"a non-stop science fiction action adventure romance"
Prejudice is defined by Webster's as "an adverse opinion or
leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient
knowledge" and "an irrational attitude of hostility directed
against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed
characteristics." What if the faith of an Empire was based
on such a prejudice? What if every member of a society, from
the smallest child to the highest executive and military
official, was steeped in such dogma? What would it be like
to be the subject of such prejudice? Worse still, what would
it be like to be raised in such a society, steeped in such
beliefs and one day look in a mirror and discover yourself
to be exactly what you had always feared and despised. What
would it be like to face the rejection of those you loved
most, to fear for your very life on a daily basis? Meet
Gabriel Ross Sullivan, poet, smuggler, mercenary, a man born
with a rare genetic gift that had forced him to fake his own
death. Captain Chasidah Bergren, pride of the Sixth Fleet had been
court-martialed for a crime she didn't commit and sentenced
to the harsh prison planet of Moabar, a fate worse than
death, a world from which there was no escape. No one
mourned the loss of her crew more than Chaz, but she had
never received the order that she had been accused of
ignoring which had resulted in their deaths. With no way to
prove her innocence, Chaz's life had been reduced to finding
a way to survive in the hostile environment her world had
become. The last thing she had expected however was to be a
attacked and sexually assaulted by a Taka guard. The attempt
had failed and Chaz had added another name to her death
toll. Check that, the last thing she'd ever expected was to
come face to face with a ghost from her past. Gabriel had
come to liberate her. Why "Sully" of all people? True they
had played a game of cat and mouse across the universe both
professionally and personally. Was their mutual attraction
enough for him to risk exposure? No sooner has she reconciled herself to the fact that the
man both she and her government had thought dead was indeed
alive and well, when they are attacked again, this time by a
nightmare she had thought had long since been destroyed -- a
jukor, a genetic war experiment gone awry. The project had
been banned decades ago. The creatures were uncontrollable
killing machines. Gabriel needs Chaz's help. Someone was breeding jukors on
Marker, the planet where Chaz had grown up as a military
brat. Sully and his crew planed to destroy the illegal labs.
Chaz knew the planet inside and out and her knowledge of the
military systems would be invaluable to their cause. It may
very well be a suicide mission but what did she have to
lose? Where Sully is concerned -- only her heart! In the close quarters of Sully's ship, old feelings
resurface, passions are stirred, but Chaz can feel that
Sully is holding part of himself back. The brash, cavalier
space pirate seems almost vulnerable. When she accidentally
discovers his dark secret she is shocked. She had been
raised to fear and despise the Stolorths because they
possessed these dangerous abilities but had never a known a
human to possess them. She had immediately feared Sully's
Stolorth friend and crew member until she had been assured
that the man's blindness prevented his use of the genetic
trait. She had accepted Ren, giving him hope, but Sully's
power was not curbed by a disability and it was more
powerful than Chaz could have ever imagined. Not only had
Sully invaded her heart and soul, he had access to her mind
as well. For him it was a double edged sword. Her every fear
and doubt had the power to wound him deeply. For her it
would test every ounce of faith and trust she had in the man
she had come to love with all her heart. While they are sorting all this out, the reality of the
jukor lab on Marker is confirmed. There they discover that
the conspiracy goes all the way to the top of the Imperial
government, involving fanatical members of the Purity
Englarian religious sect and the presumptive heir to the
Sullivan fortune as well! How much more personal can their
mission get? Help comes from surprising places as well when
they are aided by Chaz's estranged older brother Thad and
her ex-husband Philip Guthrie. At least one more jukor lab
remains, but this one is not planet bound. The race
continues to destroy the lab before war destroys the galaxy!
Find out if they succeed in the next installment, SHADES OF
DARK. Linnea Sinclair has created a perfect balance between well
defined world building and equally well defined
relationships. Bravo. I tend to feel that when you have one
without the other the read becomes rather flat. Sully the
clever and handsome daredevil would not engage the reader
nearly as well without that touch of vulnerability which
gives him empathy for the blind Stolorth, Ren, who is an
outcast among his own kind and feared by all others.
Rescuing Chaz seems like a much greater risk when you
realize that her acceptance of him means even more to Sully
than the success of his mission. Chaz has a considerable
amount of indoctrination to overcome, which is handled very
believably. She has a very analytical mind which helps her
to sort out the facts when her biases and emotional turmoil
threaten to overwhelm her. I love the fact that although the
physical attraction is undeniable they take the time to
really know each other and overcome the obstacles between
them. A chase - how refreshing! The relationships in this
tale create empathy for the characters that can only add to
the adventure because we care what happens to them. As for
the world building, all I can only say is - Wow! What an
adventure
this was. In a world far beyond our place and time, war is being
orchestrated by men who hunger for power and fanatics who
hate because of ignorance. Greed and prejudice, how
far-fetched is that? GABRIEL'S GHOST deals with all of our
touch points, race, religion, politics, and the wars that
result because of our differences. We survive because of the
people in our lives that make life worth living, as do Sully
and Chaz. I highly recommend GABRIEL'S GHOST for a non-stop
science fiction action adventure that had me riveted from
the very first page. I laughed, cried, and held my breath
throughout and can't wait for the rest of the story.
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted May 7, 2008
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A life-and-death battle where giving up the ghost has a whole new meaning... After a decade of cruising interstellar patrol ships, former Captain Chasidah Bergren, onetime Pride of the Sixth Fleet, finds herself court-martialed for a crime she didn't commit -- and shipped off to a remote prison planet from which no one ever escapes. But when she kills a brutal guard in an act of self-defense, someone even more dangerous emerges from the shadows. Gabriel Sullivan -- alpha mercenary, smuggler, and rogue -- is supposed to be dead. Yet now this seductive ghost from Chaz's past is offering her a ticket to freedom -- for a price. Someone in the Empire is secretly breeding jukors: vicious and uncontrollable killing machines that have long been outlawed. Gabriel needs Chaz to help him stop the practice before it decimates imperial space. For Chaz, it's a matter of survival. For Sully it means facing the truth about who -- and what -- he really is. The mission means putting their lives on the line -- but the tensions that heat up between them may be the riskiest part of all. Genre: Paranormal Romance, Futuristic, Sci-Fi
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