#lindsay buroker
Fallen Empire, Bk 8
by Lindsay Buroker
Alisa is finally reunited with her young Starseer daughter, Jelena, but is at a loss how to explain her hulking cyborg lover, whom Jelena finds ‘scary’. Kitten stickers on his combat armor are the proposed solution. I thought the idea was a bit overdone.
Leonidas is tip-toeing around Alisa’s daughter, who has the uncanny ability to read people’s thoughts. Unfortunately, his mind is often filled with lurid thoughts of Alisa.
The Alliance wants their admiral back, unaware that Admiral Tiang has decided to spend his leave doing research aboard the Nomad. Since his leave is long over, he is now AWOL, and they think he’s being drugged and held against his will.
At one point, Jelena observes, 'This ship is dented, and burned, and ugly… It’s like living in a dented metal box.’ That’s exactly how I’ve pictured the Nomad.
Of course, despite being warned to stay away, Marchenko involves herself and her crew in a plot to locate Tymoteusz, the insane Starseer who is wielding the Staff of Lore. She and Leonidas manage to board the huge mining ship he has appropriated, but will they be allowed to leave?
The story has devolved from a space opera to an action-packed shoot-'em-up sci-fi. The epilogue was especially disappointing. Rather than offer a heartwarming glimpse into the future, it contained only stiff, dry dialogue among various members of the crew who were discussing whether they planned to remain aboard the Nomad, discussions that surely must have taken place en route to the riding stable, where they were waiting for their horses to be brought out.
This series started out great but could have ended better.
Fallen Empire, Bk 7
by Lindsay Buroker
Determined to find her daughter, Captain Alisa Marchenko is searching an asteroid belt for a hidden Starseer station. The shuttle in which the Starseers had escaped with the children was capable of only short flights, so unless they’d rendezvoused with a larger ship, they had to be here somewhere.
When Alisa and her crew finally arrive at her destination, she discovers that an Empire warship has beaten her there and has sent in a platoon to search the station. Alisa and Leonidas find the children, including her daughter, who, it turns out, is best friends with Prince Thorian. (You knew there had to be a prince in here somewhere.) The infamous Staff of Lore is also on the station and is being wielded by an insane Starseer who is determined to take over the system.
I think one of the most poignant scenes is when Leonidas, aka Colonel Adler, in his crimson Empire battle armor, drops to one knee before the young prince he has sworn to protect. But will his loyalty cause conflict with Alisa, a former Alliance fighter pilot?
Although I like this series, each successive installment contains more ridiculous—and usually avoidable—situations resulting in more battles. I’m becoming a little weary of the blow-by-blow clashes.
An aside: When the book refers to the Star Nomad as an old freighter, the picture that pops into my mind is an unwieldy old brown rectangular rust bucket, not the sleek fighter-style ship that’s pictured on the covers of these books. But if the author approved the cover art, that must be how she sees the ship.
Fallen Empire, Bk 6
by Lindsay Buroker
Captain Alisa Marchenko continues her quest to find her kidnapped daughter, while acquiring a strange assortment of passengers: a band of Starseers, one of whom turns out to be her father; an Alliance admiral and his daughter whom she rescued—or kidnapped (sometimes there’s a fine line); and a Starseer who was left in a coma by the cult that stole the Staff of Lore. And, somehow, Yumi’s flock of chickens keeps growing.
Alisa and Leonidas grow closer, but their relationship is hampered by the problem with which the Empire has afflicted all its cyborgs.
Stay tuned…
Fallen Empire, Bk 5
by Lindsay Buroker
Captain Alisa Marchenko is piloting the Star Nomad to the moon Cleon, the last known location of Durant, the rogue Starseer who kidnapped her daughter. Cleon’s harsh environment is habitable only under terraformed domes, which are under the control of various mafia factions. But somewhere out there is a hidden Starseer compound. The trick is to find it while navigating the swamps, mud, and giant fungi, and avoiding the genetically engineered predators.
I’m wondering if the author just threw in this volume to lighten the mood of the series. The interplay among the characters is humorous, and many of the settings are absurd, but it still works.
Who knew you could end up with a broken wrist if you dozed off in bed next to a cyborg?
The Fallen Empire, Bk 4
by Lindsay Buroker
On yet another side trip, Captain Alisa Marchenko finds the area around her intended destination has been quarantined by the Alliance. Attacked by an android-piloted treasure hunting ship, the only way to safety lies within the forbidden zone. But the area appears to be empty, so why has it been quarantined?
Two of her passengers are determined to find a mysterious and powerful staff, one to place it in the hands of the defeated emperor’s young son and the other to return it to its rightful owners, the Starseers. If it’s as powerful as legend would have it, Alisa would rather it remain lost forever.
Buroker tosses in enough twists, turns, and surprises to keep the story interesting. Just when I think I’ve got a handle on the dynamics of the characters, a new revelation has me reevaluating things.
I haven’t come across a binge-worthy series in quite some time. I love these books!
The Fallen Empire, Bk 3
by Lindsay Buroker
Captain Alisa Marchenko is desperate to find her 8-year-old daughter who was kidnapped by a group of Starseers. Yumi, one of her passengers has told her the location of the Starseer temple, but when she enters the region, she finds that it’s cloaked in thick mist and that her sensors don’t work. In danger of crashing on the polar ice, will she even be able to approach the temple to inquire about her daughter? To make matters worse, the Starseers and the cyborgs have a long history of hate and distrust, which makes Leonidas a liability.
Will Alisa be allowed to approach the mysterious temple? Will the colony of Starseers have the information she needs? Or will this have been a wasted trip?
