Another engaging storyline by Glynn Stewart. It's a fun Space Opera with an appealing main character. The writing style is a bit flat, but I enjoyed the world building.

The consensus among the captains and admirals of the United Earth Space Force (UESF) is that their weaponry is fine, money need not be spent on advanced systems. Admiral Jean Villeneuve, the Chief of Operations, disagrees. It’s 2185 and piracy is rising at an alarming pace, which is one reason he agrees to meet with the chief executive officer of Nova Industries, who has arranged demonstrations of their newest interface drive and other inventions that will make them contenders should aliens invade Earth.

Annette Bond captains the Tornado, Nova’s latest vessel with a hyperdrive system, interface missiles, special armor, and the newest generation of heavy lasers. After taking the ship through her paces, she arrives at the research facility to come face to face with Villeneuve, the judge at the trial that ousted her from UESF. She’s now in command of the single ship that could destroy UESF, and her demonstration just proved that to him. But the Dark Eye Interstellar Surveillance System has been picking up disturbing signals and he needs her to rejoin UESF as Tornado’s commander. She accepts on one condition: this time he must back her up no matter whose toes get stepped on in the process.

With a crew that is half UESF and half scientists, Annette no sooner takes command of the new UESF vessel than Dark Eye’s emergency alert system sounds and twenty ships from the A!Tol (! pronounced like “tuck”) Imperium emerge from hyperdrive. These squid-like aliens announce they have annexed Earth’s solar system and a new administration will soon be put in place. Any and all resistance will be quashed. UESF has seventy minutes to comply. Tornado is UESF’s only hyperdrive warship and the alien armament will crush the others like bugs, but the admiral must try. Annette joins Alpha Squadron to attack the enemy, but Villeneuve also gives her special orders. Should the worst occur, she is to take Tornado to the other solar systems and wage war against the enemy as privateers. She and her crew are Earth’s last hope.

Thus begins Book One in the new Duchy of Terra science fiction series. While this adventure takes place in outer space, Stewart craftily blends science with the ways in which privateers of yore waged war at sea. Even one port of call is reminiscent of the buccaneers’ Tortuga, although not quite as safe as one might expect and where it’s best to remember the adage to trust no one. Stewart’s use of description and emotion punctuates just how alone they are in a world where the rules don’t always apply, nothing is known, and danger lurks everywhere. Imagination and cunning abound and Annette has just the right qualifications to deal with the complications arising from their encounters with slavers, kidnappers, pirates, and raiders. This is science fiction at its best in a realm where greed and corruption are rife, and every entity out for itself confronts those sworn to aid and protect. And the twist at the end is one few will expect.

"The Terran Privateer" eBook was published in 2016 and was written by Glynn Stewart (https://www.glynnstewart.com). Mr. Stewart has published nearly 30 novels. This is the first in his "Dutchy of Terra" series. 

I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story is set in the far future. The primary character is Captain Annette Bond.

Bond had stood up for what was right and found herself forced out of the United Earth Space Force. Now after successfully demonstrating the experimental hyperspace cruiser Tornado, she is back in the UESF. As the Tornado is christened into the UESF, an alien armada sails into the Solar System and in minutes destroys the UESF fleet. Bond and her crew are ordered to escape, go into exile and begin to battle the invaders as a privateer.

Bond and her crew find themselves forced to ally with pirates and slavers to move their mission ahead. But are these allies reliable? Can Bond and her single ship free Earth from their new overlords? Can she maintain her honor while surrounded by the thieves and cutthroats she is forced to accept as allies?

I thoroughly enjoyed the 11 hours I spent reading this 509 page science fiction space opera. I liked the characters developed for this story as well as the plot. The dark and unsavory world created for the pirates offer all sorts of plot opportunities. I have read a few novels by Stewart and I have enjoyed them all. I look forward to the sequel to this novel. The cover art is OK. I give this novel a 5 out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/. 

