Review: Intergalactic Love
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 4, 2011
I haven't read something set in space since my introduction to fantasy books through the amazing worlds created by Anne McCaffrey, and after reading Collision Course by Zoe Archer, I'm asking myself, why haven't I been reading more of them?This book is FUN. And fast paced as all getout, definitely not for those looking for a gentle love-story. OK, there was a little more romance than I usually like with my action, but in part that was because I really wanted to see more of this world, of all the things Ms Archer hinted at, like the Fire Caves of Tawhiri Rio and the scavengers in action. I wanted more of the black market, seedy criminal underbelly, and dodging hostile aircraft while coaxing scavenger vessels through inhospitable environments. (Read the section on the journey through the energy storm and tell me it didn't make you hold your breath a little.)But of course, that wouldn't have left enough time for us to study `hostilities' between our protagonists as they got to know each other.  I don't think a better title for this book is out there because the way our hero and heroine connect is nothing short of immediate and intense. Both know exactly what they want and why it wouldn't work, but that doesn't stop them in the slightest.Mara, a highly experienced pilot who operates in a very gray area, is coerced against her will to aid in a 8th Wing mission to rescue a downed ship and its pilot before it gets sold to the highest bidder in a black-market auction and, whether she likes it or not (hint: she doesn't), Commander Kell Frayne must accompany her. On her made-for-one-person ship. As she fights overwhelming lust for him. Cue instant professional and personal fireworks. Extremely explicit fireworks. I think you get the point.One of my favorite things about this book was the way the author played with the language  and jargon of the galaxies (space pirates ahoy!). How could you not fall for a sentence like "Her timing was worse than a sipkaswine accidentally wandering into a Joppan cookout"? No idea what it means, but I love the fact the author doesn't explain and just throws it into the mix!I'm not sure whether this is a stand-alone book, or if we'll see more in a series; personally, my vote is for a series of books in this universe. I think this book would have been even better if it were part of a greater arc and if Mara and Kell had had a little more time and a few more adventures to work all that angst and alpha-ness out. It all felt a little too neatly tied up for two such complicated human beings, but then again, the demands for HEA reign supreme!Full disclosure: I received an advance copy for review of Collision Course.