Book 4, Relic of Sorrows: Fallen Empire

I am really enjoying this series. Once again I must congratulate the author on a job well done. Brava! Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be getting back to Cleon Moon, the next chapter in this entertaining saga.

I enjoy the story line. The humor and writing. There is suspense and lots of good action. The word suddenly has not appeared to inhance any scene. The writer has a good grip of the English language and writes a good story. Each book has been long enough that i feel I have gotten my money's worth. The stories and caracters are enjoyable enough that I keep buying the next novel.

This Science Fiction book had a lot of different races a lot of which were fairly minor in size but with two major players, with the planet Earth as a small unimportant factor. Perhaps reading book 4 first was a mistake, as the earlier books may have explained some things in more detail, so I'd probably recommend reading book one first. But I was able to understand everything as it went along the pace was fast and left you wondering where the various parties went from the end of this book.

I am starting to become annoyed!!! This book was over in only a few hours. I must now busy the next whilst seriously contemplating whether I would buy the next. I can see the paten now, darn it. If this was a physical book it would be very thin and I would not buy it because I'm broke, still, I'm hooked. Would be readers, you have been warned.

As a lifelong insatiable reader (at 63, I've been reading sci-fi/fantasy since discovering Norton, Bradbury, and Heinlein in second grade,) I am becoming addicted to Ms. Buroker's prose.
People may quibble at some of the physics, weapons, or plot devices, but the characters and story lines make for a damned good read.
You won't be subjected to endless, repetitive (does "... palpable ..." make anyone else shudder?) language, or continuous (and interminable) agonizing by the characters.
The story moves forward. The word count is not inflated. The dialogue is not forced. And, thank all the odd gods of the galaxy, you are not subjected to stifling gouts of pointless moralization.
(Those of you who got the quote should feel proudly smug ...)

Whereas I see that this story is well written, it's characters, mainly Alisa, are/is fickle at best. The premise that she is smart is ruined by her fickleness. She seems to be ruled by what's between her legs like some over-sexed schoolboy, but is in a constant state of denial about it. These characters just aren't believable. They are either too simpleminded or are fickle, switching sides often. And the whole idea of mind-reading is just another type of rape, yet this writer treats it like a simple skin rash. And I wish I had the time back since reading to this point. This writer has a poor grasp of what people are like, especially military people. I am a 30 year veteran and have a keen sense of this fact. It's insulting, really. So if you don't mind being constantly confused by the allegiances of the main characters, then read on. But you would be unwise to gauge your understanding of military men and women from this story because the reality is, we are NOTHING like these people. We make far better choices than these, are are far more disciplined than these and a host of other differences. I know this is just fiction. But aren't you supposed to have at least SOME reality woven in? So as to engage the reader? I don't recommend this series, for sure.

Book 4, "Relic of Sorrows," continues the series of "Fallen Empire." It's in the main still entertaining and well written. The writing skill set is there, as well as both editing and proofreading. What is also there unfortunately, is the diminishing of the storyline and plot, replaced by the "Fabio" syndrome-intrepid and interesting heroine character, obsessing over male muscles. The story deserves better and frankly, it appears to be a lazy method of writing.

The female/male banter is great, when it enhances dimensions of characterizations (Tracy-Hepburn, Bogart-Bacall/Hepburn, Powell-Loy: interplay of intelligence, humor, romance, attraction, strength, and tension) but, not if it marginalizes the main story. Lead character is a newly widowed, combat pilot, war vet, mother, whose eight (8) year old daughter has been kidnapped. The lack of urgency in the quest to save her daughter is astonishing. Any parent, but especially one who is combat tested, would never, never have such a cavalier attitude, while their child was in harm's way. This glaring flaw made the rating a coin flip between 2 or 3 stars.

It's disappointing, as the previous books, and even this one are entertaining. The storylines and plots are becoming too shallow.

Book 4 is narrowly recommended.

Read fully via Kindle Unlimited.

The 4th book in Lindsay Buroker's space opera/stagecoach western continues the plot of the previous three books in the series.
We see a new character added to the cast of characters aboard the Space Nomad. Abelardus, a StarSeer who they picked up at they left his order's base at the end of the third book. Abelardus sees himself having a romantic interest in Alisa Marchenko and keeps coming between her and Leonidas the Cyborg with whom Alisa is hoping to kindle a relationship. This adds a little more to the character development that we are starting to see in the series.
All those aboard the Nomad are in pursuit of their own goals and the degree to which individual goals align continues to fluctuate. The main development centres around the quest for an ancient StarSeer artifact that, long ago, was hidden and almost forgotten. Everyone is after this artifact. If you see the StarSeers as Jedi then the artifact might be the light sabre of a long dead Jedi but if you prefer a Harry Potter analogy, it is the Elder wand.
Whatever, everyone wants it, not just those aboard the Nomad but also the military from both side of the war in which the Empire was defeated as well as an assortment of tomb raiders and other seekers of fortune.
Alisa Marchenko also learns something about herself which surprises and disturbs her too.
The story is well paced with lots of action and although nothing is resolved, we do see progress on most fronts.
I am happy that I read this and it left me looking forward to continuing with the next book in the series.

