Book Review: A Liaden Universe Constellation Volume 6 by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

A Liaden Universe Constellation Volume 6
Author: Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
Series: Liaden Universe Constellation
Publication: Baen Books (May 5, 2026)

Description: A constellation of shining stories set in the vastly diverse space opera world of the Liaden series

The sixth Constellation collects eleven stories set in Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s vast, versatile, and beloved Liaden Universe®. Themes range from military to western to found family, and include discovery stories and novel outtakes. All showcase Lee and Miller’s deft touch with characterization and their acclaimed world-building skill. Also included in this volume is the text of Sharon Lee’s speech accepting the Robert A. Heinlein Award for outstanding published works in science fiction literature, which was presented at the 59th Baltimore Science Fiction Convention.

Stories included in this collection are: “Standing Orders,” “Gadreel’s Folly,” “The Last Train to Clarkesville,” “Wise Child,” “Songs of the Fathers,” “From Every Storm a Rainbow,” “Our Lady of Benevolence,” “Chimera,” “Neutral Ground,” “Mother’s Love,” and “Core Values,” plus a foreword from the author, original to this volume.

My Thoughts: This sixth collection of Liaden stories includes mostly stories written in 2025. However, Chimera was published on Baen.com in 2015 and then just slipped through the cracks. Wise Child and Standing Orders were published in 2016 and 2021 but never collected in earlier constellations.

These stores all fit into the Liaden Universe though some like The Last Train to Clarksville are really out there and nowhere close to the main lines of the novels. Clarksville is the authors' take on a Western complete with animals that are the equivalent of buffalo and beef cattle. It even includes a posse chasing after the hero who manages to rescue two sweet young things when their vehicle is stuck on a train track with the train coming. 

A number of the stories are what is known as origin stories. One is Tollance Berik-Jones's story as he manages to escape from the Lyre Institute one more time. His job is to mentor self-aware machine intelligences. He appears in a few of the later mainline novels. A second origin story is that of Geritsi slentAlin who is one of the Haosa on Colemeno. 

Two of the stories give different takes on Torin and Vaiza Xinrood who are orphans sent from Civilization to the Haosa to get them out of the way. Neither story is canon since there is still a third telling of Torin and Viaza's story in one of the Colemeno books. 

Perhaps the story I enjoyed the most was the one that told what happened to Lomar Fasholt and her family after they were forced to flee from their home world. We first met her in one of the very earliest Liaden books because she was a trade partner with Shan yos'Galan before the Department of the Interior totally disrupted things for Clan Korval.

All in all, the stories were engaging and good at filling in some blank spots or exploring new settings within the Liaden Universe. 

I bought this one May 10. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Field of Dishonor by David Weber

Field of Dishonor
Author: David Weber
Series: Honor Harrington (Book 4)
Publication: Baen Books (December 15, 2012)

Description: HONOR BETRAYED

The People's Republic of Haven's sneak attack on the Kingdom of Manticore has failed. The Peeps are in disarray, their leaders fighting for power in bloody revolution, and the Royal Manticoran Navy stands victorious.

But Manticore has domestic problems of its own, and success can be more treacherous than defeat for Honor Harrington. Now, trapped at the core of a political crisis she never sought, betrayed by an old and vicious enemy she'd thought vanquished forever, she stands alone

She must fight for justice on a battlefield she never trained for in a private war that offers just two choices: death . . . or a ''victory'' that can end only in dishonor and the loss of all she loves.

My Thoughts: This story concentrates on Honor's relationship with Captain Lord Pavel Young. After his cowardice and desertion on the field of battle that was near the end of the previous book, this book begins with his court martial. But Young has powerful friends and the government needs to appease them if they are going to get the declaration of war against Haven that the need so badly.

An almost hung jury saves Young from being shot but enough was proven to have him cashiered out of the Navy. After his father's death just after the verdict is given, Young becomes the new Lord North Hollow who inherits his father's secrets and position in the House of Lords. But he blames Honor for all his problems and won't be content until she is dead.

Before he gets to Honor though, he decides to make her life terrible by killing Paul Tankersley who is Honor's love and lover. North Hollow hires Denver Summervale to challenge Paul to a duel. Summervale is a cashiered Marine who is a killer for hire who has killed many men on women on the field of honor. 

Honor had been sent to Grayson to get her out from under the massive publicity the court martial has stirred up. When she hears about Paul's death, she is determined to challenge Summervale to a duel and kill him herself. But Honor has friends on her side who get to Summervale and convince him to tell them who hired him. To no one's surprise, the man was hired by North Hollow and Summervale's confession is on tape. Of course, with the confession gotten by less than legal means it is impossible to take the take to law enforcement.

Honor publicly calls out North Hollow and demands that he meet her on the field of honor even though she gets a lot of pressure from the Queen's government and her own superiors to back off. North Hollow's support is still needed in the upcoming war effort. But Honor won't be dissuaded. She feels that the cost to her career is a cost worth paying if it gets justice for Paul and shows North Hollow for the coward he is. 

The story was packed with emotional intensity. Honor's grief for the loss of Paul was very convincingly written.

I bought this story three times - print, Kindle, and audiobook. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: The Short Victorious War by David Weber

The Short Victorious War
Author: David Weber
Series: Honor Harrington (Book 3)
Publication: Baen Books (January 1, 2002)

Description: The families who rule the People’s Republic of Haven are in trouble. The treasury’s empty, the Proles are restless, and civil war is imminent. But the ruling class knows what they need to keep in power: another short, victorious war to unite the people and fill the treasury once more. It’s a card they’ve played often in the last half-century, always successfully, and all that stands in their way is the Star Kingdom of Manticore and its threadbare allies. Enemies who in the past have always backed down. Only this time the Peeps face something different. This time they’re up against Captain Honor Harrington and a Royal Manticoran Navy that’s prepared to give them a war that’s far from short...and anything but victorious

My Thoughts: The People's Republic of Haven is in trouble. Their economy is tanking because so many of their people are on public assistance. They can only support their economy and the privileges the wealthy enjoy by continually adding new star systems to their Republic. So they have the wonderful idea to start, or pretend to start, a war with Manticore.

Honor Harrington has completed her long complicated recovery from the injuries sustained in the previous book and has been assigned as Flag Captain to a new ship named Nike and sent with a task force to a frontier repair base. The only problem is that that Admiral in charge of the task force doesn't like Honor whom he sees as hot-tempered and reckless which causes some problems for her despite the support of her immediate superior who is also in the Admiral's bad books. 

