[amazon_link id=”0316221112″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]Title : Fortune’s Pawn (Paradox #1)
Author : Rachel Aaron
Genre : Sci-Fi
Publisher : Orbit Books
Publish Date : November 5th 2013
Pages : 368
Source : Netgalley/Publisher ARC
Rating : 4.2/5

The main protagonist in this book is Paradoxian mercenary Devianna Morris. Devi is no ordinary merc – she’s one of the best and her ultimate aim is to become a Devastator in the service of the divine King of Paradox. Devastators are sparingly chosen but when Devi hears that a stint aboard Captain Brian Caldswell’s ship Glorious Fool will positively help her resume and her career, she interviews for and gets the job of security onboard the Fool.

On board the ship, Devi meets the rest of the varied crew : the navigator Basil, who’s an aeon (an alien bird), the xith’cal (cannibalistic alien lizard) doctor Hyrek, Mabel the ship’s engineer, systems analyst Nova, fellow mercenary Cotter, cook Rupert and Ren the Captain’s daughter. Captain Caldswell has a reputation for getting into dangerous skirmishes and his old, war ravaged ship shows the signs of battle. Devi’s job for her contracted year aboard the Fool is to ensure security of the ship, it’s passengers, crew and cargo. Devi doesn’t know it yet, but it’s going to be a long, hard year.

Now, I’ve read sci-fi with a female protagonist before. Still, apart from Catherine of T.C.McCarthy’s Exogene (and she’s a genetically modified war machine, so not quite the same thing) I haven’t read a character quite like Devi’s. There are many sci-fi books with adrenalin-loving, gun-toting heroes but almost no sci-fi novels of any heft featuring a female equivalent. So Devi is kinda unique. She’s super aggressive, in-your-face, loves a good fight and names her guns (Sasha and Mia) and her Paradoxian armored suit (the Lady Gray) like they were her babies. She talks a big game but has the substance to back it up. And she doesn’t mince words; she’s a straight talking gal and says it like it is. I loved her character!

The hunk of steel fell with a squeal behind me, locking off the bridge and the rest of the ship from the lounge and the cargo bay. The three-inch-thick door wouldn’t hold back a really determined xith’cal with time on his side, but it would stop runners and stray blasts. Of course, I didn’t intend to let so much as a blood spatter get past me tonight. I was ready to fight; no more tests, no more waiting. This was what I was on this ship to do, and I meant to show Caldswell exactly what kind of merc he’d hired.

Fortune’s Pawn is narrated in the first person from Devi’s point of view. She spends quite a bit of time describing the Lady Gray – what it’s composed of, how it works and the expense and trouble Devi has taken to get it. She also describes Sasha and Mia lovingly, “my girls were no slouches”. There’s considerable space given to describing invasions and fights in great detail. Manouvres, strategies, fighting skills, weaponry and armor all feature heavily in this book, as does romance.

Bach builds up an interesting universe for this novel. This is of course many many years in the future, and in this world there are other life-forms besides the humans, namely the aeons, the xith’cal and the lelgis; Devi has an opportunity to encounter all of them. Besides the fact that I really liked the lead character I also appreciated the way the author narrates her story, divulging details along the way and building up her characters, and still keeps the momentum of a fast-moving space opera. There’s action and fights galore but there are also the quiet moments. Bach has managed to beautifully wedge together sci-fi and romance in the same interesting novel.

This is the first book of the Paradox series. The sequel “Honor’s Knight” comes out February 2014; I’m not sure I can wait that long.