Girl from Above 0.5: Falling by Pippa DaCosta #spaceopera #scifi

Title: Girl from Above 0.5: Falling
Author: Pippa DaCosta
Genre: Space Opera
Publisher: self
Available: Amazon $0.00 (Kindle) 40 pages
Rating: 4.5
Rater: Pippa




Blurb:
Warning: Adult content.

Caleb Shepperd is a fixer. He'll do anything for credits.

When he's hired to track and kill a woman who's muscled in on a dangerous smuggler's territory, he figures it's just another day in the black...Until he's trapped in a silo with his mark.

'Just another day in the black' could turn out to be his last day alive.

A short story prequel to the bestselling science fiction series 'Girl From Above ~ The 1000 Revolution'.

Can be read at any time before, during, or after any of the main books in the series.

NOTE: This is a short story of approximately 35 pages.

*Originally published in The Galaxy Chronicles 2015 (since modified for re-release).

4.5*
What I liked:
More Girl from Above? Yes, please! Although this didn't feature One - my favourite character of the following series - having forgiven Caleb and still having a question mark over Fran I was more than happy to spend more time in their universe and learn something more about them. Gritty, tense, and action-packed with flawless writing. Just what you need for something to occupy your coffee/tea/beverage of choice break.

What I didn't like:
One of my personal bug bears - too much back matter! Getting to 74% and finding that was the end of the story left me feeling a little cheated. Yeah, I understand that authors want to include stuff to get you to read their other works, and it being a free story, but 25% of it is pushing it for me. Maybe I'm just greedy in wanting it to have been at least 90% story...

In conclusion:
A quick, action-packed fun read that gives some background to the events in the Girl from Above series or a taster to get you started.

Girl from Above 4 by Pippa DaCosta #spaceopera #scifi

Title: Girl from Above: Trust (The 1000 Revolution #4)
Author: Pippa DaCosta
Genre: Space Opera/Scifi
Publisher: Self
Available: Amazon $2.99 (Kindle) 172 pages
Rating: Pippa
Rater: 5*



Blurb:

“I didn’t sign up to die a hero.” ~ Caleb.

Chen Hung closes in.
The nine systems hang perilously close to a second fatal Blackout.
The lives of billions of people are at stake.
Does Captain Caleb Shepperd have what it takes to save the nine systems, or just himself?

Caleb never wanted to be a hero. That was his brother’s dream. Keep it simple, get away clean. Flying a ship packed with explosives into Janus orbit station isn’t simple, and there ain’t no way he’s getting away clean.

He knows the Fenrir Nine have sent him on a suicide mission, but he’s not about to lay down his life for them. He’s not a hero, and he sure ain’t no fool despite what the Nine must think. There’s another way, he just has to figure it out before the bomb he’s carrying ticks down to zero.

One survived; against the odds, the brutality, and the betrayal, she survived, but inside, in the part of her that’s real, she’s broken. Broken in ways that cannot be fixed.

She’s going back to where it all began, to Janus—to Chitec, to the ‘man’ who made her. It will take all that she is, all that she was, and all that she could be, to save the nine systems from the synthetics.

She will not fail.

“I am One, and I cannot be stopped.”

What I liked:
Grab some tissues and hold on tight! This final installment packs some serious emotional punch (one reason I generally go for SFR over straight SF, but here you get it without the romance), as well as a real adrenaline-laced ride through violence, more betrayal, sacrifice, and emotional awakenings. Basically all hell breaks loose. I finally forgave Caleb for being such a jerk as this a-hole of a reluctant hero has finally turned himself around from someone I hoped would die long before the end of the series to one I could cheer and feel for. Clean, crisp and gritty writing, with a couple of good twists towards the end, plus a satisfactory conclusion that wraps up the four books but leaves intriguing openings for more. Frankly I would love more of One's adventures, but could let Caleb fly off into the sunset because I can only see him reverting after all the character growth in the four books (and I don't want to see that).

