArc, BobbyBroccoli, Sarah Z, Female Warriors - Teresatessa, JammiDodger, Widebeam and Wellingtons, Books and Lala, Prehistoric Archaeology, Viva La Dirt League.
Consider treating this as a potentially hostile site. 🤔
Goodreads discourse does not exist. I had from about six months in on my Goodreads membership, received multiple outraged comments on certain of my reviews. Close to three years ago, I wrote a short mildly negative review of Powers of the Earth, an unremarkable, badly written salute to the sociopathic January 6, 2021 hero by Travis Corcoran - US veteran, self-described libertarian and an advocate for the return of chattel slavery (an opinion now popular in the US), an employee of an unnamed US agency and supporter of Putin. This review generated the worst comment stream of them all. The writer and six fellow patriots spent more than a year demanding a response to increasingly gross comments.
Claes Rees Jr aka gr710 aka Clayton R Jesse Jr (formerly self-described Nazi) finally declared that They had "won" (?). I discovered that Their winning involved a year long deluge of vile sexual and racist comments (which continues still) targeted at channels which I mention. The astrophysicist, the writer, the boater, the essayist and the many other female creators were not impressed. However as well as increasing the world's overabundance of unpleasantness, They did deliver a quite accurate self-portrait of the snowflake (emotionally damaged, poorly socialised US man-child) to a multinational audience. This constitutes a Victory, it seems. Goodreads discourse, Yay ?? USA, Yay ??
These US patriots were incensed by my opinion that as well as being bad writing, that glorifying the overthrow of the government with the aid of the US military in order that a newly rich twat not pay inheritance taxes, is unhealthy and dangerous. This communist begins to appreciate irony.
There are British citizens who despite recognizing the damage done by and which will worsen because of Brexit still say that they support the vote. The bulk of those voters had not bothered to research the effects of various Brexit settlements. That search was the leading internet subject on the day After the vote. Stupidity knows no national borders.
I need a step away to YouTube. This section was made possible by - Acollierastro, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, Raw News and Politics, SavridgeReads, Fit 2B Read, The D&DLogs, Making History, Dark Brandon, Squire, Guard the Leaf, Planet D, Northern Narrowboaters, May, Bobbing Along, Sailing Melody, Books With Emily Fox, Merphy Napier, The Shades of Orange, Hardy's Books, Anka Daily News, Hetty and the Jazzalato Band, Serena Skybourne, Big Board Gaming, It's Black Friday, Kaz Rowe, Shitty Book Club, Julie Nolke, Valhalla Drums, Patty Gurdy, Rowan J Coleman, Owen Jones, Katy Montgomerie, Kat Blacque, Amie's Literary Empire, Kazachka, RFU News, Raw News and Politics, Liz Webster, Think Ukraine, Jake Broe, Book and Jams, Brooke Morris, Verilybitchie, Trae Crowder, Interior Design Hub, Outlaw Bookseller, Sarah Millican, Useful Charts, Stoneworks, Narrowboat Pirate, Shitty Book Club, Maps and Motives, JohnTheDuncan, Medieval Tavern Music, Radio Retrofuture, The Witching, Belle of the Ranch, ScaredKetchup, Josie Talks About Books, Songs Sped Up - MSI, Dark Docs, Big Train, Dead Domain, Rachel Oates, Joe Blogs, The Bookish Land, BookTube Goddess, Words in Time, Bookish Realm SFF 180, Tennessee Brando, Stevie Emerson, UNTV, Adiemus - Carmina Slovenica, Just in Time Worldbuilding, The Library of a Viking, Slaggy Book Club, Kyiv Post, Hardy's Books, Up and Atom, Dominic Noble, Maggie Mae Fish, Emilie's Literary Corner, Gamazda, Ivie Anita, Monte Mader, Lynn Saga, Ember Green, Riverboat Jack, Jay Reed, CBC News.
For space opera, a visit to the book channels might direct you to books or series that are actual science fiction. Kindle selections are the books which had turned me away from print fiction entirely for the first time. The streaming services provide a better product. Sometimes a great product but always an attempt at some type of world building.
I tried YouTube a bit more than three years ago. I began searching for decent science fiction recommendations. It was interesting to see detailed examinations of various universes. The myriad other interest area channels were a nice surprise, especially the essayists. The real treasures were the book channels. 😍 The reader communities hosted are thoughtful, have a wide range of tastes and share a love of all things bookish. They are a good resource for any reader. I promise that their environment is very different to that of Goodreads.
My YouTube picks of the moment.
Alt Shift X, Steve Shives, The Templin Institute, Quinn's Ideas, Spacedock, Jessie Gender, Nicola Raflee, Harbo Wholmes, Prime of Midlife, Tale Foundry, Shades of Orange, Fit 2B Read, SciFi Odyssey, Eckharts Ladder, Veritas et Caritas. Candlelit Tales, Irish Myths, Terrible Writing Advice, NanyaCim, Council of Geeks, Jay Exci, Science Fiction with Damien Walker, Patrick(H)Willem, Austin McConnell, Isaac Arthur, ScFi Odyssey, Jack in the Books, Rowan J Coleman, Venom Geek Media, Book Furnace, Hello Future Me, Caliban Rising, Katie Phang, Wes O'Donnell, What Vivi did next, Kayse Melone, Supertanskiii, Belinda Strnad, Haropones, Katie Halper, Vidya -mitra, Springtime for Elon, AllShorts, The Kavernacle, Your True Shelf, Stanzi, Offizier Amira, kgb detected.
