Book Log 11/2015 - Ian Whates: Pelquin's Comet, The Dark Angels #1

[jacey]

Space opera, adventure, treasure hunting, a motley crew, aliens and some corporate intrigue are the building blocks that form this science fiction tale from Ian Whates. Pelquin is a free trader/ The Comet, his ship, and motley crew, bear some resemblance to the Fireflyesque scenario (no bad thing in my book) in which a rag-tag bunch of adventurers skirt the barely legal side of free trade amongst a collection of worlds. Pelquin, the captain has a lead on a cache of valuable alien artefacts, but to get at them he needs to finance his expedition with a hefty loan from the First Solar Bank. He gets the loan, but also acquires a sharp-suited banker, Drake, who is a lot more than he seems to be, and, when his engineer, Monkey, is injured, Pel casually acquires a young woman replacement who's not quite sure who or what she is, but super-soldier wouldn't be far off the mark.

This is a set-up book for more adventures and so there are a lot of potential avenues unexplored, but on this first showing I'd be happy to read more books set in the dark Angels universe. Some questions are answered, more are asked, so if (like me) you like your spaceship crews a little rough and ready. Morally ambiguous while retaining the general designation of good-guys, this is for you. It's well-paced, twisty and gives a good glimpse into the possibilities of Pelquin's universe. Oh, and it's got a gorgeous cover - art by Jim Burns.