If the Kroerak Empire had a weak spot, Liam Hoffen found it by now. After years of fighting the bug invaders, he was almost thrown into trouble. Worse still, the enemy’s plans are blocked suggesting the empire’s next attack could wipe them off the map.

Rumors of Kroerak’s weakness were their world’s only hope of survival. It’s too bad that the keepers of secrets have long since turned into space dust. With time running out and alien bounty hunters in pursuit, Liam and his crew must adventure to a long-forgotten planet. They will risk everything for a lasting defense against certain destruction.

If you like eccentric crews, weird alien locations, and turns you won’t see coming, you’ll love Jamie McFarlane’s action-packed 13th book of the epic Privateer Tales.

Four and a half stars. Jamie McFarlane has done it again! He created another hard-to-miss story. I give it a half star because the characters seem a bit underdeveloped if one picks up this book without having read any of the others.

That little point aside, the cast of Loose Nuts continues their adventures and finds new allies in their struggle. The book’s pacing was so tight that I struggled to put the book down. Luckily, jumping back and forth between Picis and the Loose Nut explorers created natural breaks to help me eat and sleep.

This is the first installment in a new trilogy in the long-running “Private Stories” series. Unlike a lot of trilogy these days, this story actually has a beginning, middle and end with a small intro but no ‘cliff’ to keep one waiting for the next one. Like the artisan he is becoming, McFarlane relies on the quality of his characters and story to keep you coming back for more.

• Pursuit of the Bold

• Privateer Tales, Book 13
• By: Jamie McFarlane