Black Sheep by
Rachel Aukes
My rating:
3 of 5 stars
Fifteen years into a twenty year ship the converted cargo ship Gabriela under the command of Captain Reyne transports its precious cargo of cryo frozen colonists to a world they hope will provide the home of a new colony. However the crew have had to deal with some strange glitches and failures throughout the journey and then a crittle system error forces them to abandon the ship (colonists secured with 2 years of life support) and seek help in the uncharted darkness that surrounds them. The crew with only months of life onboard the shuttle experience a miracle when they find a strange looking ship drifting in the void, they board and find a vessel unlike anything they have seen before and with an AI beyond anything they could have imagined. Returning to the Gabriela they find it "salvaged" and soon learn this region of space is far from empty having been colonised by another branch of humanity years before and piracy is far from unknown. Captain Reyne and her crew are far from lilly white themselves and nothing will stop them from rescuing the colonists and taking back the Gabriela.
Black Sheep is the first novel in the Flight of the Javelin series and Rachel sets up the world and the characters fairly well, there is still a lot of information missing which forces the reader to try to put elements together which is not always a bad thing but a primer and better timeframe to how the Earth fits into the overall narrative would have helped. That said an enjoyable read with a lot more to come based on the loose ends left tantalisingly open in this book.
Free Station by
Rachel Aukes
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
The second novel in the Flight of the Javelin series "Free Station" continues the story of former crew and colonists of the Gabriela and as the young colony is growing some will never be happy tied to the ground and thus the Galactic Peacekeepers satisfies their need to always be active but also their moral and ethical drives. However after the events on Jade 8 the now sole owner Anna East has a burning desire for revenge and a plan to secure power and influence, all it will take is to remove the Peacekeepers from this part of the galaxy and well casualties are just the cost of doing business.
Rachel provides the reader with a much more in depth story in this second novel by expanding upon characters from the first novel and introducing the might of the Peacekeepers and the political framework it works within. We also get a few hints of what may be out there beyond explored space all of which provides an excellent read full of action, suspense and mystery. Once again Halit “Throttle” Reyne is the core character but is abled supported by new and old characters each providing their fair share of the narrative and all are well catered for in terms of focus and development. A strong second novel in the series and looking forward to book three.
Rogue Planet by
Rachel Aukes
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
Rogue Planet is the third novel in the Flight Of The Javelin series and we are fully immersed into the worldview of Vantage Core the intelligence that "lost" the first major conflict with humanity but has never really gone away. Thanks to events told in the previous novels and their consequences unfolding in this story Vantage Core is ready to begin an assault on humanity wherever it resides. Fortunately for organic life and it has to be said quite a lot of luck the crew of the Javelin discover the danger and manage to return from the Vantage Core system to warn the Peacekeepers who at least at a local level are prepared to risk everything to defend the colonies closest to what will become the frontlines even if that means offering pirates and prisoners the opportunity to fight and gain their freedom. Vantage Core has had a long time to prepare and has not wasted the years sitting quietly, humanity has not idea the world of hurt is coming their way...
Rogue Planet was entertaining and continued the narrative development seamlessly, we learn more of the nemesis that is facing the human race (fractured that it is) and while there are still some gaps that I would have liked to learn more of the overall story and reading experience was most satisfying.
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Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2021 by Robert Greenberger
