Author Gillian Andrews (https://www.gillianandrews.com) published the novel “Termination Shock” in 2019. Ms. Andrews has published 11 novels. This is the first book in her Interstellar Enforcement Agency series.

I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of violence. The story is set in the far future. The primary character is Ryler Mallivan Bell. Bell is on board the training ship Commorancy. They are unexpectedly attacked and boarded by the Avaraks. Bell is Captain of a freighter and is only there for a three-week space defense course. Bell and a handful of survivors gather for mutual survival. He is the most senior of the group by a few days, so the role of leader falls to him. Bell leads the small group in their escape from the doomed ship. After that, the group seems to fall into one dire situation after another. Their journey is both complicated and sometimes assisted by their young Tyzarab companion, Zenzara.

The very young girl was aboard the training ship with visiting dignitaries. Bell had saved Zenzara's life and now, as per the custom of her people, she must repay to him the life debt. Life becomes more complicated after another alien encounter. Zenzara begins to develop into something far more than just an 8-year-old Tyzarab girl.

I enjoyed the 9+ hours I spent reading this 331-page science fiction novel. On one level I found the plot a little simple and repetitive. It also seemed to gloss over the facts and the laws of physics occasionally. That said, I found the story to be a fun space opera read. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a 4 out of 5.

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This one starts with a bang and simply doesn’t let up. Mallivan tells the story in first person viewpoint (I), which works well as he and the small group of random folks who didn’t immediately die around him, struggle to survive. This sets the pattern for the whole tenor of the book as he and his team find themselves constantly on the back foot and in the middle of an interstellar crisis. This entertaining, action-packed space opera adventure is set in a universe where humanity has split into Flatlanders and Spacelanders. Neither like or trust each other and Mallivan is definitely a Spacelander, who doesn’t feel any kinship at all with the Flatlanders who are making a grab for a huge chunk of space that doesn’t belong to them, thus destabilising the fragile peace with the various alien species also sharing the space.

I enjoyed Mallivan as a main character – he is entertaining and vulnerable, yet still capable enough that he didn’t become overly irritating. Though the small alien girl, Zenzie, who he initially rescues quickly becomes a little pain. If I have a grizzle with this book, it’s that she becomes insufferably annoying and I like the fact that Mallivan also feels that way about her. I also think her character journey unbalances the story – I’m hoping that she will find herself away at boarding school during the next slice of the adventure, Interdicted Space which I’m definitely going to be getting hold of, as I want to know what happens next. Overall, this was a great deal of escapist fun with plenty of action, thrills and fights. Recommended for fans of space opera action stories. The ebook arc copy of Termination Shock was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest opinion of the book.
8/10

I felt like I strolled through this book. There was a lot going on but it just did not get in any hurry to get all the world building, backstory, and character development revealed. I liked the concept. The world building was new. The characters were interesting and the plot kept my attention. First in the series I will be interested in seeing where it goes in the next book.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I like space opera, I like underdog heroes, I like the rag tag bunch turning into a strong team/family. Unfortunately, for me, this book was just missing something. After a while I got tired of the certain death, except not really, scenarios, and I had a hard time buying into the plot. There wasn't much depth to the story and it seemed like the characters were just being moved from plot point to plot point and I wasn't sure I liked the main character.

Guardians of the Galaxy sorta

This books is being marketed to a YA so perhaps we are not supposed to be too concerned with logical and practical continuity and if so, this book is fine. It's basically a reworked Guardians of the Galaxy story in which a group of unrelated species, under the lead of a human from the outlying colonies. This is the first book in the series and it is about how they come together, a kind of slapdash jumping from frying pan into fire over and over.

We get some back story on each of the cast of characters and a good idea of their personalities and the role they will play in the series.

The story itself is too unlikely – among other things it's amazing how quickly the bad guys can steal, reverse engineer, replicate, and deploy a secret technology, and later, how not frightened they are by the idea that a tech they have built might destroy the universe.

Anyway, it's a quick read that's fine for kids.

Termination Shock
Interdicted Space
By Gillian Andrews

3 Stars

Introducing the Interstellar Enforcement Agency Series.

Book One – Termination Shock
Book Two – Interdicted Space

Lodged tightly in the Sci Fi & Fantasy genre these books feature a young captain Rye, and his motley crew of aliens from most of the major races across the galaxies.

The story line flows well as the crew go from one disaster to the next, building friendships and enemies as they travel. The captain seems to come up with the best solution on a continual basis to pull the crew from certain death.

The books are light reading in the Sci fi genre and engage the reader to keep turning pages to see the end result.

This title has been reviewed by www.books-reviewed.weebly.com

This title was provided by Netgalley and the publisher in return for an open and honest review.

#TerminationShock #NetGalley

Interstellar Enforcement Agency ...... I would like to say this book is funny, charming, exciting and adventurous and that I look forward to the next one in the series