Forbidden Sanctuary

Star Lawyers #2

by Tom Shepherd

What terrible secrets will Tyler Matthews and his Star Lawyers discover within the Forbidden Sanctuary on the mysterious, sacred planet Adao-2?

Can the legal team from Matthews Interstellar Industries learn the truth in time to save M-double-I’s century-long quest to open Jump Gate Omega, bridge the 2.5 million light years to the Andromeda galaxy, and prevent economic ruin and war in the Milky Way?

While Tyler, J.B., Rosalie and Lucy (her shapeshifter cat) battle pirates and religious fanatics, Suzie and her holographic A.I. colleagues—former ladies of the night, re-purposed as legal assistants and starship crew-- face an even deadlier foe. This unknown enemy threatens to delete all the starship Patrick Henry’s programs and terminate their existence forever.

To make matters worse, Cousin Esteban languishes in prison on Suryadivan Prime, where the former Catholic monk faces a death sentence for crimes he did not commit.

The Star Lawyers adventure continues in Book 2, Forbidden Sanctuary.

What terrible secrets will Tyler Matthews and his Star Lawyers discover within the Forbidden Sanctuary on the mysterious, sacred planet Adao-2?

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook

268 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2018

About the author

Tom Shepherd flew medical evacuation helicopters in Vietnam, where he received two Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Air Medal, and the Purple Heart. He has worked as a Japanese linguist, public school teacher, and graduate school instructor. Shepherd is originally from Reading, Pennsylvania, but lived in Alaska, Germany, Indochina, and the Republic of Korea. He spent the balance of of his professional career working with churches in the Deep South, California, and the Midwest and serving as Professor of Religious Studies at Unity Institute near Kansas City, Missouri. Author of a wide array of
articles and nonfiction books, plus more than twenty plays and two novels for the middle grades, Dr. Shepherd “retired” in 2016 to write novels full time.

Star Lawyers is his new series, which readers have described as “Star Trek meets Law&Order.” Tom Shepherd lives with his wife, Carol-Jean, and their genial pit bull, Riley, in Tucson, Arizona.

Reviews

[Meenaz Lodhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another thrilling installment of The Star Lawyers series, a fascinating ride through courts, politics and religious confrontations. Wonderful engaging characters, aliens and humans alike, with both in-depth and backgrounds structure and humour, sarcasm. Action filled with pirates and the likes. A veritable and exciting plot which keeps you on the hook from the beginning, lots of unexpected twists and unique scenes. I can assure I loved this book more, if possible!
Couldn’t get enough of it and I already want book 3, please! Tom Shepherd is really outstanding and outdoing himself! If you haven’t read the series yet, I very very much recommend it!
I am voluntarily giving a review of an advance copy I received from the author.

[Ronie Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

A welcomed treat

[John Shrek Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title:
They say history doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes

The good guys: Zyn-Vorkans, Father of Life — Yajik Kabor, Suryadivan Resistance, Greeter Lox Aspi, Lucy-Lulu, Demarcus Platte, Yumiko Matsuda, Attorney Blue, Paco Leon, Dorla Leon, Solorio Family: Esteban Xavier
Solorio, Tia Camilla, Tio Xavier; Matthews Family: Noah, Bianca, J.B., Tyler, Naca Jen/Night Storm: Julieta, Rosalie; Suzanne “Suzie” London, Myong Li, Arabella, and the other holographic entities {Zalika, Ulrika, Parvati,}; Abuela, Adelaide LeBlanc

The bad guys: Suryadivan Prime priests, the government of Suryadivan Prime, Pirates including , Capitão Flávio Tavares, the Segerian privateer (one of Noah s friends); Rek Kett — Zalaar-17; Pontiffs, Supreme Council of Pontiffs, Tsuchiya Galactic, Segerian Syndicate, Dengathi, [], Tanis Zervos (Her name is Segerian),

Series of bookmarks, highlights, and notes to be downloaded from the book and analyzed:

We get a chance to see Night Storm is still in action and doing it her way. She even sends the Star Lawyers a private message over a very open service. We even learn Night Storm s name. Then that there s more than one, which can be aggravating to lawyers. It seems that there s a group of “Night Storms” (Justicia Para Todos). Wisely they have a standard/code that they follow: We don’t just go out and whack bystanders. Never kill for revenge. Never kill with anger. Never strike to wound. Never harm an innocent. If justice is not your goal, do not engage. {If you re going to follow that type of path, it s not a bad code to follow}.

Periodically throughout the book there are unique tidbits of information from famous -and not so famous- people. Such as: Thomas Jefferson said, ‘If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.’”

Or: Not the length of a life, but the mindfulness by which it is lived, makes a person foolish or wise.”

Or: Your sin is an attempt to contradict the Highest Good. Harming another sentient being, allowing hate to fester. These I would call poor choices, not sins.”

