Is it cake or biscuits?

I was once told that I could take a list of ingredients: flour, eggs, baking powder, water, etc., and make either a cake or biscuits because they each had the same ingredients. I think the same applies here for Lindsay Buroker. She had all the ingredients and produced cake. And of course, Kate Reading is my all time favorite female reader! She is the epitome of female readers starting with the Wheel of Time and in Star Nomad she has instilled the characters with personality and individuality. In some chapters, the script is almost cookie cutter but I think the narrator kept the plot flowing and I didn't lose enough interest to punch the return key to Audible. Cake but not German Chocolate......

10 people found this helpful

Short Firefly/Serenity Clone w/ few improvements

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Characters should have more depth and more of the story should be told in each book.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Felt like a short story, improve length and include an entire story arc.

What about Kate Reading’s performance did you like?

Kate Reading always does well and was the reason I bought the book to begin with.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No, it would take six such books to make a single movie

Any additional comments?

Story was short and failed to resolve any issues hinted at. Completed first two books and still little satisfaction. I recommend waiting until the first three books are packaged together to buy them.

7 people found this helpful

Fun Romp

Audible had a sale on this book and I certainly love a good space opera. The book had some really good parts: nice snark, amusing interactions, and some good battles. But the writing style is oddly like a romance writer's (though i don't believe the author has written romance?) and so that threw me off a bit. As well, I didn't necessarily believe a lot of what was going on. (EVERY single character has a secret that will aid the protagonist?) I did stay entertained, though, and base the rating on that success.

Story: Alisa is stranded at an off world, injured in battles that led a successful rebellion against the empire. She has one goal; get back to her daughter on a distant world and start her life again now that the war is done. To do so, she'll have to recruit an engineer, get her ship working again out of the scrap heap, and then find passengers to pay for the trip off world. All seems fine until she finds a dreaded cyborg warrior (enemies of her rebellion) squatting on her ship and with a requirement she will have to fulfill first. And let's not forget the quirky passengers who end up hiring her services.

Star Nomad feels very much like a first novel - a way for the author to introduce the key characters in preparation for the main plot in further books. That doesn't mean it is bad, necessarily, but in putting all her eggs in one basket, we have to get all the key characters together at the same time. And of course, they will all be diverse but have key skills that will affect later plot points. Doctor, warrior, engineer, pilot, scientist - everything you need for a crew just drops into Alisa's lucky lap.

The dialogue is snappy but I admit to 'romance novel' fatigue of snarky female and brooding alpha male. She admires his muscles, he admires her rudeness. All the bad guys just want to jump her, sexism is rampant, the leads have several intimate moments, etc. etc. This is written better than most sci fi romances but at the same time, the influences are definitely there and somewhat distracting. I wanted more grit, determination, and drive than admiring glances, sexy pecs, and male quirking mouths. It's yet another case where the seemingly powerful male finds the rude female's constant nastiness entrancing rather than loathsome. At least the author tries to explain it away as a personality quirk (she gets mouthy when she's scared/nervous) rather than the usual romance cliche of trying to show that the female has 'personality' and is 'strong.'

The adventure parts are will written and fun. Admittedly, most will have figured out the 'secrets' of the passengers well in advance and know how they will affect the outcomes in the dramatic scenes. But that's ok - the side characters are well written and with wonderfully distinct personalities.

I would characterize Star Nomad as sci fi lite. An enjoyable adventure that worked very well in the narrated version. Of note, the Audible narrator did a good job.

4 people found this helpful

Leonidas similar to Sicarius but a good Story

Lindsay seems to like strong silent male types, its still a great start to a new series and Iam looking forward to the next book Honor's Flight

4 people found this helpful

Fall into Fallen Empire for action and adventure!

This is going to be a fun crew to follow through the galaxy! Kate Reading does a great job of embodying all the characters from the feisty pilot to the taciturn cyborg. I'm looking forward to the next book already.

3 people found this helpful

A Fun Sci-fi Romp with Quirky Characters

The wars over but it's left much of the system in disarray. A mouthy star fighter pilot who just wants to get home to her daughter along with a pessimistic engineer salvage a derelict freighter to get home. They take on an ex soldier that's more interested in his bar-b-que grill than his guns. Then there's the cyborg that fought on the other side. A mysterious monk/doctor with lots of secrets. And lets not forget the science teacher that spends most of her time growing recreational herbs and chanting in her cabin. All with their own agendas and a multitude of problems. Suddenly they're being chased by the Mafia, running blockades and just trying to survive another day. Oh, and did I mention the chickens in the cargo hold?
I've already read all the books published in this series. But when I saw that Kate Reading was narrating I just had to stow aboard again. She does a wonderful job portraying all the characters, especially the humor and heart of Captain Alisa Marchenko.

6 people found this helpful

Great Book

So hard to find good Science Fiction anymore. So this was fun. Well worth the read!

2 people found this helpful

Wonderful Beginning

Excellent start to what is an amazing Sci-fi adventure series. I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment.

2 people found this helpful

wonderful book. women not needy. great characters

i love these characters and the way they interact. only reason I haven't finished the series is because the only audible book is book 1.

2 people found this helpful

OH YES, WERE A CHATTY BUNCH

DID I OFFEND HIM. HE WAS BEING CRANKY. DUST BUNNIES
I applaud the author and they way she treats her main character. The woman is a woman, but she is military trained and she can take care of her self. We are not beat over the head with how mistreated she was because of her gender, their is none of that kind of thing. It is obvious that she is setting up a series and getting her crew together. A cyborg for muscle, a pessimistic engineer, a kind of flighty science officer, etc.

WORM SUCK
My low rating is for a few other things. I got sick and tired of the junior high school bickering between the main character and cyborg, even though we know by the end of the book, they are going to be buddies. I am guessing, cause I quit at 5 hours. I thought the cargo hauler out running and out maneuvering war ships and everybody was a little hard to believe. Mostly I got tired of all the talking. Every single moved had to be discussed.

Kate Reading
It is always a pleasure to hear Reading's voice.

33 people found this helpful