In the Black

By: Patrick S. Tomlinson

Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan

In a demilitarized zone on the border of human space, long range spy satellites are mysteriously going quiet, and no one know why. Captain Susan Kamala and her crew are dispatched to figure out what's going on and solve the problem.

That problem, however, is a mysterious, bleeding-edge alien ship that no human vessel could hope to match in open conflict. But, it's not spoiling for a fight.

Now, the Captain and her crew must figure out how to navigate a complicated game of diplomacy, balancing the needs of their corporate overlords, and the honest desire for a lasting peace between the two races, all without letting a long-standing cold war turn hot.

©2020 Patrick S. Tomlinson (P)2020 Recorded Books

Plausible and well written characters

A pet peeve of mine is lazy writing. When an author makes a character act in a way that is contrary to how he has developed merely as a short cut to get from A to B. Here, the characters and the plot were both internally consistent. The story was reasonably plausible in terms of science, characters, and plot. This is not hard science fiction and therefore I hold the scientific plausibility to a lower standard. I enjoyed the characters, the alien characters and culture, the story, and the quality of the writing. Recommended.

Better than most Milfic sci-fi

Really good aliens, good space navy particulars, interesting world setting. I’d love to read more of these adventures. Very satisfying.

Solid Sci-Fi - but with mystery cliffhanger and no followup book yet!

Like the other reviews have said, this is a solid Sci-Fi novel in the old-school model. Multiple complex characters and events happening in a truly fleshed out universe. Really enjoyed it until I got to the end and realized it's been 5 years and no followup. So expect to be left hanging.

Extraordinary Space Opera, mystery & Adventure!

A fantastic space opera with all the trimmings, epic space battles, deep under the hood on spacecraft and weapons, futuristic culture, and very interesting aliens, this is a very masterful writer and I look forward to more works, great storytelling, and excellent characters!

Excellent

Hope the ending leads to a series! This author does great space and reader does the story justice. Anxious for more!