Next month I will be releasing my latest Space Opera novel – Starforgers. Building up to that release, I’ll be talking a bit about the book and what inspired it. Starforgers is the first book in a trilogy that forms the wrapper or book ends of my sci-fi universe. The middle book of the Star Trilogy is already out – Starstrikers, and I hope to have the third and final book – Starveyors out at this time next year.
The Star Trilogy books chronicle the Great War between the Alliance and the Votainion Empire. In book one, Starforgers, we see how the war is started. In book two, Starstrikers we follow a special forces team mid-way through the war. Book three, Starveyors is the story of how the millennial war eventually ends. Each book is self contained in the time period in which it is set and contains its own unique cast of characters.
Starforgers is the story of Devon Ardel, a hard drinking, hard flying and hard fighting Stellar Ranger out to avenge the death of her best friend. In classic Western trope fashion, her story is very much about vengeance. When her best friend and fellow Ranger Hap is killed by a lone, Votainion starfighter, Devon focuses her anger on avenging her friend and killing as many Votainions as she can. Her quest for vengeance leads her to join a small, agile military group known as the Starforgers.
Starforgers is more than a simple revenge story. It is also a sprawling Space Opera with epic battles, multiple planets, political intrigue and sentient androids. We follow Senator Constantine and her efforts to become elected President of the Federation and protect the rights of sentient androids, known as Silicants. Senator Constantine wants to change the Federation into an Alliance, so that Outer Rim worlds will be protected from the dangers of a newly encountered, violent race of aliens – the Votainions.
The Votainions are encroaching into Federation space, searching for their long lost home world. They are conquerors who devour inferior species and exploit their resources. Led by Chief Strategist, Lord Kantor, the Votainion armadas burst into Federation space and lay waste to Outer Rim worlds. Kantor is following a vision and believes he will find the home world of his race somewhere in Federation space.
The Federation only has a handful of truly interstellar starships to protect itself. One of those starships is attacked and taken over by pirates, leaving a single starship to take on the invading Votainions. Captain Rik Raider of the SS Sokol must put together a rag-tag collection of transport ships and inferior military ships to defend the Federation.
Did I mention there was an insane android pirate Captain? Come back next time to learn more about that one.
Ken doesn’t mention it, but you can learn a lot about the background of some of these characters through his short stories.
Starstrikers was a good read with lots of action going on. Starforgers has less action but still had enough to keep me happily reading it. That’s to be expected, though, since Starforgers is the opening volley in the war while Starstrikers is in the middle of the war. I’m really looking forward to Starveyors and seeing how he wraps up everything.
Hopefully, he’ll also throw in a few short stories providing more background on various characters from these books. (HINT! HINT! NUDGE! WINK! HINT!)