Review: Great Sci-Fi read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 5, 2014
I received Striker from the author through the Goodreads M/M Romance Group's `Don't Buy My Love' review program for an honest review. The story is told in third person through the eyes of Prince Zeus Pylos Vondorian, Alpha-Zetamite, and Dargon. Briefly, the story is told through Empress Ashari Vondorian eyes, the mother of Zeus.Striker is the second book in The Valespian Pact series. This book is not a stand-a-lone read. You really need to read the first book in order to understand what's happening in Striker because this story takes off soon after the ending of Alpha Trine. This book is a mix of mythology and ideas from sci-fi shows like Babylon 5 and Star Trek.I'm not going to go into the details of who all the people are in the story, the races, the planets or the plotline. Partly because most of that is all covered in the first book, and partly because with science fiction, there are so many created worlds, species and convoluted happenings I'd end up writing a book instead of a review. Suffice it to say, other reviews have given a good briefing of the story. The main people you need to know are Zeus, Dargon and Alpha, for they comprise the Alpha Trine a highly rare and highly respected poly relationship between a symbiote, his host and their partner.As I mentioned, this story picks up right after the first book, only a few years down the line with Zeus working as the chief mechanic on a space station. He is nearing the end of his stint before returning to his planet when he gets caught in the middle of huge galactic events. Suffice it to say, he's kidnapped, his royal brothers give chase across the galaxy, the ship he's on has a secret that pursuers will stop at nothing to acquire. There's a fight on board, then another huge battle on the planet where they are to drop off their `cargo'. It's non-stop action after action. There really weren't any boring parts that I recall. In the midst of all that, the author continued with the Trine relationship although the story was mostly focused on revealing the mysteries established in the first story, and the battle. I was quite pleased this second book was as good as the first.What I'd like to mention is that the main theme of Striker is family. It tells us that no matter whom our birth parents were or what we look like, it doesn't matter as long as we have a loving family who supports us, loves us and guides us. The author showed us two different views on how this works. Zeus as we already know from book one, was found as a baby by the Mar `Sani and adopted into the Royal family. Despite that there are those who are filled with contempt for him because they saw Zeus as human, but his family saw him only as Mar `Sani. Zeus always saw himself as Mar `Sani and never felt the need to find out where he came from. When he finds his sister and she wishes him to be part of their family again, he doesn't want to be. Then there is Canry, the Royal family's lost son who answered `The Calling,' only to return later when he was desperately needed. He wondered if his parents still loved him. Canry has nothing to fear because they never stopped loving him.This brings up the question of Zeus. If his parents have survived, how will he feel toward them if he finds he was forcibly taken from them, instead of left behind? So the readers get two views that are similar to adoption. Some children wish to find their birth parents and others are so happy, they never have the desire.I have two issues with this book. I really hope they get someone in who is better at editing and proofreading than the people who are doing it now. There are quite a few missing words, but the one thing that annoys me the most, is the change of names. At the beginning of the book, there is one character named `Star Eater.' His name is changed to `Sun Eater' in the latter part of the story no less than four times. It bugged me so much I highlighted the name and I have never highlighted items in stories before. So that is my strong advice. Get better or more editors, betas or what not, because if a reader can find many mistakes on one pass through, that's not good.The other issue is with a scene that happened after the battle on the planet and Zeus and Warlord Sohm'lan are resting in a tent protected by the elite Mar `Sani Monticore guards. The Monticore are the most skilled and terrifying guards of the galaxy, yet a spy from the traitorous side is able to make his way to the outside of their tent and have a very brief talk with them inside. The Warlord has disguised his voice during the chat. Anyway, how can this person get this close to Prince Zeus and a Warlord when the area is swarming with Monticore? Is he some kind of ninja spy? He said he'd tell his `Master' about their conversation, so it strikes me as this person is not all that skilled, more like a slave. This scene completely took me out of the story as I'm trying to analyze how on earth this was possible considering the author presented how ferocious the Monticore were and how closely they guarded the Princes. This strange scene really didn't add anything to the story, even when we find out more about it later.I enjoyed this story immensely and can't wait for the next book. However, because of the spag issues and the strange scene, I'll have to take away a star. In the end I give this 4 Stars but highly recommend this book.