Since the Peeps are conducting all sorts of feints into neighboring star systems, the Admiral decides that he needs to defend one of the more populous systems and leaves Honor and her boss to defend the repair facility with very little help.

Haven has been secretly watching the whole area with stealth ships and knows when the largest part of the force leaves the repair facility and knows that it is time to take it and bring the war into official existence. It should be easy as their ships and armaments vastly outnumber those left with Honor. But Honor and her boss have done all the tricky planning they can to get their system as safe as it can be and can hope to hold out until help arrives to support them.

Meanwhile on Haven, Rob Pierre is planning a revolution which will take down the current government and put himself and his own supporters in control. And he is planning to use part of the Navy he hates to accomplish his goals. 

This was another exciting episode in the Honor Harrington series. It was filled with action and adventure.

I bought the Kindle copy November 19, 2025. It joins the paperback and audiobook already in my collection. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: The Honor of the Queen by David Weber

The Honor of the Queen
Author: David Weber
Series: Honor Harrington (Book 2)
Publication: Baen (October 1, 2024)

Description: Book 2 in the internationally best-selling Honor Harrington science fiction series. First time in Trade Paperback!

It’s hard to give peace a chance when the other side regards conquest as the only option and a sneak attack as the best means to that end. That’s why the Kingdom of Manticore needs allies against the Republic of Haven—and the planet Grayson is strategically situated to make a very good ally indeed. But Her Majesty’s Foreign Office overlooked a “minor cultural difference” when they chose Honor Harrington to carry the flag: women on the planet of Grayson are without rank or rights and Honor’s mere presence is an intolerable affront to every male on the planet. At first Honor doesn’t take it personally; where she comes from gender discrimination is barely a historical memory, right up there in significance with fear of the left-handed. But in time such treatment becomes taxing, and she makes plans to withdraw, until Grayson’s fratricidal sister planet attacks without warning. Now, Honor must stay and prevail, not just for her honor, but for her sovereign’s—for the honor of the Queen.

My Thoughts: Honor Harrington is sent with her ship Fearless to support the diplomatic team working for an alliance with Grayson. Her mentor from the academy is the head of the mission. Grayson was founded by religious, anti-technology bigots. They received quite a surprise when they found that they needed technology to survive on the lovely planet they chose. The planet has more than its share of heavy metals that have polluted the land, air and water. 

However, the environment isn't the problem for Honor. The culture is male dominated. Wives are historically chattels. Women don't serve in the military and are under the dominion of their husbands or fathers. She and her female colleagues are treated with disdain. This really tries her patience and puts her nerves on edge.

Grayson is also under constant threat of attack by its neighbors from Masada who were exiled from Grayson centuries earlier because of their religious fanaticism. Masada wants Grayson back and the Apostates killed. To further that goal, they are taking secret help from Manticore's rival Haven. 

Unfortunately, the second in rank in the diplomatic mission is an idiot who believes that Grayson and Masada should just get over their little religious issue in order to take advantages of the benefits of trading with their nearest neighbor. This wouldn't be a problem with Honor's mentor in charge, but when he is killed along with Grayson's head of the Navy in an attack by Masada, Houseman takes charge of the mission.

Honor needs to do something to fulfill her oath to the Queen and honor her mentor's life, but the Grayson military isn't eager to take orders from a woman. She goes over the military's head right to the Protector and manages to save his and his family's lives when Masadan assassins attack them at dinner. Severely injured, Honor needs to fight to protect Grayson even though she is vastly overmatched by the Haven ships hidden among the Masadan. 

This was another engaging space opera filled with politics, battles, and excitement. 

I bought this one. In fact, I bought it at least three times since I have the paperback from before 2008, the Kindle copy, and the Audible copy. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: On Basilisk Station by David Weber

On Basilisk Station
Author: David Weber
Series: Honor Harrington (Book 1)
Publication: Baen Books (December 21, 2012)

Description: INTRODUCING HONOR HARRINGTON

Having made him look a fool, she's been exiled to Basilisk Station in disgrace and set up for ruin by a superior who hates her.

Her demoralized crew blames her for their ship's humiliating posting to an out-of-the-way picket station.

The aborigines of the system's only habitable planet are smoking homicide-inducing hallucinogens.

Parliament isn't sure it wants to keep the place; the major local industry is smuggling; the merchant cartels want her head; the star-conquering, so-called "Republic" of Haven is Up To Something; and Honor Harrington has a single, over-age light cruiser with an armament that doesn't work to police the entire star system.

But the people out to get her have made one mistake. They've made her mad.

My Thoughts: Honor Harrington finds herself captain to a ship recently "improved" by Horrible Hemphill and with an Executive Officer who resents her youth and that she jumped over him to captain the ship. Her tactical genius lets her win once in the war games designed to test the new weapon on her ship, but further games show the weaknesses of the weapon and her ship is killed again and again.

Having made Hemphill look bad, she is assigned to an out of the way outpost called Basilisk Station. Unknown to her, the People's Republic of Haven has designs on Basilisk Station and its very lucrative gate. But worse than that, Honor finds herself under the command of a man who tried to rape her when she was a midshipman at the naval academy and who was soundly beaten by her and forced to make a public apology. His powerful allies kept him in the Navy, but he has vowed revenge on Honor. 

Lord Pavel Young sees his opportunity for his revenge when Honor arrives. He declares that his ship is in need of vital repairs and leaves her in her single, oddly weaponed ship to protect the area. Basilisk Station is sort of a political football. A substantial percent of the government doesn't want to keep it at all. Its major industry seems to be smuggling. And the only habitable planet has aliens with a Bronze age culture. At least it did until outside influences introduced flintlocks and encouraged the production of a hallucinogen that ramps up aggression. 

Honor isn't going to fail at her command. She works closely with the governor of the planet and clamps down on the smuggling even though it angers the wealthiest man on Manticore. And she figures out Haven's plans for the area which leads to a pitched space battle. 

This was an excellent introduction to a series that has grown into more than 40 books if all the various subseries set in the same world are counted. It is the very definition of space opera filled with larger-than-life characters and fantastic weapons. It has lots and lots of space battles and political maneuvering. The stories are told from multiple viewpoints.

I bought this one before I began keeping track of purchases in 2008. More recently I purchased the Kindle book in 2011 and the audiobook in 2020.  You can buy your copy here or check get it at Baen Books Free Library.

