The
Guardian Angel of Farflung Station by Edward Hoornaert
Second
edition, 2018
Farflung
Station, in the outlying reaches of Civ Space near the lawless border
planets, has seen better days. Piracy by the so-called Free Folk of
these fringe worlds has shriveled trade, battered the economy and
left the formerly prosperous outpost dingy, crumbling and sparsely
populated. One of its two wheels has been shut down completely. In
the other, half the lights are extinguished to save money, cracked
windows never get repaired, corridors and ventilation ducts gather
dust as their cleaning robots deteriorate, and the critical life
support systems need constant maintenance.
Principal
Officer Priam “Duke” Dukelsky has all the right characteristics
for his job as chief of security for Farflung. He’s strong, brave,
intuitive, skilled in both the martial arts and in human
interactions. In fact, someone with his qualifications, not to
mention his pedigree, should have a much more prestigious posting.
Duke’s still in rebellion against his aristocratic, authoritarian
parents, though. He likes Farflung just fine.
A
good security officer notices things others miss. When Duke spies a
dirty waif of a girl sneaking through the corridors of Farflung, he’s
both suspicious and curious. He discovers that she’s the victim of
a childhood attack by pirates. Orphaned, her tongue torn out,
Sandrina was cast into space to die. Instead, she found her way to
Farflung, where she has grown to womanhood. She scuttles through the
air vents and lurks in the shadows, doing anonymous good deeds to
adjust the karmic balance in the aftermath of the evil she has
personally suffered.
Meanwhile,
a senator from Civ Space is scheduled to visit Farflung, on the way
to negotiations with the Free Folk, hopefully to re-open the trade
routes. Senator Striden’s chief of security arrives ahead of time
to survey Duke’s preparations, and turns out to be a fierce female
warrior from the mountain tribes of Heartsrest, Princess Lakshmi
Andrea de Bourbon Savoy Braganza – or Lockey, for short. Gorgeous
and domineering, she decides she wants to bed the dashing Duke.
That’s what Sandrina wants as well. This romantic triangle is
interrupted by a vicious attack on the station, just as the Senator’s
ship arrives. Despite their conflicting desires, Duke, Sandrina and
Lockey must work together to save the Senator’s ship, the
inhabitants of Farflung, and the future of the peace deal.
The
Guardian Angel of Farflung Station is original, lively, funny,
romantic, and profoundly entertaining. Ed Hoornaert deserves his
nickname as Mr. Valentine, if only for his skill in creating
distinctive, memorable female characters. Sandrina is wonderful –
clever, feisty, deeply wounded but never a victim, a match for any
man, including Duke, despite her diminutive size and inability to
speak. Lockey’s character is less nuanced, but still impressive,
especially when the author reveals her deepest desire and her
greatest fear. I really enjoyed her colorful, stilted manner of
speech. She sounds a bit like a Russian, which actually fits quite
well with her personality.
Duke
is courageous, skillful and sexy, the perfect hero. In fact, he’d
probably be too perfect, if it were not for his interactions with the
two females. He’s vulnerable to both of them, in different ways.
The Heartsrest warrior princess manages to defeat him at martial
arts, something no man has ever done. Sandrina’s influence is more
subtle and profound. She touches something in him, healing some of
the alienation that drove him to Farflung in the first place.
The
book is full of colorful details about the society and environment in
Farflung, including delightful space oaths. There’s lots of action,
too, as the unlikely alliance of Sandrina, Duke and Lockey struggle
against nearly impossible odds to defeat the pirates. The description
of Sandrina’s “hidey hole”, where she guides the other two in
order to escape from the pirates is, if you will pardon a pun, truly
stellar. I don’t want to say more, so as not to reveal Sandrina’s
secrets.
In
short, this novella is great fun. If you enjoy space opera with
strong female characters, I highly recommend this quick and
satisfying read.