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

The Terran Privateer is another undemanding but satisfying space opera sci fi from Glynn Stewart. This particular book was fun since the reference was definitely a pirates of the Caribbean in space type of swashbuckling tale. As always, the focus is on good people trying to make good decisions; you get a lot of politics, a bit of space battles, and some fun triumphs along the way.

Story: When the Earth is conquered by an alien race, a set of 'survival' protocols come into effect - the seeds of a rebellion. But an outlyer "Elon Musk" type figure has made a scientific breakthrough and created several experimental prototype ships with his fortune; for his technology had shown the aliens were coming. Now flying one of the last Earth ships, the hidden prototype, Captain Annette Bond will have to become a pirate herself in order to begin to acquire the materials needed to free Earth.

The pirate aspect was fun and, of course, Stewart has fun asking questions about whether the Earth being conquered was a good or a bad thing. He also looks to have had a fun time coming up with the aliens and populating this new area of space. There are the usual round of side characters who get their moments outside of the main plot. And the hero/heroine is always someone you want to root for as they triumph against the bad guys.

This is not high concept sci fi; rather, it is accessible and very reader-friendly. There are no endless paragraphs of space flight, physics, or ships/weapons. Just people maneuvering in political arenas and making the best of the situations Stewart throws at them. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Really fun book to read. Earth discovers there are aliens in the galaxy. They invade Earth and several Earth ships escape. So begins Glynn Stewart's tale. It's a fast paced. Character development is superb, not too little and not too much. I really enjoyed the plot and am happily looking forward to reading the sequel.

I received a free copy of The Terran Privateer (Book One of The Duchy of Terra) by Glynn Stewart in exchange for an honest review. Earth’s downfall and subjugation to conquerors is directly attributable to that majority in power who quashed all technological progress out of fear that they would become obsolete and have to cede their power. Well, all that power is gone, now. Thankfully, for Earth, there is Captain Annette Bond, whom those in power tried to destroy for challenging their authority, and the Tornado, an experimental hyperspace cruiser filled with previously-suppressed technology. When an invasion fleet appears in the solar system, Earth’s outdated space force has no chance; it can only sacrifice itself to delay the invasion just long enough for the despised Captain Bond and the controversial Tornado to flee the system with a new mission. The new mission is to harry the Empire and to obtain, by any means necessary, the resources Earth needs to overthrow their conquerors. This story tracks the Tornado’s adventures in carrying out those orders.

I enjoyed this book and will definitely purchase the next book in the series: Duchess of Terra.

#TheTerranPrivateer #NetGalley

Glynn Stewart writes fun space opera. I could pick this apart for some holes in the story but where would the fun be in that. This has all you look for in a hard to put down book. Earth is in trouble. The only hope is a experimental ship with an out of favor captain. This had very good world building, interesting back story, and good character development. First in the Duchy of Terra series it tells a complete story with a good conclusion. The set up for the next story comes at the very end of the book and does not interfere with the plot. I found this and a second Glynn Steward book on Netgalley. I enjoyed both and will look for his books in the future.

I received a free copy of the book in return for a honest review.

This author has outdone himself again. In the beginning I was unsure of where this story would go, and then as I read it began to make sense.... and then it took a left turn and and I found myself enjoying it even more.

It is becomming more and more difficult finding a well written space opera. 'Privateer' was well crafted and not filled with imposible to understand scintific mumbo-jumbo. This is a classic scenario of the evil aliens taking over the Earth with a small rebel force to retake it. But wait, these aliens are not as bad as the seem. Stewart does a wonderful job describing the various species in the universe and making them just different enough to be strange but understandable and even likeable. The follow-on books in the series will be read with great anticipation. A few relatively minor issues were the standard caviat that the first few chapters were clumsy and awkward. Keep reading and you will be well rewarded. The author is being PC with the unnecessary inclusion of gay and lesbian situations that, while minor, were jarring when read.