Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Fortune's Pawn
    Fortune's Pawn
    Fortune's Pawn
    Audiobook11 hours

    Fortune's Pawn

    Written by Rachel Bach

    Narrated by Emily Durante

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Devi Morris isn't your average mercenary. She has plans. Big ones. And a ton of ambition. It's a combination that's going to get her killed one day-but not just yet.

    That is, until she gets a job on a tiny trade ship with a nasty reputation for surprises. The Glorious Fool isn't misnamed; it likes to get into trouble, so much so that one year of security work under its captain is equal to five years everywhere else. With odds like that, Devi knows she's found the perfect way to get the jump on the next part of her plan. But the Fool doesn't give up its secrets without a fight, and one year on this ship might be more than even Devi can handle.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateNov 5, 2013
    ISBN9781452686035
    Fortune's Pawn

    Related to Fortune's Pawn

    Titles in the series (3)

    View More
    View More

    Related audiobooks

    Science Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      You Talkin’ To Me?

      Feb 1, 2024

      You Talkin’ To Me?
      3 min read

    • Article

      You Talkin’ To Me?

      Apr 25, 2024

      You Talkin’ To Me?
      3 min read

    • Article

      LeTteR BOcKs

      Jun 23, 2022

      LeTteR BOcKs
      11 min read

    • Article

      Wendy’s WALKOUT

      Jun 24, 2020

      “Well, I wasn’t expecting that. If you could get hold of the feather that was last year’s WW’s Best Dieter (Feather Category), you’d still be able to knock me down with it. This could even be the sort of crisis that requires two trips to the fourth e

      3 min read

    • Article

      Laura Kelly Is A Demon

      Jul 17, 2023

      It’s a damp November night, and in the bowels of an abandoned industrial building somewhere outside Shotts something strange is happening. The gates of hell have opened and demons are stalking Scotland. Clad mostly in black, they’re a ragtag bunch of

      2 min read

    • Article

      LeTtER BOCKs

      Feb 2, 2023

      LeTtER BOCKs
      11 min read

    • Article

      LeTtER BOCKs

      Feb 2, 2023

      LeTtER BOCKs
      11 min read

    • Article

      LeTteR Bocks

      Aug 4, 2022

      ◻PLEASE find attached this trademark from a box of eggs, which appears to show a chicken lifting its leg to crack off an eggy one. Susan Butcher, Australia ◻FORMER Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been criticised for meeting an ex-KGB agent without h

      13 min read

    • Article

      Jim Sturgess

      May 3, 2020

      Jim Sturgess
      3 min read

    • Article

      Michael Caine On Brexit, Boris Johnson And Big Breaks: ‘I’ve Done 150 Movies. I Think That’s Enough’

      Oct 18, 2021

      Michael Caine is 88 and walks with a stick. He has a gammy leg and a dodgy spine and reckons the only time he leaves the house these days is when his wife has the time to take him out for a drive. The other week he was sent a screenplay that had his

      8 min read

    • Article

      Letter Bocks

      Jun 22, 2023

      Letter Bocks
      11 min read

    • Article

      Letter Bocks

      Mar 9, 2023

      Your Correspondence with VIZ Editor Hampton Doubleday Viz Comic, P.O. Box 841 Whitley Bay, NE26 9EQ letters@viz.co.uk ◻ CONSERVATIVE party chairman Lee Anderson says he is in favour of the death penalty for the most heinous of crimes, but only in cas

      10 min read

    • Article

      Cruel Means, Bitter Ends

      Nov 10, 2021

      “In order for this speech to mean anything to me, I’ll need to dispense with the usual demagoguery and, instead, make an attempt at honesty. With this in mind, there is one thing I have to make clear. I’m not in this race to serve your interests, but

      12 min read

    • Article

      Fancy THAT!

