The latest Bandit Book Bloggers book tour: Shadow Of The Wraith by Ross Harrison. Sci-fi fans check it out!
It sounds like a simple assignment: track down the mysterious Star Wraith and put an end to its rampage. But when Travis Archer and his team of inept soldiers find themselves the most wanted people in the galaxy - hounded by assassins, terrorists and their own military - they realise the Wraith is just a symptom of a much larger problem... Finding war raging between one army intent on destroying an entire species, and another that will destroy the galaxy, Travis much put aside his fears and his past to uncover the truth behind it all. To become the hero he's always imagined.
Reviews:
‘Travis Archer is a freelance bounty hunter who accepts an
official assignment to hunt down and destroy the Star Wraith, a powerful but
apparently unmanned ship with the nasty habit of appearing out of nowhere and
destroying ships. Although Travis and his crew are the focus of the story, the
narrative cuts to other scenes in a cinematic fashion. The more fascinating of
these scenes reveal glimpses of a shadowy villain called Baorshraak, whose
goals and motivations remain shrouded in mystery even as he appears to be the
one pulling the strings.
Harrison writes with a distinct attitude that
is very aware of the genre his story takes place in. References are made to the
clichés of space opera, which he acknowledges and makes fun of even as he
unapologetically takes advantage of them. Many ideas in this book are decidedly
familiar--starfleets, space cowboys, humanoid aliens--but they are used well.
There is a dry sense of humor that radiates not only from the characters but
the narrative itself, as though it isn't taking itself too seriously.
Although this attitude makes for entertaining commentary, there are a few
moments where it seems somewhat intrusive--as though it's the author speaking
and not the character. Nevertheless, it's what adds an extra bit of sparkle to
the already dynamic plot, which carries the reader to unexpected corners of
this galaxy.
Overall, Shadow of the Wraith is a smartly plotted and entertaining space
adventure that takes the reader on many twists and turns--the direction the
story goes in is quite different from what is expected. But in the end, it's
really the characters' voices--and Harrison's--that
make it memorable. I ended up enjoying it so much that I suffered from two
nights in a row of Star Wraith Insomnia--the inability to sleep due to the fact
that I had to keep reading.’ – 5 Stars
- Mary Fan, Author of Artificial Absolutes
~~~
‘I have been thinking about what I was going to write in
this review for about a day now, and I am still having trouble. The trouble
isn't with the book; not not at all! The trouble is that everytime I sit down
to write the review, it comes out all fangirly (if that's a word). So, I have
given in to this simple fact, and here is my review anyway (fangirl and all).
So this is my first real venture into true science fiction/fantasy type books.
I have 'Across the Universe' and 'A Million Suns', and they are set in space,
but nothing like this. Which brings me to my first point. When I first got the
email from the author asking me to review his book, I was like, 'sure; as long
as it's not erotica/western, I'm in'. Then I got to thinking to myself, 'Kari,
you have never read a book like this...you are going to be so lost and
confused.' Guess what, I wasn't! I was worried that with it set on different
planets, and in space, and in the future, I was going to be lost and be left
behind. This wasn't the case in the least. In fact, I found myself actually
remembering everything and able to keep everything straight in my head...hard
to do on most days.
I loved this book...from the first darn page, up until the last. I was
constantly hooked, wanting to know what happened next, who did what, why, etc.
Shadow of the Wraith is an exceptionally well written book, on top of the
awesome plot. This has to be another reason I loved it so much. I constantly
found myself in awe at how things were worded. Ross Harrison definitely has a
very unique writing style. I loved the humor that was put in the book. I am
usually a quiet reader, but I found myself laughing at a lot of parts.
Characters. Ahhh, I was spoiled in this book. The characters were so...real. I
felt like I knew each and every one of them, good or bad. Their personalities
were awesome, and definitely well portrayed. I never once felt that a character
fell flat...even the androids jumped off the page! :) My favorite character had
to be Travis. He is now officially MY bad ass space cowboy (read the book!! You
will understand!). I honestly fell in love with Travis from the very beginning
of the book (and to the despair of everyone who had to listen to me go on and
on..some people even thinking he was a real person...). I felt that he was well
developed (as were all the characters). Who am I kidding, I loved him because he
was a bad ass space cowboy!! I also loved Arkuun-Marl (look, I didn't even have
to look up how to spell that). The android was hilarious, and at times I forgot
he wasn't a real person. But don't say that to his face!
I felt like this book had constant action. Something was always going on, which
was a very great surprise. Most books now have one climax, and nothing really
going on until that one part of the book. I didn't think that was the case with
this book at all. Another thing...agh..I never knew what was going to happen. I
was literally unable to predict a single darn thing (which is unusual with the
amount of books I have read; even though none have been in this particular
genre, still I've read a lot). So that was a breath of fresh air for me...truly.
I was kept guessing the entire time. And the twists that were thrown my way,
well, LOVED them.
I feel like the last thing I should say is this....READ IT! This book is
absolutly amazing. Okay enough of the fangirl. Just, please, do yourself a
favor and pick up this book; you won't regret it!’ – 5 Stars
- Kari, Bookishly Devoted Blog
~~~
‘To begin, I thoroughly enjoyed Shadow of the Wraith. It's
like the best elements of every science fiction story you've ever heard of,
brought together into one epic adventure!
The cover features a very classic science fiction shot of a ship with a planet
in the background. Only this one features a more ominous tone as a ship ploughs
its way through a mess of ships.