What I didn't like:

*spoiler alert! Don't read this section if you don't want the ending given away* 

Well. It's a minor niggle, but the ending didn't sit entirely right with me. I think it's more because I'm perfectly willing to kill all my characters at the end of a non-romance, so maybe I expect other authors to do it (and there's really no reason why they should!). And the vague hints of romance/light romantic elements throughout weren't exactly resolved either - there's still an opening there for potential future books. Maybe I'm just too set into the SciFi romance groove to accept a non-romance ending when I felt the story was heading that way. That said, it wasn't enough to even justify taking off a half star, and didn't spoil my overall enjoyment.

In conclusion:

I feel like One ripped out my heart and squished it, before giving me a hug! This was a seriously good conclusion to the series, and a real tear-jerker, as well as providing some dark, acidic humor and high-adrenaline action. Those hoping for a romantic ending might be disappointed, but for fans of scifi action adventure who aren't offended by the sex and foul language, this is perfection. Recommended for those who like Firefly/Farscape.

Full disclosure: I received a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Girl from Above: Trapped by Pippa DaCosta #spaceopera

Title: Girl from Above: Trapped (Book 3 of The 1000 Revolution)
Author: Pippa DaCosta
Genre: Space Opera
Publisher: Self
Available: Amazon $2.99 (Kindle) 182 pages
Rating: 5*
Rater: Pippa




Blurb:
"When are you going to stop running, Caleb?"

Taking the synth to the casino capital of the nine systems seemed like a great idea at the time, but as Caleb Shepperd's many enemies close in, he only has one way out. He must betray #1001.

Caleb can't make the same mistake twice. Can he?

#1001 has a price on her head. The Fenrir Nine and Chitec will stop at nothing to secure her secrets. The very same secrets that riddle her synthetic mind with faults.

Her systems are failing.

And the one man she's come to trust may prove to be her enemy.

The sizzling, fast-paced, and action packed science-fiction continues in Trapped.

Reading order:
Girl From Above 1: Betrayal
Girl From Above 2: Escape
Girl From Above 3: Trapped
Girl From Above 4: Trust (coming soon)

WARNING: 18+ only. Adult content. Including sex, drug use, violence, & swearing.

What I liked:
Okay, okay, so I've finally stopped hating Caleb (though I still don't like him much). However, his total and utter remorse is finally winning me over, although I'd like to see him stop thinking with his libido (unlikely, I'm sure). Chuffed to see my suspicions about a certain character proved correct. Again, this is superbly written, fast paced and tension packed space opera. There are still the merest hints of a potential romantic HEA, but nowhere near enough for me to label this as a romance of any kind. The SF elements aren't too heavy for those afraid of being blinded by futuristic science, but enough that it satisfies my need for SF world building and the futuristic, advanced tech feel I prefer.

What I didn't like:
Caleb is still a jerk. But that's about all I can put under this heading.

In conclusion:
A tense and exciting penultimate book that has me anxiously awaiting book four with almost the same level of anticipation as going to see The Force Awakens. And that's high praise from me. This one also squeezed that extra star from me to make the 5, which my previous dislike for the 'hero' prevented me from giving. So there you go. Even a jerk can win me over if he's redeemed enough. Not for those who don't like explicit sex, violence, and lots of swearing but definitely for those who like flying by the seat of your pants action SF, and this one has quite a cliff-hanger ending.

I was given a copy of the book by the author for an unbiased and honest review.

Girl from Above: Escape by Pippa DaCosta #spaceopera

Title: Girl from Above: Escape (The 1000 Revolution #2)
Author: Pippa DaCosta
Genre: Space opera
Publisher: Self
Available: Amazon $2.99 (Kindle) 193 pages
Rating: 4*
Rater: Pippa




Blurb:
Caleb Shepperd knows Fran has her own motives for helping him escape prison, but he’s not about to let a little thing like past betrayal stand in the way of his next paycheck. Until he’s forced to meet with the sexy and psychotic pirate, Adelina Cande. They’ve met before. When he seduced her, cleared out her credit account, and left her for dead in-the-black.

Caleb figures Adelina holds a grudge when she plants a bomb on his ship and demands he steal a fleet freighter for her, that is, if he ever wants to fly again. Get him drunk enough and he’ll try anything once, but this time, he has to balance his own greed, with the needs of a vengeful pirate and the scheming of his dubious second-in-command, Fran. What could possibly go wrong?

