Date: 16 Mar 2014 07:41 Title: Day One: Farewell, My Lovely: I
I really enjoyed this and can't wait to read the rest. I thought the lines in the play were particularly well written, very creative. I also enjoyed the banter between officers; it was smooth and very natural. I could easily picture them in my head.
Author's Response: Very glad to hear you are having the chance to check out this story. Admittedly it is not a quick read, shorter than my previous Star Eagle novel, it's still quite a hefty little tome (if one were foolish enough to sacrifice trees for it).
I'm certainly very curious to hear any thoughts and observations you might have. I wish I could take credit for the play but that belongs to a writer infinitely more talented.
Date: 16 Mar 2014 02:28 Title: Day Eleven: Exit Music: IV
Good for you, Star. You'll beat it. A fitting end for an officer who started off as an outcast and ended up as a member of the family. I hope she beats it and succeeds without her career going down the drain, but that's a story for anoter day, isn't it? A gripping, twisted, wonderful read from beginning to end and one I very much enjoyed. I look forward to more. :)
Author's Response: Thank you very much for all your reviews, I'm very glad that you enjoyed this ride. I had never tried my hand at a murder mystery before and I'm happy to hear that I seemed to have pulled it off for the most part. There are no immediate plans for another Star Eagle novel but if you want to read more about these characters, check out the previous novels at StarEagleAdventures.com as well as the two vignette series and the many short stories available.
Date: 16 Mar 2014 02:23 Title: Day Eleven: Exit Music: III
DAMN YOU ALEX! KISS THE GIRL!
*ahem*
Well, good for him being friends and all but still ... I refuse to give up the dream!
Sweet end for them. Not what I wanted, but good nonetheless.
Author's Response: Sorry to disappoint but a full blown romance for these two was just not in the cards. At least not yet. I think you are right and there is obvious chemistry between these two but Nora will need some time before she can trust herself with another relationship. The pain of losing the only man she has ever truly loved is still too fresh.
Date: 16 Mar 2014 02:20 Title: Day Eleven: Exit Music: II
Ah, the wrap up meeting. It felt very much like a good little bow on all this, clearing up any lasting questions. I'm glad to see Decaux is going to get the help she needs (poor girl) and that Owens isn't going to throw the book at anyone (thumbs up, sir!). Really pleased with the interactions here ... I'm hoping for a certain couple to get together at the end (*cough* Clancy/Nora *cough*).
Author's Response: It's mental health awareness day on Eagle.
Date: 16 Mar 2014 02:15 Title: Day Eleven: Exit Music: I
LOL, great landing! Deen might be the Troi of this ship. Every time she gets behind the controls of a shuttlecraft she ends up crashing it into something. A planet. A shuttle bay. A saucer section. Loved this.
Author's Response: I hadn't thought about that but you're right. She needs to be kept away from the piloting controls moving forward. Just to be safe, she probably shouldn't even be in a shuttle ever again.
Date: 13 Mar 2014 21:33 Title: Day Ten: Storm Warning: X
Action packed, brimming with tough decisions and near death. I thought Xy was gonna bite the bullet there.
What a rush.
Author's Response: Had to be done. Story needed a good ol'fashioned bang for an ending.
Date: 13 Mar 2014 21:23 Title: Day Ten: Storm Warning: IX
NORA!
Win. All of it.
Author's Response: Yay for Nora, saver of innocent lives.
Date: 13 Mar 2014 21:16 Title: Day Ten: Storm Warning: VIII
Wow. A lot to digest there and a lot to take in. The Dark is banished Light, the Dark is going to destroy things and the Light is going to destroy them first.
Rough family reunion. Xy's gotta hoof it to get to safety, the yacht has to hoof it to get to him and Decaux is crazy, but innocent. Wow. Well done weaving all this together, sir. Well done.
Author's Response: Thank you very much, I'm glad it worked out the way it did and managed to make sense at the same time.
Date: 13 Mar 2014 20:57 Title: Day Ten: Storm Warning: VI
So, the Nebula is alive. Good. It's trying to kill them. Not good. I thought for sure Star was going to play hero here again, but instead she's letting Culsten take the role -- good. She needs to start dictating more and putting herself at risk less.
Admittedly, I'd have loved to see Owens play the role but he's the captain. Probably a good idea not to let a hostile lifeform have access to his body.
Author's Response: Yeah, Owens totally wanted to do it, seeing that he must be realizing by now that he has stood on the sidelines for far too long. And yet he ain't the right man for the job.
Date: 13 Mar 2014 20:50 Title: Day Ten: Storm Warning: V
Oh, man, these Vulcans are DESPERATE to make him one of their own. They want to marry him off and get him to procreate ... too fast, man, too fast. Xy is right to go off and meditate. Maybe find some weapons. A good lawyer. A ship would be nice. These people don't want his help, they want to indoctrine him.
I bet the nebula has something to do with that, too. Prolonged exposure over the years has warped their minds it seems.
Author's Response: A good lawyer? Excellent idea. LOL.
Date: 13 Mar 2014 20:46 Title: Day Ten: Storm Warning: IV
Oh, man, the nebula IS alive. Damn. It has to see the deployment of the array as some sort of attack or something and, like a body defending itself, is doing the same here ... man. It's gonna break the Eagle if things don't change. Heart racing chapter here, great action.
Author's Response: Good thing too, right? So far it's been mostly talking and speculating. Now something is actually happening for a change.
Date: 13 Mar 2014 20:40 Title: Day Ten: Storm Warning: III
Whoa, Xy, the girl is moving on you fast and shields are failing, sir. I like the way she goes for it here. That must have thrown him off (rightly so) but there is a definite attraction between them. I'm sure her motivations are not as pure as they appear, but it's not like he minds. He doesn't, really.
Still, these Vulcans are a strange sort and ones I wouldn't trust very far. I'm hoping Xy has a Plan B if things go sideways.
Author's Response: Me things she's moving at warp speed and even Xylion is only going at impulse. She wants it bad.
Date: 13 Mar 2014 20:35 Title: Day Ten: Storm Warning: II
A rescue! Oh, about time. Good on Deen for the message idea, well done. Looks like the Eagle is going to be put in some serious danger rescuing their people (I'm sure what happened with Xy is going to make waves), but Katanga is right: you have to save your people.
Author's Response: Leave no man behind, and all that.
Date: 13 Mar 2014 20:31 Title: Day Ten: Storm Warning: I
Well, they got off the planet. But Xy stayed behind. I'm with Leva, I think Xy stayed behind for the girl as much as anything else ... but that nebula is getting more and more interesting. Is it sentient? It seems to be actively working against the vessels in it.
Hmm.
Author's Response: Or perhaps there was something wrong with that module they got from the Vulcans. And Xylion, staying behind for a girl? Surely not.
Date: 11 Mar 2014 21:29 Title: Day Nine: Last Seen Wearing: VI
Stranger and stranger. I wonder what exactly is attacking the ship? Is it the nebula itself? Hmm.
Author's Response: It's definitely something and it's not being very nice.
Date: 11 Mar 2014 21:27 Title: Day Nine: Last Seen Wearing: V
Oh, Decaux! You were the unstable one, weren't you? Good grace you really put on a chase here, thrilling from beginning to end. Nora now has the killer in her sights but she has a more to deal with, I think, than just Decaux at the moment.
And Alex. Good job, dude. Keeping the dream alive!
Author's Response: This story was in need of a little bit of action. Too much sitting around and talking about things is not going to get the job done.
Date: 11 Mar 2014 20:43 Title: Day Nine: Last Seen Wearing: IV
Oh, man. I thought for sure we'd get Yunt on this but Decaux? She seems like such a nice (if not misguided) girl. The separate interrogations were fun and reminded me very much of an old-school Law and Order episode (Nora was clearly Ice-T). So, now the question becomes which one of them is really telling the truth?
And what the devil has caused the ship to lurch like that?
Author's Response: Yeah that's an old trick (new to Nora) and a great way to play others off against each other.
Date: 11 Mar 2014 20:36 Title: Day Nine: Last Seen Wearing: III
And so the first conspirator is brought in and with such a dramatic show, too! I like the way Nora confidently handles all this, she's really in her element here and seems to finally have a grasp on the entirety of the investigation. Alex was a laugh with the "I'm the good cop" line. Still shipping these two.
Author's Response: Okay, yeah, I admit, they are kinda cute together. No promises though if this means that they'll actually end up with each other.
Date: 11 Mar 2014 20:00 Title: Day Nine: Last Seen Wearing: II
Oh, Star. She survived and survived only because she was addicted to a substance that has some nasty effects (albeit some beneficial ones). The Doc knows this is going to end poorly but he's being a friend, which is exactly the play a friend would make.
So, I'm wondering now what this nebula is doing to folks ... nice job bringing it back around to Owens lost night. What's the connection?
Author's Response: What, indeed. We'll find out soon.
Date: 11 Mar 2014 19:51 Title: Day Nine: Last Seen Wearing: I
Oh, wow. Xy. Man. I knew that was going to be the sacrifice play (Starfleet officers love that play, the good ones anyway) but I really hoped that they'd be able to find a way back without him doing it. Poor Deen. She's got to feel really guilty about all this ... the engines blew, the controls blew, the thing just blew up in her face. Srena is hurt and needs help ... this is blackmail but a voluntary kind. Brave man, Xy.
And you get the girl, too. Eh, not too bad.
Author's Response: I'm sure there is sacrifice clause in the Starfeet contract. It's the noble thing to do.
Date: 20 Feb 2014 21:19 Title: Day Eight: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: VI
Oh, a conspiracy! I'm not surprised it was Kolrami or Yunta, but I'm sad Decaux was involved. I'd had hoped that she managed to stay out of this messy business, but a woman scorned and all ...
I'm assuming Star isn't dead, otherwise Nora might be just a little happier at all this ... nice to see Clancy embracing some spirituality, too, and his words to Nora are spot on: there are some days I think my past sins hurt people I love, too, and it's a thought process that isn't unique I feel.
Author's Response: You're implying Nora would be happy if Star had bit the dust? Ouch. She ain't that cold. But it appears you're right, is she were dead she certainly wouldn't be feeling frustrated over the deal she'd made. But yeah, the conspiracy really seems like the go-ahed theory here.
Date: 20 Feb 2014 21:11 Title: Day Eight: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: V
Oh boy. Star might have just pulled a Spock here and bit the dust, but at leas the way she went out was the way of a hero. I liked the way she took charge and called out her captain for making her a glorified secretary (which she was) and came to an understanding with him.
Looks like Hopkins is the guilty party for setting this in motion, though and the question has to become what is making the people do this?
Author's Response: Yeah, if you think you're about to die, you might become less discerning with your thoughts and opinions. First her victory over Nora and now even the captain is starting to see her in a new light. This would have been a pretty good day for Star. You know, if she weren't stuck in a Jeffries tube about to be cooked alive.
Date: 20 Feb 2014 21:05 Title: Day Eight: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: IV
Hopkins is innocent of killing Gedar, which is good, but she seemed to be spaced out like Lif there earlier ... which leads me to believe that the starboard power tap problem was caused by her in that spaced out moment.
As for Nora and Star, it was a change to see Nora practically begging to save her friends and something I didn't expect. But I'm glad to have seen it and I think Star is too ... the ladies have come to an understanding which should make the rest of this trip easier to stomach.
Loved the dialogue here and the friendship on display. Well done.
Author's Response: Glad you liked it. I quite enjoyed writing this scene because it shows a completely different side of Nora. She may be a hardass but she is incredibly loyal to her friends and will gladly take a bullet for any one of them. Or worse, force herself to play nice with her arch-enemy.
Date: 12 Feb 2014 19:29 Title: Day Eight: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: III
Oh man, things are looking bad. Gedar was the spy (circling back brilliantly to the first theory proposed in this murder investigation) and Lif was covering for him. The guy's nice but he's got to be playing a role and certainly he's still covering for someone ... I think he'll go down with the ship, so to speak, to save Hopkins skin. But we'll see.
Meanwhile, Nora is just getting more and more determined for it to be anyone BUT Hopkins and poor Clancy is taking the brunt of it all. Very understandable what's going on between them and how Nora is withdrawing ... I hope he can get through to her.
Author's Response: She ain't taking this well and clearly not thinking straight now that her best friend is being implicated.
Date: 11 Feb 2014 19:14 Title: Day Eight: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: II
So, Star has herself a lead and seems to be about ready to hunt it down. There's definitely a spy aboard, but where exactly can he be? Who is he and is he connected to Gedar's murder?
Author's Response: More questions, as one has probably come to expect from this tale. Not to fear, answers are not too far away now.