(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Rachel Aukes https://www.rachelaukes.com/ is the author of more than 40 books. _Black Sheep: A Space Opera Adventure _ was published in 2020 and is the first in her Flight of the Javelin series. This was the 100th book I completed in 2022.
I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of delivering a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R. The primary character is spacecraft Captain Halit ‘Throttle’ Reyne.
Reyene and her crew are 15 years into a 20-year voyage when her colony ship, the Gabriela, has a breakdown. The catastrophic failure means Renene and her crew must abandon the Colony ship and the thousand colonists in cryo-sleep aboard. The only chance for the colonists is for the crew to find help.
They are surprised when they stumble across a derelict ship. It will be the find of a lifetime if Reyene and her crew can get it to civilized space. They find the ship intact and fully operational once they have boarded it. The onboard AI, who they name Rusty, has no memory of the ship’s origin or mission.
Reyene thinks their problem has been solved with the discovery of the ship. They head back to the Colony ship. When they arrive, they find that the Gabriela has been taken by pirates. They are forced to follow the pirates to the Jade-8 Terra orbital colony.
The Gabriela is docked at the station, but it is hardly the safe haven Reyene was looking for. The space station is run by pirates and gangsters. The inhabitants are virtual slaves to the two siblings that are in power.
Reyene and her crew’s freedom is in question and the future of the colonists looks dire. Can they escape Jade-8? Will they have to abandon the colonists?
I enjoyed the 6.5+ hours I spent reading this 262-page science fiction novel. I do like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 4 out of 5.
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John's Notes 