Avalon #2 Polaris

HAPPY RELEASE DAY!!! Presenting Avalon #2 Polaris by Mindee Arnett.

Here is the summary of the book:

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of mercenaries are pulled into one last high-stakes mission in this breathtaking sequel to Mindee Arnett’s fascinating and fast-paced sci-fi thriller Avalon.

Jeth Seagrave and his crew are on the run. The ITA, still holding Jeth’s mother in a remote research lab, is now intent on acquiring the metatech secrets Jeth’s sister Cora carries inside her DNA, and Jeth is desperate to find the resources he needs to rescue his mother and start a new life outside the Confederation. But the ITA is just as desperate, and Jeth soon finds himself pursued by a mysterious figure hell-bent on capturing him and his crew—dead or alive.

With nowhere to run and only one play left, Jeth enters into a bargain with the last person he ever thought he’d see again: Daxton Price, the galaxy’s newest and most fearsome crime lord. Dax promises to help Jeth, but his help will only come at a price—a price that could mean sacrificing everything Jeth has fought for until now.

The conclusion to the story Mindee Arnett began in her acclaimed novelAvalon, Polaris is a dangerous journey into the spaces between power and corruption, life and death, the parts of ourselves we leave behind, and the parts we struggle to hold on to.

Treading the fine line between power & corruption, good & evil and life & death. Deep Space travel and deadly heists. Mindee Arnett has cooked up a high stakes action-packed finale to Avalon. Jeth Seagrave and his band of mercenaries must execute this high stakes mission, lives depend on it. And if you thought "Avalon" blew your mind well think again because "Polaris" packs that needed extra punch and is a fully packed and a thrilling fast paced drama. (the series remained me so much of Firefly.....)

Of love, friendship and family, sacrifices that push the meaning of tragic, hardship and searing losses and the resulting wonders of success and of hope to the next well. Polaris has it all. Truly I was hesitant at first because I had read Avalon sometime back and didn't quite remember all of it but Arnett puts us all at ease with her master play on words. The flow catches and entrances you in its throws and keeps  your attention from the beginning till the end, just push through and you need not worry about anything else.

I love a solid space opera. Although I don't the scientific hoo-hah much but I appreciate solid simple details and Polaris (Avalon by extension) had it in spades. Jeth, I liked very much. The unconventional hero. He is a young man who got the short end of the stick. Bad decisions lead him to Hammer, but desperate ones take him back to the criminal underworld under a new overlord Dax and the thrall of the implant ...... it very nearly defeats him. We see him struggle, desperate to be free, fighting the compulsion to give in to the outside presence in his mind. Space is a beautiful and deadly place and through Jeth, the author tells the story of less than fortunate souls and their struggles against oppressors.

The romance of course is not far behind. Not important but it is these important bonds that help Jeth fight to win. This is their decisive move against the ITA, a move to eradicate their hold over the universe ...... But "Polaris" has something over its predecessor (Poor Avalon), while the ITA is the large evil though-out, the finale added a super creepy villain ...... Its disgusting how creepy and dangerous he was. He wad the wolf in the man costume who just loved to toy with his victim ....... before executing them.

Lastly the plot itself was just smashing. Factor in a strong plot, strong and dynamic characters, every twists & turns and horrible revelations and happy revelations and the grand heist to free the Pyreans .... I was hoping the Pyrean-Empyria agenda would be explored but oh well ..... I liked the hopeful and serene approach at the end. Mindee Arnett has produced a conclusion that is light years ahead of its predecessor not only in terms of quantity but in quality as well. A fast paced smashing high-octane space opera that will have you clammering in surreal frustration at this marvelous creation being a duology "Please tell me there is more ..... I want more" .... Don't knows about you folks but that was my reaction 

"A smashing hit .... Frex! This is mind-blowing"

Genre :      Young Adult, Adventure, Sci-fi, Romance, Dystopia, Space Opera

Publisher: Balzer+Bray

Release Date: 20th January, 2015

My Copy: publisher and edelweiss

Rate:              5/5 (It was Amazing)

Other Books in the series (review links):
                #1 Avalon 

Buy:           Amazon | Book Depository 

Avalon #1 Avalon

HAPPY RELEASE DAY!! Presenting Avalon #1 Avalon by Mindee Arnett.

Here is the summary of the book:

A ragtag group of teenage mercenaries who crew the spaceship Avalon stumble upon a conspiracy that could threaten the entire galaxy in this fascinating and fast-paced sci-fi adventure from author Mindee Arnett.

Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.

Avalon is the perfect fit for teens new to sci-fi as well as seasoned sci-fi readers looking for more books in the YA space-and a great match for fans of Joss Whedon's cult hit show Firefly.

A marvelous sci-fi. A dangerous heist. Treachery and Deception and Crime Lords and their crimes at play and a lethal play to be free of the dark side, it is rather rare you see a story with all these points and it rare that the author knows how to manipulate all of them and present a coherent and an action-packed extravaganza ..... And Mindee Arnett's AVALON definitely fits the bill and is an exceptionally fine specimen of a book.

Set in a time in the far future when travel from one planet to another or star system is a common practice and the autonomous body ITA (Interstellar Transport Agency) rules it all. It is in this time that Jethro Seagrave, pawn at the hands of the ruthless crime lord Hammer Dafoe, alongwith his motley crew of teenage expert mercenaries take on a untoward heist, so that one day he can make enough to get ownership of his spaceship AVALON, the last remaining piece of his parents back.

Jeth and his crew Lizzie, Celeste, Shady and Flynn provided some very dynamic characters. They are resourceful and proficient but most of all have a good head on their shoulders, and support Jeth in every way they can. It is their retrieval mission in the mysterious Belgrave Quadrant (....which is everything you expect space to be - silent, mysterious, creepy.... and a certain likeness to the tales of the Bermuda Triangle.....) and the resulting meeting with Sierra, Vince and the adorable Cora that sets this whole affair on the go. There are secrets & conspiracies, the government and even crime lords like Hammer would kill for and it makes for an interesting read as we see Jeth and his crew deal with the upheavals and the resulting consequences.

There is not one slow bone to this book at all. Every line, every sentence, every paragraph, every page and every chapter helps to further the action. And for the most part, the pacing of the events too is very well put, always giving us chance to sink it in. There is intrigue. There are unimaginable discoveries. Space & Spacecrafts and mysterious quardrants in space-time. A fight for what is right or wrong. Brilliant and graphic action sequences...... But most of all, it is and unputdownable book and I highly recommend that you all go and get it because Mindee Arnett produces a power-packed space adventure helped along by a gorgeous cover on the front.

"Intriguing and fast-paced. Sci-fi fans will surely love the non-stop action"

Genre :      Young Adult, Sci-fi, Romance, ,Dystopia, Space Opera

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: 21st January, 2014

My Copy: publisher and edelweiss

Rate:              5/5 (It was Amazing)

Buy:           Amazon | Book Depository