In the far future, alien technology captured by the Union Earth Privateers has fueled Earth’s tenuous expansion from a single planet to a handful of systems across the Orion Spur.Victoria Marin, captain of the U.E. Condor, and her crew of Vultures have been running dry for months. In danger of losing her command and her credibility if she can’t locate fresh salvage, she locks onto the distress … distress signal of an alien ship in hopes of valuable cargo. What she finds instead is First Prince Tavram, the heir apparent to one of the largest empires in known space. Tavram’s ship has been crippled after narrowly escaping an ambush and his would-be assassin is coming to finish the job.
The Vultures launch a high risk mission to rescue the prince and recover every last scrap of xenotech they can before the hunter catches up to his prey. But there are more dangers than notorious interstellar assassins when it comes to ferrying alien princes across the stars, and Victoria must contend with dangerous alliances, old grudges, and even her own government if she means to bring her crew home alive. Whether she succeeds or fails, the consequences of her choices will affect the path of all humanity.
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If you are a fan of Brin’s Startide Rising series, you’ll love this. Humanity emerges onto the galactic scene, only to find they are outclassed in every way by star faring cultures who have been at it for millenia. It takes all of the cunning of humans used to fighting just to survive. Looking forward to the next book in the series!
great read looking forward to more
Fun story. Not very deep, just a slightly above average adventure yarn. Never gets to involved where 9oe would have to pay close attention.
Bit of Star Trek tendencies in all the right ways. Too much language and techno babble in first couple of chapters but it disappears into a fun and page-turner read.
Nice to see a sci-fi writer that isn’t focused on end-of-the-world scenarios! Very well conceived world-building, with excellent action writing. The book keeps you involved with the various characters and the plot flow. Looking forward to the next Vulture story!
This could well be the start of a fresh set of reads for me from an author I had not encountered before. Loved it.