      Apr 24, 2024

      "If you’ve been here for the long haul, you might remember that we have a wealthy friend called Alan, who made a lot of money running a building company and who likes to throw a lavish fancy dress party at his huge house on New Year’s Eve or thereabo

      3 min read

    • Article

      King of Cool

      May 5, 2019

      King of Cool
      9 min read

    • Article

      Letter Bocks

      Nov 18, 2021

      letters@viz.co.uk ON A RECENT visit to Denmark I saw this remarkable poster inside a bus. Needless to say, I put my foot through the bus window and was hospitalised for a considerable amount of time. However, I was perfectly fine and I didn’t even ha

      13 min read

    • Article

      LeTteR BooKs

      Aug 3, 2023

      LeTteR BooKs
      13 min read

    • Article

      Letter Books

      May 18, 2023

      Letter Books
      10 min read

    • Article

      Richard Arnold Ard N I

      Dec 31, 2019

      Why David Tennant is kicking off the new year by tapping into his dark side… You must be minted – you’re the hardest working man in showbiz! I’m very cheap. I’ll turn up for anything. Seriously, though, it’s all about the writers. There’s so much

      2 min read

    • Article

      Death to Character Descriptions

      Dec 27, 2018

      Here’s the secret to writing compelling character descriptions: Cut them out entirely. A writer’s most powerful tool is the reader’s imagination. Don’t waste it, especially when you’re introducing characters and the particulars of their appearance. T

      4 min read

    • Article

      My Bum Rap

      Jan 11, 2023

      ‘Molest me, Les. Molest me in my workplace, you dirty old devil!’ The replay on the CCTV screen froze on a shot of my bum. The boardroom at Oz House was as full as a pommy complaints box – with Australian dignitaries, all old mates, shitting themselv

      3 min read

    • Article

      Golden Boy

      Nov 6, 2019

      Golden Boy
      6 min read

    • Article

      Knowing Me, knowing You

      May 20, 2022

      Knowing Me, knowing You
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Fortune's Pawn