Ominous music begins. 😊 Every book is rated is 4+(?). That includes books with misspellings and uneven prose enough to be near unreadable. I received outrage comments from about six months into my Goodreads experience. As I occasionally scanned other reviews, I saw a number of the same members attacking other science fiction reviewers. I only recently became aware of what seems to be a greater prevalence of same among the romance and romantasy readers from YouTube book reviewers. The angry romance/romantasy readers routinely stalk, doxx and threaten the one or two star reviewer.
Amazon have not disciplined members, punished writers who sometimes lead them nor dismissed employees who enable them. Amazon do not acknowledge the incidents.
Kindle/Goodreads gave my limited message history to these unhinged members, which made possible a request of Australian Intelligence through Pine Gap Centre to interrogate the one friend whom I occasionally messaged. While the attempt at my personal history failed, it left two outraged customers. It only became concerning to Amazon after we publicised the event. Suddenly the most visible acts of harassment on my pages were masked or removed and my Kindle keyboard format was returned to normal after a year of resets among other things.
A Seventh EBay ex-employee was sentenced for months long harassment of a couple whose small ecommerce channel was deemed unkind to EBay. The couple was eventually awarded multi-millions of pounds. That ex-employee had been EBay Chief of Global Security or some such. It is something to think about.
I suggest a few precautions that should make your Kindle/Goodreads exposure somewhat safer, until you are ready to move outside the Amazon sphere.
Minimise personal information on Goodreads and avoid messaging. Given the Goodreads penchant for Altering customer pages, the screenshot of the odd, the ugly and the threatening is very useful. Remove the lurker, those who never post. They are monitors not admirers. If only involved with Goodreads, those should suffice.
Kindle is more dangerous. Do Not use Kindle Files, Calendar, Email or Contacts, unless you are unconcerned with safety of yourself and contacts. Do Not "purchase" Amazon ebooks, as you own only the device not downloads. They can be altered or deleted at Amazon's whim. An accidental confirmation was that Amazon may Sign Into your emails without notice or permission.
The US have begun creating concentration camps, the most notorious of which is Alligator Alcatraz. The already flooded, cage filled, swamp site encircled by various dangerous animals from Alligators to Pythons was named in a televised celebration days ago by the US president. The government is still supported by tens of millions as long as extreme cruelty against targeted peoples is demonstrated. Etsy have begun selling Alligator Alcatraz merch to much applause, despite sellers leaving the site. This reflects the values of tens of millions citizens including Goodreads members, who now accept the end of healthcare, cash, housing and food benefits for themselves and will proudly wear this and duplicate ICE jackets. I think that the jackets are being offered by Amazon. More things to think about.
Those several actions will not cost anything but to not might do. Most importantly those members and employees lack restraint, non-Randian morality or self-awareness but are US patriots with all that implies. Elbows Up. Ominous music ends. 😊
Be well. May we all find Good Reading! 🤗
Some of my favourite YouTube channels.
Zoe Bee, Katie Halper, Mythic Concepts, Munecat, Some More News, Novara Media, Sarah Z, Mia Mulder, Owen Jones, Tom Nicholas, Beautifully Bookish Bethany, Tara Mooknee, Kings and Generals, Lily Alexandre, Mrs Betty Bowers, Three Arrows, Rebecca Watson, DW News, Time Ghost History, Tulia, Shannon Makes, Break N Remake, Karolina Zebrowska, Patrick is a Navajo, SciFi Odyssey, The Narrowboat Pirate, Then & Now, I'm Rosa, Lilly's expat life, Sabine Hossenfelder, Prime of Midlife, The Amber Ruffin Show, Lilly's Expat Life, Lurie Daniel Favors, The Written World, Reese Waters, Dr Fatima, Tibees, TVP News, Princess Weekes, CBC News, The Military Show, May Moon Narrowboat, Sort of Interesting, Chloe Stafler, Timeline, Plant Based Bride, The Templin Institute, Kathy's Flog in France, Nakia's Hideaway, The Perimeter Institute, Epimetheus, Kelly loves Physics and History, Terrible Writing Advice, Evie Lupine, Gabi Belle, Part Time Hobbit, Double Down News,Discourse Minis, Abbie Emmons, Spacedock, The Book Castle, Anda Kent, Engineering with Rosie, Zoe Baker, Gingers are Black, Alizee, Alice Cappelle, Jessica Gagnon, Tale Foundry, France 24, Physics Girl, Stevie Emerson, Lady of the Library, Morgan Donner, Icarus Project, Vaerko, Make Better Media, Knowing Better, Epimethius, Dungeons and Discourse, Ministry of Miniatures, HBomberGuy, Military Aviation History, Books and Lala, Red Viburnam Song, Narrowboat Pirate, The Chloe Connection, Savy Writes Books, Book Furnace, Verilybitchie, Smack the Pony, Cruising Alba, Camper Vibe, What Vivi did next, Autumn's Boutique, Merphy Napier, Terrible Writing Advice, Historical Gamer, Naughty Nana DUZ, The Shades of Orange, Mike's Book Reviews, Richard Wolff, 2 Cellos, Engineering Knits, Lily Simpson, Just Write, Alina Gingertail, Adam Something, Adult Wednesday Addams - 2 seasons, Jormungandr, Amie's Literary Empire, Legendary Tactics, Tabletop Mayhem, Hello Future Me, Roomies Digest, Honest Government Ads, The Juice Media, Democratic Penguins Republic, ScaredKetchup, WokeGardener, Agro Squirrel Narrates, Swell Entertainment, Cold Fusion, Guard the Leaf, Boat Time, We're in Hell, UATV English, Philosophy Tube, Lindsey Stirling, Bookpilled, Northern Narrowboaters, Kaz Rowe, Tiny Wee Boat, Ship Happens, Diane Callahan Quotidian Writer, Natasha's Adventures, Renegade Cut, Claus Kellerman POV, Ellie Dashwood, Betty on a Boat, Chess Vibes.
