Sean Danker

in fourth book (I need to catch up with third :)) we meet our protagonist, mysterious Admiral as he is unceremoniously dropped on a prison asteroid (after his arrest by Evagardian forces at the end of book #2) but with a catch. To profit off the various shady characters and criminals local authorities give them two options:

- get ransomed in 60 days or killed if not ransomed in time
- become a participant in live big-brother like show where people from the outside watch and follow the prisoner's life as a laborers but also as entertainers that kill each other off in a spectacular ways for extra points that amount to earlier release (remember Schwarzenegger's The Running Man? Now imagine entire place is size of the asteroid with prisoners, native alien life-forms and beasts to survive)

From the start it is obvious that Admiral has a secret agenda and that he is being hunted not only by inmates but also by Evagard and Free Space forces. We follow him as he slowly gets toward the climax of the novel where his past gets to him big way. I do not want to spoil anything here but twist was very interesting and unexpected. Admiral is a sort of a man who plans at least 20 steps ahead and it is joy to see how every action and step he makes starts making sense at the end. We also get to see glimpses of his past that start to explain Admiral's character. I hope this aspect of story-telling continues in future books.

Excellent spy action adventure novel, I am truly looking forward to future books in the series.

Recommended to all fans of thrillers and excellent SF spy action.… (más)

Excellent follow up to thriller mystery [b: Admiral (Evagardian #1)|24452990|Admiral (Evagardian, #1)|Sean Danker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1444891384l/24452990._SY75_.jpg|44044778] by the same author.

Our main protagonist (he is only known as Admiral, true name never pops up), shady character who worked in blackest of black op organizations for Evagardian Empire decides to go on a romantic getaway with Selmagard, soldier trained to be one of the living weapons in a very gene-quality-oriented Evagardian society, one of the survivors from the events in the first book in the series [b: Admiral (Evagardian #1)|24452990|Admiral (Evagardian, #1)|Sean Danker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1444891384l/24452990._SY75_.jpg|44044778]. She has feelings for Admiral but she is also rather sharp and knows that he is a bag of tricks and troubles following him are never far away.

Admiral is aware that after events that preceded story in the first book in the series he became nothing but the liability for Evagardian spy groups so he tries to make his way as far away as possible from them. And if possible with Selmagard, but they are both realists and aware that this might not happen. Admiral is just too deep in undercover world of spies and assassins, knows lots of things he ought not to know and as a result he is hunted by almost everyone.

And as destiny wants it Admiral and Selmagard, while boarding a shuttle to their holiday destination, get kidnapped by a pirate group who want to sell the Evagardian citizens to slavery so that various shady characters can release all their hatred for the Imperials they have piling inside them. As they say they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But pirates are not aware they have kicked the hornet's nest and very soon even Evagardian security [and the above mentioned blackest of the black op organizations] shows up but not after what must be extremely non-though-over, non-planned kidnapping ever, where nobody [pirates and slavers and their victims] knows what is going to happen next and whether they will end up dead or worse.

Ending wrapped this kidnappee nightmare excellently (story is action comedy in some parts - Admiral's and Selmagard points of view and comments, pirates attempts to sell their newly acquired goods, discussions with security forces - they are just great).

Entire story line, events and portrayal of all parties included - both kidnappees, pirates, parties involved in the what amounts to slavery work (although handled in very legal manner by the Free Trading Space authorities), local police force and Evagardian security - are given in a very brusque and to the point language. There is no surplus of words or text here, entire book is written in a very elegant, lean and concise manner that it is just pure delight to read.

It reminded me very much of Miles Vorkosigan books (and reminded me to go through them once more :))

Ending is a huge cliffhanger and I hope author will continue the story. Who exactly is Admiral and why was everyone all so terrified when he was identified during the events in the book? And why was he captured when they tried to kill him from the very start?

Excellent book, highly recommended to all fans of SF action, thrillers and spy stories.… (más)

Well that was totally satisfying. Edge of your seat sci fi adventure. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. The protagonist was totally likable. There were good well developed secondary characters. There was an eerie alien planet, mysterious happenings and bright sparks of humor. I kept wanting to underline the good bits. There was no info dump so you just had to go along for the ride and trust everything would become clear in time. At the final denouement I was happy to see that I was correct in most of my guesses.

I totally hope we haven't seen the last of this hero.… (más)

When the system tells you someone is in charge it can be hard to fight it when so much of the evidence conflicts with what is said. And that is the underlying theme to the story. Four people awaken out of a cryo sleep on a ship with no power instead of arriving on the flagship of the Evagardian Empire. Three of them are recent graduates but one is listed as an admiral and he has to be the youngest looking one the other three have ever heard of. As they try to find out why they have crashed on a transport ship and not at their destination they try to puzzle out the admiral’s background and of course he isn’t helping. As they go into each other’s background you get a good sense of world building in the novel. The four quickly realized they must leave the ship before it kills them and cross part of the planet to a colony that should get them back to where they need to be.

It is a race against the clock to cross before they run out of air and things are not as they seem when they get to where they need to be. Lots of tension among the characters and there is the mystery surrounding the admiral a well. A fun fast read and I want to see more in this universe.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley
… (más)