“Falcone Strike” eBook was published in 2016 (January) and was written by Christopher Nuttall (http://www.chrishanger.net). Mr. Nuttall has published more than 20 novels and this is the second in his “Angel in the Whirlwind” Science Fiction series.
I received a galley of this novel for review through https://www.netgalley.com. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ as there are instances of Violence, Mature Language and Mature Situations. This Science Fiction novel is set in the years following 2420. Humanity has spread to the stars, but there has been a rebellion and Earth is now gone.
The primary character is Katherine “Kat” Falcone, Captain of the Commonwealth cruiser, the HMS CA Lightning. On shore leave while her ship is repaired from damages suffered during the first novel in the series (“The Oncoming Storm”), Falcone finds herself in a predicament. Not suited well to the politics in the capital, she jumps at the chance for a dangerous mission behind enemy lines.
Falcone takes the Lightning and a handful of aged ships behind Theocracy lines. She plans a series of daring raids to strike at the Theocracy supply lines and war production facilities. She soon discovers that she not only has to battle the enemy fleet, but at least one spy aboard her Commonwealth ships.
Already a hero in the Commonwealth from her earlier confrontation with the Theocracy, Falcone and her crew struggle to survive their mission while disrupting the Theocracy as much as they can. Some, maybe all, of Falcone’s ships may be lost on the mission. Will she be able to keep up the pressure, but know when it is time to withdraw.
I thoroughly enjoyed the near 10 hours I spent with this novel. It reminded me a lot of David Weber’s (http://www.davidweber.net/) “Honor Harrington” series. This was every bit as good as the first novel in the series. Kat Falcone’s character makes another strong female role in Science Fiction. I look forward to reading more stories about her. I give this novel a 5 out of 5.
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John's Notes 