    4/5

    361 ratings34 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Wow! What a nice surprise this book was. It was such a fun read, and thankfully, there are two more books in the series. Fortune's Pawn is basically non-stop action and intrigue, and the pacing is excellent. It's funny, too, and the main character, Devi, is one of the most kick-ass characters I've ever read. I'm a sucker for a book with a strong female lead, and Devi is strong in every way possible. This was a super fun space adventure, with lots of mysteries, and even a really sexy love interest. Lots of fun and pretty original.
    • 3/5
      In many ways, this is awesome and completely up my street. Mysteries in space (not that it's a detective story, but there are unexplained phenomena), kickass female lead in a mech suit who owns her sexuality and doesn't take any crap from anyone. The problem for me is that alongside all of that, there's a heaping of romance tropes, including "we shouldn't be together because I have secrets and you might get hurt" and even "I might hurt you", which sets us up for one of those horrid endings where the guy decides he knows what's best for his partner without thinking about what she might prefer.All in all, though, it is fun. The action scenes work well, and you never get the sense that Devi is somehow getting preferential treatment from the author. She can screw up, she can get her ass kicked, and it doesn't just follow the dictates of the story. She feels real in that sense: she's not just driven by the story.It's a quick read, and the sci-fi aspects are enough to keep me interested despite the romance not really being to my taste. The next book might change my mind, but for now I'm definitely along for the ride.
    • 4/5
      FORTUNE'S PAWN was a great space opera novel. The main character - Devi Morris - is a larger-than-life, kick ass mercenary soldier who, nonetheless, seems very real and well-rounded. Devi is ambitious. She wants to overcome her peasant roots and become on the god-king's elite warriors - the Devastators. Unfortunately, you have to be asked to join and you have to be at least 10 years older than Devi is. To, hopefully, shortcut her path, Devi applies for a job on the spaceship The Glorious Fool because she has heard that one successful year there is like five anywhere else. The captain has also promised to recommend her to the Devastators if she does a good job for him.The ship has a very interesting crew. Among them are two aliens including one representative of a race that thinks humans make great food and is currently serving as the ship's doctor. The captain is very mysterious and has an even stranger daughter. But the character that most intrigues Devi is Rupert Charkov who is the ship's cook. Devi is intrigued by him and decides to hit on him. He is wonderfully polite but manages to dodge her increasingly blatant hits. She thought she had read him wrong when she finds him holding a gun to the captain's head one day. However, when she shot him without hesitation, she learned that it had all been a test to see if she could kill a friend who had gone bad.They do manage to get over their bad start and have a romance. However, the captain says that they can't and plays on Devi's ambition to get her to break off the relationship. Rupert is also constantly telling her that he is dangerous. That doesn't deter Devi much. After all, mercs aren't know for being danger-averse.Devi has lots of questions about Rupert and about the ship and is determined to satisfy her curiosity. But questions can be as dangerous as the alien Xith'cal and too many questions could get a girl killed.I enjoyed the world building in this story. I also really liked the characters. I can't wait to read the next book in this series to find out more and to get some of my many questions answered. The only bad part about reading an ARC is that it seems so much longer until the next book in the series is ready to be read. Hurry up, Rachel! I need to know what happens next.
    • 4/5
      I am beyond blown away at how rich, colorful, and fleshed out the world of Fortune’s Pawn is. It is almost impossible to believe this is the first in a series. The author is deeply intimate with her characters and the world(s) they inhabit, and it shows.Devi is an incredibly likeable character, and any woman who would think this book looks worth picking up will find herself wanting to be friends with her. (Interestingly enough, Devi never once mentions another female in her past and only hesitantly becomes friends with the other female in the story.)I had read in others reviews before I started that this is the perfect sci-fi book for someone that is afraid of the technology-speak of sci-fi. That’s absolutely true. While Devi likes to wax endlessly about the things her armored suit can do, none of it ever felt overwrought or too technical. It also didn’t feel like it was being dumbed down, which is basically the perfect combination.The ending made me angry, but it made me angry in the RIGHT way. Read this book if you like: women who don’t shy from violence, sexytimes without any off-putting metaphors, and intensely strong world-building.
    • 2/5
      I just wasn't into this book, it was OK and I finished it but I really have no desire to pick up the next book in the series. It just seemed like not enough happened in this opening novel, and while the main character was fleshed out the rest of the characters didn't seem to be.
    • 3/5
      OK milSF. An ex-military mercenary joins a down-at-heel trading vessel as security. Of course the vessel's crew is not what they seem, there are secrets and mysteries, plenty of fighting - carniverous aliens, invisible monsters, hired thugs - and a sickly hormonal teenager-type romance (I skipped most of that). It's an easy read, a bit predictable, but enjoyable enough that I'll probably read the second book in the series.
    • 4/5
      Devi Morris isn’t your regular mercenary; she has big ambitions and a feisty attitude, a combination that could be fatal. She concludes that to get where she wants to, she needs to join The Glorious Fool, to get the necessary experience. One year on here is equal to five anywhere else.

      After a few skirmishes, including one where she just escapes with her life, she realises that all is not as it seems on the ship and that certain crew members have secrets that they don’t want Devi to know. She starts to realise that she might, just might have bitten off more than she can chew.

      Enjoyed this book very much. Military style SF can be hit and miss, but Bach has created a plot and characters that hang together well. Having a female protagonist is good too, as it softens the edges of the rectangular jawed, hard line characters that normally populate these books. The tech is great too, from the intelligent guns, to the custom armour and the way that she has got it working seamlessly. It is not a plot with many twists and turns, but it does have good layering, in the way that not everything is as it seems at the beginning. Will definitely be reading the sequels.
    • 5/5
      Light and engaging, I quite enjoyed this. Nothing too ground breaking in terms of plot ideas, but solidly written space opera and some fun characters to boot.
    • 3/5
      For me, this was a good space story written badly.

      Mostly a style issue. The first person narration was almost painful, with no art or aesthetic to it that I could see. And the action scenes, though packed with tons of great gadgets and battle moves, were a bit of a stiff read.

      Also the ending. It used a plot device I'm starting to find really annoying. Memory loss! Why? It can get irritating starting from point zero, especially in first person, and most authors don't have any real use for it, just empty drama.

      But if you can get past all that, I think there's something there. I liked the heoine Devi and the romantic interest, the plot was interesting and there's a nice level of detail to everything. I'll definitely pick up the next one.
    • 3/5
      3.5/5 starsI enjoyed this space adventure, and the mystery surrounding the Fool. The main character was likeable. I listened to this on audio, and wasn't the biggest fan of the narrator, she stressed weird words in a sentence, and they ended up sounding weird.
    • 3/5
      Devi Morris is a mercenary who has gone as far as she can go in her organization and who has aspirations to join an elite force. After one tour on the Glorious Fool, one of the most dangerous ships around, she'll be more than qualified. All she has to do is survive, and that isn't going to be easy.

      There are invisible monsters, mysterious cooks with amazing fighting abilities, a reckless captain with more power than he should have, and a gender neutral alien who has sworn off eating people. Devi can't help searching for answers, even when everyone tells her not to.

      One of the coolest things about Devi is her armor and weapons. Her people are fond of mech suits and hers is top of the line. She's also got a small gun, a big gun, and a really cool blade.

      There's a lot going on in this book. Everyone has secrets and no one is sharing those with Devi. But in order to protect them she's going to need to know. But even finding out doesn't clear up everything; it just throws her into another, more dangerous, mystery.

      (Provided by publisher)
    • 4/5
      Ooh that ending, this is SF with a sprinkle of fantasy, reminded me of Marion Zimmer Bradley and some earlier SF writers. Devi Morris is a mercenary with plans and training and now she wants more training and to find it she joins The Glorious Fool, where she might be able to get herself ahead quicker, that or dead. Many secrets and lies and I really enjoyed the read.
    • 3/5
      FORTUNE'S PAWN follows Devi Morris, an armoured mercenary who is impatient about the pace that her career is progressing at. She takes a security job with the Glorious Fool, a ship where a one year assignment equals five years anywhere else. However, there's a reason for this, and even Devi might be way in over her head.This book was a lot of fun to read. The worldbuilding is immersive, the pacing is breakneck, and Devi is a great protagonist - smart, loyal, and sometimes so impatient/impulsive that you want to yell at her.The one major thing I didn't like about the book was the romantic interest - I generally don't care for love-at-first-sight (lust is fine!), and the whole "I'm too dangerous; stay away from me" thing felt cliched and terrible. Plus, Devi has to be rescued by him a couple of times, and it makes her look bad - everyone (including her) is always talking about what a good mercenary she is, but she seems to fail at everything just so she can be rescued by Rupert.I'm looking forward to the next book - Honor's Knight (Paradox) - hopefully there will be more Devi being badass and less mysterious/dangerous love interest cliches!Comment
    • 4/5
      Good start to a series. Lots of aliens, combat, minimal woerld building but an interesting and quick read.
    • 4/5
      Generally, I don't like aliens, kick-ass females and love stories without real relationship development. However, in this book I swallowed up it all without as much as a frown.
      I really liked the smooth world building, which went seamlessly with the story line. Like, I still don't understand who lelgis are and why we need them in the story, but I am sure it will be explained in a due course exactly when the story will need it, as it was before with paradoxians vs. terrans, the genders of xith'cal, etc.
      And, geez, I never expected my favourite character in the sci-fi book to be a man-eating lizard :).
      The only thing I did not like much was some inconsistency in the Rupert's behaviour: he indeed should have known better than endanger the person he cared about.

