Odyssey One Book 2 by Evan Currie
Published on September, 2012

Pure fun is what this space opera/military science fiction series is. If the first book hadn’t already sold me on the series, the second one surely did.

Description:

After an epic maiden voyage that introduced Earth to a larger universe—and a cosmos full of terrifying new enemies—Captain Eric Weston and the crew of the NAC spacecraft Odyssey have spent months cooling their heels under their admiral’s watchful eye. But when Earth’s newest ally, the Priminae, strike a defense deal with the North American Confederacy, the Odyssey finally receives her orders: return to Ranquil, the Priminae’s war-ravaged homeworld, and lend badly needed support against the invading Drasin.

Weston and his crew are hungry for action, yet once back on Ranquil, they realize not all is as it seems. Yes, the Drasin are a formidable foe, but Weston suspects a powerful unseen force is waging the war that could alter forever the face of the universe. Determined to unmask the mysterious puppet masters, Weston and his motley crew defy NAC protocol and venture into deep space…where they will discover an enemy unlike any they have ever faced. The long-awaited follow-up to the spectacular Into the Black: Odyssey One combines old-school space opera with modern storytelling to create an exhilarating new sci-fi adventure.

Thoughts:

In the first book the Odyssey One crew went on Earth’s maiden voyage into space with the first transition drive system that allows faster-than-light travel. When they reached their destination events led them to make first contact with the Priminae and help save their home world from a species called the Drasin. Now, in book 2 the Earth has a new ally and Odyssey One is being sent back to strengthen ties between the two worlds. However, the Drasin apparently don’t know when to give up and come at the Priminae again while Captain Weston is determined to do some reconnaissance and see what he can learn.

This one starts off a bit slower than the first one – meaning we’re not immediately thrust into a life or death situation. Instead, Captain Weston is having to play a political dance on Earth as he is being required to explain his actions that led to them engaging with the Drasin. As you might expect there are some mixed feelings about Odyssey One engaging in a battle the first time out in deep space. But too many in the political world know that the Priminae hold Captain Weston and his crew in very high esteem after saving their home planet, which helps save Odyssey One’s Captain from whatever might have occurred if things had actually turned out differently. In addition to sending a diplomatic convoy to Ranquil, the Priminae home world, those from Earth are also lending a hand in training the Priminae to become better soldiers and better defenders of their world, which is not an easy task since their society leans toward pacifists.

As like the previous book, there is a lot of time spent out in space. However, this one did tend to have a little more space battle moments, which is good news if that is where your own heart lies like mine does. Captain Weston is tired of being on the reactive-end of things in terms of the Drasin so the reader gets to go with them as they explore and do some reconnaissance, leaving you to bite your nails a few times.

The characters are pretty much the same as before with a few new ones introduced. But by far the most interesting and intriguing one is a character by the name of Central. You don’t necessarily learn too much about him yet and I definitely don’t want to spoil anything, but Central is one that going forward will always grab your attention when he shows up in the story.

I had the pleasure to once again list to this one on audio book, which is fantastic. In fact, I am certain that this will be my preferred method of how I enjoy this series. I 100% love hearing these space battles acted out. It truly leaves me on the edge of my seat as I listen to them making me feel like I am flying right along with them during the heat of the battle. As I listen to them I gain more and more appreciation of all the accents and personalities that the narrator uses to bring these characters to life.

Rating: 5 stars