Review: Solar storm
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 8, 2013
Nerys captains a solar craft, hauling freight without a crew, and the tough-mouthed girl has learned that life is not simple.  When a fast-flyer yacht overtakes her and then gets snagged at the edge of the solar road and looks like it's heading for the blackness of space, like any sailor she offers aid.  She wasn't expecting the yachter to be her ex-husband, Kelvin, ex-military and a grade one rat.Kelvin is now retired and thought he could handle anything - his computer goes down and he can't fly manually.  Icaria is a dangerous planet and his experimental craft hadn't been fully tested, so he's dependent on the freight captain, like it or not.  She manages to conceal her identity, having changed over the years. The road is treacherous, and creatures lurk just out of vision - spatial architeuthis, the giant squid, strikes and they lose an engine.  More scary for Nerys, amid piracy and death, is the concern that she just might lose her heart.Cordwainer Smith gave us the brilliant 'The Game of Rat And Dragon' about space roads and monsters.  SOLAR STORM  follows on with heavy emphasis on sailing.  Soldiers are surgically enhanced and pumped up on an amphetamine-like drug for battle, so was Kelvin responsible for his actions in a civilian context? Nerys has a wealthy father, a chancer and exploiter, and she doesn't want to be dependent on a man, preferring to patch up her elderly craft and eat nutri-rations while pursuing bonuses, as in McCaffrey's 'The Ship Who Sang'.A few familiar details amused me: men still button their shirts, sailors still talk about walking the plank, girls about being a wallflower, and bodices are still ripped in the heat of passion.  Marriages can still founder on non-consummation, a husband can be legal guardian of his wife, but not it seems the other way around. Mina Carter lives in England and is a writer and an illustrator. I'm delighted that she has given us this action-packed SF adult romance, and look forward to reading more from her in the future.