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First Strike
-- SNEAK PEEK: Stella STELLA JAYNE WALSH FROZE, the hair on the back of her neck rigid as her body reacted to the sense that someone was behind her. Relax, she thought. You know what to do. A creak in the floor gave the person away and Stella whipped around, snatched the man’s fingers, and bent them back on his hand. He cried out and fell back. She thrust her palm into his chest and, as he coughed, she sent him to the ground by kicking his legs out from under him. He grunted as he hit the floor, cringing from the pain. She pounced on top of him and punched him in the chest again. “Okay! Okay! Stop!” he shouted. “Stella, that’s great, no, I think you, yes—” said another man behind her. Her self-defense coach called to her, and his hands touched her arms. “Wow! Great job, Stella,” Brian said, “but what’s one thing we could have done differently here?” He turned to address the rest of the class as they stood in a circle around Stella and Dan. Brian pulled Dan up from the floor, and Dan shook his head as he massaged his sore fingers. Stella was about to apologize when her phone rang, calling to her from her bag on the bench next to the sparring area. It was the special ringtone for the hospital, Mercy General. “Hello,” Stella said. “Yeah, oh … okay. I’ll be right there.” When she hung up, she felt a touch on her arm. “It’s 2019, Stella. I can’t believe you still have a flip phone,” said her friend Sarah. “I know, but I only need it for actual phone calls, and I hate texting,” Stella said. She zipped up her winter jacket and brushed her hair out of her face. “You okay?” Sarah asked. “Yes, I’ve got to get into surgery, but other than that—” “No, I mean, you kind of pissed off Dan, I think.” They both glanced over their shoulders to see Dan scowling at them from the other side of the room. “He’ll be fine,” Stella said. “Are you sure you’re all right? It’s not been that long since the shooting.” 
Giveaway! --
My thoughts:
Honestly, this book was so much fun! Just plain, good fun! It isn't always easy to strike the right kind of balance between humour and action in a sci-fi book, but First Strike with its upbeat, tongue-in-cheek tone checked all the boxes for me. The main characters were adorably sweet: Stella, dedicated to her chosen medical field of saving lives in ER, Drew, whose optimism and open-mindedness is absolutely contageous, Rider with his tough ethical diemma, Zimmer, who, despite his best efforts, will never go unnoticed due to his sartorial choices and many others equally likeable- I loved them all! Even the main villain (or should I say villainess?) is memorable in her inexplicable love of everything related to one particular colour! There's an underlying message of cooperation, fairness and inclusion, and it is very refreshing to have strong female characters who aren't teenagers or young adults. The story is told in short and snappy chapters that take the reader on a space adventure where the main charcters have to quickly adjust to the new environment and make life-and-death decisions, following their instincts, moral compass and sometimes relying on luck. I wish the trading practices on Kodon were more unequivocally condemned and I wish we learnt more about the achenemy race's actions (not just their looks) to understand the situation, but I guess we will in the following books. If you're a fan of unusual superheroes and/or love Star Trek, don't miss this one! Comments are closed.
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