Triad Alliance Ship Unity; Various Locations, concurrent with Earth's Present

War kills…soul, body, spirit. But is peace any less of a threat to humanity?

Facing religious annihilation, Goddess worshipers left the Drakken worlds and set up on the planet Sakka, and war was the result. Year after year of bloodshed has decimated the population and made mortal enemies of the Coalition, which is made up of those loyal to the Goddesses and Drakken. Now, with the slaying of the Drakken Horde leader, Lord-General Rakkuu, by young Queen Goddess Keira, peace could at least be put out for a trial run.

Memories of Arraya have caused Admiral Brit Bandar, called Stone-Heart behind her back, to close in on herself. Sex can be bought…a night’s pleasure with a nameless man, quick gratification. She allows nothing and no one to come close to her heart. Following the mandates of the new treaty which gave birth to the Triad Alliance -- Coalition, Drakken, and Earth -- will be difficult for her. For two decades hunting and killing Horde has been her sole purpose for being.

No less dismayed by the new treaty is Warleader Finnar Rorkken. He has been named Brit’s second. Yes, it would be lovely to be clean and have enough to eat and not have to scavenge and steal. But, the Scourge of the Borderlands, as he was called, knows that integrating the polar opposites of Coalition and Drakken will be difficult at best. Toss in several Earthlings and the mix is highly volatile.

Brit and Finn sought to capture each other during wartime and were surprised beyond measure when, in spite of rules against fraternization, they fell for each other and share a passion that neither could have imagined.

Earth has become a Holy Shrine because Keira’s Consort was born there. Both Drakken and Earthlings have to catch up with Coalition technology. Almost as soon as all crewmembers are assembled, trouble comes in the form of a distress call…and it becomes abundantly clear, as suspicions and past hatreds flare, that not everyone wants the peace treaty to work. They have been ordered by Coalition Naval Command Commander-in-Chief, Prime Admiral Zaafran, to make unity a reality and not just the name of a ship.

There is a lot happening in MOONSTRUCK. It was hard to know where to begin and how much to tell. This is a saga of epic proportions and grandeur. Susan Grant juggles all her characters with ease and doesn’t miss a beat keeping the adrenaline pumping and the readers entranced. With her usual flair and military knowledge, she serves up a gritty, edge-of-your-seat story of putting the past away and starting fresh. Unity's crew includes Coalition officers (Star Commander Vinson Yarrew; Brit’s aide, Lieutenant Hadley Keyren; Dr. Kell and Ensign Odin), Drakken crewmembers (Zurykk, Rakkelle Pehzwan, and the mysterious Bolivar); Earthlings (USAF Thunderbird pilot Major Reuben Barrientes aka Tango, a tall Texan with a delightful bag of paraphernalia, and SEAL Commander Dice Rothberg). It's a crew even Star Trek would be hard-pressed to match. When betrayal and danger team up to sabotage the fledgling, fragile peace, they will all need to work together to save themselves and each other. But, who can trust whom? MOONSTRUCK is another winner that readers can put on a keeper shelf. I recommend it very much.

Vi Janaway