In the heart of Chitec headquarters, #1001 enlists an eager young technician to aid in her escape. But it’s not freedom she wants. It’s revenge. The memories of a life that don’t belong to her demand she finishes what she started. She believes she killed Caleb, now she's targeting Chitec CEO Chen Hung, and not even the hopeful technician can dissuade her.

What I liked:
Again, well-written, action-packed, and gritty, with an extra few 1000 words taking book two into the novel-length category. A good twist that gave me the shivers and explained a lot. There's a new secondary character that has all kinds of alarm signals going off, but I could just have a suspicious mind. The plot thickens!

What I didn't like:
Caleb is still a jerk. Actually, I'm trying to decide if he was even more of a jerk or not, but either way I really don't want him getting a happily ever after. And this time around, I struggled to reconcile his sensitivity to certain violent events having spent a second term in Asgard where he does all sorts to survive, which seemed abruptly out of character for him.

In conclusion:
Overall I'm enjoying these books, though they are not for the sensitive. Dark, gritty space opera that doesn't hold back, lots of tension, good twists, and the story and characters continue to develop (even if in Caleb's case this means him becoming even more of a jerk). I guess the ending is still a bit of a cliff hanger, though maybe not leaving as much in doubt as the ending of book one. Still no obvious romance, though again elements are hinted at. I'm hooked into reading book three, but disappointed that the release day has had to be pushed back to next year.

Warning: Contains revenge sex, frequent expletives (sometimes in Spanish), and varying levels of violence and gore.

Girl From Above by Pippa DaCosta #spaceopera

Title: Girl From Above: Betrayal  (The 1000 Revolution #1)
Author: Pippa DaCosta
Genre: Space Opera
Publisher:
Available: Amazon $0.99 (Kindle) 179 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Rater: Pippa





Blurb:
"My name is #1001, and I am not ready to die." I’d only just begun to live."
When Captain Caleb Shepperd is released from prison, all he wants to do is keep his head down and earn a living smuggling illegal cargo through the nine systems. So when a synth stows away on his ship, and brings with her a crap-ton of problems, including guilt-ridden secrets he thought he’d escaped, he’d prefer to toss her out the airlock. The problem is, she’s priceless tech, and he’s fresh out of credit.
#1001 is not meant to exist. Created for a single purpose, she has one simple order: to kill. But not everything is as it seems. Buried deep inside, she remembers... Remembers when she was human. And she remembers what Shepperd did to her. She’s not ready to die, but she is ready to kill.

WARNING: 18+ only. Contains graphic adult content, including sex, drug use, violence, and a plethora of curse words. Not for the easily offended.


What I liked:
For 43K, the author has certainly packed a huge punch into this space opera novella. It had the depth of world building, character development and necessary back story without info dumping that I'd normally only expect from a longer work. And the action did not stop - there wasn't a slow moment in it. As a huge fan of androids/artificial humans, I was fascinated by 1001 and the theory and technology involved in their creation. I would have loved the entire story told solely in her POV. *possible spoiler follows* Francesca had me intrigued, though I figured her out before the revelation.


What I didn't like:
In a word, Caleb. Sorry, but I do not like jerks, and he has to be the biggest a-hole I've ever encountered in my reading history that is supposed to be the 'good' guy. I can tolerate one for a chapter or two if he's redeemed or shows signs of being redeemable but by the time the story showed any indication of it happening for him, I couldn't care less, regardless of what had driven him to be like that. I think his intention of letting a certain character *no spoilers* die was the final straw. Because of him, I'm not sure I'd read the next in the series. I also wasn't too happy with the cliff hanger ending because it makes the story feel incomplete and left me feeling somewhat cheated. I would expect this to therefore have been listed as first book in a serial rather than book one of a series.


In conclusion:
The author has packed a hell of a lot of action, character and world development into an explosive, often violent and sexually charged 43K. I would probably read more by her, but Caleb has potentially put me off reading the rest of this particular series even though I'd have loved to reach the end of 1001's story - if it had been told solely from her point of view, I would definitely kept reading. Sadly Caleb was not the 'hero' for me. If you like your space opera along the lines of Firefly and Farscape, with a hint of Bladerunner (and foul language, sexually explicit threats and casual violence don't put you off), this could be the space opera series for you. Not for the easily offended.