Book Review: Challenges by David Weber

Challenges
Author: David Weber et al.
Series: Honor Harrington - Worlds of Honor (Book 8)
Publication: Baen Books (November 4, 2025)

Description: THE HOTTEST MILITARY SCIENCE FICTION SERIES OF ALL TIME CONTINUES WITH A COLLECTION OF TALES SET IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE STAR KINGDOM OF DAVID WEBER’S NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING HONORVERSE

In Honor Harrington’s day, the Star Kingdom of Manticore is the wealthiest star nation on a per capita basis in the entire galaxy. It is home to magnificent cities. Its planets’ oceans and seas—and skies—are open to its people, yet they have maintained the beauty and the magnificence of their natural habitats.

But that was not always true. Pioneers, especially interstellar pioneers, must be tough, smart, and self-reliant, and the people who built the Star Kingdom knew that. They prepared carefully for their enormous voyage, incorporated every measure they could think of, and even so, their new worlds did their best to kill them all. They very nearly succeeded, as the Plague Years pushed the human interlopers to the very brink of survival, forcing them to grow and change in ways they never could have anticipated.

In the process, they became the people who could one day produce Honor Harrington, Elizabeth Winton, and the remarkable people willing to stand in the path of the People’s Republic of Haven’s insatiable advance . . . and then to ally with the Republic, when both of them learned who their true enemy was. In many ways, that fortitude was the inevitable result of a star nation that learned early on that what truly matters is the way one faces the challenges the universe throws at one.These are the stories of people who learned that lesson, and met—and triumphed—over every challenge of their new homes.

All original stories by: David Weber, Marisa Wolf, Jacob Holo, Dan Butler, Thomas Pope, and Jane Lindskold.

My Thoughts: This eighth collection in the Worlds of Honor series includes five stories by a variety of authors who play around in the world created by David Weber including Weber himself.

One Controllable Step by Marisa Wolf -- In the very earliest years of settlement on Manticore a plague nearly wipes out the population. This is the story of some of the doctors sent from the planet of Beowulf who need to find a cure.

Deadly Delusions by Jane Lindskold -- This story also occurs early in Manticore's history. Stephanie Harrington has bonded with her treecat and another young woman is jealous of her and wants a treecat of her own. She and her sister play dangerous pranks at a nearby research station with different goals. The older sister is angry that they fired her after getting the plant set up; the younger believes the station is interfering with her beloved treecats. 

The Great Condiment Caper by Jacob Holo and Thomas Pope -- Even the greatest heroes of Manticore's history are ensigns at one time. This is the story of Ensign Edward Saganami on his first tour. He's assigned to Stores and needs to track down a missing case of barbecue sauce before Chicken Finger Friday is ruined. 

XO by Daniel Allen Butler -- This is another story about the younger days of a character seen later in the series. Lieutenant Commander D'Orville assumes command of a ship when her captain is disabled by a medical emergency. The mission is to keep track of bad actors in nearby systems. When she spots pirates attacking a slaver, she has to decide which orders to follow - the ones she swore an oath to when she was commissioned, or the ones given her by the politically driven command. 

Crystal Singer's Song by David Weber - This is also a story from the earliest years. In the early days of the Forest Service, a young woman is tasked with bringing emergency supplies to a remote homestead during a storm. Her ship goes off course and crashes into a remote island. There she discovers treecats and calls them treefoxes. She is marooned but not alone since the treecats befriend her. She spends the rest of her life there teaching the treecats to make effective tools, plant gardens, net fish and fire pottery. She would be lost to history if one of treecats' memory singers didn't recover that deeply buried memory and share it with Lady Dame Honor Alexander-Harrington, Duchess and Steadholder Harrington.

All of the stories were excellent. Crystal Singer's Song brought me to tears.

I bought this one November 4. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Haze by Katherine Kerr

Haze
Author: Katherine Kerr
Publication: Caezik SF & Fantasy (August 14, 2025)

Description: Once, Dan flew amongst the stars as a decorated Fleet Officer. Now destitute, he sleeps on the streets of Gleam, trading his body for a drug called Haze that dulls the pain of what he’s lost with nothing left to his name but a battered knife, a damaged mind, and a past he can’t escape. But he is given a rare second chance when former comrades track him down and make an offer that he never expected.

Across the galaxy, the invisible lanes of faster-than-light travel—the shunts—are beginning to fail. One has already vanished without warning. If the rest collapse, entire civilizations will be cut off, stranded, and left to die. The Fleet needs someone who can read the hyperspace currents like no one else. Someone like Dan. But bringing him back into the fold won’t be easy—and keeping him alive may be even harder.

Thrown together with a crew of misfits and old friends carrying wounds of their own, Dan boards a disguised merchant ship on a secret mission to uncover the truth. What they find will challenge everything they believe—about the shunts, about the Fleet, and each other. And through it all, Dan must battle the addiction that nearly destroyed him… and still might.

Haze is a bold, character-driven space adventure that blends high-stakes intrigue with raw emotional depth. Gritty, moving, and impossible to put down, it’s a story of redemption, found family, and the fragile ties that hold the stars—and ourselves—together.

My Thoughts: HAZE is a space opera with engaging characters and intriguing worldbuilding. 

Dan is a pilot who is addicted to Haze. His addiction and a run-in with a superior officer led to his court martial. Now, he has been recruited to be part of a Special Ops team tracking down rumors. His reinstatement comes with a ready supply of Haze and a chance to reunite with old friends.

Rumors are spreading through space about ways to collapse the shunts that are used to quickly travel from planet to planet. The Special Ops branch of the Fleet in the persons of Captain Evans and her motley crew are investigating the rumors. They are under cover as merchanters who are just a bit down on their luck. 

This was an engaging story. I thought the world building was interesting. I liked the variety of aliens and humans in the world. I also liked their various social customs including four-way marriages. I thought the whole idea of throwbacks with different skills was interesting. Most of the human characters in the crew are throwbacks with the captain who can sense and control energy fields, a pilot able to find previously unknown shunts, and a Chief of Security with the ability to detect patterns. The world is also inhabited by AIs who control a lot of the systems including space travel. 

