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Ensign Taylitha Basil didn't know what to expect at her first officer training retreat. Hiking up a mountain? She's never hiked. Canoeing back down it at the end? She's not a great swimmer. Dealing with an obnoxious peer who declared himself leader of their expedition? Definitely not in her plan. Meeting the woman who'd become her captain and friend for years to come? Bring it on.
Ensign Taylitha Basil didn't know what to expect at her first officer training retreat. Hiking up a mountain? She's never hiked. Canoeing back down it at the end? She's not a great swimmer. Dealing with an obnoxious peer who declared himself leader of their expedition? Definitely not in her plan. Meeting the woman who'd become her captain and friend for years to come? Bring it on.
152 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
24 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
M.C.A. Hogarth
145 books386 followersDaughter of two Cuban political exiles, M.C.A. Hogarth was born a foreigner in the American melting pot and has had a fascination for the gaps in cultures and the bridges that span them ever since. She has been many things—-web database architect, product manager, technical writer and massage therapist—-but is currently a full-time parent, artist, writer and anthropologist to aliens, both human and otherwise.
Her fiction has variously been recommended for a Nebula, a finalist for the Spectrum, placed on the secondary Tiptree reading list and chosen for two best-of anthologies; her art has appeared in RPGs, magazines and on book covers.
Her fiction has variously been recommended for a Nebula, a finalist for the Spectrum, placed on the secondary Tiptree reading list and chosen for two best-of anthologies; her art has appeared in RPGs, magazines and on book covers.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 2, 2017
what's the word for bromance when it's two women?
high on shared adversity, low on misunderstanding, quality hogarth
high on shared adversity, low on misunderstanding, quality hogarth
April 23, 2023
watcher
The worst adult summer camp. Or rather, retreat for Fleet ensigns, and the biggest problem was other people.
There was a lot of monologues and the characters were almost too self-aware, and more than willing to expound on their motivations and observations.
That said, it looks like the beginning of a great friendship and partnership.
The worst adult summer camp. Or rather, retreat for Fleet ensigns, and the biggest problem was other people.
There was a lot of monologues and the characters were almost too self-aware, and more than willing to expound on their motivations and observations.
That said, it looks like the beginning of a great friendship and partnership.
October 4, 2021
Fleet
Alysha has graduated to Ensign and is sent on. a Fleet retreat to help Fleet decide the potential of the recruits. She proves her mettle against a Pelted hating recruite and is building her command, even if it unintentional.
Alysha has graduated to Ensign and is sent on. a Fleet retreat to help Fleet decide the potential of the recruits. She proves her mettle against a Pelted hating recruite and is building her command, even if it unintentional.
February 4, 2023
Excellent sci fi adventure
The worldbuilding is amazing, Alysha is a fantastic, albeit flawed, character, and Second is less grim than Fall, although bigotry is still present on both the Human and Pelted sides. I recommend reading these books in order.
The worldbuilding is amazing, Alysha is a fantastic, albeit flawed, character, and Second is less grim than Fall, although bigotry is still present on both the Human and Pelted sides. I recommend reading these books in order.
April 7, 2019
Entertaining but not as good as some of her books.
May 17, 2019
Star Trek in its most optimistic incarnation, with furries! And more women!
June 27, 2020
A nifty variation on the military training expedition theme.
June 11, 2021
The story is perfectly fine, but the narrator on the audio version is AWFUL.
August 20, 2025
good read!
Good character building and dialog. This sentence is just to reach the 20 word minimum required for an allowable comment.
Good character building and dialog. This sentence is just to reach the 20 word minimum required for an allowable comment.
September 18, 2011
Modified from my Amazon review:
Well worth the price! This novella is where the author's abilities really shine, with the story unfolding at a good pace, the characters showing their complexities, and many (though not all; see footnote/edit) of the worldbuilding details laid out in interesting ways. There are also some extremely good lines, including one (about aliens and aunts; you'll know it when you see it) that I may yet copy so I can wave it at my friends.
"Second" is set up as a "man against nature" story, which quickly *also* becomes "man against man," with a dash of "man against himself." (Okay, Pelted aren't technically human, but I'm an English Major. Work with me here.) The primary antagonist has hints of depth -- which remain hints. There is no easy redemption here. There is no easy demonizing. The ways of dealing with the antagonist... can be right *and* wrong at the same time. I want to talk more about this, and about other parallels, but I don't want to spoil this, either. Suffice it to say that there is a lot of stuff that could be talked about -- it's layered.
