BOOK REVIEW: Pelquin's Comet by Ian Whates

Pelquin's Comet (The Dark Angels #1) by Ian Whates

My rating: 4.7 out of 5

English author Ian Whates has been around for a while now as a publisher, editor and author and I've been meaning to give one of his offerings a crack for some time, especially since he has been responsible for publishing stories from a few of my firm favourite sci-fi writers like Peter F. Hamilton & Eric Brown. Based on this, I naturally assumed that maybe Whates has the same good taste as me (IMHO) and finally sought out some of his own work. What caught my eye first was Pelquin's Comet, a shortish novel and the first in a (so far) two-part series called The Dark Angels. It turns out that it's a bloody good story, spinning my wheels up pretty good and arousing my imagination wonderfully because it's brimming with many solid sci-fi tropes and elements.

Right from the start, Whates gets you thinking, and you just know that you're in for some twists and turns. That's exactly what you get, a medium-to-fast paced story with fun and interesting characters and a plot that keeps you thinking right to the very last page - just my sort of thing. It's a fun ride, travelling faster-than-light with the crew of the small trading ship Pelquin's Comet under the command of the rather full-of-himself Captain Pelquin. The ship is crewed by a stereotypical bunch of rogues who come together to form an efficient crew, their intention to make as much money as possible from their various ventures cavorting around the galaxy. In this story, we're taken on a quest to acquire a cache of ancient technology left behind by the Elders – an advanced civilisation which seemed to have abandoned the galaxy centuries ago. The Elders, no doubt (and hopefully), will play a much larger role in the greater story arc, as will many of the key characters.

Pelquin requires a considerable loan from a bank to facilitate the recovery mission, which he is able to secure, but not without Drake who is one of the bank's agents (along with his unique and more-than-meets-the-eye alien companion), tagging along for the ride. Also added to the crew of the Comet as a stand-in engineer is Leesa, a woman who does not even know who she really is herself. What becomes clear early on, is that these two, as well a few others who pop up along the way, are a whole lot more than who they initially appear to be. We're given glimpses into their somewhat nefarious pasts which I assume will become much clearer as the series moves forward. The book comes to a satisfactory conclusion but it probably askes more questions than it answers and requires you to seek out the next book in the series The Ion Raider for more. The action is good, not too graphic yet gritty enough for a story such as this and pretty much perfect for a general audience. My only genuine critical observation would be that I found myself now and then wanting to see a little bit more of the various locations that are visited in the story. But the world-building is still more than adequate, the author no doubt saving the word count for the guts of the story.

The combination of fun and intriguing plot, effective characterization and an easy flowing style makes this a very entertaining read. It's a boisterous space romp between the stars and I'd recommend it to anybody who enjoys solid grass-roots sci-fi to be immersed in and chill out with. That's my purpose for reading books like this much of the time and why I enjoyed it so much.

4/5 for concept

5/5 for delivery

5/5 for entertainment

= 4.7 out of 5

Buy the ebook HERE (Amazon)

Buy the paper book HERE (Book Depository)

FREE DOWNLOAD! Thud Ridge by Jack Broughton [EPUB & PDF]

Due to the generosity of some avid book enthusiasts you can now download an electronic version of the excellent Vietnam war memoir Thud Ridge by Col. Jack Broughton (see below). This book is no longer in print either in paper or ebook form, so this is a great opportunity to get yourself a copy.

This is the story of a special breed of warrior, the fighter-bomber pilot; the story of valiant men who flew the F-105 Thunderchief 'Thud' fighter-bomber over the hostile skies of North Vietnam.

DOWNLOAD: epub pdf

Book details (from Wikipedia):

The book is based on Broughton's tour of duty between September 1966 and June 1967 as Vice Commander of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. The narrative is anecdotal in nature, a commentary of his observations of persons, aircraft, and events during his tour, more or less chronologically, but without dated references. Few individuals are identified by other than first or nicknames, but Broughton develops most as characters through descriptions of their career backgrounds. Broughton's accounts of missions "up north" were enhanced in both accuracy and verisimilitude by verbatim transcriptions of radio transmissions he recorded using a small tape recorder mounted in the cockpit of his aircraft.

In Thud Ridge Broughton is highly critical of the U.S. command structure directing air operations against North Vietnam. He blames micromanagement by the highest levels in Washington down to the Thirteenth Air Force, a command echelon based in the Philippines, for losses of men and aircraft that he characterizes as "astronomical" and "worthless". He is particularly critical, however, of the "bomber mentality" management by generals who came up through the Strategic Air Command and then occupied key command slots in the war, which was being fought by pilots of the Tactical Air Command.

The book came about when, at the completion of his tour of duty, Broughton and two of his pilots were court martialed by the USAF for allegedly conspiring to violate the rules of engagement regarding U.S. air operations. Although acquitted of the most serious charges, Broughton, who had been personally relieved of duty by Pacific Air Forcescommander Gen. John D. Ryan, was subsequently transferred to an obscure post in the Pentagon, allegedly as a vendetta because his punishment was so slight. Required by office protocol to work only two or three days a month, he used both his extra time and his bitterness at the Air Force to compose Thud Ridge while he awaited approval of an application to appeal of his conviction to the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records.

After his conviction was overturned and expunged from his record because of "undue command influence", Broughton retired from the Air Force in August 1968 and had the memoir published by J.B. Lippincott. The book appeared soon after as a Bantam paperback, with reprint editions in 1985, 2002, and 2006.

Click HERE to check it out on Goodreads.