DARK HORSE
by Michelle Diener
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BLURB:
Rose McKenzie may be far from Earth with no way
back, but she's made a powerful ally--a fellow prisoner with whom she's formed
a strong bond. Sazo's an artificial intelligence. He's saved her from captivity
and torture, but he's also put her in the middle of a conflict, leaving Rose
with her loyalties divided.
Captain Dav Jallan doesn't know why he and his crew
have stumbled across an almost legendary Class 5 battleship, but he's not going
to complain. The only problem is, all its crew are dead, all except for one
strange, new alien being.
She calls herself Rose. She seems small and
harmless, but less and less about her story is adding up, and Dav has a bad
feeling his crew, and maybe even the four planets, are in jeopardy. The Class
5's owners, the Tecran, look set to start a war to get it back and Dav suspects
Rose isn't the only alien being who survived what happened on the Class 5. And
whatever else is out there is playing its own games.
In this race for the truth, he's going to have to
go against his leaders and trust the dark horse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
REVIEW:
This is Michelle Diener’s first Science Fiction
Romance book. There is a check
list of things I look for in a good SFR book and Diener has checked them all
off.
First there is the story line. I always want to know if it can survive
if the romance is removed. In Dark
Horse it is certainly strong enough to stand on its own. The romance just adds to the tension
and the action in the story
World building and back story are always important.
Getting them into the story can be tricky. The way the plot develops in Dark Horse both were woven into
the story in a way that did not stop or impend the action.
Of course characters are also important. SFR is
character driven. It is very
important to have well developed and interesting characters leading the
story. Both Rose and Dav are
well-written and are strong enough to carry the action. Rose arrived with another character in
tow, one that is not easily detected.
Saco, an artificial intelligence, plays a critical part in the plot and also drives much of the
action. The story requires a large
cast of secondary characters and their development fits their place in the
story.
The story line is not new but like many other good
authors Diener has given it some unusual twists. Rose and her actions add some of the twists and the aliens
in the story have plenty of their own.
This is an action filled story where more than the romance provides
tension.
Diener has written an impressive number of books
and her experience shows in the writing in Dark Horse. Each scene was carefully crafted to
carry the story and theme forward.
It is one of those books that is very hard to put down.
It looks like Dark Horse might be the first book in
a series. I hope so. While much is finished there is still a
lot of story left to tell.
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EXCERPT
Gee stretched himself impossibly straighter, his
slightly rounded chest puffing up. “Iʼm finished talking to you.”
Dav stared at him until the Tecran turned away, then
he walked over to the one cell that was different.
He could feel Geeʼs eyes on him, sense Appalʼs
interest, as she also picked up what he was seeing.
This was the cell of an advanced sentient. He could
see a chair and table, a handheld tablet and a bed made up with sheets and
blankets. He looked up and down the row, but this was the only cell set up like
this. He looked over at Gee, but the captain was still turned away, his
shoulders stiff.
Dav shrugged. Heʼd be wasting his time trying to
get anything out of the Tecran. Borji could give him the lens feed. Give them
an idea what they would find on Harmon.
He walked out of the holding area, taking a deep
breath of clean air when he and Appal were on the other side of the closed
door, although now that the air filtration was working again, the smell was not
as bad as it had been.
That, or heʼd gotten used to it.
“He didnʼt know the explorer craft had left the
ship.” Appal almost whispered the words.
“No. We might have to consider this was a rescue
and revenge mission.”
“Someone rescued the prisoners, punished their
captors?” Appal looked at the dead Tecran littering the passageway. Whistled.
“Some punishment. What were they holding in there? If Borji is right, whoever
they are they hijacked a Class 5ʼs internal systems and used it against
itself.”
“Whoever or whatever they are, I donʼt think the
Tecran realized they were quite so powerful. Or perhaps they simply have
powerful friends.” Dav frowned. While the animal in the launch bay looked
fierce, in fact sent a primal chill down his spine, he had the sense it wasnʼt
an advanced sentience. But one of the prisoners definitely had been.
“Weʼre going to Harmon?” Appal asked, and there was
a keen edge to her words.
“Weʼre going to Harmon."
AUTHOR Bio and
Links:
Michelle
Diener writes historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction. Having worked in
publishing and IT, she’s now very happy crafting new worlds and interesting
characters and wondering which part of the world she can travel to next.
Michelle
was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia
with her husband and two children.
When
she’s not writing, or driving her kids from activity to activity, you can find
her blogging at Magical Musings, or online at Twitter, at Google+ and Facebook.
BUY Links:
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