book 4, the Fallen Empire
I liked it. These episodes are good for people who want a shorter book, they want to get in and get out of a book pretty quickly. The plot was pretty good in this one. The thing I have trouble with is 1) most mother's will move heaven and earth when looking for their missing kid and I dare someone to try and come between her and where they think that child might be. But in this story she constantly puts the other passengers needs and wants over hers but especially her daughter's. I think that's weird and seems a bit fake. I mean it works great for the story but it doesn't come off very real. 2nd) I have trouble with the way they worked out the staff dilemma. Again, it's not very believable from my perspective. I mean, one the thing is, it's hugely contaminted, and then it's confusing which one goes and which one is concealed. How did they think they could grab that hidden staff again when they wouldn't be returning to that old ship? And about that ship: how did Albederous know there was a ship down there? Idk....that part is very confusing...I think if you just said it was Albederous's personal staff vs Alcyone's then maybe it would be less confusing. But the fact that it glows on its way to being hidden; again, maybe just a clarification that that one (Al's personal staff) or apparently any of the starseers' staffs will glow when touched by a person with the right blood.
Otherwise, the episode is pretty good. I'm hoping this next book finally gets us to her daughter's predicament.
Note: These probably best if read in order.

Star Nomad, Honor's Flight, Star Rebels anthology and Relic of Sorrows by Lindsay Buroker provided substantive science fiction that would be enjoyable reads for most SF readers. While the author promises some romance in the series the these books did not hit the mark there. So, if you are a serious romance reader, you may be disappointed or impatient. That said, the story continues to move in that direction for Alisa and Leonides.

This series might as well be called "mixed bag of nuts in space". Because Alisa and her crew & passengers are very much an eclectic mix of characters. The wise cracking, sassy Alisa Marchenko, with her penchant for inappropriate humor especially at the worst of times is the star of the series. She is a former Alliance pilot embarking on a personal quest to reunite with her daughter. In the process, she picks up a collective of characters - one snarky former Alliance engineer, a former Alliance/soldier/BBQ chef wanted by the mafia, an Empire cyborg which is Leonides (the "enemy"), a mysterious Doctor/monk with definite Empire affiliation, and a science teacher/hippy with a gaggle of chickens and a suitcase of who know's what but apparently it will get you high. This cast of characters and their misadventures just getting from place to place offers excitement, mystery, amusing moments with witty dialogue. Unfortunately, each these characters comes with their own troublesome "baggage" making Alisa's quest that much more challenging,

The books are well-written with witty dialogue and interactions between characters. It's not terribly heavy on SF details or world building. It's more focused on the interrelationships between the characters and the characters to their personal or collective circumstances.

On the downside and the reason for only 4 out of 5 stars is the inconvenience of having to go on my own quest to find the standalone stories in the Star Rebel Anthology and on the author's site for the Sanathe Station story, both of which were written from Leonides' point of view. There is convenience when all story content is located in one downloadable book or at least multiple books directly associated with the series. Keep it together whenever possible is my advice to authors.

The series is getting more exciting. Alisa Marchenko's not your usual freight captain. Everywhere she goes, trouble and adventure follow her. She had more exploits than meals even with a resident chef and security officer. She has an extraordinary set of passengers: a cyborg, a Starseer, a doctor slash monk and a science teacher who's always hoped to have Starseer abilities. Alisa ferries her passengers Alejandro, Abelardus and Leonidas to coordinates based on a nursery rhyme about Alcyone, a historical figure both revered as a saint and hated as a traitor. Alisa in this episode comes to terms with her heritage and discovers that she has abilities. She never knew who her father was and her mother never talked about him. I chuckled at every page because of Alisa's brand of humor that sometimes is entertaining but also cringe worthy. This installment sees them achieving their mission and coming off unscathed with only a few dents and bruises but the crew remain intact. They proceed to another location where Alisa hopes to finally find her daughter. There seems to be a bit of a love triangle here but Alisa is finally starting to bond with Leonidas. I can hardly wait for the next installment! At the moment, I'm reading Last Command, a Leonidas prequel while waiting for Book 5 to come out. I love that Lindsay Buroker is such a prolific writer. Her work often comes on top of my priority reading list. Very entertaining! I have high hopes for each and every one of the characters as they have grown on me. I hope they still have more adventures together and be closer to achieving their dreams.

Once again, Alisa's quest to find her missing daughter is delayed by the demands of her passengers, now including a Starseer she'd very much like to see the back of if he might not be the one person able to find out Jelena's whereabouts. But first, she must take them on what might easily prove to be no more than a wild goose chase, a trip to coordinates in the middle of nowhere that might maybe possibly perhaps hold the secrets to retrieving the powerful ancient relic Alejandro has been searching for - a relic Alisa is convinced should stay lost rather than end up in the hands of any who would use its power to start another war. Unfortunately, it turns out the crew and passengers of the Star Nomad aren't the only ones chasing this particular undomesticated fowl, because for an empty region of space it has certainly attracted a suspiciously large number of other ships on the hunt for the Starseer relic...

Fast-paced, action-packed fun as usual, with some interesting new bits of information about Alisa's backstory and more strewn in. Also: Yay, Alisa and Leonidas are finally getting somewhere in the will-they-won't-they dance they've been engaged in over the past couple of books! Can't wait to get to the next part.