==[Note: As of 12/03/2023, this will not be published on Amazon since I have been banned from posting reviews for some unknown reason. Once the ban is lifted, assuming it does get lifted, I’ll go back and post this to Amazon.]==
This was a well written book. The story-line seems kind of familiar, but it is a very interesting story that has some good characters and they do what you’d expect. Max Knight is an Agent of the “Agency”. That is he’s a hired spy or special operator that does whatever the job requires. Initially he’s out to stop an illegal drug deal from happening. He does that with his usual efficiency, but he does run into some problems getting back to Union space.
Max has got an advance spaceship which comes with “Maggie”, the AI that runs the ship. His ship can handle just about any problem they would run into and Max himself is something special. He’s full of nanotechnology (nanotech) which makes him somewhat superhuman although in the beginning he can’t fly! Of course Max isn’t flying around in hostile space showing that he’s in an Agency spaceship. He’s operating on the fringes of civilized space and some of the planets here are not that happy with the Union. He needs to quickly exit this part of space and get back to Earth and Agency HQ.
Space travel has been greatly aided by the identification of Keegan Points which reduced travel time between stars. Max is very eager to get through the nearest Keegan Point and back to Union Space. But, upon emergence from the Keegan Point he’s accosted by a Union frigate demanding he identify himself. Max gets a visual hale from the Union frigate’s Captain who asks for his credentials and tells Max that he will be escorted back to Union space aboard the frigate. Max didn’t even know that the Union had any ships operating in this area and he becomes quite skeptical of this offer. That offer of escort turns into an order which Max initially declines. This Union Ship’s Captain doesn’t look the way he should. Something about his eyes and manner of speaking and moving are not normal.
As soon as Max tells the frigate Captain that he’s not going to land his ship aboard the frigate, the frigate begins arming its weapons. That’s when Max believes he had enough of this strange Captain so he tells Maggie to get his ship out of the area as fast as possible. They soon out run the frigate heading for the next Keegan Point. But, they soon find themselves accosted by other strange ships or planetary authorities demanding that Max and his ship stop and submit to them. This is quite unusual for anyone to do this to an Agency identified operation. Max wonders what’s going on but soon reaches Earth and finds orders to report directly the Admiral Brock. He knows there’s something seriously wrong when he’s met by an armed escort that takes him to the Admirals office.
Admiral Brock listens to Max’s back-brief and says he has also encountered even some Agency people acting strangely. But he does introduce a more serious problem that the Union is now facing. Max watches a video showing a Union fleet emerging from a Keegan Point into an unknown star system. In front of it are several strangely designed black ships. The fleet Commander receives a hale from one of the black ship which orders them to surrender or be destroyed! Of course the Union Captain isn’t going to do that, so battle commences. It doesn’t take long for the Union ships to all be completely wiped out. These black ships have much more advanced technology, better missiles, energy weapons and shields! The Admiral tells Max that if that fleet decides to invade Union space, there’s not much they can do about it.
So Max wants to know what he’s supposed to do next. The Admiral then tells Max that he has a mission of utmost importance. He’s to track down an ancient device known as the “ark”. The Admiral believes the ark is a repository or library of an advance civilizations entire technology base. With that knowledge, he believes the Union might have a chance against these alien invaders.
So this is the bulk of Max’s mission. He’s got a long, long way to go and not much time. While this book seemed short, it does take away while to finish. The action is fast paced and some interesting characters are part of the story. I’m definitely going to be reading the second book, “The Cruel Stars”, to be available on 15 June 2025.