Review: Command Decision: Project Gliese 581g by S.E. Smith

27 May of 2016 by Jean

Reviewer's Rating: 4

4.0Overall score

Great start to a nostalgic theme

Command Decision: Project Gliese 581g By S. E. Smith

SyFy Romance

Released April 5, 2016

Montana Publishing

Series: Project Gliese 581g, Book 1

Synopsis

In a world gone crazy, it is often the humans who are at fault, seeking answers to questions we are not yet ready to understand…

Lieutenant Commander Joshua Manson’s focus was on his career which has taken him to many places; just not the one he has always dreamed of going – into space. His sometimes controversial methods during missions gives him the reputation of being a soldier who doesn’t always play by the rules.

A summons to Washington, D.C., after a challenging mission, leaves him questioning if he’ll have a career at all; but once there, Josh is surprised when he is offered the chance of a lifetime, to command a mission in space to investigate an unknown object. The more he learns, the more determined he is to lead it, even if it means a one way ticket.

Cassa de Rola’s family has lived for centuries in the quiet valley where they farm. Her family has tried to remain untouched by the growing unrest between the intergalactic military forces fighting for control over their planet. All of that changes when an unusual object falls from the sky and Cassa finds a strange male in the container. She knows that taking him in will endanger the lives of everyone close to her, but she can’t leave him defenseless. Now, the military forces on both sides want to discover the origins of the container and its missing contents.

When the fight between the Legion and the Gallant Order escalates to all-out war, a new rebel leader emerges from the stars that will change the galaxy, and Cassa’s life, forever.

Review

Reviewed by Jean

Great start to a nostalgic theme

Reading Command Decision is reminiscent of watching Star Wars. You have your evil galactic warlord out to conquer the galaxy. There are the rebel forces, the Gallant Order eeking out a living on the various worlds and fighting back from the shadows. The Knights of the Order fight with weapons that require unique attributes in the warriors that wield them. Prepare for a tale of action, adventure, and romance.

The tale starts with the discovery of something amidst the stars… something unnatural in the cosmos that intrigues an astronomer. Years later, after much study and massive preparations a group of humans from Earth plot to set their course into the stars to discover the mysteries this unnatural occurrence holds. But when the initial crew meets with an untimely accident and death, a new crew is needed. Enter Lieutenant Commander Joshua Manson, a former astronaut’s son and his best friend Lieutenant Commander Ashton “Ash” Haze. Every dream of reaching the stars is about to be realized and then some. They and a team of three other scientists are about to launch Project Gliese 581g into the stars to discover what the phenomenon means to the people of Earth. They each know that this trip may very well be a one-way trip… a portent of things to come as they discover that the unknown object is none other than a non-functional stargate. When repairing the stargate leads to their being sucked into its vortex and hurtled across space, tearing the ship apart in the process, the possibilities of returning home becomes less than slim to none. If not for their life pods, their very existence would be nonexistent. Now scattered to the deepness of space their pods seek out habitable planets on which to land… unfortunately, not the same one. Each planet has its natives and its own set of dangers. Joshua Manson finds himself on a planet with deadly wildlife. His rescue by Cassa de Rola is most definitely fortuitous.

The daughter of a Gallant Order Knight General, Cassa at first appears to be a peace loving pacifist. But for all her pacifism, she is definitely her father’s daughter. Trained as a warrior she is no slack at warring when the occasion demands it. While she has every appearance of being a quiet farmer raising her younger brother at her father’s side, beneath it all she’s a genius hacker through and through. When the Legion comes calling in a search for the man that fell from the sky, their search wreaks havoc, death, and mayhem. In the aftermath of destruction, Cassa and Josh seek sanctuary in the midst of the rebels. On the run, they race the clock when it comes to finding Josh’s teammates.

Josh finds a new home and purpose in the rebels and Cassa. For the first time, he’s found forever in the arms of a lover. Cassa has put away her pacifism and stands strongly at his side fighting for the freedom of their people. Command Decision: Project Gliese 581g is epic in its promised adventure and glory as a series. It may be reminiscent of Star Wars but it holds its own in the scheme of things. So if galactic wars of good and evil surrounding a romance appeal to you, you’re going to love Command Decision.