I wish you a bright morning, an exhilarating afternoon, a brilliant evening, a wonderful night and may we all continue learning.
Hope is indispensable.
Boudicca
I do not love doing these revisions but having settled on a format, it is easier. I doubt that anyone will read this.
Before I continue, I need to stop at the YouTube. This was made possible by - Doctor Who/Never Cruel or Cowardly -Ozar, fig tree, Welcome to Ukraine, Media is Fay, Mia Mulder, aidan knight, Red Glasgow, ScaredKetchup, Willow talks books, FAFO, Inside Russia, Anna from Ukraine, Anda Kent, Kelly-Ann Maddox, The New Enlightenment with Ashley, Kings and Generals, Jess Owens, Jake Broe, Parkrose Permaculture, Chris Norlund, CTV News, Professor Tim Wilson, Extinct Zoo, Gracey D, ScaredKetchup, Renegade Cut, Jack in the Books, Plant Based Bride, Omeleto, The Gaze., Welcome to Ukraine, Kyiv Independent, Fit 2B Read, The Historical Gamer, Ship Happens, Dr Fatima, Deerstalker Pictures, Squire, Political CUSTARD, Aid Thompsin, The Shades of Orange, Britmonkey, Diem25, Terry Talks Movies, Spacedock, Operator Starsky, Dark Brandon, LydLoves, Jess of the Shire, The Fantasy Forge, Crow Caller, Leena Norms, Books and Things, Don't F@ck with Ukraine, Books and Lala, UATV English, Books N Cats, Tale Foundry, May Moon Narrowboat, Crecganford, Sailing Melody, Ship Happens, Cruising the Cut, Cruising Crafts, Bobbing Along, Hawk's Podcasts, Mallen Baker, Elvira Bary, Kazachka, ThePrImeChronus, Sci-Fi Scavenger, Combat Veteran Reacts, Cindy's Villa, NFKRZ, NerdForge, Interesting Times, Silicon Curtain, SciFi Odyssey, Africa Reloaded, A Cup of Nicole, Kozak Siromaha, Lindsay Nikole, Big Board Gaming, Gutsick Gibbon. Dr Ben Miles, Planarwalker, Megalithhunter, Peter Watts, Geo Girl, Ben G Thomas, Writer Quest, Subha Reads, With Cindy, Red Dawn Daily, Adam Something, Nicole Chilaka-Ukpo, Discourse Minis, Little Wars, Times Radio, Zilla Blitz, Chess Vibes, DUST, Erutan, Northern Narrowboaters, Prime of Midlife, Lady Knight the Brave, Travelling K, Weirdo Book Club, Reedsy, Dungeons and Discourse, Remote Chess Academy, May Moon Narrowboat, Kazachka, ShelfClutter, The Miracle Aligner, Dark Side of Russia, Sarah Z, Abney Park, Roisin's Reading, Leena Norms, Asturia Quartet, Gingers are Black, AllShorts, Miranda Mills, Gingers are Black, Reads with Rachel.
I also watched Landscape with Invisible Hand, Dark Winds, Bodkin.
An idiot whilst insulting a trans female essayist, complained to her that I list channels with trans female creators. I now insert trigger warnings to these idiots. My listed channels include economist, cis, Australian, bi, historian, mathematician, Scottish, gay, tall, trans, physicist, redhead, older, Irish, het, librarian, WOC, artist, socialist and other female creators or as the sane refer to them Women. Almost as awful are the channels featuring science educator, other BIPOC, German, ginger, short, physicist, anarchist, archaeologist, French, hobbyist, philosopher, other LGBTQ+, literary critic, Russian, neurodivergent, communist and other creators collectively known as Human Beings. If the voices insist you torment yourself on these channels, I recommend emergency pastoral counselling, a hobby (not to include assault against women, which is mental illness) or our Catholic exorcism. My feelings towards these morons mirror that of the 13 Ukrainian marines defending Snake Island when their surrender was demanded by the Russian navy. Their response was "Russian warship, go f@ck yourself". Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the Heroes. Crimea is Ukraine.
Where there is no serious worldbuilding, there is no point to talking about characters, the plot or anything else. That seems an unpopular opinion from my occasional scans before Goodreads no longer Allowed me to read for close to two years. I do not understand how characters with no personal history performing actions with no apparent consequences against a blank background are meant to be a story. So much of Amazon's loans fall into that framework, it must be a new bulk US science fiction standard.
The small merry band are crew of a ship of unclear size. I think it must be a "Freighter" with no cargo space and I imagine that it was armed. They are mercenaries possibly but it was not clear how they paid for wages, supplies, fuel, other ship needs. It was unclear what services they offer or who pays them. There is no hint of what capabilities such a tiny crew has to offer any galaxy wide organisation.
The crew have no history and no emotional connection. They are more of a gang than a crew. They do not exhibit loyalty with the exception of an uncharacteristic, lukewarm attempt by one crewman. The captain has less connection to her crew than they did to each other.
This little ship is built with technology that allows it to travel across billions of light years in days. That is common in Low Effort space adventure. A spaceship smaller than an 80 meter airliner jumping across many tens of millions of light years, would not be my choice of vessel. Her technology is all magic but that is become the standard. This is the unlimited technology which always functions perfectly until it stops. Instant communication between galaxies without a technobabble explanation might have been the final straw.
