Alien’s Gateway [Lost Brides and Alien Warriors]

Tina Moss
Genre: 
Novella

SCIENCE FICTION: Elena Rivera is a crew captain for the first deep space vessel tasked with transporting earth’s scientists to create a colony on a new planet. Ambushed by space pirates, her crew is now missing, and Elena finds herself on a slave ship about to be sold. Daegan is a Rhonar warrior, roaming the galaxy to rescue captured Terrans (humans) in order to secure a treaty between his species and earth, to find mates, and save his race from extinction. Daegan and his team board the slave ship, but before the rescue can take place they are discovered, and the ship is set to self-destruct. Elena and Daegan have to escape on a pod without his brethren. Will they be rescued? And has Daegan found his true mate?

With imaginative world-building, the premise and the story’s start are promising. It is fast-paced and packed with tension. There is a mystery, an escape, a rescue, and another escape which turns into yet another challenge as their escape pod crashes and strands them on an unknown planet. A few more challenges ensue until Elena and Daegan are finally trapped in a cave. Then it turns into a completely different book. While they wait for rescue, courtesy of a messenger alien, the story turns into a full-on steam-fest, which is both clinical and comical. It may have worked better if it were less of a rollercoaster ride and more of a gradual buildup with more dialogue. This would have made their relationship engaging and the characters believable. Nevertheless, this a short and easy read, with humorous moments that keep it lighthearted.

Rika Chandra