Title: Letting Lier and Finding Pax
Series: The Solar Sailors Saga 01
Author: Harper Moon
Genre: Science Fiction/ Vampires/ Dark Fantasy
Length: Novel (200 pages)
ISBN: 978-1-62798-571-0
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (21st April 2014)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥2 ½ – 3 Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: For refusing the crown and renouncing his title, Prince Lier was eternally banished from the planet of Arden. After finding asylum in a Deep Space colony, he took a position in a bordello as the Master of Ceremonies. During Lier’s exile, Emperor Sardius I conquered Arden and slaughtered Lier’s people. From the destruction arose a new species dependent on blood. Seizing the opportunity, Sardius praises vampirism and blueprints mass blood manufacturing with Lier’s blood as the key. Lier is not only the last of his kind, but his blood is strangely addictive.
On a mission to capture Lier, Commander Raze, son of Sardius, can’t help but try it for himself. When he does, he experiences strange flashbacks of himself with Lier. Tense relations between captor and captive blur the line between past and present.
During the perilous journey to Arden, forces opposed to Sardius attempt to rescue their lost prince. Raze’s mission changes from retrieval to survival. Soon it becomes clear that, although neither man recognizes what the other has become, this meeting is not their first. And by no means will it be their last.
Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4894
Review: Lier was banished from his home world, Arden, after he refused the crown; now he is the Master of Ceremonies at a bordello on AkoII, a Deep space colony, surviving the best he can. A routine night turns into a nightmare though when a group of enforcers from the Atrosian Empire visit and their Commander sets his sights on Lier. Raze has one mission: capture Lier and take him to the Church on Aboa, his father Emperor Sardius I – who conquered Arden – needs Lier to complete his plan but Raze faces opposition from those who oppose Sardius and his blood-drinking ways. Lier and Raze have a deeper connection though and when Raze starts having flashbacks to a past he can’t remember his treatment of Lier becomes harsh. Can Lier break through Raze’s consciousness to reach Pax or will Sardius succeed in his quest for more power?
Hmmm, well I have to say that this was a very surprising interesting story that has left me still going over everything in my head. Lier is an Ankar, Pax is a Lionne, two races that share Arden equally with a shared monarchy but can never be together. Lier rejects his crown and is banished and then Arden is conquered and his entire race is wiped out… fast forward 24 years and now the conqueror wants Lier for his blood and sends Raze to bring him in. And then the real fun begins, as Raze is a cold man whose sole focus is getting Lier to Aboa but after he tastes Lier’s blood things begin to get weird. We see many flashbacks from Lier and Pax’s past and we see their relationship playing out before us in the flashbacks so you know the depths of their friendship and their romance.
Being honest, it’s hard to describe what is really happening in this story other than just the basics because there is a lot of stuff that seems to be going on but is never quite clear. So the basics are Sardius wants to conquer everywhere and after making a discovery on Arden he wants Lier so he sends off his ‘son’ Raze to capture Lier, we discover that Raze isn’t really who he thinks he is and we discover Lier can take a hell of a lot of abuse. There are other characters who are involved, but their parts aren’t exactly clear. Seth, Clay, and Gene are all characters we meet who become something more in the story. But trying to follow just how they fit in was beginning to give me a headache. So I just figured that we were seeing the story from their eyes so they must be important.
The storyline is a good one; it is just not clear as to what the storyline is trying to say or where it is going; hopefully the next story in the saga will make it clearer. There are many escapes and re-captures and a mysterious infection that adds some excitement, Lier and Raze’s relationship is very complex and isn’t one I can really describe other than to say it isn’t very pretty and there is abuse and anger that fuels it, all I can say is that most of it appears off page. The vampire side is very intriguing, they are definitely not the type of vampires that we all know, and it does add a very interesting aspect to the story. There is some good news for the two of them but it comes near the very end and we are left to wonder what comes next and what everyone’s next steps will be.
I recommend this to those who love science fiction mixed with dark fantasy and a story, which features abuse, but not on page, who loves an interesting storyline that has more to come and just a touch of happiness for our poor MC’s but with an ending that is a bit frustrating.