Book Review: Eric Olafson: Space Pirate by Vanessa Ravencroft

This is great sci fi with wonderful world building, fascinating characters and plenty of action!

Eric Olafson: Space Pirate
(Eric Olafson Series)
by Vanessa Ravencroft

File Size: 1055 KB
Print Length: 589 pages
Publisher: Inkitt (March 11, 2017)
ASIN: B06XJZLYBG
Genre: Military Sci Fi, Space Exploration
My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0

It's the year 5019, and the Milky Way Galaxy is teeming with exotic species. The majority of the known civilizations have formed a multi-cultural mega organization called the United Stars of Galaxies.
This Union is protected by the brave men and women of the United Stars Space fleet against external threats.
Eric Olafson, born and raised under harsh conditions of the traditional and inward looking society of Nilfeheim, left his planet to fulfill his dreams of becoming a Starship captain.
When Eric gets kidnaped by an unknown organization and brought to Sin 4, a lawless Planet deep in free space, he slowly starts to discover his central role in an ancient conflict of cosmic proportions.

Review:
Eric Olafson is a creative midshipman who has always longed to become a Starship captain in the Union fleet that protects the numerous allies against unfriendly threats. Right now Eric is hoping to pass graduation in a few weeks – if he can stay out of trouble and live that long! It seems that trouble follows Eric… or he finds it. Fortunately, he has an unusual group of classmates who are usually nearby to help him face trouble with their remarkable skills. As one of the Admirals explains to Eric midway through the book: “You and your friends are not the average cadets and midshipman.”

Har-Hi is an extreme fighter – that’s what he loves. Wetmouth is a science whiz. Krabbel is an arachnoid (spider) who loves hugging and is ‘handy’ to have around. Narth is a from a planet of psi-mind readers who used to keep to themselves. But he has developed a bond with Eric and is determined to stay by his side and learn and share all the feelings humans have. Cirruit is a cyberunit who adds his own techno skills and subtle humor to the group. He is longing for the upgrade that will allow him to experience things like taste and other senses. The friends repeat, on more than one occasion, how important their friendship is and how their lives are enriched by knowing each other. They fear being separated when given their new assignments.

The first third of the book focuses on Eric as he is kidnapped and forced to escape and survive on a hostile planet. Eric has to dodge hostiles until he is aided by Mother Superior, a leader of a society of women who are shape shifters, extreme courtesans and sometimes spies. Eric is the first male allowed to enter their community, learn many of their secrets and train under the master teaching of the leader.

Eventually Eric is reconnected with his ship and warmly welcomed by his companions. After a short R&R they are sent on special assignment on a distant station base. It appears that nothing is going on and that prior accidents have been due to extreme boredom. But we know how appearances can be wrong! Once again, the action picks up as Eric and friends attempt to stop pirates from accessing supplies on the base.

The pattern of the story runs with fast paced action and a short R&R before the “Olafson team” faces another unexpected assignment. I love the "team" and how they contribute their talents to face the enemies. Now you might question why the titles says “Space Pirate” – what does that mean? It’s creative and lots of fun. The world building is wonderful with a great variety of characters and surprises all along the way. There are some social points made by the author through the story and I also appreciated that the story has minimal rough language.

This is apparently part of a series and alludes to prior adventures. This one works as a stand-alone but makes me interested in reading the back stories to discover more about Eric’s meeting and becoming friends with these many alien creatures. I strongly recommend this to readers who enjoy science fiction with detailed world building, creative characters and lots of action.

I received an ARC from Inkitt for an honest review.

About the Author

It all started in 1989 when my friends and I played Role Playing Games such as AD, Midgard, Traveler etc. Not really satisfied with the selection of commercially available RPGames, I created a new one called Action World. Our RPG evolved into the Galactic Chronicles and I am now almost 22 years in that Universe. There are 34 handwritten 500-600 page books in the Galactic Chronicles series. I love to write and spend time in this universe.

Now I have dedicated readership from all over the world and this makes me prouder than I could ever express in words. (Sad testament for someone who claims to be a writer, I know)

Want to know more about my world? Ever wondered what a viking handshake looks like? Or what kind of licensing you need to carry certain cybernetic weapons? I have written over 13,000 pages about the Universe on my GalNet Wiki which you can check out here: http://galnet.wikia.com

You can also follow me on Twitter & Facebook for more information and sneak peeks into the Galactic Chronicles: https://www.facebook.com/ravencroftvanessa/
Tweets at ‎@VanessaRaven