Review: Action-packed paranormal space opera adventure
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 13, 2010
When LK approached me about reviewing this book my nose crinkled a bit -- Space Opera...um, not really my thing. I'll watch it but not too keen on reading it. But then I looked a little closer at the description and chatted with LK about the book.  She said it had a Firefly vibe and had paranormal characters like a shapeshifter. Visions of Space 1999 (yeah, giving away my age there, huh?) filtered into my brain and one of my favorite characters from that series, Maya the shapeshifter. I agreed to give it a go. Well, I'm glad I did and I gobbled up this little nugget of a novella in no time.In the distant future the country and world as we know have drastically changed due to environmental disasters like the Gulf Oil spill of 2010.  Radical environmental terrorists know as DOGs (Defenders of Gaia) are wreaking havoc.  The story opens with Char desperately trying to get to the terminal on time to catch a ride off-world on the Imperial Shuttle.  There is an attack at the terminal just before she is about to board and Char is saved by Jake Ardri, pilot of a ship called the Space Junque.  Sparks start to fly between Char and Jake amidst all the chaos.  Mike, who arranged for Char to get on the shuttle, has feelings for her too but he also has his own agenda.  With the world falling apart, the old gods are stepping in and Char appears to be part of their plans.Space Junque is action-packed from the beginning. There is always something going on to keep your interest.  The paranormal aspect starts to come in about halfway through the book when we meet the goddess Asherah and this is where my interest definitely picked up. I still enjoyed it up until that point, but what can I say?  I like my paranormal. Did I get my shapeshifter? Yeah, sort of, just not quite what I expected. I'm still trying to figure them out.This story might appeal to those who prefer a lighter romantic element that doesn't overshadow the main plot. The love scenes are mostly closed door.  I really liked Char and Jake but my preference for the romance would be a little more spice, which you could probably guess I was going to say if you've followed my reviews :)There is a lot going on in this little novella, though it is fairly well-rounded for the length. I enjoyed the writing style and dialogue, and it was edited well.  There are some unanswered questions at the end, but it's a prequel to the next book, Spiderwork, so I expect we will see more of Char and Jake, gods and goddesses, shapeshifters, chosen ones, all that spacey stuff, and some futuristic swearing all wrapped up in an action-packed paranormal space opera adventure.  Sweet!