This story is hard to describe because so many things are happening. It was great to follow along on all the adventures and relationships. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Gold Dust by Catherine Asaro

Gold Dust
Author: Catherine Asaro
Series: Dust Knights (Book 2)
Publication: Baen Books (October 7, 2025)

Description: BORN TO RUN; BORN TO FIGHT, A PAIR OF STAR-CROSSED LOVERS COMPETE IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES

COMPETITORS IN THE INTERSTELLAR OLYMPICS MUST OVERCOME POVERTY AND INTRIGUE

Three interstellar civilizations vie for honors in the Olympics, including the Skolian Imperialate. The thriving, populous worlds of humanity have always dominated the Games. The team from Raylicon, a dying world of scorching temperatures, has never won honors.

IS CHANGE COMING?

Mason, the coach for the Raylicon track and field team, makes a startling discovery: The Undercity, an ancient culture hidden in ruins beneath the desert, carries a secret. In a place where crushing poverty exists alongside a culture of dramatic beauty, a group of spectacular runners has existed for centuries, even millennia, unknown to the outside universe.

The Dust Knights are the best of those marvels. With the help of Major Bhajaan, an Undercity native, he recruits the Knights. And so change sweeps their world. The Undercity faces a civilization they've never trusted, one that sees them as barely even human. Now, they must all learn to work together.

THE KYLE UNIVERSE

Skolia needs the Undercity to trust them—for hidden within its enigmatic population is one of humanity’s greatest resources. Their inbred population has created a large concentration of Kyle operators, an otherwise almost extinct group of humans. Kyles can do more than run; only they have the neurological makeup needed to utilize a vital technology, one that gives Skolian its sole advantage over their conquering enemies. The army wants the Kyles to work for them, but after centuries of being despised and left to die by the rest of humanity, the Undercity wants nothing to do with them.

Until Angel, one of the top runners among the Knights, joins the Kyle Corps—and dives into a world of neurological marvels, including star-spanning networks that access a dimension with dramatically different laws than our space-time universe.

THE STAKES COULD NOT BE HIGHER AS THE DUST KNIGHTS COMPETE FOR THEIR WORLD—AND THE FREEDOM OF HUMANITY

My Thoughts: The second book in the Dust Knights series has a number of dust knights trying to qualify for the Olympics. They have to deal with all sorts of prejudice and the poverty of their lives. After all, they agreed to run for the Raylicon team in exchange for clean water and food. 

Besides training for the Olympics, Angel is working for the Army training to be a telop - a critcally needed skill to keep the Skolian Imperialate from being conquered by the much more numerous Trader Empire. Many more than average of the people who live in the Undercity are empaths and telepaths which is one reason that Raylicon has become interested in the population they disparaged as lazy and stupid. 

Angel is quickly outpacing her instructors and, in true Undercity style, is exploring the vast new world she is being trained to navigate. Her investigations help Bhaaj who is investigating a possible forced merger between two interstellar corporations. The Scorpio Corporation and Abyss Associates are both companies of interest to the Majdas who are Bhaaj's employer. The CEOs of both corporations happen to have children who are on the new Olympic team. 

One of the viewpoint characters is Kiro, the son of an executive of the Abyss Association. He really wants a track Olympic medal and is willing to slight his accounting degree at Cries University to pursue his dreams. He's also an empath who forms a firm friendship with three other young people from the Undercity who have been looking for a fourth for their dust gang and are also training for the Olympics. 

This was another excellent story with great worldbuilding. I enjoyed Angel's descriptions of Kyle Space. I also enjoyed figuring out the mystery which centered around the two corporations, their connection to Undercity Drug cartels, and secrets buried in the past. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Baen Books. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi

The Shattering Peace
Author: John Scalzi
Series: Old Man's War (Book 7)
Publication: Tor Books (September 16, 2025)

Description: After a decade, acclaimed science fiction master John Scalzi returns to the galaxy of the Old Man's War series with the long awaited seventh book, The Shattering Peace

THE PEACE IS SHATTERING

For a decade, peace has reigned in interstellar space. A tripartite agreement between the Colonial Union, the Earth, and the alien Conclave has kept the forces of war at bay, even when some would have preferred to return to the fighting and struggle of former times. For now, more sensible heads have prevailed – and have even championed unity.

But now, there is a new force that threatens the hard-maintained peace: The Consu, the most advanced intelligent species humans have ever met, are on the cusp of a species-defining civil war. This war is between Consu factions... but nothing the Consu ever do is just about them. The Colonial Union, the Earth and the Conclave have been unwillingly dragged into the conflict, in the most surprising of ways.

Gretchen Trujillo is a mid-level diplomat, working in an unimportant part of the Colonial Union bureaucracy. But when she is called to take part in a secret mission involving representatives from every powerful faction in space, what she finds there has the chance to redefine the destinies of humans and aliens alike... or destroy them forever.

My Thoughts: This science fiction story is the seventh book in the Old Man's War series. Ten years have passed since the events of the previous book (and in real life too.) Gretchen Trujillo is a mid-level diplomat working in the Colonial Union bureaucracy. She's the expert on the Obin - one of many alien races humans have met in their journeys to expand into space. Her father is a higher-level diplomat.

When Gretchen's father gives her the assignment of trying to determine what happened to Unity Colony - a hollowed-out asteroid circling a planet the Obin had intended to colonize. The existence of Unity Colony comes as a surprise to Gretchen since one of the conditions of the tripartite agreement which ended the war was that there was a moratorium on founding new colonies. 

Unity Colony was intended as a test case to see if citizens of the Colonial Union, the Conclave and Earth could live together peacefully in a single environment. Now the colony has disappeared, and the Colonial Union wants to know why. Gretchen's father was instrumental in the formation of the colony and one of her oldest friends is among the colonists. 

An expedition is formed to find out what happened to the colony. When they arrive at the site where it was supposed to be, the colony is gone with no evidence of where it could be. What is there is a prism containing a single Consu. The Consu are a very superior sort of alien immeasurably advanced compared to all the other species. They have a nasty habit of messing with other species to further their goal of "perfecting" all species. They also rarely condescend to speak to other species, but this one that Gretchen names Kitty does speak to her and has a task for her. After which, he will tell her what happened to the colony. 

Gretchen soon learns that the Consu are facing a civil war in which one faction wants to destroy the colony and Earth to "perfect" humans. The runaway Consu has developed a new kind of physics of spaceflight which could make the Consu even more powerful and dangerous to humans and aliens. It is up to Gretchen to out-think the aliens, save the colony, and save all the aliens from Consu interference. 

