The Girls from Alcyone: Merchantman by Cary Caffrey

Title: The Girls from Alcyone: Merchantman

Author: Cary Caffrey
Genre: Scifi/Space Opera (short story)
Publisher: Alcyone Studio (July 13, 2013) 
Available: $0.99 at Amazon
Rating: 4 stars
Rater: Pippa




From the publisher:

Sigrid Novak embarks on an all or nothing mission to secure vital supplies for the girls' homeworld of New Alcyone. But with a price on her head the size of a planet, and pursued across the galaxy by the Council for Trade and Finance, finding a willing trading partner proves a more complicated problem than Sigrid thought.

Fortunately, there are always the Merchantmen

What I liked:

I loved The Girls from Alcyone so this was an immediate buy for me, and I wasn't disappointed. Another exciting adventure with the lovely, kick-ass Sigrid, a space station, betrayal, and technology from the super-advanced to the seriously dodgy. It fulfilled all my main wishlist items for scifi/space opera.

What I didn't like:

I can't really say there was anything I didn't like, aside from it was over too quickly. The only reason I couldn't rate this five stars like TGfA is that it just didn't have the same emotional punch as the novel, and I felt I had to reflect that in my rating.

In conclusion:

As an addition to Caffrey's universe, this is a quick, enjoyable read, and long enough to give you a decent taster of his work. I would personally, however, recommend reading The Girls from Alcyone first because of the complexity of the world building, and references made to events in the novel during Merchantman. Give me more!

The Girls From Alcyone by Cary Caffrey

Title: The Girls From Alcyone

Author: Cary Caffrey

Genre: Science Fiction Romance

Publisher: Tealy Books

Available: $3.30 at Amazon.com

Rating: 4.75 stars

Rater: Pippa

Plot Summary:

Sigrid and Suko are two girls from the impoverished and crime-infested streets of 24th century Earth. Sold into slavery to save their families from financial ruin, the girls are forced to live out their lives in service to the Kimura Corporation, a prestigious mercenary clan with a lineage stretching back long before the formation of the Federated Corporations.

Known only to Kimura, the two girls share startling secret—a rare genetic structure not found in tens of millions of other girls.

But when their secret becomes known, Sigrid and Suko quickly find themselves at the center of a struggle for power. Now, hunted by men who would seek to control them, Sigrid and Suko are forced to fight for their own survival, and for the freedom of the girls from Alcyone.

The good:

Despite the number of years this story is set over at the beginning, it's fast paced but full-bodied. The characters are enthralling, the technology intriguing and detailed without being overbearing and slowing the story down, and the descriptions vivid. It's also a lot of fun, with some wonderful humour amongst the action. The romance in it is sweet and touching, even in the bedroom scenes. You can't help but empathize with the two main characters, and while the story is complete in its own way, there are threads left hanging for a sequel (which I'm now awaiting impatiently!).

The bad:

About the only flaw in this for me was a couple of instances of head-hopping (something that drives me insane despite the fact I've been guilty of it myself) but not enough that it pulled me out of the story - it just niggled a fraction.

In sum:

This is an exciting, action-packed, well-thought out scifi story with a sweet romance at its heart. Hurry up with the sequel!