Review: Creedor... an entertaining beginning to this space opera... 4 1/2 Stars.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 16, 2014
"Creedor" is the first book (of five) in 'The Reglon Empire Series' by author Gail Morgan McRae. This Kindle e-book was approximately 123 printed pages and sold for $2.99 at the time of writing this review.Please Note: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.General theme <spoilers>Set in Creedor, a planet in a distance galaxy, a greedy, power-hungry politician by the name of Jarlod, disposes of a dying king and proceeds to pronounce himself Emperor. The planet and its denizens barely survive his oft times illogical ministrations until a plague of unknown origins begins to decimate the population. A few 'good-guys' see this as a chance to change things, however little do they or anyone else realize there is a much more sinister threat lurking near-by. This then is the story of Creedor and its people.Some thoughts on "Creedor"...The Pros:1.a) a generally well written and intriguing story line. This work had no trouble maintaining my interest.1.b) I thought the story had a nice sense of pace and timing. Not rushed but still moved along in a timely manner.2.) there were several, what appeared to be main characters, that were 'offed' early on.  Surprisingly enough, these murders/disappearings occurred rather matter-of-factly, without much fanfare.3.) the story jumps around (a lot) to involve several different sets of characters on different planets. I'd assume their tales come together in subsequent installments.4.) several interesting characters, all with their own agendas, that were introduced in several different locales.5.) an ending that will ultimately lead to new tangents in the next book.Concerns:1.) conversations and dialogues occasionally had a contrived feel to them.2.) formatting and spacing concerns. Several times changes of locales within chapters were indicated with 'P P P' designation... not sure what the intention was here. Then other times, changes within a chapter had no 'breaker' at all... i.e. no special markings or even an extra line-space to indicate a change in location or people of another group.Impressions: My own personal and subjective opinions.I found I enjoyed "Creedor" more than I'd anticipated, despite the fact that it often read like and had the feel of a weekly TV serial.While the author makes liberal use of the advanced sci-fi settings to build her scientifically advanced world(s), it is told with a somewhat tongue in cheek attitude. I never had that nervous tension you get in true thrillers... where your almost reluctant to turn the page.This effort would easily fit into the category of a space opera; but a space opera that was well done... there were just enough sinister goings-on, interesting characters and a plethora of situational happenings that gave it enough substance to hold my interest through to the end.As it is... 4 1/2 Stars.Ray Nicholsonraynicholsonsreviews@hotmail.com@ralannicholson