      *** Дополнение, 30.06.14 ***
      Дочитала серию, думаю, лучше здесь отписаться. Для меня главный минус трилогии, что ни одну из книг серии нельзя читать совсем самостоятельно. Первая ещё туда-сюда, вторая обрывается прям в середине действия практически. То есть реально это одна длинная книга, разделённая на три среднего объёма.
      Второй минус: это не космоопера, это женское фэнтези в костюме космооперы. Нет, меня не напрягает невозможность явлений типа притяжения в произвольную сторону, почему-то пропадающего в вакууме, но мне не понравилось, что к третьей книге я уже чётко понимала, что читаю ЛР. Со всеми его условностями и мантрой "любовь побеждает всё".
    • 4/5
      I liked the book, but have doubts that the author can advance the story. This book series seems to suffer from a popular flaw which I have just now coined "the dragon ball z trap". Basically the level of power the heroes and the enemies they fight possess escalates to and beyond the threshold after which the suspense of disbelief is no longer possible. This book seemed to be getting there towards the end and I am therefore still undecided if I will read the next book in the serie.
    • 4/5
      Devi Morris's dream is to become a Devastator, working for the King himself. To do that, she's excelled in her job as a fighter, but is ready to move on to bigger and better things. A friend of hers tips her off that if she works as a hired mercenary on a particular spaceship - thought to be cursed - and lives for a year, she's almost guaranteed a job. Her ambition driving her, Devi signs up and suddenly finds herself in way over her head, and head over heels for the ship's cook, Rupert.First off, let's start with the good: excellent world building and interesting technology, a kick butt heroine, lots of adrenaline. Devi will not back down from a fight - actually, she rushes headlong into them - and admits that she's more of a bull in a china shop than one to work out the subtleties of a mystery. So what I found most compelling, that is, the mystery of what exactly is going on in the ship the Glorious Fool and with its captain, was dealt with in a way that left me really, really frustrated. Maybe it wouldn't have been quite so annoying if I hadn't just read a mystery? Or if Devi could actually sit back and think sometimes? The ideas of the alien races and politics between them and humans - Paradoxian like Devi or Terran like the captain - are well done and may be influenced by the author's roots in writing fantasy (as Rachel Aaron). A good choice when you want to scratch an itch with a light SF tale.
    • 4/5
      Obviously intended to be a space opera romp, I'm not sure that I have a lot more to add to what other folks have commented on. I like the main character, I like the setting and I like how the head-strong & confident protagonist suddenly finds herself to be a fish out of water (humor is one of the story's strong points). On the other hand, the romantic aspects of the novel do seem a bit forced; not that I have a problem with the romance in and of itself.
    • 4/5
      Very fun, light sci-fi. Ending made me pretty grumpy with its cliff-hanger sequel-guaranteeing nature, but not so much that I didn't immediately go back to the library for the sequel.
    • 4/5
      I am beyond blown away at how rich, colorful, and fleshed out the world of Fortune’s Pawn is. It is almost impossible to believe this is the first in a series. The author is deeply intimate with her characters and the world(s) they inhabit, and it shows.Devi is an incredibly likeable character, and any woman who would think this book looks worth picking up will find herself wanting to be friends with her. (Interestingly enough, Devi never once mentions another female in her past and only hesitantly becomes friends with the other female in the story.)I had read in others reviews before I started that this is the perfect sci-fi book for someone that is afraid of the technology-speak of sci-fi. That’s absolutely true. While Devi likes to wax endlessly about the things her armored suit can do, none of it ever felt overwrought or too technical. It also didn’t feel like it was being dumbed down, which is basically the perfect combination.The ending made me angry, but it made me angry in the RIGHT way. Read this book if you like: women who don’t shy from violence, sexytimes without any off-putting metaphors, and intensely strong world-building.
    • 4/5
      A really fun space opera with great action and interesting characters. This is the story of Devi Morris, a mercenary who has made it her life's mission to join the Devastators who serve the Paradoxian King.

      If you enjoy stories that have kick ass main characters, then Fortune's Pawn is a book you want to pick up. Devi never back's down from a fight and this leads to some excellent action scenes throughout the book. The only small issue I even had with this book is the author didn't provide a lot of information on the overall reason for all the action scenes. I can't waint to find out answers for all the different things going on in this one.

      4.5 stars for great action and characters. Recommended for all fans of sci-fi/space opera genre's.
    • 2/5
      I’d seen a number of positive mentions of this space opera, so when I saw a copy going cheap at Edge-Lit, I bought it. But, well… the narrator is sort of fun, an ambitious mercenary who is very, very good at what she does – but her arrogance started to wear thin after a while. The power armour is handled well, and I quite liked the gentle references to the suits of armour of knights of old. The protagonist’s home world featured some nice touches, even if it didn’t really stand up to scrutiny – a technological feudalistic society with a king worshipped as a god? The rest of the worldbuilding is even worse. There’s the nasty lizard aliens, the comedy bird aliens and the enigmatic glow-in-the-dark squid aliens. Oh, and the love interest is some sort of technological part-alien superhero. Narrator Deviana is so ambitious, she leaves the mercenary brigade and takes a job as on board security for a free trader who seems to attract trouble. Yes, it’s all a bit like a role-playing game. Annoyingly, Bach only reveals what is blindingly obvious in this book, and I’m assuming the more interesting questions will be answered in the remaining two books of the trilogy. Which is annoying, as I won’t be reading them.
    • 4/5
      Devi is a very ambitious person and wants to get to the highest accomplishments in her field as fast as she can. And that job is guarding the King and the only way to be a Devastator is to be invited. When a friend tips her off on a guard job that has a high death rate but also a high rate of the survivors getting tapped into those ranks she jumps at the chance. Of course the ship Glorious Fool is more than she seems and yet Devi has a a hard time putting her finger on it. She does stumble onto the secret and boy is it a big one. This book is the first of a series and I can't wait for the next one. Good fun read that I will certainly be recommending when people ask me for good SF.


      Digital copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley
    • 4/5
      The best thing about Fortune’s Pawn may be kick-ass main character Devi, a highly ambitious goal-driven space mercenary who who sleeps around some but is committed to her career and almost religiously devoted to her planetary king. It’s a toss up though because the setting is almost as cool. Devi’s universe has lots of different cultures and several varieties of intelligent life forms including giant birds, a particularly persnickety bird is Devi’s immediate boss, and human eating lizards who float around in tribe ships because they have no home planet, and one of these terrifying lizards is actually the ship’s medical doctor which certainly adds some interest to the story. Devi takes her current job aboard a rag-tag trade ship because she’s gotten a reliable tip that it will further her goal of becoming a Devastator--an elite group of warriors who serve her king. Of course the ship and its crew are not what they seem at first and Devi spends a good part of the book trying to uncover secrets and figure out what’s going on without getting fired. When she’s not snooping she’s battling ship invaders wearing her very awesome high-tech suit of armor or trying to seduce the crew’s cook . In an interview author Rachel Bach says she wrote Fortune’s Pawn because she wanted to read a love story set in space and couldn’t find one, but for me romance is not the strongest aspect of the book. The cook Devi is pursuing has a friendly but aloof, sometimes almost passive, demeanor and though it turns out there is a good reason for him to act this way their relationship didn’t generate much interest in me. I did enjoy Devi’s friendly new-age oneness-of-the-universe type roommate, and if I continue the series she, along with Devi, will be part of the reason. Though I love the characters and setting, the plot didn’t engage me as much as I would like, but readers who want a book with a strong female lead will certainly find one in Devi. Fortune’s Pawn ends in a cliffhanger, it almost just stops, but fortunately the other two books in the trilogy are already published.
    • 5/5
      Nooooo! You can't end a book there!

      I mean: we were just learning all kinds of neat stuff and BAM! So much changes and we're left waiting for the next book in the series.

      Fortune's Pawn, from the author of the fantastic Eli Monpress series, has what I've been looking for in SF: power armor, space travel, strange secrets and conspiracies. This is cool! It even has some romance.

      This is the first in a new series by Rachel Bach (aka Rachel Aaron). I can't wait for the rest of the series to come out!

      If you like Firefly/Serenity, Mecha Rogue, or Alexander Outland: Space Pirate - this series won't disappoint!

    • 5/5
      Strap in and bite down - you're in for a ride!
      With the perfect balance of action and downtime, the plot pace plunges you forward with eyes locked. Be sure to start your reading with snacks and beverages on hand because Fortune's Pawn hooks you in with a kickass, take names heroine, that might as well be her own walking hazard zone. It felt rather like reading Urban Fantasy in space with its multiple races, popup action, and almost magic like abilities for a handful of the characters.

      She's a bad girl, She's a bad bad girl!
      Devi is more than just an adrenaline junkie and shameless glory hog, she is a top notch mercenary who knows how to get the job done. She's wanted to be a Devastator her whole life, because they are the best of the best. So when she finds out that a year of service on Cpt. Brian Caldswell's ship the Glorious Fool is almost a surefire ticket to being a Devastator...or death - she signs on immediately. Cpt. Caldswell's ship has a reputation for being cursed as well as running through hired security personnel like water. From the sounds of it you're more likely to die working for this guy than anything else, but it could be her ticket to the big leagues. While Devi does her job well she also has quite the rebellious streak. Our gal is no stranger to breaking the rules when she feels necessary and on top of that is as curious as a cat. Trouble, trouble. Mix those things together and you'd think this gal had nine lives with as often as she sees the inside of the infirmary bay.

      Birds, Lizards, Jellyfish, and phantom Bug!?
      Seriously one of my favorite aspects of Fortune's Pawn were the varying sentient alien races. There are 4 supposedly known alien races in the universe, Humans, Aeon (bossy birdies), Xith'Cal (scaly scary as hell lizards), and Leglis (mysterious jellyfish?). The Xith'Cal seem to be some of the big nasties in the universe, and Devi's has come up firing against them frequently...they are meat eaters and hey just about everyone qualifies as meat right!? So you ask, where do the bugs come in? Oh you'll see my dears, you'll see - or maybe no one sees and that's the problem? *cackles madly* It was great having the crew of the Glorious Fool made up several races. Because of that I found the crew interaction to be so much more engaging and unique - especially considering that almost the entirety of the book takes place in space or on the ship - this definitely served to keep things interesting.

      Sizzle, Sizzle, Pop and Burn!
      This is one romance that any science fiction fan and heck any romance fan for that matter, would enjoy. Rachel Bach knocks it out of the park by making this book a package deal of action, suspense, mystery, science fiction and broiling romance. Devi has a roving eye and a healthy sexual appetite. In her defense, when you live the fast and furious lifestyle of a mercenary you have to take your pleasure and kicks where they come. Frequently thats in the arms of one blustery fling after another. But the romantic interest, Rupert, puts up some resistance when Devi sets her sights on making him her next conquest. It's not a wonder that she develops deeper feelings for this deliciously mysterious, downright beautiful and deadly graceful ship's cook who is absolutely more than he seems to be. Too many descriptors? Deal with it! - I have a jones on for Rupert like you wouldn't believe! What can I say I adore just his sort. Good looking without being egotistical, polite, compassionate, with a peekaboo inner sadness that makes you want to reach inside and soothe away that frown he never lets you see, and deadly, oh so deadly. *makes moony calf eyes* Think about it this way...those blockbuster SFF movies you watch - don't they almost always feature romance as an integral part of the story!? That's damn right they do. All of folks I know gave this book high marks. Are they closet romance lovers the lot of them? Nah - I just think when done well everyone will enjoy it.

      I kid you not!
      Literally seconds after finishing Fortune's Pawn I got online and purchased the second book as well as audio version to go alone with it so that way if I'm not able to read I can listen. I don't like when I say I do not do that often. That's just how crack brain hooked I got for this story. Tough tippies if you miss out.