All this *and* an uplifting ending? *Well* worth the price. My only quibble is that some of the various aliens and bioengineered Pelted could use internal art, but I'm just greedy for more of the author/artist's work.
EDIT: "and many (though not all) of the worldbuilding details laid out in interesting ways."
Doh! In my excitement, I did not properly unpack the suitcase of my brain. Not all of the worldbuilding details are in this novella; some are in the other two short stories. After all, those details, while enriching the universe, are not necessary to *this* story, and the author does not unnecessarily infodump them anyway.
Well worth the price! This novella is where the author's abilities really shine, with the story unfolding at a good pace, the characters showing their complexities, and many (though not all; see footnote/edit) of the worldbuilding details laid out in interesting ways. There are also some extremely good lines, including one (about aliens and aunts; you'll know it when you see it) that I may yet copy so I can wave it at my friends.
"Second" is set up as a "man against nature" story, which quickly *also* becomes "man against man," with a dash of "man against himself." (Okay, Pelted aren't technically human, but I'm an English Major. Work with me here.) The primary antagonist has hints of depth -- which remain hints. There is no easy redemption here. There is no easy demonizing. The ways of dealing with the antagonist... can be right *and* wrong at the same time. I want to talk more about this, and about other parallels, but I don't want to spoil this, either. Suffice it to say that there is a lot of stuff that could be talked about -- it's layered.
All this *and* an uplifting ending? *Well* worth the price. My only quibble is that some of the various aliens and bioengineered Pelted could use internal art, but I'm just greedy for more of the author/artist's work.
EDIT: "and many (though not all) of the worldbuilding details laid out in interesting ways."
Doh! In my excitement, I did not properly unpack the suitcase of my brain. Not all of the worldbuilding details are in this novella; some are in the other two short stories. After all, those details, while enriching the universe, are not necessary to *this* story, and the author does not unnecessarily infodump them anyway.
February 8, 2015
Not as strong as the first, but a good read anyway
After reading this book, I'm not sure where the author is taking the main character, Alysha. She is utterly driven - as in the last book - but was missing her clarity of purpose. In one way that helps, as it shows us she has growing to do. In another, I'm getting concerned about what seems a tendency toward martyrdom and a lack of boundaries as she ignores all of her own needs in order to focus on tending the others in her group. The book ends with Alysha gaining a clearer sense of when to take the lead, but the most growth is done by her partner, Taylitha (though she is able to grow into herself due mostly to Alysha's support and encouragement as well as to Taylitha's stanch willingness to question both her own and Alysha's choices.
After reading this book, I'm not sure where the author is taking the main character, Alysha. She is utterly driven - as in the last book - but was missing her clarity of purpose. In one way that helps, as it shows us she has growing to do. In another, I'm getting concerned about what seems a tendency toward martyrdom and a lack of boundaries as she ignores all of her own needs in order to focus on tending the others in her group. The book ends with Alysha gaining a clearer sense of when to take the lead, but the most growth is done by her partner, Taylitha (though she is able to grow into herself due mostly to Alysha's support and encouragement as well as to Taylitha's stanch willingness to question both her own and Alysha's choices.
May 15, 2015
It only gets better.
So, I'm pretty much a huge fan of the author's work in general. There have been very, very few times when I felt her storytelling lacking. To be honest, I have only reacted with less that a shaky "Woah, that was good," in response to Alysha's Fall, the first book in this series.
Actually, the first book didn't leave much of an imprint on me at all.
Well, I am very happy to say that Second (which I picked up on a whim) left me blinking for a full thirty seconds after finishing it, followed by enough "woahs" to confuse/worry the entire household.
I react strongly to good fiction, okay?
So, I'm pretty much a huge fan of the author's work in general. There have been very, very few times when I felt her storytelling lacking. To be honest, I have only reacted with less that a shaky "Woah, that was good," in response to Alysha's Fall, the first book in this series.
Actually, the first book didn't leave much of an imprint on me at all.
Well, I am very happy to say that Second (which I picked up on a whim) left me blinking for a full thirty seconds after finishing it, followed by enough "woahs" to confuse/worry the entire household.
I react strongly to good fiction, okay?
Read
September 9, 2015Bad leadership— Not even once.
February 28, 2021
Too frustrating to be really enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews