Dark Sky

Starred review from May 22, 2017
In this heart-stopping sequel to Dark Run, what should be a straightforward retrieval mission for the crew of the spaceship Keiko becomes a scramble for survival. Capt. Ichabod Drift and his crew are offered a perfectly legal run to the mining planet of Uragan to retrieve some data files before the next superstorm hits, which sounds like easy money. The first sign of trouble comes when Tamara Rourke, Ichabod’s partner and a former secret agent, spots the ship of their rival, Ricardo Moutinho, already in Uragan City’s spaceport. A run-in with Moutinho’s people and a misunderstanding with the local constabulary do nothing to prepare them for the revolution that kicks off while the Keiko’s crew are separated five levels below the surface with a megahurricane raging above. Ichabod and the Chang siblings, mechanic Kuai and pilot Jia, decide to throw in with the police; Tamara, computer whiz Jenna McIlroy, and muscle Apirana Wahawaha become embroiled with the insurgents. Brooks writes action that is nearly nonstop and pleasingly varied while still allowing time for character description and development. This is a great space-rogue adventure in a setting with vast potential for further stories.

June 15, 2017
Former pirate and current smuggler Capt. Ichabod Drift is hired, along with the multiracial crew of the starship Keiko, to deliver a gift and retrieve sensitive information on the grim mining planet Uragan.What at first appears an easy job swiftly turns into a trap that splinters the crew and drags them into a morass of government corruption and civilian rebellion that tests their loyalties and threatens their lives. This sequel to Brooks' debut novel, Dark Run (2015), is another unabashedly imitative, high-stakes gambit for Capt. Drift, his African-American ex-spy business partner, Tamara Rourke, and the rest of the crew: Apirana Wahawaha, Jia and Kuai Chang, and Jenna McIlroy. This time, fast-talking Drift and his testy Hawaii 5-0-like comrades find themselves unexpectedly squaring off against a Brazilian smuggling rival, the shuttle Little Alligator, captained by the "bottom-feeding scum" Ricardo Moutinho. Soon both ships and crews are caught up in the middle of a convoluted Uraganian revolution; entrapped "neck-deep in shit," the Keiko must forge fragile alliances with both Moutinho and former Uragan City Security Chief Alim Muradov in order to escape certain catastrophic destruction. Brooks once again delivers an undemanding, up-tempo space adventure peopled with dashing, flamboyant, entertaining, and irreverent characters in a humorous but exceedingly violent romp that is both touching and laced with profanity.

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June 15, 2017

The crew of the Keiko, still reeling from Capt. Ichabod Drift's secrets (revealed in series opener Dark Run), need a new smuggling job. Spending their ill-gotten gains on a pleasure planet, they are offered a job they can't refuse by a crime boss with a long reach. It seems simple enough: head down to the mining planet Uragan and retrieve a message before a planet-wide storm shuts down access. But everything goes wrong, and Drift and his crew members are separated as they get pulled into a local revolution. Ironically, the former pirate ends up on the side of law and order. VERDICT Fans will delight in the new adventures of Brooks's motley space crew. While the setting is mostly underground on the Soviet-influenced mining planet, the action is pretty much nonstop, making this a good bet for fans of light space opera.--MM

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