Daikon

by James David Victor

Captured slaves. Fearsome aliens. The only hope is a space marine who has no idea who, or what, she really is.
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Sergeant Andrea “Andy” Dolan leads a squad of fearless space marines. When an intergalactic slave-trading hub is discovered, she leads her squad on a rescue mission. During the mission she discovers powers no human should possess. Andy must learn to use her new, mysterious powers if she is going to save her squad and rescue the slaves.

Daikon is the second book in the ESS Space Marines series. If you like fast paced space adventures with engaging, and quirky, characters, you will love Andy and the ESS Space Marines.

Download Daikon and get started on your next space adventure today!

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Genres: Science Fiction, Military Fiction

128 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 21, 2017

About the author

James David Victor is the pen name used by science fiction and fantasy author David J. VanBergen Jr. for co-authored projects. It is his way of sharing more stories with you than he could write by himself.

If you would like to check out all of his books, under both pen names, and get a free short story, be sure to sign up for his Science Fiction newsletter by visiting:
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Reviews

[Emily Pennington]

Andrea “Andy” Dolan was a marine, a squad leader, and she reluctantly walked toward the visiting room at the Harnari Penal Colony infirmary. She was there to ask her imprisoned mother about her genetic heritage from her father. Her mother again refused to tell her anything, but this was important now. An incident on Star Base Zenith, where she was the only one who had the power to resist mind control aliens, made it obvious there was something different about her. But for some reason, her mother said she absolutely was not able to tell her anything, even if she had wanted to.

Major Carson started the briefing to let the squad leaders know about their next mission which would be the Daikon Colony. They had finally gotten a lead on the Kriori who dealt with trafficking and enslavement of others. A lucky occurrence of a tracer device on one of the captives gave them a lead that the Kriori were on Daikon Colony. This mission would be a rescue effort to save ESS alliance races captured by the Kriori.

Andy’s team moved toward the guarded compound and took out the guards. Roxanna squirmed with her empathic senses picking up the captives’ emotions. They moved on to take out the communication systems. Were they going to be successful? Could they save the captives and get out safely?

Although short, this was a very good book. The story line moved along quickly and held the reader’s interest as the author refers back to a dangerous encounter in Book 1 and moves the reader on to the upcoming mission with the slave traders. The characters are well developed and interesting. The banter among Andy’s squad helps the reader get to know them even better. And we have the mystery of Andy’s genetic contribution from her father which is still unknown but gives her extra abilities she is still exploring. This was a fun read and I definitely recommend it. I was given a copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it. My comments reflect my honest opinion.

[Pete]

Episode 2 in this series about a space marine team led by Andrea (Andy) Dolan, who appears to have some very unusual and unexplained talents, although she appears to be a normal human.
I like the lead character, she is confident but still betrays human doubts, and insecurities. Although the writing is good, especially the action sequences, the plot is necessarily quite simple as this is a short read, and also it is part of an ongoing series, and can't really be read as a stand-alone.
But it is an enjoyable way for a science fiction fan to spend an hour or so.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher.

[Brenda]

A little slower to get into the action than book 1, Daikon is a very interesting read revealing more about the main character, Andy, and her unusual abilities. While Andy is the heart of the story, more about the mission and outcomes would make the read more entertaining. The author should feel comfortable enough now in the knowledge that we find the stories highly enjoyable and should challenge himself more by expanding within the storylines.

[Brian Turner]

Sergeant Andrea "Andy" Dolan and her squad of marines get caught up in more adventures.
Investigating a slave ring, Andy discovers things about herself that come as a surprise.
The second half of the story starts to explain those a bit as they come across a new alien race.

The other characters are still in the background compared to Andy, but they all fill their roles when needed.

Interesting story and will be reading book 3 to see what happens next.

[Kandy]

What a great series. Each book is short, but is packed with so much action and great characters. The descriptions of the alien life forms are so good that you can picture them in your mind as you read. I am looking forward to the next book in this series and see what will be happening with Andy next.

[Louise Pass]

Chapter not book.

Somehow, I have been conditioned by years of reading books to expect a 'book' to be more than just an incident in what is obviously a longer narrative. So if you don't mind chapter length installments masquerading as a 'book' the story is intriguing and you might enjoy it.

[Elissa]

This is the second in the ESS series and can stand alone but works better read sequentially, especially as each episode is clearly building suspense for the next. We are now really focusing on Andy with short shrift given the other unit members or even the instant mission. Nonetheless the story is interesting and I find myself anxious to read the next.

[Michael Wood]

Good Single Mission Space Opera Short Story

Victor just barely puts a wrapper around the constant combat in this short story, once again starring Sergeant Andy and her squad. Other than the small force combat, he adds just a tiny bit of background, and a hint that there is more for Andy to learn about her mysterious father.
VERY GOOD, BUT SHORT!

[Ron]

Andrea Dolan is a marine squad leader who seems to be able to resist alien influence and some weapons.
She does not know who her father is but her DNA is not completely human in this adventure she finally find out who she is

[Lynnelle D. Bolton]

Daikon , ESS and the Space Marines

I read this short,short because it is included in the ESS books. The books are fun and respectful. My daughter is a terrific speller and reader. She would have liked this series; it's a fast read also. Thank you.

[Lisa]

Too short for a good story

I truly hate the short segments being doled out in episodic fashion. The story itself I am liking so far.

[Christopher Page]

I have enjoyed another chapter, unfortunately with 2 books to go it looks like this makes about half a book in total.

[Red Tide]

Intriguing

The questions the first book throw at the main character, come up again and are multiplied. She is a normal marine becoming something more than normal or purely human. How she responds to the revelations really make the book. These books are really about the main character, her background, her life and not so much a military science fiction story.

The story does move along at a fast pace but there is some character development. That almost exclusively involved the main character. Where this goes from here, isn't clear to me.

If you like the first book, you'll probably like this also. I think it's very nicely done, so far.