Or: “Only lack of light. You cannot turn on the dark. The same with heat and cold. Refrigeration does not produce cold, it removes heat. Evil is the lack of good.”

Back to the review:

Tyler even manages to get the means to actually be with his perfect mate via a device from the Zyn-Vorkans. Get that coin within five meters of the hardware housing her program, rotate the outer ring and squeeze. Instead of a hologram, she will appear as a fully biological lifeform. When she wants to return to energetic form, she slides a finger along the double helix tattooed on her arm.”

On to the trial:

Seems crooks are the same everywhere. All evidence presented by the prosecution is proven wrong when Greeter Lox Aspi speaks: He tells of finding out the truth of what goes on during the “Sacred Hunts” and why he tried to commit suicide (which is a sin on his world).

No person of honor can live with the shame of such treachery.”

After proving that the spiritual leaders had sold out their world, and freeing their cousin. The judge starts a mini revolution to oust the corrupt leaders -both religious and political- to bring the populace back to proper theocracy.

Meanwhile while checking things out for the family, they find that the secondary gate (that next to no one knew about was destroyed, Abuela was found and helped Suzanne London and the other holographic women escape.

Abuela was sent from the Andromeda galaxy as a welcoming gesture to our galaxy.
“I was programmed to invite your races to visit us, to offer point-to-point transit to whatever peaceful vessels your people wished to send among us. We sought an exchange of ideas, art, music, and religions”. {Sort of a reverse Voyager invitation}.

More snippets:

Divine Power causes all things to exist. My originators assumed all intelligent organisms celebrate the mystery of life with appreciation of its diversity and tolerance for disagreement.

Love holds the Cosmos together. Trust love.

Why does your species scorn compassion as weakness?”

After Tyler and Suzanne disable both gates to protect the people of the Andromeda galaxy (all are peaceful, evolved beyond the need of fighting). They sacrificed The Sioux City who proved that not every unarmed vessel is totally weapon less.

One of the Andromeda galaxy s residents states that even though the pirates who came through the gate prior to it s being destroyed weren t wanted, even though their vessel was destroyed, they didn t want the pirates. So they backed time up, extracted the biologicals from the ship and placed them in a cube and arranged for Tyler and Suzanne to return home.

“Someday your people will learn how to extract the troubled souls and heal their penchant for violent conquest. Meanwhile, they cannot harm the innocent, or themselves”.

They even promised to tear down the gate to keep the Andromeda citizens safe.

And on into the setup for the cliffhanger of book 2.

This series has got me thinking that my notion that if all lawyers were dead, it would be a good start. I m starting to think that if more were like the Star Lawyers firm it would be a better galaxy.

I haven t said the following in a long time: “I can t hardly wait for the next book in this series to come out. Next book?!?! Better make that “All The Books In The Series “!!!!

[Marcus Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I'm hooked!

I'll admit, I wasn't sold on this series after the first book, but now that Dr Tom had a satisfying ending to this story, I'm hooked! This is a wonderful series with wacky characters and wonderful universe-defying storylines. A combination of religion, politics, and law with some exploding ships tucked nicely in. I definitely wish I could buy this man a drink and have a great conversation... but for now, I'll keep reading.

[David Brevik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This direct sequel to Omega Gate is fast and furious. From the start, we’re inserted into a battle that threatened an entire galaxy. While I can’t say I always enjoyed the characters, they kept me reading, making me curious to what going on.

And our author certainly is imaginative with the races. I’m impress on how far in depth he goes to show us their worlds and making them feel world. Make me want to visit them.

Though I do think the plot suffered a little at times. Not so much that it was bad, but there are times I felt like the author made some odd choices. Like curing a disorder of a certain person with magic science, yet I don’t really recall that character ever suffering from his illness. At least, not in any meaningful way in the story. And after thinking more of the plot, I find myself poking a few holes in the plot. Again, they aren’t that bad and the writer’s style make them easy to ignore.
Overall, a good squeal to the first story. I’ll pick up the third book when I got the time.

[Frank Geimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story! Dr. Tom does it again.

Lawyers in space, why not. Dr. Tom does a hell of a job making this rip roaring novel not only entertaining, but believable in its concept. Can't wait to see more from Dr. Tom.