Time for chocolate or maybe coffee and I have to find a snack before I move onto the next bit. This section is brought to you by YouTube's - Maggie Mae Fish, fig tree, Omeleto, Aidan Thompsin, Lady of the LIbrary, Between the Wars, Jay Exci, Chris and Shell, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Ukraine Calling SOF UA, Nikki Carreon, Tom Powell, Reese Waters, James Tullos, A Lil Bit Mads, Combat Veteran Reacts, Skip Intro, Science of Science Fiction, Bookslike Whoa, The Grungeon Master, Books and Things, Sumatha Reads, Yarmak - Ragnarok, The Ritual Kitchen with Laura May, OrangeRiver, Diary of a Ditch Witch, The Book Leo, UATV English, CriminOly, Ben and Emily, UNTV, Twinshangout Kenya, Think Ukraine, Scallydandling About the Books, Encyclopedia of Medieval History, Anda Kent, Anna from Ukraine, May, Emma Thorne, Breakeven Books, Up and Atom, Hej Sokoly, A Clockwork Reader, TVP World, Cam Reads, Amanda The Jedi, Lexi AKA NewlyNova, Science Asylum, Riley J Dennis, Art Deco, TIKHistory, Chess Vibes, Shrieking Shrew, Library Ladder, Vasya in the Hay, Russian Media Monitor, Ukraine Matters, Girls Rock Asia, Lily Simpson, Rowan Ellis, Artur Rehi, Narrowboat Pirate, Liene's LIbrary, A Cup of Nicole, The Book Castle, Homo Ludens, Russian Dude, Sanctioned Ivan, Kiko1006 -Empire of Angels, Gutsick Gibbon, Real Time History, Russian Dude, Natasha's Adventures, Roomies Digest, Puddles Pity Party, Living Anachronism, Eugenia from Ukraine, Think That Through, Cecilia Blomdahl, The Cosy Creative, Unlearning Economics, Ember Green, Your True Shelf, NerdForge, Philosophy Tube, Jean's Thoughts, ATP Geopolitics, Nomadic Crobot, Cruising Alba, Well Deck Diaries, Electro Swing, The Interesting Times, The Leftist Cooks, Fraser Cain, Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox, Kings and Generals, Roisin's Reading, Nakia's Hideaway, Jordaline Reads, Daley Tactics, Battle Order, ConeOfArc, BobbyBroccoli, Sarah Z, Female Warriors - Teresatessa, JammiDodger, Widebeam and Wellingtons, Books and Lala, Prehistoric Archaeology, Viva La Dirt League.
Consider treating this as a potentially hostile site. 🤔
Goodreads discourse does not exist. I had from about six months in on my Goodreads membership, received multiple outraged comments on certain of my reviews. Close to three years ago, I wrote a short mildly negative review of Powers of the Earth, an unremarkable, badly written salute to the sociopathic January 6, 2021 hero by Travis Corcoran - US veteran, self-described libertarian and an advocate for the return of chattel slavery (an opinion now popular in the US), an employee of an unnamed US agency and supporter of Putin. This review generated the worst comment stream of them all. The writer and six fellow patriots spent more than a year demanding a response to increasingly gross comments.
Claes Rees Jr aka gr710 aka Clayton R Jesse Jr (formerly self-described Nazi) finally declared that They had "won" (?). I discovered that Their winning involved a year long deluge of vile sexual and racist comments (which continues still) targeted at channels which I mention. The astrophysicist, the writer, the boater, the essayist and the many other female creators were not impressed. However as well as increasing the world's overabundance of unpleasantness, They did deliver a quite accurate self-portrait of the snowflake (emotionally damaged, poorly socialised US man-child) to a multinational audience. This constitutes a Victory, it seems. Goodreads discourse, Yay ?? USA, Yay ??
These US patriots were incensed by my opinion that as well as being bad writing, that glorifying the overthrow of the government with the aid of the US military in order that a newly rich twat not pay inheritance taxes, is unhealthy and dangerous. This communist begins to appreciate irony.
There are British citizens who despite recognizing the damage done by and which will worsen because of Brexit still say that they support the vote. The bulk of those voters had not bothered to research the effects of various Brexit settlements. That search was the leading internet subject on the day After the vote. Stupidity knows no national borders.
I need a step away to YouTube. This section was made possible by - Acollierastro, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, Raw News and Politics, SavridgeReads, Fit 2B Read, The D&DLogs, Making History, Dark Brandon, Squire, Guard the Leaf, Planet D, Northern Narrowboaters, May, Bobbing Along, Sailing Melody, Books With Emily Fox, Merphy Napier, The Shades of Orange, Hardy's Books, Anka Daily News, Hetty and the Jazzalato Band, Serena Skybourne, Big Board Gaming, It's Black Friday, Kaz Rowe, Shitty Book Club, Julie Nolke, Valhalla Drums, Patty Gurdy, Rowan J Coleman, Owen Jones, Katy Montgomerie, Kat Blacque, Amie's Literary Empire, Kazachka, RFU News, Raw News and Politics, Liz Webster, Think Ukraine, Jake Broe, Book and Jams, Brooke Morris, Verilybitchie, Trae Crowder, Interior Design Hub, Outlaw Bookseller, Sarah Millican, Useful Charts, Stoneworks, Narrowboat Pirate, Shitty Book Club, Maps and Motives, JohnTheDuncan, Medieval Tavern Music, Radio Retrofuture, The Witching, Belle of the Ranch, ScaredKetchup, Josie Talks About Books, Songs Sped Up - MSI, Dark Docs, Big Train, Dead Domain, Rachel Oates, Joe Blogs, The Bookish Land, BookTube Goddess, Words in Time, Bookish Realm SFF 180, Tennessee Brando, Stevie Emerson, UNTV, Adiemus - Carmina Slovenica, Just in Time Worldbuilding, The Library of a Viking, Slaggy Book Club, Kyiv Post, Hardy's Books, Up and Atom, Dominic Noble, Maggie Mae Fish, Emilie's Literary Corner, Gamazda, Ivie Anita, Monte Mader, Lynn Saga, Ember Green, Riverboat Jack, Jay Reed, CBC News.
