CASCADE FAILURE Ambit's Run, Book 1

Torian Brackett ably portrays the members of a colorful spaceship crew in this debut adventure tale, the first of a planned series. Jal, a wary, emotionally wounded ranger, ends up aboard the Ambit, a rattletrap spaceship, with Saint, a quick-tempered XO; Nash, a sarcastic engineer/medic; and Eoan, a holographic ship-AI who loves humans. Responding to a distress call from a deserted planet, they find one survivor of a massacre. When they set out to stop further destruction, things get complicated. Brackett contrasts a tranquil delivery of narrative with Jal's wariness, Eoan's mix of coyness and kindness, Saint's façade of crankiness, and Nash's quirky practicality. They're a prickly and heartwarming found family amid the whizbang of outer space. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2024]