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    Games of Command: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Games of Command: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Games of Command: A Novel
    Ebook519 pages7 hours

    Games of Command: A Novel

    By Linnea Sinclair

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    The universe isn’t what it used to be.

    With the new Alliance between the Triad and the United Coalition, Captain Tasha “Sass” Sebastian finds herself serving under her former nemesis, biocybe Admiral Branden Kel-Paten—and doing her best to hide a deadly past. But when an injured mercenary winds up in their ship’s sick bay—and in the hands of her best friend, Dr. Eden Fynn–Sass’s efforts may be wasted.

    Wanted rebel Jace Serafino has information that could expose all of Sass’s secrets, tear the fragile Alliance apart—and end Sass’s career if Kel-Paten discovers them. But the biocybe has something to hide as well, something once thought impossible for his kind to possess: feelings . . . for Sass. Soon it’s clear that their prisoner could bring down everything they once believed was worth dying for—and everything they now have to live for.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRandom House Publishing Group
    Release dateFeb 27, 2007
    ISBN9780553903454
    Unavailable
    Games of Command: A Novel
    Author

    Linnea Sinclair

    Winner of the prestigious national book award, the RITA®, as well as the PRISM, PEARL, and SAPPHIRE, author Linnea Sinclair is a name synonymous with high-action, emotionally intense, character-driven science fiction romance novels. Reviewers note that Sinclair’s novels “have the wow-factor in spades.” Her books have claimed spots in the Locus Top Ten and received starred reviews in Publisher’s Weekly. Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine consistently gives Sinclair’s books 4-1/2 stars (their highest rating). Starlog magazine calls Sinclair “one of the reigning queens of science fiction romance.” She’s the author of the exciting Dock Five Universe series that starts with Gabriel’s Ghost. Other Sinclair novels include PEARL award winners Finders Keepers, Games of Command, and Hope’s Folly (Dock Five book #3). Sinclair, a former news reporter and private investigator, resides in Florida with her husband, Robert Bernadino, and their thoroughly spoiled cats. Readers can find her perched on the third barstool from the left in her Intergalactic Bar and Grille at www.linneasinclair.com.

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    Reviews for Games of Command

    4/5

    152 ratings11 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Games of Command is a science fiction romance, set some time in the future. My first impression was that it reminded me of Star Trek, and I initially wondered if it was fan fiction.

      There’s somewhat of an ‘enemies to lovers’ trope, with Sass and Branden on the outs at the beginning. There is a lot of hidden history though, that the author slowly reveals to us. And to Sass. I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of Sass having a ‘sneak peek’ into Branden’s personal feelings, but she does later share with him that she has this knowledge. It’s interesting to wonder how the story would have changed if Sass hadn’t had that insight though. Would she have found it harder to look beyond Branden’s closed-off façade?

      Branden is a cyborg (born human but upgraded with computer technology to be super smart, fast, strong, etc). Sass is human. This difference plays into the tension between them, especially on Branden’s part as he can’t understand why any human would find a ‘machine’ attractive.

      Most of the story takes place on the spaceship where Branden is the Admiral and Sass is the Captain. I’m not sure why you’d have an Admiral and a Captain on the same ship (seems like overkill to me) but what do I know? Despite my first paragraph, I’m not a Trekkie. Later though, the story moves to a small ship, a planet and back to the small ship. This forces Branden and Sass to interact more, as they learn to depend on each other for survival. I felt that this was where they both truly came into their own. Branden risks his life to save the others, and this is one of the clearest moments up to then when we (and the other characters) see that he is not an emotionless machine. We are given insight prior to that, but this is where he lets his mask fall and shows us.

      There is a secondary romance that also plays out alongside the main one. I enjoyed this.

      There was only one thing that really bugged me, and it was minor. There are creatures called fidgets, which appear to all intents and purposes to be the equivalent of domestic cats (although they have abilities domestic cats don’t have, as you’d expect in science fiction). The author takes this comparison and runs with it.

      ‘Me? Nervous as a long-tailed fidget in a room full of rocking chairs.’

      Seriously? Does changing it from a cat to a fidget actually make that saying work in a science fiction world of spaceships? People barely use rocking chairs in 2018 let alone many years into the future. And if you’re going to invent new worlds, new species, etc., invent new sayings! Don’t just take old sayings and repurpose them!

      ‘Fuck you and the equinnard you rode in on,’ she told it.’

      Ugh. ‘Equinnards’ seem utterly irrelevant in a world where people could live their entire lives without setting foot on a planet surface. But it was a minor detail and certainly not enough to stop me from re-reading or recommending the book.

      I did think the rest of the story was well written. It was very easy to read, it flowed well, it had a nice balance of action and rest, and the aliens and alien-technology fitted into the story well without making the reader go ‘huh?’.

      All in all, I enjoyed the book. I gave it four stars.
    • 5/5
      This is my fourth book by this author and I'm amazingly pleased at how deftly she blends romantic sizzle/attraction with a dandy space yarn. This one is extremely satisfying from both threads and made me realize that I want to read more of her stuff. A delight for science fiction fans.
    • 5/5
      Yeah. This one is as good as Finders Keepers. I like Sass and Kel-Paten a lot, and Tank is cute. Poor Kel-Paten - they distrusted him so hard...though once he knew what was going on, he was pretty sure Psy-Serv wasn't interfering with him. Not nearly as much as they were with Jace...sheesh! There are still a lot of questions, mostly about Triad culture - why did Kel-Paten's name change? And why are they all Kel - is it a rank thing, or what? Lots of magic solutions, but it's the furzels supplying most of them, not Jace the magic Nasyry (or Eden), which make them less annoying. Furzels indeed, why the name change? They're just cats. Two I-am-not-worthy running into each other and ending up HAE. And that reunion scene was fantastic. I'd like to see more in this universe - not necessarily these heroes, but more about the war and how it comes out. Fun.
    • 5/5
      Ah Kel Patten has to be one of my favorite heroes of all time. The scene where he is using his augmented abilities to help the damaged craft land is just such good writing. I loved the interaction between him and Sass. As I said in the review for "Command Performance", it's interesting to see how this book developed.
    • 4/5
      Ex-mercenary, ex-spy, ex-captain... Tasha Sebastian, a.k.a. Sass, is shocked to be assigned (ordered!) to the Vaxxar Admiral Branden Kel-Paten's command ship as his new commander. With a shaky alliance not even quite formalized between the U-Cee and the Triad, she's more than a bit suspicious of the cyber-enhanced Admiral's motives, especially as he's run into the mercenary Lady Sass with less than pleasant results (for him) before. But with a mysterious plague killing ships's crews, and McClellan's Void to escape, the two had better work together or more than just the Vaxxar will be doomed.A bit overly cute in places, but still a first-rate space adventure.
    • 3/5
      The author describes it in her dedication as "space opera romance silliness", which sums it up quite well. Fairly silly, fairly harmless. Good if you like that sort of thing.
    • 4/5
      More complex than other Sinclair books I've read, and meatier plotwise. I'm not sure I prefer it, I like the simplicity of a one or two viewpoint story (this has four plus the furzels'). The ending is a little up in the air and comes too quickly.
    • 4/5
      Ever since the Alliance between the Triad and the United Coalition Captain Tasha 'Sass" Sebastian has found herself wondering what to do next. She's been assigned to work under her former nemesis biocybe Admiral Branden Kel-Paten. He knows something about her past but not it all and she'd kinda rather he didn't find out some of the things in her past. Branden has feelings for Tasha but can they become a couple, can they get over the issues?It's a fun read, nothing deep but I found it entertaining. I did like the Furzels but they seem to divide readers.
    • 3/5
      A combination space opera and romance. The space opera plot would make a pretty good Star Trek episode; the romance is pretty much on rails from the start of the story with no surprises. (For a more suspenseful romantic plotline in a space opera, try Julie E. Czerneda’s Trade Pact Universe books; for a better romantic fairy tale with space opera trappings, try Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s Liaden books.) When my wife read this one, she was utterly cuted out by the furzels— telepathic cats whose antics add spice to liven up the melodrama.
    • 3/5
      This is a spacer opera, with more of a soap opera feel. I wish I liked Linnea Sinclair better. She writes the sort of books I ought to like, but somehow they never quite grab me. I want more character depth or something... the plots are adequate, but the writing doesn't transport me. This is by no means a wall banger, I read it from beginning to end, but so much more could have been done with the character of the tin soldier and Captain Tasha "Sass" Sebastien. Plot wise, Admiral Branden Kel-Paten, aka as the Tin Soldier because of his enhancements, has requested Captain Sebastien on to his ship specifically. They pick up a pirate, or is he, and have adventures. I just feel that so much more could have been done with this plot/characters and it's a shame that the writing doesn't live up to it. You know how sometimes you see a movie and you get that 'made for tv' vibe... well this had a 'made of tv' vibe to it...
    • 4/5
      Games of Command - Linnea Sinclair (8/10)Another solid performance from Sinclair, but not my favourite of hers. I understand some part of this book was originally epublished, then it was edited and expanded for this edition. Unfortunately, I feel it suffers just a little as a result of this. Not much, but it means I didn't like "Games of Command" as much as her other books. There are two couples here and while Sinclair manages well sharing the spotlight, I think I would have preferred a slightly shorter book with one hero and heroine to cheer for. All the same, a most enjoyable read and I look forward to Sinclair's next outing with the fascinating title of "The Down Home Zombie Blues".