Perilous Choices

Gate Ghosts, Book 11

By: S. H. Jucha

Narrated by: Nicole Poole

Length: 13 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Opportunity is presented to Admiral Cordelia. Imperium’s Presiding Executor Gaketork sends emissaries to establish communications with her, and she responds by installing a comm system aboard the executor’s transport. The Imperium governor, who has become sentient, uses the new comm system to send her critical data.

Cordelia shares the governor’s information with newly assembled Trident squadron commanders. She directs the commanders to scour another executor’s territory and free suborned worlds of mercenary Radags and Krackus overseers.

Imperium executors are incensed at the numerous returns of empty freighters and savaged peacekeepers from their territories. Many suspect a traitor is leaking sensitive information to the conclave, and they hunt for the culprit.

Far away from the empire, Julien supports the uplift of relatively undeveloped races. A Yeret-inhabited world near the Queller anomaly requires additional water, and slinging water ice asteroids at the planet for annuals will suffice.

Supporting other races proves problematic. The Monkfreds, a symbiosis of two telepathic races, struggle to survive. On their home world, hostile predators target the young. The plan to send the matriarchs, their calves, and their riders to other planets is failing.

During rescue of Monkfreds from an inhospitable environment, the conclave finds burning wreckage. The matriarchs used the heat to keep the calves, the riders, and themselves from freezing to death. The wreckage is identified as Utilimat. Now the question remains: Who destroyed the warships meant to protect the Monkfreds?

©2023 Hannon Books, Inc. (P)2024 Hannon Books, Inc.

Keeping the positive vibe.

Thanks so much. In today's world of mostly looser stories, Scott manages to keep things upbeat. I get enough ugly news, when I want an escape, I go to this author. Hope you like it as much as I did.

Anyone else getting Axis Crossing Fatigue?

I've been a big fan since the beginner of the silver ship series. As I've just finished Book 11 of Gate Ghosts, my brain is becoming stew. The Silver Ships and Pyrean books were well paced and well compartmentalized. By the time Aritifice was wrapped up in Sojourn and the Pyrean series merged with Alliance (Silver Ships), it was a new series with new players. But Axis Crossing is just getting way out of hand. The author isn't closing one "chapter" before bringing in 2, 3 or now 4 different vectors. IMHO it would have been better to keep this series just to the Axis Crossing and maybe the Krackus, then reset with another time jump before all of the wormhole explorations began. Half the time in this book I lost track of which species / planet a new protagonist belonged to as a new chapter opened.

Another great book in the series - more first contacts

Loved this book in the gate ghost series as Julian and the conclave continue to make first contact with new races and planets. As well as follow up with sisters who continue to adapt and change and are welcomed to the conclave. Also we see new digital entities emerge.

Slow background building

knowing that this is a large series, you have to accept that some books set the stage for future adventures. this one does not have a lot of action, but there will hopefully be a payoff in the next book or two.