For space opera, a visit to the book channels might direct you to books or series that are actual science fiction. Kindle selections are the books which had turned me away from print fiction entirely for the first time. The streaming services provide a better product. Sometimes a great product but always an attempt at some type of world building.
I tried YouTube a bit more than three years ago. I began searching for decent science fiction recommendations. It was interesting to see detailed examinations of various universes. The myriad other interest area channels were a nice surprise, especially the essayists. The real treasures were the book channels. 😍 The reader communities hosted are thoughtful, have a wide range of tastes and share a love of all things bookish. They are a good resource for any reader. I promise that their environment is very different to that of Goodreads.
My YouTube picks of the moment.
Alt Shift X, Steve Shives, The Templin Institute, Quinn's Ideas, Spacedock, Jessie Gender, Nicola Raflee, Harbo Wholmes, Prime of Midlife, Tale Foundry, Shades of Orange, Fit 2B Read, SciFi Odyssey, Eckharts Ladder, Veritas et Caritas. Candlelit Tales, Irish Myths, Terrible Writing Advice, NanyaCim, Council of Geeks, Jay Exci, Science Fiction with Damien Walker, Patrick(H)Willem, Austin McConnell, Isaac Arthur, ScFi Odyssey, Jack in the Books, Rowan J Coleman, Venom Geek Media, Book Furnace, Hello Future Me, Caliban Rising, Katie Phang, Wes O'Donnell, What Vivi did next, Kayse Melone, Supertanskiii, Belinda Strnad, Haropones, Katie Halper, Vidya -mitra, Springtime for Elon, AllShorts, The Kavernacle, Your True Shelf, Stanzi, Offizier Amira, kgb detected.
Ominous music begins. 😊 Every book is rated is 4+(?). That includes books with misspellings and uneven prose enough to be near unreadable. I received outrage comments from about six months into my Goodreads experience. As I occasionally scanned other reviews, I saw a number of the same members attacking other science fiction reviewers. I only recently became aware of what seems to be a greater prevalence of same among the romance and romantasy readers from YouTube book reviewers. The angry romance/romantasy readers routinely stalk, doxx and threaten the one or two star reviewer.
Amazon have not disciplined members, punished writers who sometimes lead them nor dismissed employees who enable them. Amazon do not acknowledge the incidents.
Kindle/Goodreads gave my limited message history to these unhinged members, which made possible a request of Australian Intelligence through Pine Gap Centre to interrogate the one friend whom I occasionally messaged. While the attempt at my personal history failed, it left two outraged customers. It only became concerning to Amazon after we publicised the event. Suddenly the most visible acts of harassment on my pages were masked or removed and my Kindle keyboard format was returned to normal after a year of resets among other things.
A Seventh EBay ex-employee was sentenced for months long harassment of a couple whose small ecommerce channel was deemed unkind to EBay. The couple was eventually awarded multi-millions of pounds. That ex-employee had been EBay Chief of Global Security or some such. It is something to think about.
I suggest a few precautions that should make your Kindle/Goodreads exposure somewhat safer, until you are ready to move outside the Amazon sphere.
Minimise personal information on Goodreads and avoid messaging. Given the Goodreads penchant for Altering customer pages, the screenshot of the odd, the ugly and the threatening is very useful. Remove the lurker, those who never post. They are monitors not admirers. If only involved with Goodreads, those should suffice.
Kindle is more dangerous. Do Not use Kindle Files, Calendar, Email or Contacts, unless you are unconcerned with safety of yourself and contacts. Do Not "purchase" Amazon ebooks, as you own only the device not downloads. They can be altered or deleted at Amazon's whim. An accidental confirmation was that Amazon may Sign Into your emails without notice or permission.
The US have begun creating concentration camps, the most notorious of which is Alligator Alcatraz. The already flooded, cage filled, swamp site encircled by various dangerous animals from Alligators to Pythons was named in a televised celebration days ago by the US president. The government is still supported by tens of millions as long as extreme cruelty against targeted peoples is demonstrated. Etsy have begun selling Alligator Alcatraz merch to much applause, despite sellers leaving the site. This reflects the values of tens of millions citizens including Goodreads members, who now accept the end of healthcare, cash, housing and food benefits for themselves and will proudly wear this and duplicate ICE jackets. I think that the jackets are being offered by Amazon. More things to think about.
Those several actions will not cost anything but to not might do. Most importantly those members and employees lack restraint, non-Randian morality or self-awareness but are US patriots with all that implies. Elbows Up. Ominous music ends. 😊
Be well. May we all find Good Reading! 🤗
Some of my favourite YouTube channels.
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I wish you a bright morning, an exhilarating afternoon, a brilliant evening, a wonderful night and may we all continue learning.
Hope is indispensable.
Boudicca
April 3, 2021
I was so confused with the writing. It jumps alot and was hard to follow. A great story though!
May 2, 2021
Already interested in the next book
This author knows how to pique my curiosity. There are multiple mysteries slowly intertwining, a nice variety of characters from different species who’ve come together as a merc crew, and a captain who’s smart, kicks butt, and has a few surprises up her sleeve that even SHE doesn’t expect. Looking forward to finding out what happens next in The Victorious Dead!
This author knows how to pique my curiosity. There are multiple mysteries slowly intertwining, a nice variety of characters from different species who’ve come together as a merc crew, and a captain who’s smart, kicks butt, and has a few surprises up her sleeve that even SHE doesn’t expect. Looking forward to finding out what happens next in The Victorious Dead!
November 13, 2021
I love a good space opera, but unfortunately, this had so much going on that it was super difficult to follow at times. It made my head hurt just trying to connect all of the different pieces.
April 8, 2019
This book made me happy. It actually made me spit my coffee from laughing a few times. Not an easy feat for me. NOT that the book is *funny*, but it is certainly heavy on the sarcasm.
