As I bit into the sandwich, I listened to the silence. There were no monitors active, no scanners running. More than that, there was no warm, gruff voice to comment on my work, or banter with me, or quiz me on medicine and theology. That was the loneliest part of the silence. I was so rarely lonely since we came to space—
Radialloy by J. Grace Pennington
Book Blurb:
The year is 2320. Andi Lloyd is content with her life as the assistant to her adoptive father, a starship doctor, but her secure world turns upside down when she begins uncovering secrets from her past. When her father mysteriously starts losing his mind, she finds that she can no longer count on him to guide or help her. With mutiny breaking out on the ship, and two factions desperate for a valuable secret she holds, she must race to save her father and herself before time runs out.
Mary’s Review:
Radialloy brings together so many wonderful sci-fi elements and drops readers into a world where warp speed and propulsion provide the means for life aboard the starship Surveyor, and where a young girl must navigate between finding and losing her family in tremulous circumstances.
One thing that stood out to me was Andi’s loyalty and dependability; how she could always be counted on to step up during a crisis regardless of the danger to herself. And the way in which she and her father took care of each other was heartwarming to see. She’s the perfect protagonist for this plot in so many ways, with all her doubts and loneliness resulting from loss, and with the strengths she does not see, including her determination and care for others.
Another thing that made this book stand out was the lack of romance. It bothers me when authors include romance just because they feel the book ought to have it to appeal to certain readers, and when the MC {main character} is sidetracked from an important goal because of the love interest. Here, though, the story is told beautifully without unnecessary points and told in such a way that I would be comfortable giving this to a younger audience knowing they would appreciate the story as well, and perhaps even see a bit of themselves in Andi.
There were some things with grammar and the medical aspect of the story that could have been done better. For example, in an incident in which someone’s artery is ruptured, the character is not taken to sickbay until after Andi has finished treating a less critically wounded patient, and the patient doesn’t lose consciousness or show symptoms of a ruptured artery. There were also some other points regarding the message, though, overall, these things blurred into the background as I was pulled into the story. The author writes the suspenseful moments so well and really makes the reader feel for Andi as she navigates life when her world has been turned on its head.
I gave the book four stars, and I’d recommend it for those who look for action/adventure fiction, clean sci-fi, and a cast of characters you can’t help rooting for.
This first book in the series is free on Amazon. Check it out and get swept into Andi’s world.
Rated:
