Derelict: Halcyone Space, book 1

LJ Cohen

May 2014 · Interrobang Books

About this ebook

When Rosalen Maldonado tinkers with the derelict freighter, she's just hoping to prove she deserves a scholarship to University. She certainly doesn't count on waking the ship's damaged AI or having three stowaways, Micah Rotherwood and brothers Jem and Barre Durbin, along for the ride. They all have their private reasons for hiding aboard and lives they are seeking to escape, but if the accidental crew can't work together and learn to trust each other, they'll die together, victims of a computer that doesn't realize the war ended decades before any of them were even born.

Read the story that began the five book Halcyone Space series, at a special price of $0.99

Ratings and reviews

Interesting concept, well written. Cohen avoids the teen angst, lunch room trauma of most modern coming of age novels and delivers a story with depth.

Derelict grabbed my interest right from the start and by the end I really couldn’t put it down. The lifestyles of the teenaged protagonists are equal parts alien (total indifference to space travel and life on a space station) and relatable (inseparable from their phones--excuse me, ‘micros’). The obstacles and challenges in their lives are real and serious, and not just the overblown emotions of hormonal high-schoolers. As such, I found them to be sympathetic and engaging and I cared about what happened next. The descriptions of the tech, particularly the holographic and musical computer interfaces, were vivid and felt fresh to me. The two weakest aspects of the story were the plot and the relationship budding between Ro and Nomi. The plot was fairly predictable, with few unexpected twists. That said, I didn’t really mind, as the journey was lots of fun. The connection between Ro and Nomi felt like it became too important too quickly. I suppose this could be explained by the all-or-nothing emotions typical of the young, but it bugged me a little. The ending of the novel was satisfying but left plenty of threads for a sequel. I’ll definitely be reading the next book.

A splendid book with strong characters. I felt their sadness and frustration.

About the author

LJ Cohen is the writing persona of Lisa Janice Cohen, poet, novelist, blogger, local food enthusiast, Doctor Who fan, and relentless optimist. Lisa lives just outside of Boston with her family, two dogs (only one of which actually ever listens to her) and the occasional international student. When not doing battle with a stubborn Jack Russell Terrier mix, Lisa can be found working on the next novel, which often looks a lot like daydreaming.