[Jas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forbidden Sanctuary, although actually being the second in the series, is more like Part 2 to Jump Gate Omega, than an actual Sequel, in that the Noah Brothers have still to save the Jump Gate Legacy Project that their Grandfather started all those years ago. Tyler Noah Matthews III (although he goes by Noah) sent his boys, Tyler Noah Matthews IV, and J.B. Matthews, along with their Sister, Rosalie Matthews to the Suryadivan Sacred Protectorate to go and project the Jump Gate, after the religious arm of the Suryadivan’s, the Supreme Council of Pontiffs, nullified the contract that the Matthews Company had with the Suryadivan’s, and made it so that no one from Matthews Corporate could go near the gate.
It was up to the Team to save the day, and on the way to the Protectorate, they had an adventurous time, getting waylaid by Pirates, Terrorists and various Aliens. However, Tyler and J.B. also found a ship that had previously been used as a flying brothel, and repurposed it, into Star Lawyers Corp., a legal firm that has mobile legal offices, run by the ‘Holographic’ staff that had been reprogrammed from the programs that had been on the ship previously. This ship, now called the Patrick Henry, has a crew of several living staff, The Noah Brothers, and Rosalie, Mr Blue, a Quirt-Thymean, Paco Leon, the ships Chief Mechanic, and Inspector Demarcus Platte, Head of Security, along with Yumiko Matsuda, an Investigator for the firm. The rest are Holographic staff made up from the members of the previous incarnation of the crew, as their programs were A.I., but they have been reprogrammed to be Legal Aides, Assistants etc, aboard the ship, which has emitters all over, allowing them to move freely around the ship with clients.
Although Tyler managed to get a temporary injunction against the Suryadivan Court to allow the Jump Gate to continue, this won’t last. Tyler and Rosalie were almost killed by a bomb as a result.
This is an intense story, and one in which at first look, you might think, Seriously?? Lawyers in Space?? No thanks… But it is not what you think, and it is just too good to pass up. For starters, there is more action in these books than most of the Mil Sci-Fi books I have read, the Elite Assassin known as ‘Naca Jen’ or ‘Night Storm’ cuts through more people than plastic packing at Christmas, but only if they are bad people.
The court action is actually very well done, with that short and sweet type of Lawyer style we have gotten used to on most of the TV shows, were our Intrepid Lawyers either decimate the opposition, or find themselves in a lot of trouble and needing that magic card to help them out of the hole. Either way, it makes for gripping and entertaining reading, and Shepherd has not only done his homework on legalese, to make it sound good, but he has added this additional layer of intrigue to the entire concept in that we have ‘Alien’ legal systems, making it that much more interesting as there are all these cultural differences on a galactic scale that the team has to be aware of.
In this second part, we get to see so much of this as the team is fighting for multiple different things, not just the Jump Gate. The Matthew Brothers are not only fighting against the Gate injunction, which is nigh on impossible as it is a religious order, but they also have to contend with a Murder charge against a member of their Family, Estaban, who is arrested for the murder of one of the Suryadivans.
On top of this, their other Cousin, Julieta, is still missing, and has been for months now, and no one knows where she is or has gone?
On the Galactic front, Matthews Corp are facing some difficult times as investors and other companies are getting funny as they are not sure if their project is going to get off the ground, and all the money they have spent is going to be wasted, and the Gate will be non-operational.
This is a brilliant story, it is so complex at some layers, with a multi-faceted story, that is incredibly intriguing, fascinating on so many layers, gripping and compelling on so many others. You find yourself totally captivated to the book, having to finish it, as you just HAVE to know what is going to happen next, it is such an intense and enthralling story.
The really exceptional aspect of this book (apart from the Character work), is the Galaxy (world) building, which is so intricate, so detailed, and in-depth, and comprehensive. This is such a clever and well-designed bit of Galaxy Building, there is just so much detail, with all the Characters, Ships, Planets & Locations, Technology, the Races (the aliens in this series are just so awesome), but Shepherd has captured all of it and made sure all of it links up, this is going to be so good in later books when you look back at this earlier detail, such as the names of the ex-escorts that once worked on the pleasure cruiser, that now work as respectable staff on the Patrick Henry (And there is some great discussion of the tech for this to – great research).
Of course the really outstanding factor is the Character work, Shepherd’s Characters are extraordinary, Tyler is almost a textbook case of a dozen different varieties of issues coming from his Father, but at the same time, he has a deep seated loyalty to his friends and whatever cause he decides to fight in, even if it will cost him everything, including his own life.
His relationship with the AI program aboard his ship is rather fascinating, and only goes to prove how far he will go to save something, or someone that he truly cares about. J.B. is another matter entirely, having a rather more sedate personality, but again, he is deeply loyal, and will do anything to help those he considers friends. The final sibling on the team Rosalie, appears to be helpless at times, weak almost, but she is also the most intelligent of the group, with a keen ability to understand and speak alien language, as well as some other hidden talents.
There are SO MANY Characters in this book, I could fill pages trying to review them all, from the ever hungry, but brilliant Mr Blue, the intense Inspector Platte, and the beautiful, but deadly and skilled Yumiko.
Then of course there is the exceptional collection of ladies that was once the escorts, and is now a range of other roles, and the person who looks after their equipment, and the rest of the ship, the Chief, all of these characters are just sensational, and remarkable in their own way.
Shepherd’s character work is both creative and clever, and at all times, utterly masterful in the realistic, gritty nature of each of the major and minor characters, and the quality of the detail and depth of the each of the characters.
This is another aspect of the ‘World’ building that is just astounding, and the sheer quantity of notes Shepherd must have for this series could fill a library.
Overall, as a sequel, this is a fantastic follow-up to Jump Gate Alpha, and a brilliant Part 2 to the series, as well as a sensational setup for the rest of what is going to be not only an intriguing series, but one that is just going to be so much fun. If you haven’t already started Star Lawyers – get onboard the Patrick Henry – it is one ride you don’t want to miss!!

