Rogue Marauder (The Adventures of Haunalyn, Korbot, and Sneighd: Book 1)

Sneighd Arkon is lucky to be alive. Things rarely go well for the space freighter pilot. When a job for a Syndicate Boss, Baquar Starka, goes sideways, Sneighd finds himself on the run from the Galactic Corporate police, the Sinnetian Syndicate, and with only a Tendrite Portmaster, Korbot Maka, and an 18-year-old Rhadurian pilot, Haunalyn for help. Neither Korbot or Haunalyn meant to get mixed up in Sneighd’s mess, but proving who really murdered a corporate official and getting themselves off the wanted lists will require a mad dash across the galaxy in Haunalyn’s ship, the Rogue Marauder, to do it and get back home.

What a wild space adventure! The main trio of characters are complex with interesting backgrounds, differing goals, and plenty of secrets to engage the reader. There is a minor romantic thread in this story, but the main focus is on the trio’s trek across space, and how they go about proving Sneighd’s innocence.  The conflict is amplified by several side characters with various goals, and several action packed gun fights. The main drawbacks to this tale are the cliffhanger-ish ending, and the lack of world building, in that several peoples and worlds are mentioned with little distinction of what it means to be a Tendrite vs. a Rhadurian for example. Still, fans of sci-fi adventures and cops and robbers type plots will find plenty to draw them to this book!

Sarah E Bradley