This is Nathaniel’s and Persephone’s first official assignment from Bob, the Lord of Creation for this universe. They can’t afford to screw it up. The job sounds simple enough. Travel to the Rekar’ree star system, find the source of evil and stop it from spreading to the other neighboring star systems. The only problem is that Rekar’ree is on the other side of the galaxy.Bob provided them with a … with a solution. He has devised a stargate, of sorts, for them to use. All Nathaniel and Persephone have to do is pilot their ship to the Antares star system, and fly through the black hole. It sounds easy enough, but nothing escapes a black hole, and Persephone’s explanation about what is going to happen to them doesn’t help; neither does the AI’s carelessness.
When they get to Rekar’ree. It is evident that Bob made a mistake. There is no way that the planet can sustain life. All Nathaniel has to do is make a quick orbit, and run a few sensor scans to prove that no one is there.
High above the surface of the second planet are dirigibles, the size of cities, floating in the atmosphere. Their job just got a little bit more complicated. When they met Tempek’kee, it will get a lot worse. He and his acolytes are evil and must be dealt, permanently.
Dealing with the s.o.b. and his goons isn’t the end. It is the beginning. Tempek’kee’s employer, Hyperion Corporation also has to be dealt with too.
Persephone’s half-sister, Aphrodite, let Nathaniel know that she is interested in him, and she did it right in front of Persephone. Nathaniel wants her too. What man wouldn’t want to lay with the Goddess of Love? Can he resist her charms? Does he have too? Is there a way to have her and stay faithful to Persephone?
This story has plenty of science fiction in it as well as gods and goddesses. They are not omnipotent nor are they invincible, and they have their problems too. This book has plenty of action, horrific acts, and humor. It is written so it can be read as part of the Space Rogue series or independent of it. I hope you enjoy it.
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The Dark Citadel is hard to classify as to genre. There are all the Gods, including Hades and even Merlin is on board. In the end they are all working to the same goal and that is what counts. Don’t worry though, there are plenty of battles to deal with.
Space travel with Greek gods acting like teenagers – 3 stars
Bob assigns a small, nearly invincible spacecraft, the Unity, to a crew of individuals named for Greek gods.
Persephone is teamed up with Nathaniel (an augmented human), Merlin (the Artificial Intelligence who oversees the ship) and some hangers-on.
The adventure starts by entering a wormhole on the way to dealing with an evil set of folks over at the Rekar’ree star system.
Prepare yourself for some ribald talk, good-natured ribbing and some serious god-like violence. Death, dismemberment and revenge play important roles in motivation.
It is an interesting but not quite captivating concept of having classical gods having hissy fits and sibling rivalries with a bit of Hades thrown in.
Received as an ARC copy, this is an honest review. This is a good, strong story with an interesting characters and good plot.
Received as an ARC copy, this is an honest review. This brilliantly intense, bone chilling story becomes one of survival and revenge for captain Nathaniel and familial crew of mythical gods. A simple mission goes very dark as Nathaniel and his wife are captured by Tempekee; tortured and violently sacrificed as their host believes he is an all powerful god… and can do what he likes to his people. Tempekee underestimates the power that the power of his guests… it could get deadly. Highly recommended.
For the record, I received an Advanced Review Copy (ARC) of this book with the request that I leave a voluntary honest review for other potential readers. Having said that, here is my honest opinion and review of this book. The Dark Ctiadel is a unique and rollicking adventure tale filled with a fascinating take on the ancient gods of Greece. It contains elements of both space opera and mythology (godly relationships are quite complicated). I found the characters to be witty, wacky and lots of fun to read. From start to finish, the story is funny and quite entertaining with tons of action and adventure for everyone (inspite of the darker actions that take place). Originally, I felt that the amusing elements were out of place when juxtaposed against the darker elements of the story (the villains and their evil actions). However, I realized that the idea was to not take itself too seriously and to poke fun at conventional reality. Bob (what kind of name is that for the creator of the universe) is a fascinating character who pokes fun at everything he created as well as himself. A space pirate (who was originally a mortal) married to the former Queen of Hell was certainly not something I expected to see. The story is well written and easy to read, and believe me it is well worth the read. I hope to see the next book in the series released soon so that I can read it as well.