A mysterious distress call draws the crew of courier ship Hermes to what appears to be an empty, drifting troop vessel–empty except for the blood and gore spattered corridors and a lone survivor locked in a holding cell. Drawn to the handsome, traumatized man, the crew’s comm officer, Isaac Ozawa, makes Turk his personal responsibility, offering him the kindness and warmth he needs after the … horror he experienced.
Isaac knows firsthand what it’s like to be different and an outcast, and this cements their bond. Once a promising pilot, Isaac was left with a damaged body when his brain didn’t meld with the high-tech implant needed to fly fighter ships. Turk’s brain is no better. The result of a military experiment gone wrong, his natural abilities have been augmented to a dangerous degree.
When an amoral, power-hungry admiral kidnaps Isaac and uses him to convince Turk to become the cataclysmic weapon he’s hungered for, it will take Turk’s strength, the ingenuity of the Hermes crew, the help of the enigmatic Drak’tar, and Isaac’s own stubborn will to save them.
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I’m not typically a seeker of sci-fi. To me, it’s one of the hardest genres to write, (sincere appreciation for those who have imagination that ticks in this way) but it’s also difficult as a reader to become enveloped in another world, somewhere typically in the far-out future, and not feel wildly out of place or lost in a barrage of details.
But this book? I love it. I absolutely love it to death. Every time I re-read it, it’s an action-packed, wild thrill through space with unique and believable characters, nail-biting drama, and world-building that Angel Martinez deserves an in-person applause for. At no point in this book am I overwhelmed with too much information about alien species, languages, or customs. Every element Martinez includes is woven into the narrative in such a way that the reader is capable of learning alongside Isaac, appreciating his confusion, but without experiencing it themselves. An incredibly difficult endeavor, I must imagine.
Isaac Ozawa is comm operator onboard the Hermes, an independent vessel hired for run-of-the-mill jobs throughout space. Once trained to be a pilot, Isaac’s implant that made it possible to meld with the fighters didn’t take quite right, and the neural damage took his dream away. But still, at least he has a job in space– right? The Hermes comes upon what seems to be an abandoned vessel, and once the (incredibly diverse and lovable) crew board to inspect the situation, they find a lone survivor of an alien massacre. Turk is Corzin, a warrior from a planet that has remained isolated. Tentative communications with ESTO fleets has allowed Turk off-world access to live among outsiders as part of an exchange program. But mix a power-hungry admiral, a people misunderstood and assumed to be barbarians, and incredible technologies known by the mysterious Drak’tar, and you’ve got a treaty-breaking situation edging on all-out war.
And in the midst of this incredibly fun and amazing plot, there is a tender, beautiful romance blossoming between Isaac and Turk. The two are so polar opposite, and yet at the same time, so terribly similar in their struggles to find a place within the world, that they really are the missing pieces in one another. There are also a few low-key side romances that were very fulfilling. I selfishly wish certain Hermes crew members got little short stories, simply due to being so adorable!
Gravitational Attraction is a fantastic read that always leaves me a little hungover in the best way. I highly recommend this book, even if you’re not terribly keen on sci-fi. Because neither was I, and Martinez has introduced me to a genre I didn’t think I’d quite get, and now appreciate so much.
I absolutely love this book. Great sci-fi and romance at the same time. You won’t want to stop reading until you reach the end, then you’ll fruitless search for more words.
This is my all-time favorite sci-fi romance novel EVER. I am in love with this book, the characters, and the worlds created. Turk and Isaac are my OTP and I will love them and this book until the day I die. The romance between them is galaxy-destroying perfection. There is nothing about this book I would change.