Review: Cons with a heart are headed for something big
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 2, 2012
The Royal Scam, the first book in the Martian Alliance series, follows the crew of the spaceship known as the Hummingbird. The crew, made up of Danielle Daniels (also known as DeeDee), Ciarissa, Doven, Bullfrog, Willy, Dr. Wufren, Tresia, Kyle, and Roy, the captain of the ship, are involved in a con they refer to as the royal scam. The scam consists of shape-shifter DeeDee impersonating a princess of the Royal Family from the planet Andromeda who then appears to die while attempting to escape her fate, which includes an arranged marriage to someone the princess doesn't love.After the crew uses their unique talents to make the con work, they head to Roulette, a planet dedicated to gambling, to collect their winnings. While it's never point-blank said, bets have apparently been taken on whether or not the princess of Andromeda would live to see her wedding day, and DeeDee and the others have some substantial winnings to collect. While in the process of getting their money, it becomes necessary to create a diversion and DeeDee reveals that she's very good at creating chaos. Actually, she reveals a lot more than that but to tell any more would be robbing of you of a truly hilarious moment.Of course, in a fashion similar to the cons they pull, there's more to DeeDee and the others than meets the eye, especially where Roy and his younger brother Kyle are involved, and I get the impression that money isn't being raised just to live the good life. There's a plan floating around just beneath the surface that's certain to stir things up on Mars when the right time comes.That time doesn't arrive in The Royal Scam but the book does a great job of introducing us to the main characters and setting up future stories, which could cover anything from other scams the crew is involved with to something on a much grander scale that hints at destinies being fulfilled.With the eBook containing a total of 27 pages, The Royal Scam is a short, fast-paced, and entertaining read that hints at great things to come in future installments of the Martian Alliance series, and I'm looking forward to another adventure with Captain Roy and his crew.