      Favorite Quote:
      “Never shame your comrades by letting their death get you killed ”
    • 4/5
      I checked this book out of the library expecting it to be a light, science fiction novel, heavy on the romance, light on the science fiction. I was expecting to read just a few chapters before giving up due to stupid characters, doing stupid things. This book totally surprised me - we have a lead character who is totally kick-ass - she's a mercenary, from a world where the king is a God and the only way up for a peasant is through the military. Luckily for her, she loves her job - and aspires to the top position in the king's body guards. Unfortunately, they don't just take anybody and even those gifted in the military need a lot of experience. So.. when a job opens up on a trader ship, one that sees a lot of action - where every year served counts as five for experience. What I loved about this book - the heroine is awesome, head strong, and bright, but not too bright. The love interest is interesting, dreamy handsome, and totally believable (well, for a sci-fi book). The romance is there, but it makes sense with the context of the story (no inappropriate making-out sessions during danger!) The rest of the characters are also nicely written, although a bit more cardboard. And, this story is primarily a science fiction story, with romance. The science fiction is average - but believable. The alien characters are interesting, but basically human with a different exterior. This book was exactly what I was looking for - a light science fiction story with interesting characters, a love story that is well integrated into the larger story.
    • 4/5
      Devi is my new Kara Thrace. She’s quite the woman and handles her business but remains very relatable. I’m no where near an ass-kicking soldier but not only did I like her a lot, I understood her. She seems like a great chica to have a drink with & listen to her stories. I was rooting for her to attain her goal of joining the king’s Devestators even though I found her absolute enamored view of nobles, in general, short-sighted. The story moved at a good clip and that made it a page turning delight. I was completely invested in who or what Rupert was, and that thread was teased out very well in the story. I had to know as much as Devi (admittedly, I stil don’t know exactly, so I guess that’s what book two will tell). The rest of the Glorious Fool crew were well drawn and I especially enjoyed Novascape Starchild (Nova for short, btw. lol). Nova may have been my favorite crewmember but it’s a close call with aeon, Basil who calls all the humans “monkey” (tickled me to no end). Hyrek the ship’s doc who is also of an alien species that eat humans was also refreshing and very interesting. I found Captain Caldswell interesting but I don’t know how I feel as far as liking or not liking him. That’s not a problem for me as finding him interesting was by far more important. The world building was very well done and I look forward to reading the next installment.
    • 4/5
      Like most reviewers, I enjoyed this read. I thought I was going to start it and slowly read it over the next week. But, I was wrong, I got into it and finished in two days. When it finished on the somewhat cliffhanger ending, I had to rush out and buy the next one immediately.This book is a space adventure story. There are space battles, small unit actions with knifes, guns, axes and grenades. There are a number of alien species, two of which are on the trading vessel with Deviana. One reviewer mentioned Ann Aguirre’s series about ‘Sirantha Jax.’ I did not think of it myself, but I agree there is some similarity and I like both series for the same reasons. I even liked the explanation of FTL. In the book a hyperspace portal is a giant computing system that helps calculate time and spacial displacement for a trip. There are at least 4 different political power groups. The terrans, the Paradoxian forces the ix'la, and the legros.The author built the tension well, so that by the time Deviana develops a romance and runs into hell of battles and challenges we actually care what happens to her.
    • 5/5
      This was a fun book, the most fun I’ve had reading a science fiction book in a long, long time. This felt like an old school action/adventure scifi book from the 80’s only with a truly kick ass female lead and oh what a wonderfully kick ass lead Devi Morris is. She is ambitious and this is treated as a good thing. She is passionate and sexual, she knows what she wants and not embarrassed by it at all. She is tough, tougher than just about anyone else around but never comes across as a woman trying to be as tough as a man, she just IS that tough. She is smart and clever but far from perfect, she makes many mistakes but she also owns up to them and faces the consequences. I love that she was allowed to have flaws without diminishing her in any way.We don’t get as much of a feel for the supporting characters though that makes sense in the story since there is a mystery of sorts to be solved and to much information would give to much away to fast, I have a feeling we will be learning more and more in the next two books. The romance was well written but it did feel a tad rushed, it seemed to go from mutual attraction to Never Ending Love awfully fast with few steps in-between but I still found myself accepting it and rooting for them. The fact that their relationship developed so fast without us seeing it happen didn’t actually bother me while I was reading as much as it did once I was finished and thinking back on it, the book just speeds by, it the best way possible that you just feel pulled along for the ride. I also loved the universe that Rachel Bach created here, it feels fully fleshed out even though we only see slivers of it in this book, there are multiple alien and human cultures that feel real without the need for a great deal of back story and I am really looking forward to finding out more with the next two books. I think it would be awesome if the author wrote more books in this universe, ones unconnected to the Glorious Fool. I am so glad to have found this author and am looking forward to reading more.