My love for science fiction started at a very early age.We would come home from school and my big brother was in charge. We had to watch what he wanted to watch, which was Star Trek. Captain Kirk was as much a part of our vocabulary as was Captain Kangaroo. This is why I was excited to receive a brand new science fiction book to review; Star Scout Rising First Trail, book one. Gary Darby is the author of this new trilogy. The world he has created reminded me a lot of the world in Star Trek. I liked the whole premise of an organization called Star Scout Command who try to keep peace in the universe. They are out there looking for new lifeforms and planets.
The main character, Del Baldura, is a junior scout in training. He is trying to make a name for himself, as his father was allegedly a Star Scout turned traitor.He fights many demons inside of himself to prove his own worth. Del is a solid character that I found nothing wrong with him. It was even kind of sweet that he has never been kissed. There is a very tiny romance started in book one between Del and a female Junior star scout, and I really hope things blossom in book two.
This book has many different characters and impressively each have very unique voices. I could picture each one in my mind clearly by the way they were written. Besides Del, one of my favorite characters is Sami, another junior scout in training. He provides the humor needed for this very tension filled book. I made the mistake of reading the book during my lunch time. I kept jumping around and getting so involved with the story I forgot to eat most of my lunch. There are many nail-biting segments that make you want to read this book fast. One of my absolute favorites parts of the book (I don’t want to say too much here and give it away) is where they are sent to explore a new planet and some natural disasters start happening. Some key words to wet your appetite here: earth shifts, volcano line,gaseous geysers,and acidic solution.Gary uses great showing as he describes what is happening here.”Del thought he could actually hear the ground moaning as if in pain from the violent and painful shaking.”I wish that I could share more with you here. but it truly would ruin it for you, the future readers.
Now, the best part of this book is the huge twist at the end. I don’t know why I always miss these things, but I only started to catch on to what was happening as the characters did.
Another thought, I have been reading other reviewers thoughts about this book. Some people commented about how there are several editing mistakes throughout the book. I didn’t notice them and I think it’s because I read so fast. I also get so engrossed in a story that all that I think about is what is happening in the story. This is what I have to say about this, we all live and learn and Gary has been very gracious about all of the feedback sent his way. This is the way of the life of writers; you write, they read, some criticize, you learn, more read and send praise, then you can rejoice.
I recommend this book to all science fiction lovers, those who also like to read fantasy and readers that would like to try a new genre and new author. I am so glad that I read a wide variety of genres. Life is much more interesting if you widen your horizons and try something new. I am excited to read book two in this series. There were many storylines left wide open. I hope some of my questions will be answered, but if they are not, there is always book three to fill the holes for me.