CassaFire
Author: Alex Cavanaugh
February
15, 2012
Format: Print and ebook
Length: 235 pages
Publisher:
Dancing Lemur Press LLC
Rating: Four Stars
From the Amazon best-selling author - CassaStar was just the beginning…
The Vindicarn War is a distant memory and Byron’s days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend - to probe space on an exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it’s a free and solitary existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the Rennather.
The detection of alien ruins sends the exploration ship to the distant planet of Tgren. If their scientists can decipher the language, they can unlock the secrets of this device. Is it a key to the Tgren’s civilization or a weapon of unimaginable power? Tensions mount as their new allies are suspicious of the Cassan’s technology and strange mental abilities.
To complicate matters, the Tgrens are showing signs of mental powers themselves; the strongest of which belongs to a pilot named Athee, a woman whose skills rival Byron’s unique abilities. Forced to train her mind and further develop her flying aptitude, he finds his patience strained. Add a reluctant friendship with a young scientist, and he feels invaded on every level. All Byron wanted was his privacy…
The Vindicarn War is a distant memory and Byron’s days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend - to probe space on an exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it’s a free and solitary existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the Rennather.
The detection of alien ruins sends the exploration ship to the distant planet of Tgren. If their scientists can decipher the language, they can unlock the secrets of this device. Is it a key to the Tgren’s civilization or a weapon of unimaginable power? Tensions mount as their new allies are suspicious of the Cassan’s technology and strange mental abilities.
To complicate matters, the Tgrens are showing signs of mental powers themselves; the strongest of which belongs to a pilot named Athee, a woman whose skills rival Byron’s unique abilities. Forced to train her mind and further develop her flying aptitude, he finds his patience strained. Add a reluctant friendship with a young scientist, and he feels invaded on every level. All Byron wanted was his privacy…
MY THOUGHTS:
If you like Star Trek and Battlestar Gallactica, you’re really going to enjoy this one!
CassaFire, for me, was reminiscent of the best things about
Star Trek. Exploration of new worlds and cultures and the adventures that the
characters went on to solve the mystery they were faced with.
In Cassafire, reclusive war hero, Byron, has kept his
promise to his beloved mentor and friend by being part of the ship’s company on
an exploration ship, The Rennather. The ship’s compliment has been dispatched
to the planet Tgren to discover the identity and source of the newly found
alien ruins. I loved the way the author introduced this and developed a real world. There's an immediate sense of excitement and mystery.
The Tgrens have achieved air flight but not yet reached beyond the planet and are suspicious of the Cassan’s mental abilities, technology, and motives. There are some good secondary characters, both on the planet and with the ship's compliment. They are well developed and move the story forward in a realistic manner and with them the author puts me on the spot. The Rennather science team must unlock the secret of the writing in the alien ruins and discover whether it is a weapon or perhaps the key to when and how the Tgrens arrived on the planet.
The Tgrens have achieved air flight but not yet reached beyond the planet and are suspicious of the Cassan’s mental abilities, technology, and motives. There are some good secondary characters, both on the planet and with the ship's compliment. They are well developed and move the story forward in a realistic manner and with them the author puts me on the spot. The Rennather science team must unlock the secret of the writing in the alien ruins and discover whether it is a weapon or perhaps the key to when and how the Tgrens arrived on the planet.
Byron also has another assignment and one he’s not
particularly thrilled with. Access the immerging mental powers of the Tgrens. To do this Byron also has to interact with the pilots and the author skillfully captures the pilot mentality and their arrogance. He’s soon paired up with the planet’s ace pilot, Athee, who shows extraordinary
mental powers. She also happens to be
gorgeous and sexy which makes it difficult for Byron to maintain his solitary
mindset. The race to find the answers of the mystery becomes a matter of life
and death and there’s no way Byron can remain detached.
CassaFire has a good sense of humor skillfully weaved in the
story. I found myself laughing and chuckling. This story is well told and has a
rich sense of suspense, danger, and an element of romance. Mr. Cavanaugh
creates some wonderful three-dimensional main characters that readers can’t help but
be invested in emotionally. I love Mevine, Byron's friend. and Athee is spirited and full of
adventure as is the whole story. I loved the sense of mounting danger Alex
Cavanaugh was able to induce throughout the story to the end. A very satisfying
ending.
There were a few minor distractions for me in this story.
Mostly centering on a few phrases used which pulled me from being a part of
what was happening and placed me back as an observer. Part of it may have been
because Byron was a bit emotionally distant from those around him but Byron
came to know and care about these people and so descriptions such as ‘the young
man’ or ‘the lad’ when referring to his friend Mevine, one on one, were
unnecessary and a bit distracting. Same with Athee being referred to as the
young woman when their relationship was now close and he shouldn’t have been
thinking of her dispassionately but personally. This wasn’t a big problem, just
a minor thing I observed here and there, and just enough to pull me a
bit from the scene because it didn’t fit the situation.
I'll be buying the next book from this author. I’m truly looking forward to the next adventure.
