Space - The continuing voyage

Well, onto my first set of reviews. Two thumbs up and not a thumb down

Unmasked by CJ Barry was the book that got me started again on futuristics. This was my first book by this author but it certainly won’t be my last. I thought it was a great book, full of adventure.
Torrie Masters is the only sister in a family of mostly brothers. She is finally the captain of her own ship. When the ship seems to malfunction, she refuses to abandon ship (space) and much to her dismay she realizes it was only a trick so a band of pirates can steal her cargo. She gives her word not to report them but that doesn’t keep her from trying to track them down herself. She is captured and only saved from slavery when the leader of the pirates Qaade Deter buys her. At first she thinks he is a slaver himself and is determined to see he gets what is coming to him. But Qaade isn’t what he seems. Instead, a former slave himself, he has set up a network to free and reacclimatize as many as he can find. Once Torrie realizes the scope of what has been happening in the galaxy and what Qaade is doing she is willing to readjust her life in helping him.
This book has everything that is good in a futuristic. It has a great hero and a great heroine and great chemistry between them. There’s lots of adventure and I highly recommend it.
Grade: 4 ½ out of 5

The Star Prince by Susan Grant
I read this one all out of order. I had it some time ago, started reading it and when it didn’t grab me, I traded it back in. Later on I read The Star Princess, the third in the series and loved it. I went back and found The Star King, the first book and loved it also. So then I had to read The Star Prince, the middle book. It took a while to find a copy but thanks to the trading group, I got me a copy.
This time I finished it, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the other two in the series.
Ian Hamilton is the son of Jas Hamilton, the heroine in The Star King. He has been named the heir of Rom, the hero from The Star King. The Vaad Nash are a very traditional group of people and Ian is determined to learn all he can about their culture and adapt himself to it. Tee’ah is a Vash princess who wants to be a pilot in a society where women are to not much more than ornaments. She steals away from home and takes the job of pilot on Ian’s ship. Ian is tracking down a congress man from earth who is determined that Earth opt out of the federation.
I could never really warm up to either Ian or Tee (as she is known to the crew of Ian’s ship) I found Ian, well, boring. He’s a good guy, trying to do the right thing. Tee is a bit more interesting, but I never really understood what she saw in Ian. I’m glad I read this book as it completes the trilogy and since I’ve loved everything else Susan Grant has written, I will certainly continue to read her books.
Grade: 3 out of 5

Banner’s Bonus by Carole Ann Lee
I mentioned in my blog of introduction to my favourite futuristics that this was one of my favourites. Since it has been years since I read it, I wanted to read it again to see if it stood the test of time. It did. Nick Banner has to be one of the best heroes the galaxy. A charmer and a ladies man, he is the owner of his own ship who delivers cargo across the galaxy. He is asked by one of his best customers Jonathan Loring to “disappear” with Loring’s daughter Tressa when there is threat of kidnapping. Although at first Nick Banner seems like the worst possible choice, underneath his charm, he is an honourable man. The routine assignment turns out to be a lot more than he bargained for and along the way, he is charmed by and reluctantly falls in love with Tressa. As they travel through space there are times when each needs to be rescued by the other. Although Tressa is young and innocent and a bit of a throwback to the heroines in older books, I still thought she made a good heroine and I quite liked her. There is some excellent chemistry between them despite their different natures. But Nick is the one who really stands out in this book. You have to love a guy who give a girl an apology rock.
The book I read was the original published in 1995 and I understand that when it came out in e-book, the author did some rewriting to strengthen the character of Tressa. Since this book will again be reissued in e-book form, I am very much looking forward to the revised edition.
Grade: 4 out of 5

Note: It’s a very rare thing when I do any kind of connecting of the cover of a book to the characters inside. Despite how they look on the cover, I still form my own mental images. This was an exception. I love the new cover with Nick Banner on the front. It made the book even more enjoyable picturing Nick as he appears on the latest edition. Maybe it’s because he reminds me of Duncan MacLeod from the Highlander. Even though I finished this book a couple of days ago, I don’t want to take it down and I think I will move it to favourite covers.
Out of curiosity, I checked out the covers artist’s work from a link at Ms. Lee’s website. Check it out if you want to see some wonderful book covers – Holly Smith at bookskins

All in all, I’ve really enjoyed my latest foray into futuristics and after a brief intermission to read A Season to be Sinful, I plan on going back to them for awhile.