The first elephant in the room . . . the title. Is the title off-putting to you? It was to me. :D I delayed reading this because with a title like "Warrior Wench", I was positive I was getting a story more steeped in sex than sci-fi. Well, I was wrong. After reading this book, I am madly and crazily in love with the title. What a brilliant, deceptive, creative title for a sci fi book starring a female captain. I bow to the brilliance of the author. Just thinking about it makes me giggle.
I really loved the characters in this book. I loved all the species. Each persons traits suited his species and ship rank quite well. It all flowed together nicely. Mac and Jackii reminded me so much of Flynn and Provenza from The Closer that their antics took on a little special meaning to me. Each character provided their own little theme song in my head as he/she appeared. Which isn't really typical for me. :D The romance is a little . . . skewed . . . and mostly already happened. So, not a big romance here. Just a relationship.
The story was original and creative. It isn't really politically driven. It isn't hate driven. It isn't evil driven. Or, I guess I shall see if it is evil driven. It was antic driven more than anything. I do adore good antics. In the end, all the antics come together . . . but I sure enjoyed the journey.
My one complaint is that maybe it has two endings. The first, false ending, and the second, real ending. It did leave me feeling a bit like the author wasn't *quite* sure where she wanted to end it and where it was going. Again, I enjoyed it enough that I forgave her.
I waffled between 4 and 5 stars. Two things drove it to 5 . . . I *loved* the creativity of the title. And, I *immediately* picked up the next one to see what happened next. Also, thrilled to find out this is a complete trilogy!
The first elephant in the room . . . the title. Is the title off-putting to you? It was to me. :D I delayed reading this because with a title like "Warrior Wench", I was positive I was getting a story more steeped in sex than sci-fi. Well, I was wrong. After reading this book, I am madly and crazily in love with the title. What a brilliant, deceptive, creative title for a sci fi book starring a female captain. I bow to the brilliance of the author. Just thinking about it makes me giggle.
I really loved the characters in this book. I loved all the species. Each persons traits suited his species and ship rank quite well. It all flowed together nicely. Mac and Jackii reminded me so much of Flynn and Provenza from The Closer that their antics took on a little special meaning to me. Each character provided their own little theme song in my head as he/she appeared. Which isn't really typical for me. :D The romance is a little . . . skewed . . . and mostly already happened. So, not a big romance here. Just a relationship.
The story was original and creative. It isn't really politically driven. It isn't hate driven. It isn't evil driven. Or, I guess I shall see if it is evil driven. It was antic driven more than anything. I do adore good antics. In the end, all the antics come together . . . but I sure enjoyed the journey.
My one complaint is that maybe it has two endings. The first, false ending, and the second, real ending. It did leave me feeling a bit like the author wasn't *quite* sure where she wanted to end it and where it was going. Again, I enjoyed it enough that I forgave her.
I waffled between 4 and 5 stars. Two things drove it to 5 . . . I *loved* the creativity of the title. And, I *immediately* picked up the next one to see what happened next. Also, thrilled to find out this is a complete trilogy!
July 21, 2016
A rollicking scifi adventure, there was plenty of action, including space battles (my favorite), humor, lots of different beings serving on a mercenary crew and a tough as nails with a heart of gold female captain. Capitan Vaslisha Tor Dain comes back from what was supposed to be a two week trip to find she’s been gone a month and has memories missing from that time, her ship, The Victorious Dead, has been broken up and sold in pieces all over the galaxy, and then there are the ominous ships attacking entire planets and several other mysterious happenings that make her believe someone is out to get her. She ends up with a replacement ship that was outfitted as a floating brothel called the Warrior Wench, but it may be just what she needs since it has some pretty sweet upgrades that come in handy during her adventures. Not as convenient is her sudden attraction to her second, the telepath Deven, which would break two of her rules: no falling for telepaths or members of her crew. I thought the story ended somewhat abruptly, but it wasn’t really a cliffhanger, things were wrapped up as more of an ending of one adventure with more to come. It definitely made me want to pick up the next story to see what Vas and her crew get up to next.
June 23, 2016
Do you like sci-fi with a lot of action, romance, and a wild adventure? Here it is. I loved this book. Just looking at the cover and you know what the heroine is like. I thought Warrior Wench meant her. Hahaha. It's the name of her ship, but it could describe her, too. Besides losing her original ship, she's stuck on a formal brothel-ship. At least the accommodations are better. But somebody has it in for her. One attack after another. Sheesh.
With the myriad characters, I felt like I was on Farscape. Most of the crew aren't human. Ms. Andreas captures their appearances and characters with a few choice phrases. No need for detailed descriptions. Warrior Wench is so fast paced I hated to put it down then couldn't wait to get back to it. This is the first book in a space opera trilogy. Can't wait to read the next one.
With the myriad characters, I felt like I was on Farscape. Most of the crew aren't human. Ms. Andreas captures their appearances and characters with a few choice phrases. No need for detailed descriptions. Warrior Wench is so fast paced I hated to put it down then couldn't wait to get back to it. This is the first book in a space opera trilogy. Can't wait to read the next one.
July 19, 2016
The Warrior Wench is not a person but a space ship. That ship is full of great characters many with their own backstory. That and world building are a big part of the story. There are plots within plots as the Warrior Wench travels on different missions. There is a lot of action and some mystery with the characters. Don't look for a resolution to the story. The end is a bit of a cliff hanger.
