Review: A Gripping Sci-Fi Thriller
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 19, 2012
Someplace in the Andromeda galaxy in the distant future is a planet called Zurin that exists primarily to produce a very valuable sedative and painkiller called Styx that is known to be highly addictive. It also is home for a garrison that houses some of the most violent and deadly prisoners in the galaxy.On this day that is decidedly different, all the mine workers have abruptly left the planet with no explanation. None of the prison staff know what's happened. Soon tremors begin, and Rhonda Alendresis, medic and sometimes security guard fill-in, is chosen by Captain Cole Riggeur to accompany him on a mission to lock down the various levels of prison cells. They believe the mining company has made the prison earthquake proof. Unknown to them, this isn't true and the tremors have already up-ended level nineteen, deep in the bowels of the planet, freeing the deadly shapeshifter, Tomar, who soon releases dozens of other volatile criminals to form one of the most dangerous mobs that ever existed.Into this treacherous world go Rhonda and Cole. Soon they find themselves trapped deep underground, needing to evade the gangs of ruthless thugs from  every toxic race in the galaxy, while avoiding injury from the continuous tremors. Not only must they deal with the threat of the rioting prisoners, but with wildly erratic robotic carts, collapsing tunnels, and the greed of the company that ran the mines and were more than happy to leave the prison staff and their prisoners to their horrible fate. Rhonda and Cole have only each other to rely on and the constant pressure explodes their mutually denied physical attraction erupts into passionate lovemaking.Vijaya has crafted a tense threat that feels frightfully real and forces two quite different people together. What she also manages to do is keep the human element. I'm a Star Trek, Star Wars and Stargate fan. Not just because I enjoy the scientific aspect, but because the characters come alive. Too often, written science fiction gets heavily technical and the human side falls out. Not so with Vijaya's story. The nearly indestructible Tomar is incredibly ruthless and believable. Rhonda is a strong and resourceful woman and Cole is the man such a woman deserves. Together they escape the prison and the planet, and in a twist that can't be anticipated, they prevail over Tomar.I thoroughly enjoyed this book and even if science fiction is not your thing, I suspect you'll find it a great read, too.