Starshine: Aurora Rising Book One

G. S. Jennsen

Mar 2014 · Amaranthe Book 1 · Hypernova Publishing

About this ebook

Space is vast and untamed, and it holds many secrets.

The year is 2322. Humanity has expanded into the stars, inhabiting over 100 worlds across a third of the galaxy. Earth struggles to retain authority over far-flung planets and free-wheeling corporations, while an uneasy armistice with a breakaway federation hangs by a thread as the former rebels rise in wealth and power. And in the shadows, powerful forces conspire to bring the fragile peace crashing down.    

           

Alex Solovy is a space scout for hire. When she takes a routine job to chase down an errant signal in the Metis Nebula, nothing suggests the secret it conceals will turn her life—not to mention the entire galaxy—upside down. But a chance discovery reveals a terrifying truth: we are not alone. And we are not ready.

Now Alex, acerbic loner and recalcitrant wanderer, must navigate a galactic power struggle, a political conspiracy and the worst impulses of human nature to expose a threat on two fronts and avert all-out war. The fate of civilization hangs in the balance.

When faced with our greatest challenge, will we rise to triumph or fall to ruin?

Starshine is a riveting tale of resilience, sacrifice, and the unyielding human spirit. G. S. Jennsen weaves a masterful narrative that will keep readers on the edge of their seats, immersing them in a richly imagined world of interstellar intrigue and extraordinary technology as she whisks them along on an exhilarating journey, where the choices of one individual may determine humanity’s destiny.

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AMARANTHE UNIVERSE:

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~ AURORA RHAPSODY ~ (should be read in order)

AURORA RISING TRILOGY

#1: STARSHINE (Aurora Rising Book One)

#2: VERTIGO (Aurora Rising Book Two)

#3: TRANSCENDENCE (Aurora Rising Book Three)

AURORA RENEGADES TRILOGY

#4: SIDESPACE (Aurora Renegades Book One)

#5: DISSONANCE (Aurora Renegades Book Two)

#6: ABYSM (Aurora Renegades Book Three)

AURORA RESONANT TRILOGY

#7: RELATIVITY (Aurora Resonant Book One)

#8: RUBICON (Aurora Resonant Book Two)

#9: REQUIEM (Aurora Resonant Book Three)

#10: SHORT STORIES OF AURORA RHAPSODY (can be read at any time)

~ ASTERION NOIR TRILOGY ~ (a new entry point for the series - can be read before Aurora Rhapsody)

#11: EXIN EX MACHINA (Asterion Noir Book 1)

#12: OF A DARKER VOID (Asterion Noir Book 2)

#13: THE STARS LIKE GODS (Asterion Noir Book 3)

~ RIVEN WORLDS ~ (should be read after Aurora Rhapsody and Asterion Noir)

#14: CONTINUUM (Riven Worlds Book One)

#15: INVERSION (Riven Worlds Book Two)

#16: ECHO RIFT (Riven Worlds Book Three)

#17: ALL OUR TOMORROWS (Riven Worlds Book Four)

#18: CHAOTICA (Riven Worlds Book Five)

#19: DUALITY (Riven Worlds Book Six)

~ COSMIC SHORES ~ (a new entry point for the series - each book can be read at any time and without reading any of the other books)

#20: MEDUSA FALLING (A Cosmic Shores Novel)

#21: THE THIEF (A Cosmic Shores Novel)

Ratings and reviews

I thought the Prologue was intriguing. But after reading a few pages of the first chapter, I gave it up for the following reasons: It's somewhat scientifically implausibe. The writing is weak. Lots of cliche, as if the author made sure to borrow many phrases from 50s and 60s pulp sci-fi. Repetitive modifiers. Over-explanation. I did not feel like I was in the future. It seemed I was in a present cuture adorned with ill-informed tech babble. I suppose it *might* be enjoyable to someone less well-read and less technologically critical.

Feh. Rather simplistic. Then in the first pages I get to "its buttons spit-polished". No, leather is spit shined, not buttons. What led up to that wasn't engaging enough to carry me past that. I rarely give up on books but this is one.

Thoroughly enjoyable. Well written with a convincing protagonist. Perhaps a few too many sub-plots for a single novel, but not when it's the first in a series.

About the author

G. S. JENNSEN lives in Montana with her husband and two dogs. She has become an internationally bestselling author since her first novel, Starshine, was published in 2014. She has chosen to continue writing under an independent publishing model to ensure the integrity of her stories and her ability to execute on the vision she has for their telling.

While she has been a lawyer, a software engineer and an editor, she’s found the life of a full-time author preferable by several orders of magnitude. When she isn’t writing, she’s gaming or working out or getting lost in the mountains that loom large outside the windows in her home. Or she’s dealing with a flooded basement, or standing in a line at Walmart reading the tabloid headlines and wondering who all of those people are. Or sitting on her back porch with a glass of wine, looking up at the stars, trying to figure out what could be up there.

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