June 13, 2025
Ratings - completed series:
#1 Warrior Wench (this book): ★★★★☆
#2 Victorious Dead: ★★★★☆
#3 Defiant Ruin: ★★★★☆
#1 Warrior Wench (this book): ★★★★☆
#2 Victorious Dead: ★★★★☆
#3 Defiant Ruin: ★★★★☆
October 26, 2016
I liked the characters and story really well. In fact once I start the book yesterday it kept me interested and reading till I finished it last night. I recommend this book
*** Received a copy of book from NetGally.com and Marie Andreas ****
L
*** Received a copy of book from NetGally.com and Marie Andreas ****
L
April 4, 2019
Warrior Wench is the first book in the Asarlai Wars series. This can be read as a standalone. This story contains and interesting sort of characters. None are perfect and that makes it more interesting to read.
November 20, 2016
Review scheduked 11/22/2016
https://burnsthroughherbookshelf.word...
4.5 stars
https://burnsthroughherbookshelf.word...
4.5 stars
September 2, 2017
Another great story from Marie. The minor errors are annoying, but minimal. Onto Victorious Dead!
April 13, 2019
So much fun!
What an enjoyable read! Well paced with excellent world and character building, this book was a joy to read from start to finish!
What an enjoyable read! Well paced with excellent world and character building, this book was a joy to read from start to finish!
August 9, 2019
I genuinely don't know how I feel about this book, so I'll break it down into pros and cons.
Pro's: It's a decent enough sci-fi adventure romp. There are enough mysteries, twists, and questions to keep you engaged, and there are lots of fights, battles, and explosions too, so it's got a lot going on. The world-building is pretty solid (if somewhat formulaic), but not overwhelming.
The characters are fun, typical sci-fi heroes that are identifiable, even if you don't identify with them. And they (along with everything else) have a sort of semi-gritty Flash Gordon feel about them.
Cons:
The writing is very simple, and although there are no major plot-holes, it was quite a jarring adjustment starting this book. At times it reads more like it was written by a teenager than and adult, and not in a good way. There are almost no real descriptions of anything in the book, leaving the action floating in a formless void, right down to the characters and ships themselves.
The characters are pretty two-dimensional, and their interactions often feel forced or purely for exposition. And there is no character development.
Deus ex machina is the phrase of the day because everything and everyone has some ability or property that foils the bad guys right in the nick of time. Honestly, it happes so often that it robs much of the novel of any sense of danger, as the character shields are established early on and are so impenetrable that you know which characters will not die, regardless of what is happening.
And the author really seems to have no sense of timing. There are several passages where the captain does something (usually a conversation) that couldn't take more than a few minutes, and yet suddenly hours have passed - which really throws you out of sync in a surprisingly jarring way.
Overall, this is a simple, fun sci-fi romp. Lovers of hard sci-fi or those looking to be challenged shouldn't bother. There's nothing for you here. But if your looking to kill some time with some light reading (or if you're not a "big" reader), then this is for you.
It kind of falls into the same category as the Assassin's Creed novels for me - books for people who don't normally read books.
That being said, I will probably get the remaining two in the series, if just out of curiosity to see if they improve!
Pro's: It's a decent enough sci-fi adventure romp. There are enough mysteries, twists, and questions to keep you engaged, and there are lots of fights, battles, and explosions too, so it's got a lot going on. The world-building is pretty solid (if somewhat formulaic), but not overwhelming.
The characters are fun, typical sci-fi heroes that are identifiable, even if you don't identify with them. And they (along with everything else) have a sort of semi-gritty Flash Gordon feel about them.
Cons:
The writing is very simple, and although there are no major plot-holes, it was quite a jarring adjustment starting this book. At times it reads more like it was written by a teenager than and adult, and not in a good way. There are almost no real descriptions of anything in the book, leaving the action floating in a formless void, right down to the characters and ships themselves.
The characters are pretty two-dimensional, and their interactions often feel forced or purely for exposition. And there is no character development.
Deus ex machina is the phrase of the day because everything and everyone has some ability or property that foils the bad guys right in the nick of time. Honestly, it happes so often that it robs much of the novel of any sense of danger, as the character shields are established early on and are so impenetrable that you know which characters will not die, regardless of what is happening.
And the author really seems to have no sense of timing. There are several passages where the captain does something (usually a conversation) that couldn't take more than a few minutes, and yet suddenly hours have passed - which really throws you out of sync in a surprisingly jarring way.
Overall, this is a simple, fun sci-fi romp. Lovers of hard sci-fi or those looking to be challenged shouldn't bother. There's nothing for you here. But if your looking to kill some time with some light reading (or if you're not a "big" reader), then this is for you.
It kind of falls into the same category as the Assassin's Creed novels for me - books for people who don't normally read books.
That being said, I will probably get the remaining two in the series, if just out of curiosity to see if they improve!
August 28, 2017
Vas is the captain of a mercenary ship. She has just return from an extended vacation to pick up her ship and her crew, only to find her ship has been scrapped for parts. The replacement ship, though bigger, newer, and fully of shiny addons, comes with the unfortunate monicker of the Warrior Wench, as well as the reputation of being a brothel. And that's just the start of her bad day. Vas is poisoned, trackers are inserted into her blood, and she narrowly escapes being framed for murder.
The action in this one is fast and furious and the mysteries pile up one upon another. There is a conspiracy at work, but just who or what is behind it is unknown.
I really enjoyed this read. Been reading more on the fantasy side of the sf/ fantasy spectrum lately, and this reminds me why I love a good sf romp. And the blessing of books over tv/movies, the aliens in this story aren't quite as humanoid as your average Star Trek alien.
There is a slow burn romantic thread, but low key. Maybe a bit too low key for my tastes. I would have jumped his bones long before Vas gave in.
Her second in command, Deven is a powerful esper (telepath). Older and more powerful than anyone knows. He also has an incubus like affinity for sex. So what's a girl to do when a little psychic healing breaks down boundaries.
Happy to see book two is out. Will be grabbing it momentarily.