This was an engaging space opera with a great main character. Gretchen is smart and mean and tricky enough to win over the dreaded Consu. I think it works well as a story whether or not you have read the previous six books in the Old Man's War series. I enjoyed the story despite my reservations about the efficacy of Gretchen's final solution.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Friends Indeed by David Weber and Jane Lindskold

Friends Indeed
Author: David Weber & Jane Lindskold
Narrator: Khristine Hvam
Series: Star Kingdom (Book 5)
Publication: Audible Studios (March 4, 2025)
Length: 15 hours and 59 minutes

Description: A new novel featuring Stephanie Harrington in Honorverse prequel series

What happens after the War of the Gods?

The answer lies in the Heart of the Mountain ...

The trouble with treecats

Stephanie Harrington didn’t discover treecats—they were indigenous to the planet Sphinx, a colony of the tiny Star Kingdom of Manticore. But at age ten she was the first human to bond with one. Now, almost 17, she is the species greatest champion.

To the rest of the human galaxy, if they are known at all, they are recognized as tool using, socially organized, fuzzy little creatures, with no known method of communication—who also happen to be fierce hunters. But are they sapient? Because if they are, that would have all sorts of repercussions for the families who have settled on Sphinx, the Harringtons not the least.

There will be winners, and there will be losers. And Stephanie is there to make sure the treecats don’t lose out.

But Stephanie, the treecats, and Sphinx itself may be caught up in an even greater conspiracy than the one to help the fighting ‘cats survive, one generations in the making ...

My Thoughts: The fifth book in the Stephanie Harrington series has Stephanie and the other members of the Treecat Conspiracy adding more members since it is becoming more and more essential that treecats be recognized as a sentient species. The main stumbling block to the declaration of sentience is that treecats have no spoken or written language. While Stephanie and her cohorts are convinced that treecats are both empathic and telepathic, there are no tests available to prove that. 

Enemies, both overt and covert, have vested interests in proving that the treecats are only animals. The overt ones like the Franchitti's see treecats as obstacles to their using the land given to them as land grants when they settled on Sphinx. Covert enemies also see the treecats as obstacles to their plans for future use of Sphinx. 

And a new enemy is introduced. The Alignment whose goal is to genetically engineer superior humans, even though that is forbidden by the Beowulf Accords, would love it if the treecats were telepathic. They would love to experiment on them to see if telepathy could be added to their new, improved human genome. 

Besides the focus on Stephanie and her new fiancé Karl, the story also stars Nosey Jones, a reporter being courted by the covert anti-treecat faction, and Trudy Fanchitti, who is finally finding a way to free herself from the abuse she has suffered since childhood at the hands of her father and brother. 

While this was an excellent story, it is clearly not the last. The sentience of the treecats becomes much more apparent after a variety of incidents, but the covert enemies are not defeated and are still out there threatening treecats. The books ending, while not completely a cliffhanger, does leave a lot of issues to be resolved. 

Favorite Quote:

"Dad says the problem is that history is full of people who insist on repeating really bad ideas because they sound like they ought to be so good. The fact that they've never worked out that way when people actually tried them only convinces the people who want to repeat them that the folks before them didn't 'do it right'"

I bought this one March 4, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: Friends Indeed by David Weber & Jane Lindskold

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

"I must say this is...an unexpected surprise," Duncan Harrington said as the well-dressed man stepped into his office. Then he smiled. "On the other hand, I don't suppose it could be a surprise if I'd been expecting it, now could it?"

Friday 56:

"Please call me Nosey," Nosey said, his expression more than a little unhappy. "Do you really think that could happen? I mean, after they've already gotten as much publicity and notice as they have?"

This week I am spotlighting Friends Indeed by David Weber & Jane Lindskold. I got this one on release day because I've really enjoyed earlier books in this prequel to the Honor Harrington Science Fiction series. This one is Young Adult. Here's the description from Amazon:

A new novel featuring Stephanie Harrington in Honorverse prequel series

What happens after the War of the Gods?

The answer lies in the Heart of the Mountain ...

The trouble with treecats

Stephanie Harrington didn’t discover treecats—they were indigenous to the planet Sphinx, a colony of the tiny Star Kingdom of Manticore. But at age ten she was the first human to bond with one. Now, almost 17, she is the species greatest champion.

To the rest of the human galaxy, if they are known at all, they are recognized as tool using, socially organized, fuzzy little creatures, with no known method of communication—who also happen to be fierce hunters. But are they sapient? Because if they are, that would have all sorts of repercussions for the families who have settled on Sphinx, the Harringtons not the least.

There will be winners, and there will be losers. And Stephanie is there to make sure the treecats don’t lose out.

But Stephanie, the treecats, and Sphinx itself may be caught up in an even greater conspiracy than the one to help the fighting ‘cats survive, one generations in the making ...

ARC Review: Diviner's Bow by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

Diviner's Bow
Author: Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
Series: Liaden Universe (Book 27)
Publication: Baen Books; 1st edition (April 1, 2025)

Description: A world divided cannot stand.

A people divided cannot thrive.

The Oracle has Seen the end of Civilization, and the end of the Haosa, too. Reactions to this are—mixed.

On the one hand, foresight is a notoriously erratic Gift. On the other, can Civilization—or the Haosa—afford to assume that the prophecy is an error?

And if the Oracle has Seen truly—is it possible to alter the future?

While well-meaning people struggle to implement change that might, at least, mitigate a disaster, others are looking toward the profit they can make from the end of the world.

In the meantime, the Tree-and-Dragon Trade Team has concluded its whole port inventory, and is about to propose Colemeno as a trade-hub and anchor to a brand-new route. Padi yos’Galan is preparing to step into new roles, personally, and in trade.

And the lives of two small children may be the thread that binds the future—or unravels it.

My Thoughts: The twenty-seventh book in the Liaden Universe is a direct sequel to Trader's Ribbon Dance. Its action is centered on Colemeno. The Oracle had seen that soon there will be no Civilization and no Haosa and then promptly retired. 

Naturally, the Seeing has caused upset. Colemeno is already changing since it was rediscovered by the Dutiful Passage after the retreat of Rostov's Dust. Shan and Padi are two traders who would like to form a new loop with Colemeno at the center. They've done their survey and are waiting for the Council of the Civilized to approve the plan.

However, Colemeno is a fundamentally divided society. The Civilized live under a grid which filters the Ambient so that they can survive. The Haosa live outside the grid and need no protection from the Ambient. The Deaf have no psychic powers and live both under the grid and outside it. 