[Geoff Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Book 2 of Star Lawyers, Forbidden Sanctuary, at least as much, if not more than, book 1. I am really excited to start book 3! And author Tom Shepherd is nearly ready to release book 4. I sure hope he's working on the 5th one already.

I think a really good author tells you a good story, and a really great one brings you into the story. Tom Shepherd makes you a part of the story with his Star Lawyers series. When I find myself laughing out loud, gasping, or making comments or groaning or saying "oh no!" I'm really into the story. It takes a lot for me to actually verbally and emotionally respond to what I'm reading, but I find that I do - a lot - with Star Lawyers.

When I first heard about these books, I was leary, and skeptical. This was going to be a hard one to pull off. But I have found that Mr. Shepherd has done it really well. His story line and gripping, riveting action just sucks you in and never lets go. My biggest problem is not enough time to read as much as I want to!

His realistic and dare I say "human" or at least down to Earth (or some other planet) approach to non-human species and language is magnificent, and I am a real fan of his use not just of language, characterization, idiom and focus, but his depiction of just when you think an alien is a bit dull witted possibly, they prove themselves brilliant and unexpectedly cunning. It's great reading.

I would say the book is just slightly R rated for adult themes, some sexual situations and language; but for us adult readers it is a rollicking and fun ride.

I'm trying to think who I might compare Mr. Shepherd to in story telling, possibly Glynn Stewart. Possibly Lindsay Buroker. But he's right up there with the best, and you should definitely add him to the reading list if you want to quickly become addicted to his stories and enjoy a rollicking high octane galaxies spanning ride.

I highly recommend this book and series.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent enough story, though not really my cup of tea. Since it focuses more on the legal blocking, instead of the actual scifi aspects of exploration and such. There were some nice battles included, and there's some awesome ai and computer technology here, and the whole fjumping to another galaxy thing is really really cool, but I've never been a fan of slow drawn out legal preoceedings, and unfortunately, while this book doesn't draw them out, it does have several scenes where they're discussing legal matters, in court defending themselves with legal matters, and so on. I realize the title of the bok almost screams legal nonsense, and I expected some of that, so it's no surprise I wasn't very enthusiastic about this book. I'll of course read the next one, and hope that it feeds more on the whole space/scifi aspects of the story, though I don't hold out high hopes after reading the blurb for the next one.
Anyway, if you're a scifi fan, and you enjoy AI, spaceships, galaxy spanning stories, and lots of other things that make scifi great, you likely will enjoy this one, but if you're like me, and can't stand legal proceedings, your enjoyment of this volume may be tempered a bit, but it's still a decent story worth reading nonetheless.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining space listening 🎶🔰

Another will written space opera family relationships fantasy Sci-Fi adventure thriller by Tom Shepherd Space Lawyers book two. The two bothers end up ☝ defending a cousin in an alien 👽 race court. They win the case and the adventure continues with lots of action and misdirection leading to lots of violence in outer space. Both star 🌟 gates are destroyed with the bothers coming home too take control of parts of the family company. The adventure continues in the next book three. I would highly recommend this series and author to 👍 readers of space opera novels 👍🔰. Enjoy the adventure of reading or listening to Alexa. 2022😮👒⏰🗽

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get a ship become lawyers to the stars (not Hollywood).

Fast paced, page turning fun, fear and unbelievable get-aways. Going to Suryadivan Sacred Protecterant to retain the contract for the jump gate puts their lives in danger, puts them in the middle of the planet's politics and in the middle of a revolution and possibly a war.

Read and enjoy!!

[Thomas Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written book. Had a lot of humor and excitement. My number one requirement for a good book is that it has a good ending and this did that. The Humor in some ways reminded me of the James Retief galactic diplomat series of books.

[Donald Jr Whitted · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Shepherd keeps rolling out hits!

The second book was as enjoyable as the first. It looks like the third will be too. I look forward to seeing what happens with all the characters. Keep writing Mr. Shepherd as I'll keep enjoying your stories.

[Martin Bruno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I DNF the first book, I was hesitant to start this one. The story was good enough to suffer through the foul language by which the the author denies his own religious beliefs.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

As good as expected

Following the style of the previous books this one is as page turning and exciting as ever. Keeps you wanting more.