I was glancing through the reviews for the sequel and noticed someone comepared this to Sarantha Jax. (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...) Apt comparison. I'd also add Scarabaeus (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...) to that list.
The action in this one is fast and furious and the mysteries pile up one upon another. There is a conspiracy at work, but just who or what is behind it is unknown.
I really enjoyed this read. Been reading more on the fantasy side of the sf/ fantasy spectrum lately, and this reminds me why I love a good sf romp. And the blessing of books over tv/movies, the aliens in this story aren't quite as humanoid as your average Star Trek alien.
There is a slow burn romantic thread, but low key. Maybe a bit too low key for my tastes. I would have jumped his bones long before Vas gave in.
Her second in command, Deven is a powerful esper (telepath). Older and more powerful than anyone knows. He also has an incubus like affinity for sex. So what's a girl to do when a little psychic healing breaks down boundaries.
Happy to see book two is out. Will be grabbing it momentarily.
I was glancing through the reviews for the sequel and noticed someone comepared this to Sarantha Jax. (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...) Apt comparison. I'd also add Scarabaeus (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...) to that list.
April 16, 2019
Wow, what a mess of a book. The author writes well, but I always wondered what a science fiction novel would look like when written by someone with no knowledge of physics or engineering. Now I know. The action sequences were kind of fun once you suspended your feelings of disbelief about the weirdness going on. Just a few of the strange things:
-Travel across solar systems in less than an hour, yet sensors seem not to be able to pick up ships a couple of minutes away.
-Our captain seems to be able to load all her munitions into the launch tubes of her ship, but for some reason they don't carry spares.
-Ships crash on planets and yet seem to be able to be put together without any local infrastructure...and are completely battleworthy when they get back into space.
-Her home planet is so depopulated that when she sends a ship containing several thousand refugees, she is worried about overpopulation (on a planet!).
-This planet (which apparently has no industry) is able to restock and refit a fleet of warships. Where did the parts come from? Where did the munitions come from?
-When the bad guys attack a planet, they seem to be able to blow up all the cities and then completely round up ALL the people living in rural areas and fit them on 5 shuttles. How depopulated are these worlds anyway?
-For most of the series she has a couple of cruisers, yet she expects to take down an enemy that just wiped out her entire home empire, including planet buster sized ships!?
It just goes on and on. In a way, the continual engineering and science weirdness kept me reading, as I became almost more fascinated by what kind of strangeness she would show up with next.
-Travel across solar systems in less than an hour, yet sensors seem not to be able to pick up ships a couple of minutes away.
-Our captain seems to be able to load all her munitions into the launch tubes of her ship, but for some reason they don't carry spares.
-Ships crash on planets and yet seem to be able to be put together without any local infrastructure...and are completely battleworthy when they get back into space.
-Her home planet is so depopulated that when she sends a ship containing several thousand refugees, she is worried about overpopulation (on a planet!).
-This planet (which apparently has no industry) is able to restock and refit a fleet of warships. Where did the parts come from? Where did the munitions come from?
-When the bad guys attack a planet, they seem to be able to blow up all the cities and then completely round up ALL the people living in rural areas and fit them on 5 shuttles. How depopulated are these worlds anyway?
-For most of the series she has a couple of cruisers, yet she expects to take down an enemy that just wiped out her entire home empire, including planet buster sized ships!?
It just goes on and on. In a way, the continual engineering and science weirdness kept me reading, as I became almost more fascinated by what kind of strangeness she would show up with next.
December 4, 2017
I bought Warrior Wench for one simple reason: It was written by Marie Andreas, whose Lost Ancients series I totally love. The fourth Lost Ancients book is not yet out, so in Ancients-deprived desperation, I made the hyper-leap from fantasy to sci fi, and discovered that Marie Andreas' stories are absolutely gripping no matter what she writes about or what genre she explores.
The story is built on a mystery that begins to unfold as Captain Vaslisha Tor Dain is busy discovering that something shocking has happened to her ship while she's been on shore leave, and she is forced to -- temporarily -- take the ship, Warrior Wench, in exchange. Just how deeply a merely-annoying bureaucratic mistake is rooted and the sinister explanation behind a seemingly isolated happening keeps the tension building and the pace escalating in a story full of surprise twists and rapidly rising stakes.
Although relationships take a back seat to the fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat action that built as the book raced towards it's stomach-grabbing ending, as befitting a good Sci Fi novel, I got to know and appreciate each member of the crew, each wildly different. Marie Andreas has a magical knack of making each character real.
And although we only get a glimpse here and there, the Asarlai are the scariest race I've encountered in space fiction (book or movie).
I have just purchased the sequel, The Victorious Dead, and I can't wait to read it. I only hope that by the time it ends, Marie Andreas has another book ready to launch. In any genre!
The story is built on a mystery that begins to unfold as Captain Vaslisha Tor Dain is busy discovering that something shocking has happened to her ship while she's been on shore leave, and she is forced to -- temporarily -- take the ship, Warrior Wench, in exchange. Just how deeply a merely-annoying bureaucratic mistake is rooted and the sinister explanation behind a seemingly isolated happening keeps the tension building and the pace escalating in a story full of surprise twists and rapidly rising stakes.
Although relationships take a back seat to the fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat action that built as the book raced towards it's stomach-grabbing ending, as befitting a good Sci Fi novel, I got to know and appreciate each member of the crew, each wildly different. Marie Andreas has a magical knack of making each character real.
And although we only get a glimpse here and there, the Asarlai are the scariest race I've encountered in space fiction (book or movie).
I have just purchased the sequel, The Victorious Dead, and I can't wait to read it. I only hope that by the time it ends, Marie Andreas has another book ready to launch. In any genre!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 173 reviews