There are those of the Civilized who want to return to a past when the Deaf needed to be under the supervision of one of the Civilized in order to do business. This same group also wants to destroy the Haosa even though they have been a refuge for any child born to a Civilized family who has wild magic. 

It is only recently that a representative of the Deaf has gained a seat on the Council. And now a representative of the Haosa is also given a seat. 

Besides the politics, this is also a story of romance and relationships. Majel ziaGron is the Deaf representative to the Council and also the liaison between Tree-and-Dragon Trade and the Council. He meets Blays essWorthi who is Counsel to Chaos and Speaker Pro Tem for the Haosa. They form a bond which won't be an easy thing to maintain when he lives under the Grid and she represents a village far Off-Grid. Another relationship growing in this one is the heartbond between Padi and Tekelia who is the Speaker for the Haosa and new Council member. 

This was an engaging and intriguing story. It would be best read after Trader's Leap and Ribbon Dance so that the characters and their backstories are known to the reader. 

I purchased this eArc from Baen Books. I also pre-ordered the hardcover and Kindle copies. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: Diviner's Bow by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

It was beautiful, in the way that orderly things are beautiful. More, it would save lives.

They had lost so many lives.

Friday 56:

Majel sighed, and finished his drink.

He would need to read the law as written. If there was any ambiguity, it would have to be dealt with before the Haosa Councilor took their chair. 

Today I am spotlighting the latest book in the Liaden Universe series by Sharon Lee and the late Steve Miller. Diviner's Bow is the direct sequel to Trader's Leap. It is the 27th book in the Liaden Universe. Here is the description from Amazon:

A world divided cannot stand.

A people divided cannot thrive.

The Oracle has Seen the end of Civilization, and the end of the Haosa, too. Reactions to this are—mixed.

On the one hand, foresight is a notoriously erratic Gift. On the other, can Civilization—or the Haosa—afford to assume that the prophecy is an error?

And if the Oracle has Seen truly—is it possible to alter the future?

While well-meaning people struggle to implement change that might, at least, mitigate a disaster, others are looking toward the profit they can make from the end of the world.

In the meantime, the Tree-and-Dragon Trade Team has concluded its whole port inventory, and is about to propose Colemeno as a trade-hub and anchor to a brand-new route. Padi yos’Galan is preparing to step into new roles, personally, and in trade.

And the lives of two small children may be the thread that binds the future—or unravels it.

Audiobook Review: Only Cold Depths by Jennifer Estep

Only Cold Depths
Author: Jennifer Estep
Narrator: Lauren Fortgang & James Fouhey
Series: Galactic Bonds (Book 4)
Publication: Audible Studios (December 20, 2024)
Length: 15 hours and 4 minutes

Description: New York Times best-selling author Jennifer Estep continues her Galactic Bonds series with a new action-packed adventure that blends science fiction, fantasy, and historical romance. This rollicking space opera features a mix of magic and technology, along with a soulmates story and “Pew! Pew! Pew!” battle scenes. Perfect for fans of Star Wars, Dune, Bridgerton, and Pride and Prejudice.

A woman who can’t control her power ...

Everyone knows the name Vesper Quill. I used to be a lowly lab rat working in a Regal-owned corporation, but thanks to my truebond with Kyrion Caldaren, I’m now one of the most wanted fugitives in the Archipelago Galaxy.

Kyrion and I have spent the last few weeks avoiding bounty hunters, along with the Arrows, the elite Imperium warriors tasked with capturing us. Now we’ve journeyed to a distant planet that’s supposed to be a refuge for truebonded couples, but when new enemies appear, we’re once again in grave danger.

As a seer, inventor, and engineer, I’m skilled at figuring out how things work, but I can’t quite understand my growing magic and newfound psionic abilities. The clock is ticking, and if I don’t figure out how to tap into my power, I’ll doom myself to a gruesome fate, along with Kyrion.

A man who can’t let go of his fear ...

As Kyrion Caldaren, I’m used to being respected and feared, especially given my telekinesis, telepathy, telempathy, and other powerful psionic abilities. What I’m not used to is being on the run, but as a rogue Arrow, I’ll do anything to protect Vesper.

Just when I think we’ve finally reached a safe haven, trouble finds us again, reigniting all my fears about losing Vesper.

When the cold depths of our enemies’ plan are finally revealed, the truth is more terrifying than anything I could imagine. Soon Vesper and I are fighting for our lives again, but even with our growing truebond power, this is one battle we might not survive.

My Thoughts: This fourth book in the Galactic Bonds space opera series has Vesper and Kyrion trying to find refuge from all those chasing them. They have traveled to a distant planet where truebonded couples are supposed to be able to take refuge. 

However, that doesn't protect them from bounty hunters and other enemies who either want to return them to the ruler who wants to drain their psychic powers or the enemies who want to compel Vesper to repair their super-weapon and make it more effective. 

Vesper is also dealing with her recently discovered family including a brother who is now the head of the Arrows and a long-time rival of Kurion's. Then there is Vesper's mother who abandoned her as a young child because she didn't think she was useful but who has now found a potential use for her. 

Vesper and Kyrion are also still trying to come to terms with their truebond. Neither knows what to expect from it or how to use it and both are wary of it. 

This was an entertaining science fiction romance with lots of space opera details from inventions to weapons to fighting techniques. 

I bought this one December 10, 2024. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Only Hard Problems by Jennifer Estep

Only Hard Problems
Author: Jennifer Estep
Narrator: Max Roll & Lauren Fortgang
Series: Galactic Bonds (Book 3)
Publication: Audible Studios (February 20, 2024)
Length: 6 hours and 15 mintes

Description: New York Times best-selling author Jennifer Estep continues her Galactic Bonds series with a new, action-packed adventure that blends science-fiction technology and magical fantasy elements with a touch of historical romance. This rollicking space opera focuses on a fan-favorite secondary character who’s part hero, part villain, and all arrogance. Perfect for fans of Star Wars, Bridgerton, and Pride and Prejudice.

PROBLEMS, PROBLEMS EVERYWHERE . . .

My name is Zane Zimmer. To most folks, I live a seemingly charmed life as a Regal lord and the heir apparent to the powerful, wealthy House Zimmer, and the gossipcasts breathlessly follow my every swaggering move across the Archipelago Galaxy. I’m also a powerful psion capable of telekinesis, telepathy, and telempathy, and my deadly skills and prowess with my stormsword have made me the golden boy of the Arrows, the Imperium’s elite fighting force.

