What do you do when the goal of the career path you place yourself on requires experience 10 years beyond your projected lifespan in your chosen profession? For Deviana Morris, the answer was simple, find another way. Having gone as far as any armored mercenary could and still be active, Devi needed to find a way to reach her goal without going backwards or waiting too long. Consulting an old 'friend with benefits', she finds her answer is to be as security for the unluckiest freighter where her life become more interesting.
This is a more unique twist to what is becoming the 'tough lead female' trope. This story is more unique because it takes place in space and the element that separates her from the Honor Harringtons out there is that Devi is a grunt. She's a soldier and doesn't engage the enemy with the push of a button. This gives the reader a far more unique perspective on combat in space than most space operas are inclined to give. We get to see the tactical instead of the strategic approach to combat and in the way the main character views the world. The author used this well. Instead of slow anxious times between big events, we got the quiet yet busy times of those whose jobs don't stop between big events.
The reader gets a pretty good insight into Devi's character. We learn her origins, much of her early life and her feelings regarding her current circumstances. There are times when one may thing she is a Mary Sue character but, we eventually get to see enough of her flaws to dispel that assumption. The rest of the characters are a bit flatter because of their limited use or possible exposition in later books. It's very understandable for an introductory to a series of books.
Fortune's Pawn is an interesting departure from some many space novels. We have a strong-willed woman who is more likely to utterly destroy a ship from the inside out than to try and pilot one. This is a very entertaining read and I'll likely pick up on the rest of the series, myself. It is not for the youngest among us and lands pretty deep in the R ratings for violence and sexual content.
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