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Saturday, March 28, 2020

#NetGalley Book Review: Archangel Rising by Evan Currie

I enjoyed the strategies, space battles, and tension in this second book.
Archangel Rising
(released January 14, 2020)
by Evan Currie
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File Size: 3685 KB
Print Length: 281 pages
Publisher: 47North (January 14, 2020)
ASIN: B07V3KZZFQ
Genre: Sci-Fi, Space Marine Sci-Fi
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0.


Archangel Squadron faces off against the forces of the brutal Protectorate to claim a prize, and save humanity, in a gripping novel of deep space jeopardy by the author of the Odyssey One series.
At the helm of a commandeered freighter, Captain Steph Michaels has infiltrated the Free Star systems. Leading a captive crew, and posing as a privateer, he’s on a mission to seize a precious resource from an enemy outpost. Backed by his Archangel Squadron, it’s a smash-and-grab operation he can pull off in his sleep. Until it isn’t.
Before he and his “pirates” can strike, they’re met with an unexpected obstacle. The mining compound they’re targeting also houses camps of slave laboring families. It’s an innocent population Steph refuses to sacrifice as collateral damage, and his morality will drive him to greater extremes than ever before. With a ruthless enemy commander facing them down, Steph will find himself in conflict with not just the Free Stars but potentially with the Empire itself.
The odds of victory? Impossible to foretell.


Review:
Captain Step and his Archangel Squadron has infiltrated the Free Star system as a pirate/privateer squad. Step is leading the six specialized, fast and camouflaged ships from the deck of the seized destroyer dubbed The Dutchman. They planned to swoop in and take over a Protectorate mining facility but plans change when they discover that the workers are ‘slave’ labor with their families held as leverage in slave camps.

Step has to change his plans on the fly which might work out except that an Imperial fleet suddenly appears to see what is going on at one of the stations that supply them with an important element. Now Step and his fleet are facing overwhelming odds.

Meanwhile, Eric and the Odysseus fleet have been exploring deep space. Initially, they have been trying to fly under the sight of Imperial fleets but now they are ready to push some interaction with the enemy. Eric is testing the enemy on the horizon and hoping for interest, not a battle confrontation. But he doesn’t know the commander of the Imperial Eighth Fleet. She is determined to know more about this new enemy.

This is book two which continues where Archangel One left off. The characters were established in book one and their traits carry through. I totally enjoy the cocky bravado of Step and the fact that his crew are resignedly ready to follow his risky, but brilliant, plans. Eric also has a unique relationship with the Odysseus AI ‘being’ as Eric tries to explain human nuances, gut and instinctive reactions to the unemotional AI.

There is plenty of intrigue, tension and fast-paced action that kept me engaged. I would love to continue in the series as stories become available. In the meantime, I will go back and listen to The Heart of the Matter, book two in the Odyssey One series. I recommend this author and these series to readers who enjoy space marine sci-fi.

Source: 2019 NetGalley. This qualifies for 2020TBR, 2020NetGalley and 2020Alphabet goals.

1 comment:

  1. Great review. This sounds like an interesting story. I have never read a space marine sci-fi before but I might give this author and series a try. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and feelings about this story with us.

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