But even golden boys have bad days, and the truth is I have more hard problems than I can solve.

The Techwave is building weapons to use against the Arrows in hopes of toppling the Imperium and taking over the galaxy. But even more worrisome is the fact that my old rival Kyrion Caldaren has a powerful new ally in Vesper Quill. Together, the two of them just might destroy everything I’ve sworn to protect.

I’m supposed to be relaxing with the other Regals during the Summer Solstice celebration, but when an enemy threatens the festivities, I’m forced to leap into action. As an Arrow, I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my family and the other Regals, even though my actions will cause only more problems—and just might end up being the death of me . . .

My Thoughts: The third Galactic Bonds novel is Zane Zimmer's story. He's scion of a wealthy family and a favored topic for the gossipcasts. He is also the head of the Arrows now that Kyrian Caldaren has fled with Vesper Quill. 

However, he does have some problems. In the realm of the personal is adjusting to the news that Vesper Quill is his sister. He's also dealing with a grandmother who is determined to see him married off to a woman who comes with lots of mineral rights and who hates Zane. In the realm of the galactic is always the Techwave who have as their goal taking over the galaxy. 

A Summer Solstice celebration goes bad when the Techwave brings troops to the event in the hopes of stealing technical date and causing havoc. Zane battles to protect his family and his government and learns some things about his potential bride. 

This is a nice fill-in story. I don't think it would stand alone well. However, having read the first two books in this series, I liked knowing more about Zane.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Cold Welcome by Elizabeth Moon

Cold Welcome
Author: Elizabeth Moon
Series: Vatta's Peace (Book 1)
Publication: Del Rey (April 11, 2017)

Description: Nebula Award–winning author Elizabeth Moon makes a triumphant return to science fiction with a thrilling series featuring Kylara Vatta, the daring hero of her acclaimed Vatta’s War sequence.

After nearly a decade away, Nebula Award–winning author Elizabeth Moon makes a triumphant return to science fiction with this installment in a thrilling new series featuring the daring hero of her acclaimed Vatta’s War sequence.

Summoned to the home planet of her family’s business empire, space-fleet commander Kylara Vatta is told to expect a hero’s welcome. But instead she is thrown into danger unlike any other she has faced and finds herself isolated, unable to communicate with the outside world, commanding a motley group of unfamiliar troops, and struggling day by day to survive in a deadly environment with sabotaged gear. Only her undeniable talent for command can give her ragtag band a fighting chance.

Yet even as Ky leads her team from one crisis to another, her family and friends refuse to give up hope, endeavoring to mount a rescue from halfway around the planet—a task that is complicated as Ky and her supporters find secrets others will kill to protect: a conspiracy infecting both government and military that threatens not only her own group’s survival but her entire home planet.

My Thoughts: Ky Vatta's homecoming to Slotters Key isn't something that she anticipated with pleasure. The planet is filled with bad memories for her since it was the site of most of her immediate family's death. However, business relating to Vatta Enterprises calls her home to deal with the transition in power to her cousin Stella and to deal with her substantial share in the corporation.

She is being ferried down to the planet in a Space Forces shuttle when things start to go wrong. She finds herself needing to abandon ship and survive an ocean crash into the icy seas around the unterraformed continent of Miksland. She takes command of the survivors and relies on remembered instructions from her father about ocean survival. 

She manages to get the survivors to Miksland but something about the continent is blocking any communication. Also, it soon becomes apparent that the crash was not an accident but a well-planned attempt to kill all of them. The Commandant of the Academy is one of the first victims killed by poison darts in his survival suit. All of the officers except Ky and her aide who wore their own survival suits perished even before the craft hit the ocean. 

Ky manages to get the survivors to Miksland and gets them to an unknown base there. However, figuring out who is using the base and for what purpose leads to a large and long-running conspiracy. While Ky is trying to survive, her aunt Grace and lover Rafe are trying to find her and uncovering the conspiracy from the other end. 

This was an exciting adventure filled with all sorts of information about cold weather survival. I love the way Ky wins the hearts of her fellow survivors except for the undercover conspirators in her company. She does uncover them and wins in a fight against them. I also liked that the base gave clear evidence of aliens having once inhabited Slotters Key.

I bought this one April 10, 2017. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Rebel by David Weber and Richard Fox

Rebel
Author: David Weber & Richard Fox
Series: Ascent to Empire (Book 2)
Publication: Baen Books; 1st edition (September 3, 2024)

Description: HE NEVER WANTED TO BE A REBEL

The Five Hundred, the elite families who rule the Terran Federation, control its political power and its wealth, and they’ve grown steadily wealthier and more powerful, thanks to the war against the Terran League. War may be hard on the people who get caught in its path, but it’s very good for business, in the short term, and the Five Hundred own the shipyards that build the Navy’s ships. They own virtually all the industry that produces the weapons and matériel the war consumes so voraciously . . . and they’ve made damn sure someone else does the dying.

True, there are a few flies in the Five Hundred’s ointment.

There’s the growing hatred and resentment of the Fringe Worlds, whose children do eighty percent of the dying in the Five Hundred’s war. But the Five Hundred have made sure the Fringe knows what will happen to any system that goes ”out of compliance.”

There are the lunatic conspiracy nuts who insist that the alien Rishathan Sphere is secretly aiding the League’s military, but the Five Hundred have forced them to keep their mouths shut where it matters.

And then there’s Terrence Murphy, a man of honor who loves the Federation, who springs from the Five Hundred, yet knows it for what it is and is determined to speak for its victims. But the five hundred have dispatched ample force to deal with him and his handful of lunatic followers

Unfortunately, the Fringe has paid enough of its children’s lives, and it no longer cares what may happen if it dares to defy the Five Hundred.

Worse, the lunatic conspiracy nuts were right, and the Rish have planned carefully for the Federation’s destruction.

And, worst of all, the Five Hundred have fatally underestimated Terrence Murphy.

My Thoughts: The second book in the Ascent to Empire series by David Weber and Richard Fox chronicles deteriorating conditions in the Terran League. The ruling government is controlled by the 500 -- the richest citizens who control all the industries and much of the wealth -- and they will do anything to hang onto their power and position no matter how reprehensible. 

With colony planets out on the Fringe declaring independence, the 500 are determined to show them just who is really in charge with extremely brutal tactics including bombing non-compliant planets out of existence. And there is Admiral Terrence Murphy who married into the 500 and who was recently appointed governor of one of the Fringe planets. His failure to stop their secession from the League and his determination to convince them that the Rish, an alien species, is acting to keep the war with the League and the rival Terran Federation at a boil has made him Enemy #1 in the 500.