The story is told from the alternating views of a mass of several different
characters and situations. The story begins with the introduction of the very
cocky "space cowboy" ex military man known as Travis Archer as he
presents the readers to a future where humans have left a ruined Earth and have
taken to living among the stars with other humanoid alien species in an uneasy
truce, while he tries to carve out a living currently as a bounty hunter. Then
we're brought to the primary situation at hand as the reader is apprised to the
new ruling power of humans - the Terran Alliance and the growing trouble that
this mysterious ship the "Star Wraith" is posing to ships that have
crossed its path, and never live to tell the story. In an attempt to stop the
Star Wraith, the military hires on bounty hunters as a cheap means to deal with
this ghost ship...and guess who takes the job?
In the true fashion of space adventuring - Travis begins by going on a galaxy
wide mission of assembling a rag tag crew each with a unique skill to
contribute to the team. I have to admit, I love watching these crews come
together - and the lengths that Travis goes to get the players he wants was
incredible! In addition to Travis as the leader, some other crewmen we stumble
upon is the reliable ex military best friend, the sexy but deadly love interest
and even a comedic relief android. My only complaint really is that while Harrison tries to put unique features and voices to each
character, the less prominent characters tend to blur together which was
further exacerbated by switching between first and last names randomly when
referring to these characters throughout the story.
My favorite character by far was the android Arkuun-Marl, whose constant quest
for equality with humans combined with expert battle skills and the much needed
one liners that broke the tension in overly serious moments.
After finding the Star Wraith, they soon discover that the ship isn't what it
appears to be at which point they commandeer it in their quest to find the
truth, which leads to political intrigue, a secret past and it all lands this
misfit crew right in the middle of an age old war.
The villains of the story were constantly shifting, and it was difficult to see
who could be trusted and what their motives were. It made for a thrilling
adventure as we navigated the minefield of assassins, military personnel and
androids to get to the so called "leader".
While Harrison presented what seemed like a
straight forward plot idea, it quickly became apparent that this wasn't your
usual story. Harrison expertly throws curve
balls at the reader, and before you know it there's secrets revealed that
completely change the game. I eventually just stopped trying to predict what
was going to happen because as soon as I thought I had it figured out, Harrison would drop another bomb that had me reeling.
The characters go through some serious paces as they run across the galaxy
hunting down the truth. The technology used in the ships, weapons, armour and
bases had considerable thought placed into their design and purpose, which made
for richly detailed and thrilling action sections. What completely threw me off
was the introduction of some fantasy elements (think mythological creatures)
that was a refreshing addition to the usual obstacle course of assassins and
androids. Harrison even manages to weave a bit
of romance into the story, and while a relationship does eventually form, I
think his writing shone primarily in the flirting banter.
All in all, Shadow of the Wraith was an amazing story with witty humour,
action, mystery, crazy technology and galactic politics. However, I do feel
that it's more suited to fans who already have a solid science fiction
background to thoroughly enjoy the references to Firefly, and Arkuun-Marl's
Star Trek Scotty references.’ – 4 Stars
- Ann, Tea & Text Blog
Excerpt:
Moving
silently and keeping his eyes peeled, Travis took cover behind the nearest
overturned table. With no apparent provocation, one of the pirates opened fire
into the second-storey balcony, which ran all the way around the bar. Startled
by the sudden shots, the others opened fire too.
Travis
could pick out nothing up there in the shadows, and hadn’t even heard anything
before the shooting started – had Draak forced too much herb into these men?
Were they hallucinating? Perhaps they killed their fellow crewmembers
themselves.
Eventually,
they ceased firing and stood listening for some time, their eyes wide with
fear. All Travis could hear was silence and a dull ringing after the gunfire.
After a
while, they began to relax. They lowered their weapons, relieved smiles forming
on their lips. Clearly, they thought they’d killed their attackers. Travis
watched enough holofilms – in fact, possibly too many – to know this was
inevitably the point at which their enemy would strike.
Sure
enough, as they turned to their fallen leader, two long black knives flew out
of the shadows and plunged into two necks. As the pirates slumped to the floor,
Travis crept forward towards the next overturned table to get a better view of
the balcony. Thanks to his curiosity, he neglected to watch his footing, and
before he’d gone more than a couple of steps, a shot glass burst under his
boot.
Crap!
Synn spun
round, roaring in terror and defiance, and opened fire on him. Travis made a
dive for the cover of the thick metal bar. The pirate’s shots broke the mirror
on the wall, and the bottles, showering him in alcohol and glass, both solid
and molten.
To the
relief of Travis’ eardrums, Synn had already depleted much of the
three-hundred-shot power cell. As soon as he heard the click of the empty
weapon, he raised himself just enough to put his arm across the bar top and
fire a single bullet into Synn’s forehead. The Izarian fell limply to the
ground as blood started to trickle down his face.
It would be
unwise to assume the invisible assailants would be friendly towards Travis.
‘The enemy of my enemy’ was a phrase that got many killed.
Unwilling to
give them any breathing space, Travis vaulted over the bar like a magnificent,
tubby gazelle, reaching to his new utility belt. As his boots hit the floor
again, he pulled out a small, jelly-coated sphere and threw it with all his
might at the ceiling. The orb thumped against the plastic ceiling tiles, the
shock activating the device. The jelly became adhesive, keeping it glued to the
ceiling. At the same time, the centre of the sphere came alive, radiating
bright light into every shadow in the bar.
Nothing.
In the
brief ten seconds of light, Travis scrutinised every inch of the balcony, where
a band usually played for patrons. There was no sign of any living creature in
the bar. Perhaps the attackers really were invisible.
The device
flickered and died, dropping to the floor. Darkness poured eagerly back into
the corners and recesses.
The bar was
silent, almost calm. Around the balcony, the remnants of the wooden banister
smouldered.
What now?
Travis had
put himself in the open, certain his clever trick would reveal his rival and
give him the advantage. Now, he was simply in the open.
Purchase links:
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Kira
Kira's town has so far survived the destruction wrought by
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options. The Government will destroy them sooner or later, and they won't
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