Book Review: Learning to Fly Alien Spacecraft, The Shantivira Book 2, Fay Abernethy
Science Fiction: Learning to Fly Alien Spacecraft, The Shantivira Book 2, Fay Abernethy
I was very disappointed to discover that this was not a “how to” manual. As a lifelong fan of science fiction, I really want there to be aliens. I really want them to have spacecraft. And I really, really, want to learn to fly one of them.
Alas, Fay Abernethy titles her book only to tease those like me who let their imaginations run too wild. Not that it is a misleading title. Many of the characters spend much of the novel doing exactly what the title suggests. Hanna was recruited from London to fly alien spacecraft. Illegally working as a domestic, a refugee from Ethiopia, Hanna is discovered by one of the alien’s top recruiters and offered a chance at a new life. Her boyfriend, Hassan, originally from South Sudan, is also training as a pilot. Others, from Russia, from Brazil, from all over the world, have been taken from earth to train as interstellar pilots.
Joe Llewellyn was recruited long before this latest class was born. Originally from Wales, Joe was recruited as well. After serving in the British military, he was recruited by an alien race to become a pilot. Now, he commands the Shantivira, a secret and cloaked space station charged with guarding earth from invaders until our planet is ready governmentally, socially, and technically, to join with other intelligent species. That day is coming, and it will be Joe’s job to make it happen.
Joe knew his recruiter long before he was recruited. As a boy wandering the hills of Wales, he often walked with a feral cat which lived somewhere near him. It did not occur to him that this cat was extraordinarily long-lived for a cat. Or that cats do not communicate telepathically. Cat, or Cath, or Kitty, was an ancient shapeshifter who had been watching the earth from her post in Wales for centuries. Despite their age and species differences, the two fall in love and marry, and as a team work to keep the earth safe and prepare it to join the galactic community.
Not that it will be easy. Invaders have come more than once. Some of them mean no harm, but need to find a home after their own planet has been invaded. Others mean only harm. The Galactic Council is not entirely sure that earth is ready to accept life from other planets. Some are not convinced that this primitive and warlike species will ever be ready. And a few on earth who have learned about the Shantavira are determined to keep humans and aliens separate at any cost.
Abernethy’s imagination is staggering. She could have stopped at writing a novel about “first contact.” She could have stopped at writing a novel about the “real space camp.” She could have stopped at writing a novel about space pirates and smugglers and human/alien romance and ecological disaster and humanitarian aid and…. Instead, she wrote about all of things and more, and kept them connected and moving. The perspective shifts from one character to another to another. The characters develop holistically, the adventure feels very real, the emotions are deep and convincing, and the plot is convoluted without being confusing. This British author living in Germany has hit a home run for this American reviewer.’
I enjoyed it so much that I grabbed both the first novel in the series and the free book available on the author’s website. Now, if she’ll only write that “how to” book!
Our thanks to Rachel Gilbey of Rachel’s Random Resources for our copy of Learning to Fly Alien Spacecraft, given so we could provide an honest review as part of this book tour. The opinions here are solely those of Scintilla. For other perspectives, check out the other bloggers on this tour.
Book Review: Learning to Fly Alien Spacecraft, The Shantivira Book 2, Fay Abernethy