Murphy believes in the League and is reluctant to believe how far from its ideals it has strayed, but he finds himself the focal point of a revolution as more and more planets secede. 

A lot of this episode takes place on Bellerophon which had seceded and asked to join the new Free Worlds Alliance. The 500, with the assistance of their various toadies in the government, has sent General Alaimo to bring the system back into compliance. He had been set aside after atrocities on another planet the 500 wanted to bring into line. This time he has a blanket pardon for any crimes, and he is determined to use it. From strikes from space destroying cities to mass firing squads to torturing individuals for his own sick pleasure, Alaimo runs rampant. 

This is excellent space opera. It is, however, the second book in a series which leaves many, many things unresolved. What is resolved is that Terrence Murphy now knows there is no chance of a negotiated settlement of the grievances of the Fringe planets and his determination to fix the League even if he has to bring battle to Earth. 

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: Rebel by David Weber & Richard Fox

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

The Friday 56 was hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice. This meme is currently on hiatus but many of us are still including a sentence from page 56 or from 56% of the ebook. Anne @ Head Full of Books is picking up the slack until Freda is ready to return. I think this link will get you to the correct place. 

Beginning:

RHLNS Cai Shen

Wormhole Space

August 10, 2552

"We're as ready as we are going to be, Sir," Captain Su Zhihao said somberly.

Friday 56:

She really liked Rogers, and for a Heart, he was easy to work with...usually. He was a worrywart, though, when normal shipping routes were disordered.

This week I am spotlighting a new space opera recently added to my TBR Pile. I am a big fan of David Weber and couldn't pass up Rebel (Ascent to Empire, Book 2) when it was recently released. Here's the description:

HE NEVER WANTED TO BE A REBEL

The Five Hundred, the elite families who rule the Terran Federation, control its political power and its wealth, and they’ve grown steadily wealthier and more powerful, thanks to the war against the Terran League. War may be hard on the people who get caught in its path, but it’s very good for business, in the short term, and the Five Hundred own the shipyards that build the Navy’s ships. They own virtually all the industry that produces the weapons and matériel the war consumes so voraciously . . . and they’ve made damn sure someone else does the dying.

True, there are a few flies in the Five Hundred’s ointment.

There’s the growing hatred and resentment of the Fringe Worlds, whose children do eighty percent of the dying in the Five Hundred’s war. But the Five Hundred have made sure the Fringe knows what will happen to any system that goes ”out of compliance.”

There are the lunatic conspiracy nuts who insist that the alien Rishathan Sphere is secretly aiding the League’s military, but the Five Hundred have forced them to keep their mouths shut where it matters.

And then there’s Terrence Murphy, a man of honor who loves the Federation, who springs from the Five Hundred, yet knows it for what it is and is determined to speak for its victims. But the five hundred have dispatched ample force to deal with him and his handful of lunatic followers.

Unfortunately, the Fringe has paid enough of its children’s lives, and it no longer cares what may happen if it dares to defy the Five Hundred.

Worse, the lunatic conspiracy nuts were right, and the Rish have planned carefully for the Federation’s destruction.

And, worst of all, the Five Hundred have fatally underestimated Terrence Murphy.

Audiobook Review: Only Good Enemies by Jennifer Estep

Only Good Enemies
Author: Jennifer Estep
Narrator: Lauren Fortgang
Series: Galactic Bonds (Book 2)
Publication: Audible Studios (July 18, 2023)
Length: 14 hours and 12 minutes

Description: New York Times best-selling author Jennifer Estep continues her Galactic Bonds series with an action-packed new adventure that blends science fiction, fantasy, and historical romance. This rollicking space opera features a mix of magic and technology, along with a soulmates, slow-burning, and enemies-to-lovers story. Perfect for fans of Star Wars, Bridgerton, and Pride and Prejudice.

A woman on a mission...

My name is Vesper Quill. I used to be a lowly lab rat, toiling away in obscurity developing brewmakers and other household appliances. But thanks to my seer magic and my own ingenuity, I’m now a Regal lady and the head of a successful corporation.

My mission? To destroy the Techwave, the dangerous group that has stolen my designs and plans to weaponize them against the Imperium. But when my mission takes an unexpected turn, I’m once again surrounded by enemies and fighting for my life.

Further complicating matters is Kyrion Caldaren, an arrogant Regal lord whose fate is bound to mine. Kyrion doesn’t realize the two of us still have an unwanted connection that puts us both in grave danger...or does he?

A man surrounded by enemies...

My name is Kyrion Caldaren. As the leader of the Arrows, the Imperium’s elite fighting force, I’ve been tasked with tracking down and destroying the Techwave before they seize control of the Archipelago Galaxy.

My other mission? Find a way to assassinate Lord Callus Holloway, the Imperium ruler who wants to take my psion power for his own. Holloway is also a threat to Vesper Quill, who haunts my thoughts, despite the broken bond and distance between us.

When I realize Vesper is in danger, my priorities change, and I vow to use all my telepathic, telekinetic, and other abilities to help her. I will save Vesper from her enemies and mine—even if I have to burn down the whole bloody galaxy.

My Thoughts: The second book in the Galactic Bonds series begins with Vesper and Kyrion apart from each other. Vesper is consolidating her hold on her new corporation and getting used to the idea of being a Regal lady. She is also working to defeat the Techwave who is stealing her inventions and putting them to bad uses. 

Vesper knows that the bond between herself and Kyrion was not broken, but she doesn't want to be bonded to anyone who doesn't love her. She's had enough in her life of being the one left behind without care or thought. 

Kyrion is at home and wondering why thoughts of Vesper keep crossing his mind. He doesn't want a bond with her because he knows that Callus Holloway will only exploit it and steal their power. He also knows the Holloway regrets making Vesper a Regal lady and wants control of her corporation. 

When Vesper is kidnapped by the Techwave, Kyrion is ready to throw away everything else to rescue her. But Holloway has sent three additional Arrows to also "rescue" Vesper and return her to him so that he can use her. 

This was an entertaining science fiction adventure which combines a lot of romance with the more science fiction parts of the story. Vesper and Kyrion overcome their reluctance to embrace their bond and learn that they are stronger together and apart after embracing it. However, two against the universe are still long odds and a happy ending seems to be far in their future. 

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.