Review: Raven Seduced Me
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 19, 2012
I enjoy reading and commenting upon Laura Eno's blog. So when she announced that on June 27, 2012, she'd launch Wraith, the second book in her series "The Carriena Oracles," I decided I'd read the first book, Raven.Because it's billed as a "romantic space opera," I'd ordinarily reject it out of hand. Still, why be so narrow? And if Laura wrote it, why shouldn't I give it a chance?So I did--and I'm damned glad I did.Three thousand years in the future, Raven owns and pilots a spaceship, with the able assistance of her co-pilot Ben, an android she's bought. How she came to own a spaceship and an expensive android is part of a heart-breaking back-story I won't reveal in this review. In any event, she and Ben, perhaps the most intriguing character in this series, are mostly alone in space.Then she picks up a paying customer, Mikael, from an archaic world, Algora. This is his first time in space. He's looking for stone Oracles like the one on Algora. Many Algorans consider their Oracle a god. But if, as it seems, there are other Oracles on other worlds, what then? Mikael's quest is to discover what Oracles are. That would be mine, as well.Mikael is also physically attractive. Ah, perfection--brains and brawn in the same man. What's Raven, the smart and commanding loner guiding her spaceship with Ben, to do? Hah, what would I do?I fell in love with Raven, Mikael, Ben, and the other three quirky passengers they pick up along the way. This is a story with sympathetic characters willing to fight to death to know the truth in their universe.Laura, you took me in. You seduced me.I anticipate Wraith with open arms and mind.